Swelter is a story-driven mod set several years before the events of Half-Life 2. It explores the internal tensions within the Resistance during their rebellion against the Combine in a post-Soviet Central Asian city, encircled by the scorching steppe.
TLDR: 10/10. Story - 7, Gameplay - 8, Visuals - 10, Music - 12, Performance - completely adequate.
The story is 7/10. The pitch made me expect more, but overall the delivery served its purpose. The pacing in the middle could've been better (it's on par with Highway 17's story pacing, which was criticised by Laidlaw himself), and the ending was rather abrupt. But it's an above average story/execution combo, and the little side plots and encounters help carry it. The actors - I played with the English dub - all did their best with the delivery.
The gameplay is 8/10. Combat isn't outstanding, but it isn't bad. The enemy AI rarely has a chance (or setup) to shine, but it's miles better than SDE. The puzzles were overall good, with some classic setups, some very inventive ones, some overly telegraphed ones, and some unfortunate ones toward the end (not obtuse, but just unlucky in execution). Most of the time they're a simple idea but it's the in-world setup/justification that had to be convincing. They work. They're much better now than in SDE.
In the beginning and middle of the game I had so little trouble, it didn't prepare me for the trouble of the 3rd chapter. It was the least fun part, although it still came with a few last new features like charging. It didn't gel together with altered weapon mechanics and animations.
The vehicle controls were very smooth and obedient. The steppe is full on eye candy, but doesn't have a lot to offer in terms of exploration, and what's there is given away by the radar - there's no point (it seems) to try exploring the rocky formations or dead ends; there's never a hidden reward and very few easter eggs in relation to the vast area size.
The visuals are 10/10. The beginning chapter and the scale of the steppe easily earn it, even though toward the end I ran into a bit of attention fatigue from all the detail (and, admittedly, some unavoidable repetition). The solid, consistent art direction excuses whatever few incidents happen with lighting, reused props from other games, or other minor things. Add to it clever and inventive kitbashing of Combine props, and you've won me over.
Swelter is very immersive. There's a vast supply of curiosities. Walking through the city and taking screenshots was exactly like visiting a southern city and taking photos (and yes, I would take the same kind of photos of dilapidated buildings, charismatic cracked walls, abandoned vehicles, graffiti, and signs in a language I don't speak). The steppe kept providing vista after vista and reveal after reveal with insertions of carefully put together set pieces (although I wished for a bit of global difference between its 3 or 4 maps in a row). The Nexus could be a template of how to fix HL2's Nexus, fix its unrealised potential.
The music is 12/10. All the new tracks are just fantastic. Energetic, smart, unpredictable, sometimes with that Eastern touch that comes off just right. I'm glad it both remakes HL1 tracks occasionally and uses straight up HL music - this is just how I prefer it.
I had exceedingly low number of bugs in the game, and very steady performance.
All in all, it was worth the wait.
Amazing mod with absolutely beautiful environments and gorgeous soundtrack
Boy!!! oh boy!! This mod is fantastic. Is a 10 out of 10! From my POV it has all the elements I just love in a mod, a completely new story plot that takes advantage of the great Half-Life Universe, realistic weaponry, and realistic combat missions. Also, the narrative is a total blast with a simple goal: infiltrate the altern anarchist resistance and "make amends" with Rokie his rebel-charismatic leader... And in the journey to fulfill your mission you, as a gamer, will have plenty of time to reflect if you want to endorse the mainstream Lambda resistance or just use your freedom to endorse the anarchists. It is simple but delightfully done! Combat, for example, is always intense and realistic, the maps ooze quality and almost feel like an official valve product, the interaction between characters is fantastic, and the story-tell is brilliantly developed inside the mod, and I insist, that possibly aside from Half-Life 1 & 2 games, I have never felt this "engage" for any story in any game before, not even in other FPS such as Crysis... So yeah I love Swelter, indeed I liked it so much that I just replay some parts of the mod for the sake of getting the whole achievements completed. In conclusion, I'd love to see another mod from the SNDE Team, as it would be fantastic to at least have a HL2 mod trilogy, you know, the first being Snowdrop Escape (another fantastic mod brother); then the second being this one Swelter, and I don't know possibly a third one could be Snowdrop 2 that has chances to become another fantastic mod. I just can say "Long live to Swelter and their team" for mods like this I still play Half-Life after 20-something years of its release!
Great mod!
The mod has some of the largest and most visually impressive maps. The setting has not been seen until now. The technical execution is also at a high level. I highly recommend!
The followup to one of my all time favorite Half-Life 2 mods is ALSO one of my all time favorites! A very uncommon setting for a Source mod,it continues Snowdrop's innovative gameplay tweaks that sets it apart from most. I had a save corrupt near the end, but it didn't repeat when I replayed the section. I'm also a sucker for levels that feel like real places!
Thanx!
It has its share of story and gameplay shortcomings, but fresh setting, atmosphere and creativity make me forgive them all.
This russian Half-Life 2 mod goes hard for real.
The mod has good map designs, setting, story, the good gameplay looks like that of Call of Duty.