Recent reviews by Jeanne D'arroz

EXCELLENT GAME

This is a puzzle horror game in which I quickly feel in love with.

In this game you will do things over and over again, either because you are still discovering the house and doing it's puzzles, did a stupid mistake, or is trying to do a new ending. The loop however, isn't boring, even after I made 79 attempts. They made a very good job in keeping the game fun to play, even if everything stays the same.

A bit of a disclaimer, the store page says the gameplay is non linear, which I disagree, because in most endings you'll end up doing the following [Puzzle solution ahead] wake the cat, milk to cat, grab the key, grab marty, go to the basement, get pot, get axe, Place bowl in kitchen so mom don't become a zombie, get slingshot, get gun, get bullet, get a ending , Which again, isn't that much of a problem, because the game's loop is short and fun. Although it's a bit annoying when you have to do it all again and again because you forgot the Carpet kills you . And also, thanks to the short nature of the game you will probably discover if you'll want to ask a refund before the 2 hour limit.

The story itself is hidden. You have to mostly piece it together to understand what's actually going on, which is fitting for a puzzle game imo.

And the music, is very very good. If I could describe it, it's beautiful and melancholic.

I will give it a 9/10.

One of my favorite games, ever

Posting my critic on reddit because steam has a character limit

https://www.reddit.com/user/Steamisbeingabitch/comments/k1jus0/posting_my_hiveswap_critic_here_because_steam_a_b/

I like it

It is a small VN, managed to complete the two routes in 45 minutes,

It is good tho, it is funny, and expands a bit more on the lore.

Although it annoys me how it stays the same 2 songs throught the routes, there is no variety, even if it is happening a sad or goofy moment.

Is it worth 0,99 cents? probably. Kind of hard to say.

Play it.

But remember, This game is not suitable for children
or those who are easily disturbed.

It's not a joke.

I am going to make an adaptation of an reddit post I've made
Problems:
There are bugs. Which, leaving in account that this is an indie pc game is very normal. However, some stuff is really annoying, like cutscenes being skipped, and a resolution changing bug.
Most of the mid game cutscenes are just still images that change after one or two seconds. would not be too bad, bus most of the time there isn't a transitioning animation for the character before and after the cutscene, and some of the regular animations don't really interact withe the enviroment (I.E.: opening a door)
Joey opening doors animations annoys me. She should've interact with the door's handle. small nitpick but still
The puzzles are not challenging
It is Short. It can be divided in only two segments, and if you go running you can finish it in like an hour. Of course, that's normal for a point-and-click adventure game, since you usually have to interact with everything to extent it's time. but still, the game should have more playtime, speacially with the amount received with kickstarter money.

The good stuff:
The story. Nothing mind super blowing like the mid homestuck, but Honestly, it is probably because I know most of troll culture and have watched the trailers over and over again. It gives to me the same feeling I have with the initial acts of homestuck. If this indicates anything, Act 2 of hiveswap will be very good, like letters acts of the original work. It's a good introduction to both hiveswap and hauntswitch. It shows the protagonists of the games, the initial threats that they are fighting, the world(and house) they live in, and hints of other characters that will help or antagonize them. It has good potential, and I don't really like to criticize a story for it's beginning, the mid stuff is what matters. And a satisfying ending I guess.
Jokes: They are funny, and that's all I have to say on the matter
Music: I don't regret buying the album without knowing if the songs are good or bad.
Strife battles: They are all pretty nice, although there is a short amount of them
Characters: They are all lovely, and have all potential to grow, although if they do not in the following acts... they might look one-dimensional.
You can interact with everything with almost everything
You don't need to read homestuck to know what's happening. Everything a new player won't know and need to know at the moment, the game will explain.

Neutral:
Animation:
They are good, however I wish there were more of them, especially in the middle of the game, the lack of transitioning between a character in the screen and a still image cutscene get's a bit annoying.
Dialogues: They are condesced in information and are funny sometimes. Although they can be a bit long.


Conclusion:
It's a good introduction, and if the following episodes expand on characters, lore and playtime it can be very good as a whole.

The price is a bit expensive for the size of the game, but might be worth it if the following acts are cheaper. like 4+ dollars cheaper

Now if you are a new player... even though I recommend this game you have to know that the game is around 3 hours, the following acts could get good or not. And you still will have to pay for them, are they going to be cheaper? What Pumpkin haven't given information on this yet. So, really think before buying.

I am going to rate this first act 7/10, 8/10 if the bugs are fixed. Going to update this in the next acts.

Unless is in the complete pack, don't buy it. It's not worth the full price