Age Appropriate for this game?

[Devias]

What would you consider the appropriate age for this game? My kids are interested in it and I don't know anything about Homestuck or this game other than it's getting good reviews and looks like a decent point and click adventure.

It's rated E and I based on what I've read the content seems to only go "as far as" depicting bad parenting decisions and toxic friendships, stuff they already deal with in school. I'm not a helicopter parent by a long shot, but seeing as I know nothing about the huge sprawling story around Homestuck, I'd rather know ahead of time if this game ends up having some sort of innocense shattering "pick your friend up from the psych ward because they tried to commit suicide after being roofied by the school bullies" type of situation.

Thanks!

[NewMoonShadow]

Well, one of the characters is shown to be unhealthily dependant on his friend, who takes advantage of this dependance to control him and take all of his stuff for himself. But's it's not actually shown happening, only being talked about in text conversations.

[MBI]

This game is definitely a lot more child friendly than Homestuck, although it's still pretty dark at times. The thing Homestuck (and this game) is, the line between "silly" and "serious" is very, very thin; the tone of the work switching on a dime. Jokes can have dark undertones, horrifying facts about the world the characters live in can have humourous undertones. At one point in this game, a pet pigeon is eaten alive, and the owner responds with a hilarious horrified expression.

So far though, there's nothing in this game that will destroy their innocence, though this is only part one of four.

Still, if they're interested in the game, it's very possible they've already read Homestuck.

[Devias]

My kids have enjoyed Undertale, Stanley Parable, Telltale's Minecraft, and oddly, Jazzpunk, and while there was some let's say 14 year old humor and situations in all those games, it wasn't bad. I'm all for Hiveswap if it's roughly that same level of maturity.

[Sword Princet]

I don't know how old your kids are, but if you already know about the bad parent/friend stuff and they've played Undertale, this game should be fine for them. Homestuck itself is quite a bit more mature than the Hiveswap game (if the question was about that, I might give a different answer). If they aren't familiar with Homestuck, then it isn't necessary in order to play (the game takes place before anything in Homestuck) and they'll be fine playing.

[Qweakster]

Act 1 of HIVESWAP is way cleaner than Act 1 of Homestuck in terms of language.
And it's cleaner than all of Homestuck that I've read actually (which is to Act 6 or so).
It is a bit sad at first, with many messages popping up on Joey and Jude's dead mother, and almost nonexistent father.
Their babysitter isn't a very good one, and the entire house is in disarray.
It is also heavily implied that their babysitter drinks quite often (which is true. source: Homestuck).
Joey is also somewhat a jerk to her brother, but only because he's completely paranoid about everything, and won't stop bugging her about it.
Parts that come slightly later in Act 1, spoiler alert:
on the alien planet, Alternia, things are quite different from Earth.
Aliens are murdered or treated like literal trash based on their blood color. This is talked about more in Homestuck, and mspaintadventureswiki has a page on it titled: the Hemospectrum.
When Joey (the player) arrives on Alternia she learns that the planet is on the brink of rebellion, with cities being burned and the Hive (house) she's in is littered with various guns.
The rest of the Act focuses on understanding what's going on, while recieving help from a Troll.
But I would definitely say that it's kid-appropriate, with practically no language at all, and the first Act focusing on introductions and relations.

[Devias]

Awesome, thanks guys. From what I've seen of this game it's going to be right up my kid's alley, and now that I know it's not age inappropriate it's going to be a definite buy for me.

[❦K'yor˗ˋest (∞³)]

This game is cool for the kids too!

[QuatermassAU]

The webcomic isn't, though. I'd say it might be a PG-13 or R (well, I'm Aussie, so I'd say M or MA15+, or the Brits would have 12 or 15). There's a lot of language and violence.

[Qweakster]

Originally posted by QuatermassAU:

The webcomic isn't, though. I'd say it might be a PG-13 or R (well, I'm Aussie, so I'd say M or MA15+, or the Brits would have 12 or 15). There's a lot of language and violence.

It would be rated R here in da USA.

[Appletuns]

I've gone through the whole game, and maybe a bit of a spoiler, but The worst language is an easter egg- if you use Byers(the pigeon) on a vent in Dammek's hive, Joey will remark about how 'that bird is the baddest ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bird' she's ever seen, but only 2.7% of players have even seen that easter egg, so be wary about that. Good luck!!

[Takfloyd]

Originally posted by Devias:

My kids have enjoyed Undertale, Stanley Parable, Telltale's Minecraft, and oddly, Jazzpunk, and while there was some let's say 14 year old humor and situations in all those games, it wasn't bad. I'm all for Hiveswap if it's roughly that same level of maturity.

Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale, is a protege of Homestuck's author and even lived in his basement while making the game. Toby also contributed music to Hiveswap, as he did for Homestuck itself. Anyone who likes Undertale is bound to like Homestuck as well, and by extension Hiveswap.

[ShwintyKat]

If your kids have read Homestuck, then it's already way too late for you to be worrying about age appropriateness for this game.

[Devias]

Originally posted by ShwintyKat:

If your kids have read Homestuck, then it's already way too late for you to be worrying about age appropriateness for this game.

No, they have not read Homestuck and neither have I. I don't know anything about Homestuck other than what I've briefly read on the internet, and I wasn't about to first struggle through what has best been described as something more confusing than a plot marriage of Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid. But it is good to know that if they ask about Homestuck I'll tell them tough cookie.

Anyway, they are enjoying Hiveswap!

[Qweakster]

Originally posted by Devias:

Originally posted by ShwintyKat:

If your kids have read Homestuck, then it's already way too late for you to be worrying about age appropriateness for this game.

No, they have not read Homestuck and neither have I. I don't know anything about Homestuck other than what I've briefly read on the internet, and I wasn't about to first struggle through what has best been described as something more confusing than a plot marriage of Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid. But it is good to know that if they ask about Homestuck I'll tell them tough cookie.

Anyway, they are enjoying Hiveswap!

Homestuck is probably the most confusing thing you will ever come across.
There are recaps that explain things in a much simpler manner, but those are at the end of each act (I think).
It is good to hear that HIVESWAP is being enjoyed by them though.

[bigtrebuchet]

It has "son of a b*tch" once and crap a few times but other than that it's fine