Developer: Team Trap
Publisher: Team Trap
Platforms: PC
Tested on: PC
Swaps and Traps – Review
Ready to get lost in a single screen? Swaps and traps gives you the platformer experience mixed with a unique labyrinth feeling. By collecting keys in the levels, the screen will flip and spin to test your skills (as well as your eyes and necks). Making levels into dizzying puzzles so that even the easiest looking levels are a difficult challenge.
Story
Once upon a time there was a hat that could change everything and everyone. It can change an ordinary man into an evil villain and a normal decent looking fellow into a hero! Mike looks like a decent ordinary man but when he needs to capture the enchanted hat from his evil nemesis Divider he proves to be no pushover. Mike needs to collect the cursed keys to get through each level Divider set up for him to seal the enchanted hat once again.
This enchanted hat can change everything, even the direction and position of the screen. It’s your job to navigate Mike through all the levels and collect all the cursed keys so he can stop Divider and capture the enchanted hat. After making it through a couple of levels, cutscenes will appear to continue the story.
Graphics
The game looks good for a simple, single screen platformer. The simple menu is designed with squares containing the numbers of each level and a small watch at each square will indicate if you’ve beaten the target time. Everything is drawn in a 2D style. All the traps that are integrated in each level coincide with the environment of each world. The background sets the theme of the three worlds. The background is drawn at around the same distance as all the traps and platforms so it’s possible to make a mistake or two while crossing the levels confusing the background for places to stand on, resulting in falling down and crashing into thorns or saw blades. The fairly short cutscenes have simple drawn animation and provide enough information to move on with the story.
Sound
The game is filled with nice playful music. A symphony of electric guitars fills the game with entertaining music. When playing the game for longer periods of time, the music can start to get annoying because there are only a few (non-adjustable) tracks available. Divider will comment almost every time you die. He will laugh at, or ridicule you till it gets annoying. This can result in making you want to quit or encourage you to continue and eventually beat the crap out of him. Also Mike will interact with the player when not moving for a while. This results in some funny comments commanding you to continue playing.
Gameplay
Swaps and Traps can be classified as a platformer with some freak puzzle elements. It gives you the opportunity to test yourself in 100 levels and three different worlds. Thorns, saw blades and other fast moving obstacles will hinder you to get to the end of each level. The gameplay is fairly easy as the only commands you have are moving forward, back and jumping. After picking up a key the level will begin to get obscured by swapping areas on the screen and/or turning them upside down.
The game lets you take a peek at the original state of the level you are in by showing a photo when you press and hold the Tab button. This will help you get through the levels a bit easier when you take it easy completing the levels. This will cost you time though because every level gives you the chance to beat the time set by the creators of the game. It’s a personal thing whether you want to beat all those records or not. These times are fairly possible to beat but you have to be as fast as possible or you won’t make it. Doing this on the first levels will prove to be easy at first but when you get further into the game, the levels keep getting harder and there will be more keys that swap the screen even more to make it a very difficult challenge. Taking a close look on the level beforehand will surely help you beat the times set by the creators but it also requires a bit of skill.
Swaps and Traps can prove to be frustrating as it’s easy to fail often In a short amount of time. The slightest mistake can make you start over again and again. Making it a real challenge to get through every level unscathed. Respawning happens in a matter of seconds so you won’t be waiting to try again.
Conclusion
The concept of this game is amazing: combining a simple one-screen platformer with puzzle elements is a great way of challenging gamers to use their heads before they act. It looks like an easy game but it’s not at all, as you’ll have to keep your wits about in this masochistic puzzle platformer. The game just released and the creators are constantly supporting the game to improve it. If you like platformers and looking for a challenge then this game is definitely worth a try!
Swaps and Traps – Review,
Related Items
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] of puzzle platformer Swaps and Traps, and you’d be right: We’ve covered the PC version before here. The game has made the jump to the Switch now, and although it might look the same, the controls […]