Verlet Swing: hookshot hallucination bonanza! (Switch)
We've all wanted to swing at breakneck speeds between giant hot dog sausages and spinning pizza slices at some point in our lives, right?
Actually... probably not. But we should - it's damn fun!
Verlet Swing was on sale on the Nintendo Switch for just over £3 and one look at the trailer told me all I needed to know before I hit purchase.
This first-person swinging experience makes you feel like a superhero inside some kind of bizarre hallucination.
The premise is simple; get from the start to the goal. How you do that is largely up to you.
It starts off easy, with the first 10 or so levels gradually introducing the mechanics.
With the trigger buttons you launch a sort of energy hookshot which instantly tethers you to your target (not all objects can be hooked though).
Time it right and gravity will give you a great deal of momentum as you swing, un-tether and launch yourself madly towards your next target.
You can also control your direction with the analogue stick to help with trickier swings, for example horizontal ones around corners or edges.
It has to be said, the physics just feel great. Once you get a feel for it and start maximising your momentum you can really fly.
It's made all the more entertaining by the scenery, which comprises varying combinations of flying foodstuffs, exploding statues, flying animals, furniture, machinery and much more.
While each of the levels do seem to have a rough designated path, it's a great deal of fun to try your own out.
A spinning/moving object can generate a great deal of momentum for you, for example, so correctly utilizing something like that - or another strategically placed object - could be the key to skipping a lot of finicky rope work if you get your timings right.
Touching the ground or any of the scenery will result in death, but thankfully restarts are really quick, which keeps repeated death on the harder courses from becoming tedious. In fact levels load up very quickly in general.
In addition to the 100 main levels, there are also a variety of challenge modes to unlock and play.
Audio-wise the rope tethers with a satisfying whip-crack sound effect and the music, in the stages I've done so far, help me slip into a trance-like state of concentration and amusement after a little while.
In terms of the visuals, I like the vaporwave style and the color combinations each of the level sets used.
This is a virtual playground made of colossal burgers, hot dog missiles, flying dolphins and boulder sized meatballs being cannon-balled into the sky! What more could anyone want?
I do get the sense this sort of game would work better with keyboard and mouse in terms of accuracy.
But I tweaked the settings to make the analogue stick sensitivity a bit higher and that seems alright for me.
I'm about 80-odd levels through the main set so far and totally loving it, despite the knowledge that my luck and limited skill may well dry up in the last 15 levels - Wish me luck!
Have you played Verlet Swing? Let me know your thoughts below!
Actually... probably not. But we should - it's damn fun!
Verlet Swing was on sale on the Nintendo Switch for just over £3 and one look at the trailer told me all I needed to know before I hit purchase.
This first-person swinging experience makes you feel like a superhero inside some kind of bizarre hallucination.
It starts off easy, with the first 10 or so levels gradually introducing the mechanics.
With the trigger buttons you launch a sort of energy hookshot which instantly tethers you to your target (not all objects can be hooked though).
Time it right and gravity will give you a great deal of momentum as you swing, un-tether and launch yourself madly towards your next target.
You can also control your direction with the analogue stick to help with trickier swings, for example horizontal ones around corners or edges.
It has to be said, the physics just feel great. Once you get a feel for it and start maximising your momentum you can really fly.
Launching yourself through tight gaps or across crazy distances and right into the goal is fantastic fun.I picked up #VerletSwing cheap in a #NintendoSwitch sale - anyone else played this?— Stevo (@JetSetStevo) January 18, 2020
It's awesome and weird! ^_^ #GamersUnite pic.twitter.com/pp82a6ojKW
It's made all the more entertaining by the scenery, which comprises varying combinations of flying foodstuffs, exploding statues, flying animals, furniture, machinery and much more.
While each of the levels do seem to have a rough designated path, it's a great deal of fun to try your own out.
A spinning/moving object can generate a great deal of momentum for you, for example, so correctly utilizing something like that - or another strategically placed object - could be the key to skipping a lot of finicky rope work if you get your timings right.
Touching the ground or any of the scenery will result in death, but thankfully restarts are really quick, which keeps repeated death on the harder courses from becoming tedious. In fact levels load up very quickly in general.
In addition to the 100 main levels, there are also a variety of challenge modes to unlock and play.
Audio-wise the rope tethers with a satisfying whip-crack sound effect and the music, in the stages I've done so far, help me slip into a trance-like state of concentration and amusement after a little while.
In terms of the visuals, I like the vaporwave style and the color combinations each of the level sets used.
This is a virtual playground made of colossal burgers, hot dog missiles, flying dolphins and boulder sized meatballs being cannon-balled into the sky! What more could anyone want?
But I tweaked the settings to make the analogue stick sensitivity a bit higher and that seems alright for me.
I'm about 80-odd levels through the main set so far and totally loving it, despite the knowledge that my luck and limited skill may well dry up in the last 15 levels - Wish me luck!
Have you played Verlet Swing? Let me know your thoughts below!
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