The Body Changer

Let's start with a note: In the description the game claims to be a Metroidvania. This makes no sense, at all. This game is not a metroidvania so don't be fooled by that, while there are rooms connected between each other that's not what makes a game a metroidvania in ANY WAY. This game it's an action adventure full of puzzles and with a funny (even if not that innovative to be honest) mechanic, you can swap your body between human like manikins to resolve puzzles and go further in your adventure. Your mission it's to depure a scientific plant. And this is all about the story for now, let's talk more about the game, shall we? Graphically the game does not offer anything special, the enemy models are color swaps of the same 4 so no variety under this aspect and the scenarios textures are almost nonexistent, of course this could be the developers' choice after all. The musics tracks are few and you are probably going to easily forget there's any music at all, aside for the "battle theme" wich is a 10 seconds theme repeated until the battle ends, really. Story wise the game does not offer anything special, sure it's still in alpha stage but i expected something more than "you are there to fix the mess, bye", after all this is adventure game and the story, at least in my opinion, is really important. Controls are really messy sometimes and the aiming is a real problem, you get no crosshair aside for the "laser" but that does not help that much, maybe that's just a matter of practice but when you are doing the "light balls" puzzles not knowing where you are actually aiming makes these puzzles really frustrating sometimes. The dodge is basically a barrel roll and after a patch you can do it pressing left or right two times, surely easier than before. That and the realoading wich makes you really slow for like 3 seconds makes some battles really hard (and it's not a bad thing) and frustrating in some cases (and this is bad). Puzzles are really easy, in fact the only way to waste time on it is to die because of some glitch (like the deaths sometimes happen in the "mirror rooms") or because enemies hit your uncontrolled character throwing it into the red water killing it without any way to save it, sure you need to be alert so maybe it's just a way to punish you if you get distracted, maybe. You can't save your game whenever you want, the game saves automatically so if the save it's far away from the point of your death... well you got the idea right? I guess this is another discutible choice, not everyone loves such a thing in fact. The map it's so small and there's no way to enlarge it and this makes it. most of the time, completely useless. This is my opinion (for now) about The Body Changer, the game is still in alpha but, to be honest, i haven't seen much changes from the old alpha. The game has been released for less than a week on Steam so the developers have plenty of time to fix some things still, for now and for the price asked, this game it's a No for me. If you still want to buy it you have to know about something, the game does not have an ending yet, infact when you get to the fifth depurator you can't go further (and that's half of the game). So yes you are paying for half of game for now. This is all I've got to say for now, i'm probably going to change my review if something big changes or maybe when the game comes out of Early Access just in case. Until then.

If you want to pay $20 for an unfinished game that looks like it belongs on Dreamcast, here's your chance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big graphics guy. I can easily dig a good game with retro style graphics like Shovel Knight that pays good homage to its era. In comparison, TBC just looks dated (gaming circa 2002) and has probably the ugliest use of cel shading I've ever seen. The game's atmosphere feels sterile void of any charm or interest. And the audio? Completely forgettable, I don't remember a single tune from the game, granted most of the playtime is with the Desura build so this may have changed with the Steam release but from my brief testing, the game appears unchanged from its most recent build on Desura. The gameplay isn't much better. The controls are ultra clunky and the combat reminds me slightly of the old PS2/XBox horror game Cold Fear but have action games come a long way since then and honestly Cold Fear already did it better. The puzzles are easy and occasionally well crafted but don't feel substantial enough to carry the game. It feels like the game was trying to be a mix of something cerebral like Portal and while having action similar to Resident Evil 4 but fell completely flat in both regards. If a developer is going to price their game at the level of some of the 2 year old AAA games, it should be able to hold its own. No, I'm not expecting AAA quality from an indie developer, but the pricing falls in the premium range as far as indie products go therfore I expect something good. This game is far from the indie cream of the crop. TBC fails miserably in many areas and it's simply just not fun to play. I'm glad I won my copy in the winter auction for far less than the regular price. At regular price, the game is far too boring and unpolished to be worth the $$$. There's some honest hard effort evident in this game but good effort is not enough reason to give a recommendation. At least, the game seems to launch more stable in its Steam release, I had to jump through hoops to get the game to simply load through Desura. In comparison I tried loading the game 3 times in Steam and it loaded perfectly each time. (Removed segment about developers and distributing keys to bundle buyers. They eventually gave keys to the Groupees bundle buyers) Keep in mind this is an Early Access game, things could improve in the future and if they do improve I will be willing to re-visit the game and change my recommendation if the game warrants it. As it remains now, the game is a mess and not one I can recommend. (This game was in early access when the review was written. I have not tried it since completed)

