No holds are barred, but they are delivered alongside witty observations and over-the-top commentary. That’s not to say the game is somber, though. Hiveswap cuts deep on multiple occasions: from societal oppression to parental neglect to emotional abuse, the game approaches serious subject matter earnestly and emotively. The main standout is probably Xefros Tritoh, an alien (referred to as a troll in-game) struggling with self-esteem issues and the oppressive restrictions placed upon members of his social class. The three characters that players get to control all have unique attitudes, hobbies, and manners of speaking (even their texting styles are distinct from one another). One of the game’s main strengths is definitely its writing.

Not understanding everything is part of the point: players explore and try to make sense of strange phenomena as the characters do. The main character, Joey Claire, finds herself under attack by strange aliens, and later on gets teleported to an alien world. Hiveswap employs multiple first person points of view, as a handful of characters react to mysterious events and struggle to figure out what’s going on around them. This is due largely to the way the plot unfolds. The game takes heavy influence from Homestuck in just about every capacity imaginable (graphics, plot concepts, soundtrack, writing style, etc.) but players don’t need to have read the original comic to enjoy the game. Hiveswap: Act 1 is the start of a new story and set to be continued in future installments.

New hiveswap characters