We initially started work on The Swapper way back in Christmas when the weather outside our London office was cold and miserable, and days were short and dark. Now the sun is shining, spirits are up, and we’re set to release our 9th indie game and one we are incredibly proud of having brought it to PlayStation.
Created by Facepalm Games and designed by Olli Harjola and Otto Hantula in their spare time while at university, The Swapper falls under the term “indie” by most definitions, but you might be surprised by what it offers. It’s not a puzzle platformer, there are no double jumps, and there’s no shooting. The graphics are superbly detailed and make full use of each console’s hardware, the music is dark and immersive, and the plot and writing rival anything you’ll find in bigger budget games.
Of course, we would say that, right? Don’t just take our word for it though. Instead, take a minute out, find some headphones, and load up our new trailer, which not only shows off some of the games very unique artwork and the games key mechanic of creating clones to solve puzzles, it’s also peppered with quotes from the gaming press and awards the game has won so far.
The Swapper is a cross buy game, and a large portion of the work we’ve done at Curve this year has been to bring the game to PS3 and Vita without losing that atmosphere or compromising the controls. While we’re using the might of PS4 to run the game at 60FPS and power some clever visual effects, we think you’ll find both the PS3 and Vita versions to be fast and fluid.
Finally, we’d like to thank the PlayStation community for all the support since we started working on bringing indie games over to the platform. Despite being one of the biggest indie publishers on PlayStation, we’re still delighted every time we get to this stage and finally get to the show the world what we’ve achieved! Drop us a comment below and we’ll do our best to answer.
There is something that I still dont get. Why is this game $20 on PSN but $15 on Steam? As far as I know is the same game.
Dont get me wrong, it looks fantastic and I guess at some point Ill buy it. But…why? (I know, I know. It had the pre-order discount, but thats a different song).
While I’m too tight to grab this on my system(s) of choice, all this hubbub of the PLAY promotion has been pushing me toward finally booting up my PC copy. A puzzle Metroidvania with atmosphere and deep sci-fi narrative? How have I not?!
Looks great but I will wait out until a sale, it seems kind of pricey to me.
So If I buy the PS4 version, do I get it for Vita too? Crossbuy is getting confusing now, since the store page doesn’t say anything about cross buy.
Already stayed up playing it til 6 AM. Amazing game
Still don’t understand why it’s $20 on PSN and $15 on PC (Steam, GOG, etc…). Are there any extras in the console version that the PC version doesn’t have? Why the extra $5?
Who decides on the price? The developper/publisher, or Sony?
“It’s not a puzzle platformer,”
Well, egg on my face, goes to show, heh heh. But, with that mention of the PS4 version pulling some leverage over PS3 and PSV (if I read right), this should be made a high priority once I join the throng of PS4 gamers. (I’ll still not cease to wonder how nice that XMB theme may’ve looked, sporting these tangible visuals…)
At what time does the PSN Store get updated? Can’t wait!
Everyone screams for everything to be Cross-Buy. When it is, everyone complains that it costs a few bucks more. Another day on the PS blog.
I love the game, I have like 43 sphere things. I would recommend :D
cant believe indie psn indie games are now reaching 20 in price. i guess maybe its because its cross buy ? idk but good looking game.
@9, right??? Geez.
Been playing this all morning (along with Rogue Legacy). Both are awesome, fun, unique, addictive games. Swapper is really really cool. Glad I got it.
The PS update is buggy. Dragon Crown isn’t set as free for Vita PS Plus. FEZ, Metrico and Proteus are fine though. Fix please..!
I agree the prices are bad, these should all be like $9.99 or $4.99 and millions would buy them over just some few thousands. Its a good game the ps3 version runs smooth, it misses custom mp3 soundtracks. Just like the excellent Rogue Legacy.
Great to see these ind games and amazing with the crossbuy features (for those who have more than 1 console) :)
@ all concerned w/ the price difference: Most game development starts & releases on PCs first, hence it costs more NOW because…
1. Porting isn’t a free/easy process for devs.
2. Art assets & sound design are adjusted.
3. Input commands need to be reconfigured.
4. Trophy support is added.
And it’s Cross-buy! :D
Yes! Can’t wait to play it. I was able to play it at midnight but I haven’t had the chance yet. I will certainly play it tonight. Thanks!
“The PS update is buggy. Dragon Crown isn’t set as free for Vita PS Plus. FEZ, Metrico and Proteus are fine though. Fix please..!”
The store is updated piece by piece every Tuesday. It’s usually done by about 2 p.m. Pacific. In the hours beforehand, you’re bound to see some weirdness. Just wait till it’s announced and you’re good to go.
to the people wondering about the price differences between the console and pc version it always is like that. it is bs though
I’m not wondering about the price difference, I understand that there are different costs involved with bringing games to consoles vs. PC. However, even with the PS+ discount, this game is still priced too high. I will be waiting for a sale.