When I first saw the screenshots and trailers for the game, I'll be honest, It didn't look too great. Regardless, I gave it a try. And I will say I am impressed. The game was made by 2 people, and I was honestly shocked they could pull it off. This game is full is puzzling scenarios and fun adventures. The story is a bit clunky, but I think the gameplay really makes the game what it is. The controls are good with a controller, which for me personally is a huge plus. This game has been tailored to what the community suggested. I can even run this on my bad laptop. Not just that, but the graphics are great! And the graphics are a new-style unlike I've seen before. It's weird, cool, and ascetically pleasing in a way.I'll be honest to say it's not the best game ever, but it's above ok, FOR SURE! Last but not least, the game isn't the longest game ever, but I'm sure that'll change. If you are looking for a game that requires strategy, and a truly unique experience, pick this game up if YOU fell it looks good :) But if you don't have a controller, the keyboard controls are difficult, for $20 it's not a bad buy, but apparantly more levels and such are being added, so you may want to pick this up! Score: 7.5/10

This game touts itself as being a metroidvania 3D game but honestly it has nothing of the genre. It's a 3D, character changer puzzler with shooter elements. Think 3rd person Gobliiins with guns. I have a limited amount of playtime on Steam, but keep it mind I had the game on Desura from my previous purchase and had played it before. The game is still in early alpha and it shows, very much. Controls and movements are sluggish, graphics are very bland and sterile (the washed out cell shading effect doesn't do it for me), and in my case the game wouldn't even start without completely deactivating audio. The default controls aren't well thought of either and you will find yourself frustratingly deactivating panels while trying to change character. You are thrown into the game with no real explanation but a few engrish lines of text as you go on, teaching you the bare minimum. The atmosphere felt dull, and I got no real entertainment factor. There's a reason no one is playing the game, including those who provided such good reviews. I understand that the game is currently in Early Access, actually it has been in alpha state for nearly 3 years, and I'd be happy to revisit this review if I'm told that any significant improvement has been made regarding these issues. There's also the fact that communications between the developers and the community has been less than stellar, their choice of providing only a subset of their previous customers with a Steam copy of the game they bought, and deleting negative comments on both Steam's community hub and the Desura game page. (Some of those comments were downright nasty but there was also legitimate criticism that got deleted.)

[i]I'm writing this review because [url=https://twitter.com/tsatt_team/status/608245285723226112]the devs asked me to.[/url] [b]Pros[/b] - challenging puzzles (I especially enjoyed the waterfall mechanic!) - solid story background (It's not an RPG) - can run on a potato. I tried running it on my really bad 2gb netbook and I was able to get a solid 30fps. - can run on a gaming rig and still look half-decent. Cel-shaded art doesn't need to look super detailed. [b]Cons[/b] - clunky combat. I'd prefer to dodge-roll with Q or E. Double-tapping A and D in the middle of a fight is really tricky! - The first level requires you to do some MAJOR backtracking to pick up an item. Literally; most of my time in this game was spent trying to figure this out. - clunky Synb/item switching switching system. I feel an action wheel would work better than opening up a separate UI. - You can switch to a Synb in a different level. This is really cool, but I haven't seen the feature used in-game at all. I think it would be cool if you had to use a Synb stuck in another level to activate a switch to progress. (This may be me being an idiot, but what do I know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - ALL OF THE ACHIEVEMENT NAMES ARE IN ALLCAPS. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY. - Personally, I feel that a top-down view with RTS-style controls would work really well for this game. It would certainly make the game easier to play without taking away from the challenge. [b]Conclusion[/b] This game is definitely in its' early stages of development and absolutely needs more polish. In its' current state, it's definitely not worth $20. However, the game's concept is definitely there. When I finally finished the first level, I was on top of the world. I wish the devs the best in making their dream game!

EPILEPSY WARNING: game has intense flashing lights on logo screen as it loads. The devs should warn you about this- it's very irresponsible not to. Store page describes game as a metroidvania. It is not a metroidvania game. Even given the limited grasp of English displayed by some of the text in game the devs should know what a metroidvania is: gaming is a universal language. The game itself is a pedestrian (almost literally, given the slow speed you move, even using the run button) character-switching puzzler. If you played Head over Heels in 1987 you know the kind of thing. The game is too expensive for what it is. If it's 75% off or more and you like this kind of "get the first guy to stand on this pressure pad, move the 2nd guy to here, unlock this door, come back with the 1st guy..." kind of stuff then feel free, but I can't give the game a positive recommendation based on its price and features at the moment.

Bad controls, slow walk speed, and a cold "infested spaceship" setting make this a hard game to get into.

