HIVESWAP: Act 1

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 29
  3. Negative: 7 out of 29

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  1. Markred
    Sep 14, 2017
    10
    Incredibly fun game so far, music and visuals are suburb, will 100% play it a lot more and will buy the remainder of the parts. Andrew Hussie finally came through.
  2. Makin
    Sep 16, 2017
    10
    Pros:
    - Really good humor and writing(I would say it's as good as Homestuck's Andrew Hussie's, if not as eclectic).
    - Excellent soundtrack. - Amazing art, tons of unique animations and cutscenes for even tiny stuff. - Attention to detail, both in gameplay and text. However, I feel like this might have harmed the game's length, check below for what I mean. - Vast breadth and depth of    Pros:
    - Really good humor and writing(I would say it's as good as Homestuck's Andrew Hussie's, if not as eclectic).
    - Excellent soundtrack.
    - Amazing art, tons of unique animations and cutscenes for even tiny stuff.
    - Attention to detail, both in gameplay and text. However, I feel like this might have harmed the game's length, check below for what I mean.
    - Vast breadth and depth of references that are subtle enough to not be cringey (and in fact would go over most players' heads, there were even humanimals references), but recognizable enough to still make you smirk.
    - Good worldbuilding and setup, I can see future acts having a really good plot.
    - Very, very good characters. I wish Jude could have been fleshed out more, but I guess that's for Hauntswitch so I can't complain!

    Cons:
    - Music transitions are buggy, especially around strifes. Volume is also extremely inconsistent across rooms, even compared to sound effects. Seems more of a programming issue than anything related to sound design, however.
    - Weird "hitboxes" for items, and a few "conflicts" between movement and interaction. Particularly, having to use an item on a door was unexpected, considering the icon didn't change from the regular movement icon when you hovered over it with the item, and the fact using items on transitions was unprecedented.
    - ANY button skips stuff, even the screenshot button. A nitpick, but an annoying one.
    - Relatively short, took me three hours while taking my time. I would have vastly preferred a bigger amount of interactions between the characters over item combination/interaction text, which I enjoyed, but wouldn't deliberately seek out. That said, this is no big deal: I have to remember it's only Act 1.
    - It's just too easy. I got stuck one time, and that was with the door incident I mentioned above. I definitely don't want an obscurely frustrating experience like with some old adventure games, but I feel like the only times the game made you use your head were ruined by the fact you got unasked hints for them right afterwards. Maybe make the hints optional in future acts?

    Conclusion: A very fun adventure game, and a great Homestuck experience (if you're into that), but a bit too easy and too short to be perfect. I hope future acts make you think a bit more often.
    I can recommend it to everyone who enjoys adventure games, and it's definitely a must-play for Homestuck fans.    … Expand
  3. Lopluk
    Sep 15, 2017
    10
    haha yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
  4. GameBroOfficial
    Aug 3, 2018
    3
    Hiveswap: Why the "Game of the Year" or whatever isn't as good as some other stuff I like that's better.

    *This review printed on 40% recycled asbestos. For big ups to Mother Earth, yo.* So okay. Hiveswap is this game that a lot of cats seem hella pumped of. And this beta is sitting in my Steam library for review, so I'm like, yeah man I'll write something. But I don't know. I'm    Hiveswap: Why the "Game of the Year" or whatever isn't as good as some other stuff I like that's better.

    *This review printed on 40% recycled asbestos. For big ups to Mother Earth, yo.*

    So okay.
    Hiveswap is this game that a lot of cats seem hella pumped of. And this beta is sitting in my Steam library for review, so I'm like, yeah man I'll write something.
    But I don't know. I'm like, so this is about houses or some noise? That's fine, I'm sure that's like **** dynamite in a handbag for some brosephs. But all I'm saying is, when do you get to THRASH anything? While you're playing house or some **** are you ever in jeopardy of getting mud on your doll's dress or whatever from busting out, and I quote; "the mad stunts all wicked up-ins?"

    Know what I'm saying, Bro-Yo-Ma? I didn't actually play this game, but I gave it 3 hats out of 10 hats to keep it real.

    At this point I'd like to give a shout-out to my boy Dennis who was over the other day. We were going to chill in front of The Dark Knight and he was so psyched of it y'all.
    So this one time he was leaning against the screen door and the **** popped open, and the back deck was wet and he slipped down the steps and broke his thumb on the lawn. It wasn't a long fall, but hey I guess a thumb bone wasn't made for supporting the brunt of a huge useless tool against wet grass. We never did watch Dark Knight on account of Ron trucking his bawling candy-ass girth to the hospital.
    But it's cool. I still got another watch in me, Brotel Rwanda.

