Swap This! (Nintendo Switch) Review

The purpose? Match four or more colours, watch them "blow up," raise your score while at it, repeat until bored... and that concludes this review.

No, just kidding - but, in many ways, that's exactly what Swap This! is; just another match puzzler. Oh, sure the blocks aren't just blocks, but all kinds of vibrantly coloured fish that you "liberate" from their frozen prison, and send to the sea, but, in the end, that doesn't really change the fact that you have probably been there and done that - multiple times.

There are, of course, several modes to spice things up. Minute Match has you trying to amass the highest possible score in a minute; Wave Mode requires wiping out a certain amount of blocks and outrunning the clock; Fish Fight swaps the countdown with a giant fish that you push back by (what else?) quickly blasting blocks; and, finally, Puzzle offers a couple of... err, puzzles, which basically increase the challenge, but throw away the clock.

Yes, Swap This! can definitely be fun. For starters, three out of the four available modes greatly value quick fingers, thus while a simple matching puzzler, it can become quite adrenaline-pumping. The gameplay leans so much towards high speeds, in fact, that many will have a hard time getting their foot off the pedal, and focus on creating chain reactions, making a smarter use of the power-ups, or getting rid of those pesky sea urchins.

Sadly, most will see what this has to offer in less than an hour, and it will also be painfully obvious that this doesn't carry the necessary depth to keep you playing. In its defence, it's easy to pick up and play, its summer look and sound is relaxing and "transports" you to the beach, and the price isn't just right, but awesome.

Furthermore, it also helps that, currently, there aren't many representatives of the genre on Switch, despite its extensive library of casual-friendly indies, not to mention that this is an exclusive title. It should be noted that, while this isn't a touch screen-only deal, the alternative is the motion-controlled pointer of the Joy-Con, which definitely feels inferior to just doing all of your swapping on the screen.