The Swapper
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for The Swapper
One of the best action puzzlers for several years, made all the better by some surprisingly distinctive storytelling and visuals.
No matter the platform, The Swapper is a game that people should play. It may be a year later, but the game still stands out as one of the most creative and forward-thinking indie releases in recent memory.
Facepalm Games have created something special with The Swapper, with Cruve Studios helping to bring the game to PlayStation. The unique cloning abilities of the mysterious Swapper device pave the way for some challenging puzzle designs and a gripping story, that sci-fi fans will no doubt love. However, you can't help but feel that it's all over far too soon.
The Swapper is one of the most unique and fun puzzle games to release in the last few years and is definitely not one to miss.
The Swapper delivers on nearly every front. The puzzles are intelligent and challenging, the story is deep and philosophical and the visual style is incredibly unique and inventive. This is a title that is sure to satisfy fans of science fiction and platform puzzle games alike.
Despite being a puzzle game with a very simple (albeit ingenious) gimmick, The Swapper manages to subvert expectations and tell one of the best science fiction stories of the year. Between its unique presentation and constantly evolving puzzles, this is one game I'll be talking about for some time to come. The Swapper is a masterpiece of design.
So overall, I would say 95% of this game is pure excellence. I had an absolutely fantastic time playing it and it was surprisingly long (I thought I could finish it in one sitting, but it actually took me two full nights of playing). It's just a shame that one teeny tiny detail took my impression of it from great down to good. It's still well worth playing even with the frustration, but without that minor detail it could have been one of the best.
The Swapper is an indie puzzle platformer with a gameplay hook which is cleverly married to a grand operatic narrative. Its strange visuals and atmospheric soundtrack augment this vision, creating a wholly unique and cohesive experience. While some of its later puzzles are a bit too fiddly for their own good, and the overall pacing sometimes feels a little off kilter, this is still a space voyage that comes highly recommended.
