I find Hiveswap: Act 2 to be a particularly difficult game to review. If you backed this game on kickstarter nearly a decade ago and played through Act 1, then sure, it's worth sinking a few hours into, I recommend it. But if not, if you're a fan of narrative storytelling, if you're a fan of adventure games, heck, even if you're a ~Homestuck Fan~ then, eeehhh.. It's still not such an easy recommendation.

The game's got problems.

Don't get me wrong, the art is beautiful, the soundtrack has got some major bangers (already threw some into my exercise playlist, what's good), even the animation is pretty nice. Sure, the animation is choppy and a little rough, but it's got a sort of old-shcool point-and-click adventure game charm to it that really works. The visual and audio aspect of the game is great, no problems there; like, for real, look up the anime sprites and the song from the conductors cabin and you'll have a pretty good idea of the weight this game can pull artistically. In terms of narrative, character, pacing, and gameplay though? Oofy doofy, that's a tough one.

We have to get into big time spoiler territory here, folks. Suffice to say the puzzles and gameplay are by far the weakest aspects of this game. You may as well be reading a Young Adult novel about Alternia.

##BIG FAT SPOILERS ABOUT BASICALLY ALL ASPECTS OF THE GAME BELOW##

Maybe this one is on me, maybe it's because I played Hiveswap: Act 1 four years ago, but the opening to this game felt very jarring to me. We're told that our objective is to go to a party we previously never heard of (Jeevik Week) to meet somebody we've previously never heard of (Cridea Jeevik) so that we can... Help the rebellion? Get Joey back to Earth? It's all very vague, though I suppose Joey isn't supposed to have clear information at this point. Of course, we have to actually get to Jeevik Island, but before that we have to get to the train that will get us to Jeevik Island.

And this is probably the weakest point of the game, the opening act. The motivation is thin, the setting feels contrived, and it sets the tone for all the puzzles and progression going forward. That is to say, it all feels very railroaded, and this is before boarding a literal linear train! From the start of the game, the progression follows a simple path of moving from the left screen to the right screen and finding the single item or talking to the single person necessary to progress; there is very little problem solving or thinking involved. A sharp microcosm of this issue can be seen in the bee farm (apparently owned by a fella named Zebede? Idk, I didn't play Friendsim); this environment features all sorts of elements: beehives, fruit plants, a windmill, a mind-honey well, a fruit press, even a hive interior! Plenty of pieces to get the gears turning, just begging to be used in some sort of weird and intricate puzzle! So how do you clear this screen? You knock a book off a shelf and learn a skill you literally never use in the game ever again. Amazing.

This really is my major critique of the game. There is no exploration, no problem solving, no gameplay. It really is just moving from left to right, encountering a (usually highly contrived) obstacle, and finding the single person to talk to to clear it. The world is interesting enough, and it's very fun to see Alternia outside the context of Homestuck, with tons and tons of unique trolls to meet, and even to examine the finer points of Alternian society and the consequences of the Hemospectrum casting system (even if Xefros very blatantly explains the real-world parallel and moral at the end), but this narrative could have just as easily been told in a short story; it doesn't feel like an adventure game, it doesn't feel like this game's status as a video game actually does anything for it. Anyway, once you actually get past the opening to the game and onto the train, I actually feel like things pick up a little bit. In lieu of writing out my bloviated thoughts on the rest of the game, here's a power ranking of each of the train cars:

• Rust/Bronze Car [4/6] - Literally all of the points for this car come from the music and the fantastic visuals. Seeing dozens of unique trolls full of personality crammed into a dingy car is just great. The puzzle here is boring and sucks.

• Gold/Olive Car [2/6] - Conflict is weak, puzzles are weaker. I literally cleared the strife on my first try, I didn't even know what was going on. Suppose this car gave Xefros an opportunity to drop an explanation of Troll quadrants that's too trite for Homestuck veterans and probably too vague/confusing for Homestuck neophytes

• Jade/Teal Car [5/6] - Oh this is where the game went! Maybe they actually put too much problem solving into this one, because boy is the trial long and convoluted! Though as an Ace Attorney fan, I actually quite enjoyed this car, and found myself with a weird affection for everyone involved in the trial by the end

• Blue/Indigo [1/6] - Look, the most contrived puzzle so far! And we get to do it three times? And the music and visuals aren't nearly as fun as any other car? I think I'd like that cute blue blood to gouge my eyes out after all ::::)

• Purple [3/6] - The obstacle for this car is actually pretty good, the reveal is dramatic, and the characters are fun but... Of course the puzzle is solved with backtracking and talking, no actual creative problem solving. The resolution is genuinely pretty surprising though, which is cool!

• Violet/Fuchsia [6/6] - Yes!! Here it is! Point-and-click adventure video games! We did it, we made it! We get to use items on stuff and solve a weird and intricate puzzle! Oh, and the music kicks absolute major ass? I don't even care that the puzzle is kinda janky and hard to follow at times (why couldn't I use telekinesis on the lever at the end?), it doesn't matter!

So, yeah, I enjoyed my time with Hiveswap: Act 2, for sure. The download code got dropped into my email inbox, so it was worth spending nearly eight hours with (I'm a slow reader, get off my back). The writing feels sloppy and confused, and many of the UX aspects felt unpolished, but the game's get enough going for it that- Holy shit I just remembered-

What the fuck was that ending??