The Swapper

I was looking forward to doing an indie review this week, and up until yesterday that review was going to be of Dust: An Elysian Tail. Dust was a great game, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of side-scrolling hack-and-slash. That review would be written now if I hadn’t picked up The Swapper in the exact same Humble Bundle.

The Swapper is a little on the obscure side. I’d started hearing about it a few months ago, and was surprised to discover it was actually released May last year. It’s made by Facepalm Games who, at time of writing, don’t have a Wikipedia page. In light of these revealing discoveries, I feel it’s probably a good idea for me to introduce it to you.

The Swapper is a sci-fi indie game that has won a whole bunch of awards. I don’t know what any of them are or how much they really mean, but The Swapper is an indisputably praiseworthy title. The basic premise is that the player has to escape a derelict research vessel, floating in isolated space. The game has and an exceptional narrative with a surprising amount of depth, but first let's discuss the mind-bending gameplay.

The main gameplay mechanic is provided by the titular “Swapper” device. The device allows the player to generate clones of themself, which are slaved to mimic the players actions. If you jump, all of your clones jump. If you walk left, all of your clones walk left. This allows the player to interact with different things simultaneously, and can thus literally be in many places at once.

This is a strong enough mechanic on its own, but it’s further enhanced by the actual “swap” function of the device. The player can transfer their consciousness from one body to another, effectively allowing them to teleport. Clones can only be spawned by the “primary” body, and swaps can only be performed with line-of-sight, so choosing which body to control at which time is an important element of puzzle solving.

Both the ability to clone and to swap are impeded by differently coloured lights, requiring the player to think their way around not just physical obstacles, but power-nullifying environments. Though all this might sound complex when explained here in a text-dump, their implementation is surprisingly straightforward in-game, with the main mechanics presented to the player with the first two minutes of play.

The puzzle side of the game will appeal to fans of games like Portal, in the sense that it requires spatial reasoning, and a logical assessment of the order in which things need to be done. Some of the puzzles require quite a bit of thought and effort, especially towards the end of the game. That the underlying mechanics are so simple makes for an engaging puzzle game that prioritises depth over complexity.

Though the gameplay is exceptional, The Swapper also excels narratively. Without getting into spoilers, The Swapper totally earns the title “science-fiction.” The game has an oppressive, forlorn mood; an atmosphere that is effectively set and perfectly maintained. A major part of this is strong visual design, marrying with the tone immaculately. A tangible sense of apprehension and dread are present, and it’s nice to see a game do this without totally failing to understand the concept of horror. Playing at night is recommended.

The plot itself is fairly minimalist, but the narrative is fairly rich. Though the game communicates little explicitly, a great deal is conveyed to the player by other means. A number of narrative and stylistic choices have major payoffs as the game progresses, especially when the The Swapper’s themes become more central to the plot.

I don’t want to state what the themes are, as I’d be toeing the spoiler-line. However, I will say that they are fairly complex, and the game manages to examine them in an accessible and thought-provoking way. I’m sure some of you have made educated guesses as to what the themes may be, but even if you’re familiar with them I encourage you to take a look at the game. The Swapper approaches them in an interesting way, and I found thoughts occupied days after playing it.

The Swapper is an amazing indie title that excels in every way. Whether you’re looking for a new puzzle challenge, an eerie sci-fi atmosphere, or some hearty food-for-thought, The Swapper will prove more than sufficient. This is a game that's going to be high on my "Have you tried" list for a long time, right up there with Papers Please or Spec Ops: The Line.

You can pick it up on the Facepalm Games website for Mac, PC or Linux, and it's also available on a bunch of PlayStation devices.