With Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To, worker-owned studio Soft Not Weak takes the match-3 puzzle genre and builds out a visual novel and dating simulator on top of it, then ties it all together with a killer lo-fi soundtrack. Each of these parts, independently, are lovely, but pulled together, Spirit Swap has became my comfort puzzle game, updating a well-trod genre into something that’s much more than just a time-killer.
Playing as Samar, the spirit-swapping witch, you’ll mingle around town as a group of friends prepares for a highly-anticipated concert from everyone’s favorite band. Meanwhile, spirits are everywhere, and it’s match-3 gameplay that rids ’em from the world. You’ll run from house to business to flirting with friends as you pull the narrative together, making decisions on what to do and who to date. Most of these sequences end with a match-3 session, which is given more depth as you unlock abilities granted by the other characters; the main gameplay requires you to line up spirits into patterns to poof them away, but the abilities, for instance, allow for new patterns or different disruptions. Like any good match-3 game, Spirit Swap is endlessly replayable; the random elements make it so you’re never quite sure how it’ll go. Though the lo-fi beats make Spirit Swap undeniably chill, the match-3 elements can get quite chaotic and exciting.
Where Spirit Swap stands out even more is with its joyful color palette and vibrant, diverse, queer cast; the moments before match-3 gameplay aren’t anything I want to skip. These are characters I’ve come to love to check in on, even hours into the game. The dreamy world and its characters are lush and full of life. The music, too, is something I find myself craving even when I’m not playing. It’s both spooky and chill in the best ways; the witchy flair pairs nicely with its beats. (Thankfully for me, the soundtrack by meltycanon is available on Bandcamp.)
Though the main Spirit Swap campaign is only a couple hours worth of playtime, there’s more to do in building friendships and relationships even after the concert has passed. The campaign acts more as an introduction to the world’s characters, with plenty more dates to follow. You can simply play the match-3 parts, too, if the visual novel isn’t your thing. When I’m looking for something that’s both comforting and equally chaotic, Spirit Swap is the game I pick up.
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