[b]EDIT[/b]: I finally played the game until the end! [b]It's GREAT![/b] Let's summarize: It's a third person shooter with an original body switching mechanic, a lot of puzzles and its own speed and rhythm, sure not frenetic but more calm like old classics. I can't remember any other PC game like this (nice to read I'm not the only one...) so I'm happy to say that this is different game then the usual pc games you see around. So kudos to the devs. [b]PROS:[/b] [list] [*]Very cool and original body switching mechanic [*]Gfx with style, a bit like borderlands [*]Interacting with objects by aiming is a clever idea [*]Great game with a solid combat system (not for sissies? :P) [*]Finding the collectible disks is a nice touch that makes you play more [*]Finally added the metrodvania elements (and new arenas) [/list] [b]CONS:[/b] [list] [*][strike]I would like to see more metroidvania elements[/strike] [*][strike]The game is not finished yet (It's an early access game!)[/strike] [*]If you learn to shoot in the right points and go with the blade MAYBE the game is bit too easy [*][strike]What about weapon upgrades and more enemies to kill here and there, like the worms? :)[/strike] [*]A lot of things to read (is it a cons?), maybe a voice over could make a difference [/list] Personal final verdict: a little gem - [strike]now finish the game!![/strike] 8.5/10.0

An adventure/puzzle game with action elements. I was very surprised the first time I played this game seeing how different characters with different abilities can cooperate to solve complex puzzles. Finding how all the "bodies" can work together to achieve an objective is like playing a single player cooperative game with yourself. A different approach that creates a new experience I really recommend.

Questo gioco è un mix fra un puzzle game in 3D in stile Portal (con alcune differenze!) e un action game in terza persona. Il gioco consiste nel comandare quelli che sembrano degli androidi, ognuno con delle peculiari caratteristiche (chi è in grado di resistere alle acque contaminate, chi utilizza armi, chi capace di fasci di luce che per sbloccare porte,ecc), all'interno di strutture che sono state contaminate; il nostro scopo sarà quello di avanzare stanza dopo stanza e bonificare le aree utilizzando i vari androidi (ecco perchè il nome "The body changer") i quali ci permetteranno di risolvere alcuni enigmi, alcuni risolvibili solo mediante le specifiche caratteristiche dei vari "body"...inoltre alcune sezioni bisognerà affrontarle switchando fra essi ad ogni passo, alcune volte anche in parallelo...questa caratteristica mi è piaciuta molto! in sostanza come accadeva in Portal dove le stanze venivano superate utilizzando i vari portali creati, qui alla stessa maniera avanzeremo utilizzando i vari body...con le dovute differnze ovviamente! La sorpresa è stata quando il gioco si è trasformato in un action puro con tanto di svariate armi a corredo tra cui shootgun con teste spappolate di zombie qua e là...i nemici si alterneranno fra loro secondo il grado di difficoltà...si passa da semplici zombie, a nemici più veloci oppure a quelli più grossi di cui bisognerà individuare i punti deboli per sconfiggerli agevolmente. Una volta presa la mano si riuscirà a effettuare combinazioni pregevoli di kill alternando armi da fuoco e spade con tanto di melee kills. La parte dei combattimenti è un pò macchinosa, andrebbe resa più snella e studiata meglio, infatti la schivata laterale praticamente è quasi preferibile non utilizzarla tranne alcuni casi e le parti con enigmi da risolvere andrebbero aumentate in quanto quelle presenti sono belle e funzionali...comunque l'alternanza di queste due tipologie funziona bene e permette di spezzare il ritmo di entrambe. La grafica in cell shading è bella e si adatta bene allo sile di gioco, gli sfondi e le strutture si vede che sono in fase di sviluppo quindi non mi pronuncio in quanto probabilmente verranno arricchite di particolari. Il gioco è attualmente solo in inglese quindi potrebbe essere, ad un primo approccio, difficile capire cosa fare anche se tutte le stanze sono disseminati di monitor/terminali dal quale prendere informazioni utitli al proseguimento. Attualmente mi mancano sei archivement da sbloccare e il volerli completare aggiunge qualcosa ancora alla sfida. Ultima nota: il gioco è una produzione totalmente Italiana, sono in due, molto disponibili e attenti tra l'altro ai feedback dell'utenza e cmq in un periodo in cui manca, nel nostro paese almeno, un pò di meritocrazia mi sento di incoraggiare questi talentuosi connazionali. Infine consiglio questo gioco in attesa del rilascio della versione definitiva sperando che vengano implementati nuovi stage e svillupate ulteriormente alcune caratteristiche. Promettente!!!