Swap Heroes Review

Swap Heroes is a puzzle game with some light RPG elements and some Roguelike sensibilities. Players control a group of four adventurers, all of whom have unique stats and and special swap abilities. With a pretty unique set of mechanics and a pretty ruthless difficulty curve, Swap Heroes is a is a pretty great game, although it isn't for everybody.

As its name suggests, Swap Heroes revolves around players switching their heroes around on the battlefield. At any given time, three heroes are on the front lines unleashing their regular attacks while the fourth hero rests behind their compatriots and powers up for a special move. The point of the game is to take advantage of each hero's strengths to defeat wave after wave of enemies.

After defeating each set of enemies, Swap Heroes offers players a chance to upgrade their party using gold they earned off of their defeated foes. This comes in the form of four, randomized power-ups that can increase any given hero's strength, health, or special powers. Although this adds a sense of persistence to the experience, the fact that these power-ups are completely random can mess up any given run, which is a bit disappointing.

After defeating a certain number of waves, players get to move on to a new level complete with new enemy types that are more difficult. The game continues this progression until players make it to the end or until one hero is defeated. At the end of every play session, players are rewarded a mysterious purple currency that can be used to unlock new heroes.

With all this working together Swap Heroes is a pretty satisfying game, but it's definitely not perfect. Although the swapping mechanic makes every battle require planning and strategy, and unlocking new characters allows players to change up their play style, it would be nice if the upgrades that are presented between stages were less random as some upgrades are presented before they're useful or affordable. In addition, the game only boasts eight total characters (four of which are unlockable), which can make it feel repetitive after a few playthroughs.

Luckily, Swap Heroes presents a pretty gnarly challenge to players trying to complete it, so anyone looking for an extra difficult game would probably find a lot to like in it. Honing the perfect party and using them as efficiently as possible is what makes Swap Heroes click. If players are not very accustomed to this style of play they may feel disappointed, but otherwise Swap Heroes is worth checking out.