Hmm looks good. Cross Buy too on 3 Platforms?!?! Worth the five extra bucks over steam. Count me in. Going to get spoiled rotten on today’s update between this and Road Not Taken.
@1 and @6
the same reason AAA games on consoles start at $60 and on PC start at $40. there is a platform royalty publishers have to play for the platform owner (sony/ms/nintendo). as a console owner for having an environment that “just works” is because sony takes great efforts to ensure that software always runs and runs well on their platform.
consider it your tax for never having to troubleshoot driver, compatibility, and min requirement issues like the PC guys sometimes have to.
OT – pre-ordered and soo excited to get off of work in just 2 hours!!
@ luvtoseek,
1. While porting isn’t always easy, it’s usually (not always though) easier to port than to create everything from scratch.
2. It’s easier to adjust art assets & sound than to create from scratch.
3. Flip a switch in the code. Woop-di-doo.
4. Yep. I’m sure that amount for weeks of hard work.
While there is additionnal work to be done when porting a game, to make it sound like it’s harder than creating something from scratch is stretching it a bit too far. If they’re charging more because of cross-buy, I think it’s a lousy excuse. I mean, not everyone will benefit from this, yet everyone is paying for it.
And besides, the game on Steam is also cross-buy. You buy it once, and you can play it on any computer platform of your choice, be it a Windows PC, a Linux PC (and yes, it’s like an entire different system), and Mac OS (another different platform). Play it on desktop, laptops, windows tablets… Yet, it is still $15.
I may be wrong, but I think it’s pricier on console “just because”.
Anyway, time to go and play the PC version. ;)
@ kitler53,
You are right I guess. Games are always cheaper on PC anyway. But just note that my two Vitas crashed way more in games than my PC ever did in 4 years, so for that “Sony makes sure everything runs smoothly”, well… I can’t really agree. lol! ;)
Can’t wait to play this game. The second this game is on sale for 5$, I will getting it for sure.
Confirming for those wondering, you get the PS4/PS3/Vita versions with the purchase of this and all other pre-order games from the Play 2014 promotion (Rogue Legacy, The Swapper, Hohokum, Counter-Spy)! So all four games are indeed cross-buy on all platforms.
I also fired the game at 3am last night (in NYC), absolutely love the game. It definitely has a Braid-ish feel to it and solving puzzles feels really satisfying. Those of you complaining about the price have only yourselves to blame, they all had 20% discounts to pre-order.
Overall, fantastic game. Huge thanks to Facepalm and Curve (and Sony, of course!) for bringing this experience over to us!
Ah yeah this will be another great game to broadcast can’t wait!!!!!!!!!
This is a fantastic game, for anybody not sure or on the fence. It takes about 4-6 hours to beat, depending on how clever you are at figuring out puzzles.
It’s a dark, mysterious sci-fi puzzle game with a cool story.
There are 2 different endings to see, and you pick which one you want at the end. You can’t see the other one unless you play thru the entire game again! Totally brutal.
Or just look it up on youtube. ;)
I played it on PC, got it from a humble bundle for a couple bucks. Not worth $20 to me, but it’s definitely worth the time.
Enjoy!
I love this game and I have it on Steam. Unfortunately I can’t afford to double-dip at this time. Will definitely get on PS4 at some point.
This is a fun game. I have it on Steam, purchased it a while back for $5. And although I agree the price is a little high, I preordered it for my PS systems this past weekend so I can play it on the go. Great atmosphere, graphics, and intriguing gameplay. You guys should check it out!
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Sony: Where PS4 ‘Greatness’ = Endless Indies
@32.. Yeah.. I hate choice too. It’s awful.
The game looks fantastic and one I would like to try… but $20 is steep for a game I know little about. Demo, maybe.
This game absolutely has one of the best feelings of atmosphere in any game I’ve ever played, period. I even love the sound that plays when you click on a memory terminal. Sounds so much like the original Alien. :)
@23, RE4LNOiZE_42- I’ll place a ban bet here on the blog that you aren’t a game developer.
Yes, porting IS easier than creating… wow, I mean who doesn’t know this. Who’s debating this point anyhow?? But is the porting process by any means an “easy” process in itself? No. Hence, Minecraft isn’t out on the Vita yet when the PS3 released awhile ago.
News flash, it DOES take weeks, months. Indies are not AAA studios, & some AAA studios also take long to port, like Square (FF X).
Additionally, there are costs like development kits, product testing, & licensing fees. Please do some research before discounting the economics of game development.
Out of the 4 games of the Play promotion…this is the one I’m most looking forward to play and also looks like the best one….I’m even thinking on getting it on full price.Game looks great for real,great graphics too,it looks beautiful.
And ha Curve had to be involved…I love you guys.
wow, this game looks nice. the screenshots on psn don’t do it justice. by the way, “facepalm games”? nice name xD