We chat about videogames and videogame accessories.

So, how about that new Humble Bundle?
Picked it up last week, despite already owning Dust: An Elysian Tail and Antichamber.

Guacamelee! was loads of fun; I really enjoyed my playthrough, and I'm probably going to end up getting that third costume out of El Infierno and the last few Orbs in a while. The combat system felt a bit like a fighting game, but with fewer button inputs, and I loved the way the combat skills were used in platforming.

The Swapper was...well, to be honest, it's a little underwhelming in retrospect. As a puzzle game, it's phenomenal, but as a story, it felt really lacking. Spoilers below.

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SpoilerBasically The Swapper's whole Deal is that you've got three different characters guiding you through the space station, only they all look the same and have the same voice actor, and in fact, share the same body. This, along with the titular Swapper, is used to raise the question of what exactly "self" is, or whether you're still you after you've switched to a different body.

Except that throughout the game, it's pretty clear that Dennett, Chalmers, and the Scavenger are still themselves, despite all the swapping they've done. Dennett and Chalmers were trapped in the disembodied brains of some poor saps for over a century before the Scavenger found them, and then they all "merged", except not. It's a little confusing. Hell, even after they become part of the Watcher hive mind, their dialogue is still recognizable as them.

Then you've got the ending, where a rescue team arrives to get you out of there, only to realize that they aren't equipped with the proper equipment to deal with the hazard the Watchers presented and that you've been exposed to, and are forced to leave you behind. You've got one opportunity to get out - use the Swapper on a member of the rescue team, and leave him to die in your place.

This would be a conundrum if the issue it deals with wasn't already resolved.

In fact, the endings even reinforce the notion that the "self" is preserved; if you choose not to swap with the man as he walks away, you're left there until you jump down a chasm of your own will. I'm not sure if you can go back to the space station, or even get off the ledge you're on in any way other than jumping down that chasm, but the fact remains that you can stand around as long as you want. However, if you do swap, the man (in your body) can't stop walking before he steps off the ledge to his death. So it's pretty clear what's going on.

Really, the only existential question that The Swapper asks, but doesn't answer, is one that it doesn't really even ask in the first place. Specifically, what the hell are the clones being created with the Swapper? Because, well, your character is a clone of the Scavenger. And...this isn't explored. This isn't even referenced beyond a clip that recreates the beginning of the game, where you're launched off of Theseus in an escape pod. It's a background event, to boot; one that you won't catch unless you're paying close attention. Which, admittedly, is likely at that point, but...it's just really disappointing.

Essentially, I got the feeling that The Swapper wanted to recreate the success of Portal, in terms of both story and gameplay. It got the gameplay bit down no problem - hell, it might even have had better gameplay than Portal - but it didn't quite understand what it was doing in terms of storytelling.