Obviously since half my blog is Friendsim art, I was looking forward to ACT 2 a lot. It did not take the 2-3 hours of gameplay I expected so holy shit I’m still processing since it took me all day to get through it, but uh. Boy those sure were some feelings I wasn’t ready for!
Unfortunately I started playing on Wednesday, and got myself stuck on a showstopper, so I had to replay the first part. The update came out though, so I hope that fixed the issue! (I didn’t bother to test it, but... At least it made playing back up to that point quicker)
It was kind of weird to have played a mini game and then to not find it back at all, though. Same for a lot of dialogue! And in a way it’s good, because it streamlines the first two parts, but... Compared to the rest of the game it feels so empty now? Like, those two hives don’t have much to them, yet the rest of the game is just so full of everything.
Getting stuck like that keeps me from giving the game a perfect score, but...
But damn if it didn’t give me everything I wanted! Although, in all honesty, my wishlist was pretty much covered by “Joey meeting Elwurd” or “Joey seeing Stelsa and Tyzias together” just so she could see wlw are real, and... I mean, that criteria’s already met before I initially got stuck, so go figure.
Anyway, this game is just as gorgeous as the first one! I kind of liked how dynamic the backgrounds were more in the first one just because the mansion feels so lived in and odd, and train cars only get you so far - That sure is an opinion that only lasted until we got to the weird layout of the highblood cars, though, because those did not disappoint. The contrast between those and the lowblood ones also make for a very satisfying combination so it works very well.
There’s so many characters in this, and everything - other than the empty hives in the beginning - feels so polished and filled. I was worried the many swaps professionally perhaps would’ve resulted in a game with lower polish, but nope. There’s unique dialogue for pretty much anything and everyone, which is not a small feat considering how huge this cast is.
(For some reason there’s also just a huge Ace Attorney intermezzo, which... Is also a franchise I’m a huge fan of, and it was executed very well, so that sure was exciting and stressful.)
There’s this weird thing about Hiveswap ACT 1 that made it possible to recommend to people who know nothing about HS, and I wouldn’t worry about it in the slightest. ACT 2 mostly is fine that way as well, but the emotional rollercoaster it sent me on when it flipped from “Joey making her way through a train filled with gay girls and boys are only good for one thing” to uh, utter heartbreak, kind of makes me heed with caution a little more.
However, if you have read Homestuck, or played Friendsim... Honestly, you’re right that I’m a fool for thinking we were playing a wholesome game to begin with.
Did I cry while playing it: No, but only barely because Joey needed me to stay strong for her. *slaps on a moustache* I’M HER NEW DAD NOW.
It’s hard to rec this one on it’s own, but I love ACT 1 so much I’d 100% rec that to anyone who loves point and clicks! It doesn’t require knowledge from HS or anything, it’s a lot shorter, and I think it’ll be a good enough indication for whether you want to get on this ride or no!