    *BRO-NOTES: Dennis was so wasted, ha ha. I mean damn.*    … Expand
  5. coolmiddlename
    Sep 17, 2017
    10
    good game good graphics good storytelling, homestuck's witty humor with a brand new caste. if the next acts come out with more expedience then we could have something special in our hands.
  6. SuperSwag
    Nov 8, 2017
    9
    I am a massive fan of Homestuck, and this game is awesome. The art style is beautiful, the humor is witty, and the soundtrack is nice to listen to. The game is a bit short, though. But that's okay.
  7. CynicalFurry
    Jul 21, 2018
    10
    While Brief, and very delayed, this game still stands as a true gateway drug to Homestuck. The soundtrack is nearly unbeatable, and while it may not have very much to it gameplay wise, It makes up for it with Character and story. Best indie game of 2017
  8. MrMati864
    Jul 22, 2018
    10
    Overall a very solid game, it's kinda short but i have a lot of hope for the rest of the acts, nice visuals, the soundtrack in general is awesome, references and lots of humor was what i found while i played Hiveswap: ACT 1.
  9. NightGeisha
    Jan 1, 2019
    8
    Amazing art style, amazing story, amazing soundtrack...
    I really liked Hiveswap, I wasn't sure about it when I start but at the end I really want more. It's a fantastic story driven game, point & click style, with a fantastic cartoonish style.
    Is a fairly well crafted game, with lots of small details in the setting that leave us with a nostalgic smile. You can see the inspiration    Amazing art style, amazing story, amazing soundtrack...
    I really liked Hiveswap, I wasn't sure about it when I start but at the end I really want more. It's a fantastic story driven game, point & click style, with a fantastic cartoonish style.

    Is a fairly well crafted game, with lots of small details in the setting that leave us with a nostalgic smile. You can see the inspiration obtained in movies, games and other elements of the 90's in history and in all its fascinating moments.

    Really enjoyable moment, hopping for a Act 2 soon.    … Expand
  10. harpediem
    Nov 27, 2020
    6
    It's ok? A fan of Homestuck can get some fun out of this, but if you're not, you will not care about some of the stuff in this game. The game has some fun little puzzles and some lighthearted jokes. Overall it's decent but nothing mindblowing. 6/10
  11. Agathra
    Oct 5, 2019
    0
    Surprisingly.... tedious, for such a cute/nice looking game. I never knew about Homestuck, just picked this up during a sale one day because I like point and clicks. Maybe it helps if you're a fan? But as someone who came at this as just a point and click game, there's a load of junk in every single room and, with very few exceptions, no indicators of what's interactive and what's notSurprisingly.... tedious, for such a cute/nice looking game. I never knew about Homestuck, just picked this up during a sale one day because I like point and clicks. Maybe it helps if you're a fan? But as someone who came at this as just a point and click game, there's a load of junk in every single room and, with very few exceptions, no indicators of what's interactive and what's not until you're mousing over something and the mouse icon changes. And what you can access seemed to change depending on when you were looking at the room (that or there was a delay when mousing over stuff for it to actually say "there's something here", one of the two) so you had to mouse over EV-ER-Y-THING, EVERY time you were in a room in CASE something had changed, and the 'battles' were just trying everything in your inventory... and your action bar.. and oh maybe some stuff in the room.. and THEN finding the correct order for those things... and even cutesy attack titles can only disguise the underlying monotony for so long. Also there's a LOT of interactive stuff that's just flavor stuff, I mean a LOT a lot, so again, you just have to click around a LOT in every room to find out what is and isn't going to be useful, and will learn - over and over and over again - some facts like

    - absent dad is a hunter & daughter hates that
    - daughter doesn't like guns
    - babysitter is a bad (drunk) babysitter
    - brother is a paranoid nerd
    - the house is messy
    - mom is gone
    - girl loves animals

    Then there's the new world where you're talking to a guy who repeats himself ad nauseum. There's a (kind of) rebellion. His friend is the paranoid nerd of this world. There are bad people on this world.

    Despite the really pretty art I just got BORED of the tedious clicking through of multiple items AND actions AND dialogue for every petty little step trying to advance the story.    … Expand
  12. KevLooney
    Apr 29, 2022
    8
    8/10. simple point and click adventure that isn't boring. The game looks like a kids game. The game isn't unenjoyable regardless.
  13. seet_yans
    Nov 28, 2021
    8
    A very charming point and click adventure game. Although it is very short (it took me about 3.5 hours to beat), it is brimming with personality and humor. The art and visuals are great. I didn't find any of the puzzles to be too difficult, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment. If you're a Homestuck fan, I guarantee you'll like it, but there is still much fun to be had even if you're not.

Critic Reviews

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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Destructoid
    Sep 16, 2017
    75
    The game looks good and plays well, and I only encountered one minor glitch while I was playing.
    Read full review
  2. Polygon
    Sep 14, 2017
    80
    Hiveswap: Act One is brief, but I already have a lot of hope for the world and cast introduced here. (And the music. Oh god, yes, the music.) There’s a lot to see, and anyone looking for a light-hearted adventure will have a great time. Despite its minor bugs and short length, both Homestruck devotees and those who never experienced the webcomic will find a fantastic, humorous introduction to this new pocket of an already-massive universe.
    Read full review