To answer your first question right off the bat: no, I don’t know what “verlet” means. But I do know what “swing” means, and it describes this game pretty well. Verlet Swing has players swinging around like Spider-Man through bizarre landscapes, using a first person view to really make your head spin. It’s one of those games that comes out of nowhere and is all too easy to skip past, but you might do yourself a favor if you give it a try.
Gameplay in Verlet Swing is physics-based. You play by sending out ropes that attach to various surfaces, and then swinging on those ropes to reach the goal. If you touch anything along the way, you have to start over. Swinging around is fun, but there is very little room for error. There are a few easy stages to get you used to the mechanics and everything, but after that, the game tosses you right into it. It can get frustrating, especially if your aim is a bit off and you attach your rope to the wrong surface. That actually happens a lot more often than I would like. This isn’t a casual game, despite how it may look; Verlet Swing demands your focus. But generally speaking, it never seems unfair, and the feeling when you swing at just the right angle is awesome.
Despite the superhero similarity, though, you won’t be swinging around skyscrapers. Instead, Verlet Swing features a bizarrely surreal landscape. You swing along Roman columns, Maoi heads, spinning life preservers, bubbles, giant CDs, and more. The low-poly neon visuals are both unique and familiar at the same time, and the developers have laid things out in a way that introduces new objects steadily throughout the levels. It doesn’t feel as repetitive as one would expect given how many levels there are, though I do wish the overall visual themes changed a bit more.
I actually ended up having a lot more fun with Verlet Swing than I expected. The high difficulty out the gate and the aim issues were a bit discouraging, but the bizarre landscapes and smooth physical kept me coming back. It’s a nice game to pick up and play, which makes it a great fit for the Switch. If you aren’t easily discouraged, I recommend giving this one a try.
On the cutting edge of early 90's technology, Jake entered the world of gaming through edutainment titles like The Oregon Train and Number Munchers. His first true video games were Sonic the...
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