HIVESWAP: ACT 1

Adventure· RPG· Point & Click· Great Soundtrack

Released Sep 2017

A hand-drawn tribute to hilarious '90s adventure games (with none of the accompanying frustration). Play as Joey Claire, a puzzle-solving teen snatched out of her time (1994) and place (Earth) and stranded on a hostile alien planet on the brink of rebellion.

92% positive · 4,053 reviews

Not yet

Released, but content still planned

High confidence

Content Planned

Not yet

Released, but content still planned

High confidence

Content Planned

Where to buy

Steam Updated 3 Oct 2026 Lowest $1.19 $7.99 −85% Green Man Gaming Steam key Updated 12 Oct 2026 $7.99

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Evaluation

HIVESWAP: Act 1 launched on September 14, 2017 as the first installment of a planned four-part series set in Andrew Hussie's Homestuck universe. The store page describes it as "just getting started," explicitly positioning it as part one of four, with a companion game called Hauntswitch also promised, and a direct continuation in Act 2. The previous evaluation flagged deep uncertainty due to over six years of silence following the October 2019 Act 2 announcement. That concern has now been resolved by significant new activity: on September 23, 2026, the developer released a free playable demo for HIVESWAP: ACT 3, with its own Steam store page (App ID 4769040). This demo introduces a new playable character — Cridea Jeevik — and previews the game's new mechanics and setting. The release of an ACT 3 demo confirms that the series is still actively moving forward, well beyond where the previous silence suggested development may have stalled. The broader series commitment (four acts plus Hauntswitch) remains outstanding, and ACT 3 itself has not yet released in full. The developer is demonstrably still working on the franchise.

Evidence

A free demo for HIVESWAP: ACT 3 was released on September 23, 2026, featuring a new playable character and previewing the next installment in the series.

news post · Sep 23, 2026 source content planned

high

The store description explicitly states Act 1 is 'the first of a four-part series' with a companion game (Hauntswitch) to follow, and ends with 'the adventure continues in ACT 2,' framing the game as part of a larger, ongoing story.

description source content planned

high

Content

1 of 1 released · no outstanding content

Released

HIVESWAP: Act 1 Original Soundtrack

Sep 2017

Media

Details

Developer

What Pumpkin Games, Inc.

Publisher

What Pumpkin Games, Inc.

Achievements

Platform

Windows, macOS, Linux

Controller

—

Steam Deck

Playable

Players

Single-player

Adventure Point & Click Great Soundtrack RPG Indie Memes Female Protagonist Aliens Story Rich Cute Puzzle 2D Atmospheric Exploration Sci-fi

About this game

Monsters in the yard. Monsters in the house. Monsters in the hall, beating on your door. Your brother's trapped in his treehouse, so he’s not gonna be much help. You're going to have to get yourself out of this. But where did they come from? How are you supposed to deal with this? Well, certainly not by cowering in your room. That's for, uh, cowards.

First things first. You need to open the door.

A LOVE LETTER TO '90s ADVENTURE GAMES

...without the accompanying frustration. As fun and well-paced as you generously remember them being. No dream-logic solutions, no hearing the same “those items don’t work together” message over and over. HIVESWAP has unique responses for everything you can try. Spend hours trying everything on everything, if you want to -- but not because you have to. Learn about the characters by exploring their homes! But like, in a good way! No audio logs split up and scattered around -- GUARANTEED.

HAND-ANIMATED IN TWO DIMENSIONS

Strange homes to explore, every room brimming with secrets. The world of HIVESWAP is beautiful and alive, from its hyper-detailed environments to its gorgeous fully-rendered animations. Come take a look!

MUSIC TO MAKE YOU WEEP

An eclectic, ambitious, genre-spanning soundtrack, featuring contributions from Undertale’s Toby Fox and, regrettably, at least one third-wave ska song. Also featuring at least one pseudo-revolutionary garage rock duo, with regrets of their own.

WORLDS TO SEE, TEENS TO BE

Play as JOEY CLAIRE, EXTRAORDINAIRE, a teen trapped in her room *and* in 1994. Play as JUDE HARLEY, BIZARRELY, her kid brother, trapped in his treehouse. Play as XEFROS TRITOH, ALIEN REBEL, wait. Aliens?

JUST GETTING STARTED

HIVESWAP: ACT 1 is the first of a four-part series set in Andrew Hussie’s Homestuck universe, with a companion game, Hauntswitch, to follow. Continue your save from chapter to chapter, then from game to game, to carry your story, choices, friendships and frenemies across them all--then do it again! Once released, HIVESWAP and Hauntswitch will be playable in either order. Haven’t read Homestuck? That’s fine! This game is set in 1994! Homestuck hasn’t even been invented yet!

And then...

the adventure continues in ACT 2.