[WARNING: there will be spoilers]

INTRO:
Well, it's been quite some time, hasn't it? It's been around two years since my last review, my controversial opinion regarding Sonic Forces. But I'm not here to talk about Sonic Forces again. I'm going to review a game I've just recently completed, a game I've wanted to play for quite some time. But first, let me tell you about Homestuck. Nah, just kidding. Maybe... Anyway, here's HIVESWAP ACT 1.

CONTEXT:
On April 13, 2009, a man named Andrew Hussie began the newest (and most popular) of his "MS Paint Adventures" webcomics, an adventure titled "Homestuck." Homestuck is about four kids--named John, Rose, Dave, and Jade--who play a video game called Sburb, which causes the destruction of the planet. There are also twelve gray-skinned aliens with horns called "Trolls." That's about as much as I could possibly reveal without turning this into a 26-paragraph essay or without spoiling anything. Just know that the comic concluded in 2016, with an epilogue (or, rather, two) and a sequel just releasing this year. But back to HIVESWAP. Just as the third intermission of the sixth act had begun, a little over 5200 pages in, Hussie announced a new project: an adventure game set in the universe of the webcomic, and started a Kickstarter campaign the same day. A month later, the campaign concluded with almost $2.5 million from almost 25k supporters. This was almost four times the Kickstarter goal. The game was set to release in 2014, but several issues pushed this back... a lot. Heck, it even placed the webcomic in hiatus quite a few times, delaying its conclusion by three years. Yikes. Anyway, five years after the initial campaign, HIVESWAP ACT 1: Kansas City Shuffle was released, as the first of four parts in, in 2017.

GRAPHICS: 9
Remember what I said about the development issues earlier? Well, at one point in development, the game was planned to have 3D graphics. In fact, some early trailers show this. Sadly, due to complications, these were scrapped, but what we got instead is just as nice. The game uses a 2D hand-drawn aesthetic with animation. The art looks fabulous, the colors are amazing, and did I mention that the cutscenes are fully animated? Oh, how this game is a blessing to my eyes. The art style looks almost like a remastered version of Homestuck's art style. I even love the little things, like how the art style changes slightly when going from Earth to the Troll planet, Alternia. My only complaint is that sometimes it can be somewhat hard to see where exactly I'm supposed to go, though I don't exactly know whether or not this is an issue relating to the art style, my monitor, or because of me, but it's a minor issue, regardless. Either way, the game looks fantastic, beautiful, and every other synonym in between.

SOUND: 10
Toby Fox, a longtime composer for Homestuck and creator of Undertale, returns with yet another wonderful soundtrack full of amazing compositions, and this time he's brought a friend! And by friend I mean music lead. The real man behind the soundtrack is newcomer James Roach, with Toby Fox helping him a ton. James would go on to compose for HIVESWAP's spinoff, HIVESWAP Friendsim, and, in turn, its spinoff, Pesterquest. The game's soundtrack, as stated before, is beautiful. Every song fits the tone of the scenario its used in perfectly, and uses a perfect blend of sci-fi, suspense, and silliness. As for the sound design, I have yet to discover any audio bugs or examples where something is too quiet or too loud. The team at What Pumpkin really made sure this product was polished before releasing. Speaking of music, this game, just like Undertale, offers its soundtrack as additional DLC, and is also available on Bandcamp. Definitely worth it in my book.

ADDICTIVE: 9
While the gameplay itself isn't exactly the most engaging, being a point-and-click adventure game, the charm of this genre is the little things on the side: the extra, optional dialogue, if you will. This is what makes you want to come back to the game for more. Another reason of this is the fact that you'll never know what happens next. Just like the webcomic it's based on, HIVESWAP is filled with such zaniness that literally anything could happen to progress the plot. For example, there is one part of the game where you must deliver a pair of marbles from your treehouse to your house via a pigeon. While it is predictable that of the three pigeons, only one would be successful, and the first two would be the unsuccessful ones, the part that's unpredictable is how the first two pigeons were unsuccessful. Not to mention the game itself is relatively short, so completing it will just make you beg for more. You know, talking about the game's writing in the "addictive" section really makes for a perfect transition into the "story" and "depth" sections.

STORY: 9
The plot involves two young children, Joey Claire and Jude Harley, who are left home alone by their father (who actually has a lot of significance in Homestuck) quite frequently. The year is 1994, 15 years before Homestuck begins, during the fall season. The two were playing around in their backyard, when suddenly, out of nowhere, mysterious black and green monsters start attacking. The children are separated, as Joey gets chased into her room by one monster and Jude is left stranded in his treehouse. They communicate to each other via walkie talkie, and after several terrifying encounters with the monsters, Joey heads to the attic, finally obtaining the key for it. She sees this strange machine, which, after activating it, sends her to the Troll planet Alternia, leaving her stranded. Joey later finds out that she had actually switched places with a Troll named Dammek, after communicating with another Troll named Xefros. As it turns out, Xefros and Dammek were trying to start a revolution, but weren't quite successful yet. On Alternia, the Trolls have a caste system based on their blood color, known as the Hemospectrum. The "lowbloods," ranging from rust (burgundy) to gold, are mostly used as servants to the "highbloods," ranging from teal to fuchsia. In the middle are olive and jade bloods, as well as lime bloods, who have been hunted to extinction. Blood that's described as being "candy red" in color is a rare mutated form. Anyway, back to the story. Xefros and Dammek were rust and bronze bloods, respectively, meaning they were the lowest bloods possible. Most of the second half of the game is just Xefros and Joey trying to save each other. While a simple story, there are some unanswered questions, such as what exactly the monsters in the first half of the game were, but they will likely be answered in later acts.

DEPTH: 9
The game is very short, as stated before. However, you could spend hours upon hours reading every bit of dialogue in the game, with the game's clever writing and '90s pop culture references. Bubsy even makes an appearance... for better or for worse. The game also has a lot of lore behind it. Much of the lore is explained in-game, but is made richer with an understanding of the original webcomic.

DIFFICULTY: 5
Again, being a point-and-click adventure game, there isn't a whole lot of difficulty here. Much of the game is just clicking on the right objects to progress. However, the game has its moments, particularly with its puzzles. The STRIFE segments with the monsters are some of the best moments in the entire game, requiring you to make clever use of the items in your Sylladex (inventory). Other puzzles can be quite tricky, with one puzzle being a game of Snake which requires you to memorize the correct letters in an alphabet that doesn't even exist.

OVERALL: 9.7
Just like the webcomic before it, HIVESWAP ACT 1 has its flaws, but it's definitely one of the greatest games I've ever played, and one of the greatest point-and-click adventure games of all time. While playing it, I felt like I was experiencing a decade I wasn't even born in all over again! As a Homestuck fan, this game is amazing. Through the eyes of someone who has never read or heard of Homestuck, it's still an enjoyable experience. Just be warned if you're wishing to enjoy other Homestuck-related media (the original webcomic, Friendsim, Pesterquest, etc.), as it isn't meant for younger audiences... at all.