Hiveswap: Act 1
2017
- point-and-click
- puzzle
- role-playing (rpg)
- adventure
- indie
- single player
The story
Hiveswap is a hand-drawn tribute to '90s point-and-click adventure games. Play as Joey Claire, a puzzle-solving teen snatched out of her time (1994) and place (Earth) and stranded on a hostile alien planet on the brink of rebellion.
What it’s like
Bright, hand-drawn pixel-free sprites on painted backgrounds that wink at 1990s point-and-click adventures: cluttered inventories, chunky verb menus, and rooms full of small, deliberate details to click on. The palette leans on saturated teals, oranges and sickly alien greens, with a cartoonish sci-fi scrappiness that feels like a 90s CD-ROM game reimagined by a sharp-eyed fan. The soundtrack is jaunty chiptune-flavoured pop that loops cheerfully in the background, and the typed dialogue crackles with running jokes and deadpan asides. The pace is conversational and episodic, with long stretches of wandering, poking at objects and trying combinations until something clicks, then a sudden burst of lighter tension as the planet's rebellion creeps closer. Emotionally it is wry and warm, a teenager's bewildered sarcasm sitting on top of genuine unease about being stranded far from home. Violence is cartoonish and mostly offscreen, with some crude slapstick and mild peril rather than gore; nothing sexual and nothing frightening for long. It suits a relaxed evening at the keyboard, a patient puzzle session, or anyone who loves the wit of old adventure games and wants a light, funny, low-stress mystery to sink into.
More games like Hiveswap: Act 1
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Hiveswap: Act 1and we’ll explain which ones fit you.
