Sitting for a couple of minutes, contemplating on what had just happened. As the credits roll, I hear static as I stare at the distance by the window where I was playing. Finishing it, I felt sad, empty, and kinda hollow.
That’s what I felt when I finished ‘The Swapper’, a side-scrolling puzzle/‘Metroidvania’ game.
I haven’t had the chance to play the game up until July of last year. After looking for a new game to play and juggle, I finally picked it up. Although I’m aware of the game’s primary mechanic (as it was released back in 2013), it was a good thing that I didn’t bother looking at the plot/story of the game all this time when I finished it.
And sure enough, it gave me one of the most memorable experiences in a video game. A good game for me is whenever it sticks in my head for quite a while after I’ve played it. The Swapper is now one of those games in my long list of all time favorites.
The graphics are amazing. Artsy in a way. Made from miniatures and stop motion animation, I think it’s one of its charms, since there’s not much games that use this kind of technique and approach as a visual aesthetic. The dark corridors, the minimal lighting, and the silence that surrounds the environment the ‘Scavenger’ is running in, it gives a sense of fear and isolation. That one wants to uncover the mystery surrounding the incident that the character is presented with.
While the visual presentation is one of the unique features of the game, the soundtrack takes credit as well as the story progressed. The composer, Carlo Castellano, did an awesome job in providing the tracks in the game, as it adds to the overall tone of the narrative.
And then there’s the plot of the story. If only I can give one or two details about it, but I think it’s best that I don’t. Yes, there’s a plot entry in Wikipedia, but it only tells you about the events leading to the game. And yes, there’s are video walkthroughs, but spare yourself in hearing and seeing the cutscenes, not to mention the end of the game.
Writing about it now, I can’t help but recall the experience. Even though it’s just a video game, it gave me questions about existence, life, and death. Simple the game may be, yes, it made me think about those certain aspects. But, yeah, like I said earlier, it’s one of the most unique experiences I had in a video game.
I forgot now on how to go about the puzzles. I might just play it again for the ‘other’ ending.
