Game2018

Hiveswap Friendsim

AdventureIndieRPGSimulation

Developer What Pumpkin Games, Inc.

Hiveswap is a episodic adventure game developed by What Pumpkin Games and overseen by Andrew Hussie and Cohen Edenfield. Based in the universe of Hussie's MS Paint Adventures webcomic Homestuck, it focuses on a girl, Joey Claire, who is accidentally transported to the planet of Alternia—home of the troll species seen in Homestuck. The game was the subject of a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, raising over… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

168 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Sep 20, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works

Audience score

86
LovedLoved

139 positive · 22 negative
95% range 80–91%

Source+−=
Steam reviews139220
Bluesky *000
Mastodon *000

* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).

7 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.

Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,284 of 1,388 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)

What people are saying

Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.

Reactions

60 of 168 · most liked first
  • Steam user Steam user …8828Steam reviews · Oct 14, 2023

    Very funny. Small premise, each story lasts about 10 minutes and nothing more. What's nice about this game are definitely the characters of the various characters to help. NEGATIVE NOTE: it's a short-term pastime, there are no achievements, cards or items in the shop. Nothing. Really exaggerated price for the contents it has, it has practically none, they are funny stories and that's all. It's a game that should be bought at a super discount because in the price range at which it is sold, you…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • HIVESWAP @hiveswap.comBluesky · Dec 18, 2025

    HIVESWAP, Friendsim, and Pesterquest are now all 85% off on Steam. Get an extra 15% off if you grab the whole Homestuck game bundle: store.steampowered.com/bundle/22123...

    unlabelledView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5569Steam reviews · Mar 5, 2024

    so, i gave this a solid twenty minutes, and pesterquest a solid fifteen minutes or so, but i found the art style and writing in both to be so amateur-ish and corny i had to DNF them. i have since learned that the creator not only outsourced a lot of the work for this via diehard fans, which is NOT a good idea when your fanbase is seemingly a bunch of teenagers (let's be real, he probably greatly took advantage of their fandom), but he failed to credit them apparently. gross behavior from a…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0166Steam reviews · Jun 12, 2023 · 3 h played

    Four, three, two, ♥♥♥♥ you Listen up y'all, this ♥♥♥♥ is ironic Strider's beats are best suited to trolls hooked on phonix! Karkalicious definition makes terezi loco She wants to know the secrets that she can't taste in my photo Dyin' just to know the flavor I ain't doin' her no favors No reasons why I tease Her flush just comes and goes like seasons I'm karkalicious (so delicious) No, I don't do kismesis And if you read any fanfics All that ♥♥♥♥ is fictitious I blow kisses (mwah!) Don't…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4533Steam reviews · Jul 4, 2024 · 63 h played

    this review is not Gonna be well structured as i'm still emotional from finishinG this Game and the impact it had on me. that should already be a clear indicator into how i feel about it but i'll Go into further detail for my own sake because i need to talk about it. i've been in homestuck for a while now and as with practically anyone else whose read the comic it's rotted deep into my brain and i feel like it's become a core part of who i am. i didn't think it was possible for me to Get any…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6073Steam reviews · May 21, 2024 · 24 h played

    so let me tell you about homestuck

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0374Steam reviews · May 6, 2024

    killed a baby within the first 10 minutes of playing 10/10 would recomend

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2943Steam reviews · Apr 12, 2026 · 17 h played

    If you're a Homestuck fan, I guess it's fine. Though I REALLY can't recommend this game to anyone else, specifically cause of the writing of 2 specific character routes... Maybe if you're like a super fan of Homestuck and want to check out everything about it... but if not, this really isn't worth it to be honest. Like, at all.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6050Steam reviews · Nov 4, 2025 · 3 h played

    I don't follow the Homestuck universe, so I'm new to all this. It's hilarious without being stupid, turning a dating sim into a chaotic adventure in a crazy world. Mindless fun.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7152Steam reviews · Nov 4, 2025 · 9 h played

    god i wish homestuck wasn't real

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7546Steam reviews · Dec 23, 2024 · 8 h played

    If you like homestuck and big reading sessions, you're ruined, this is the right game for you. A developed social/simgame to make you feel the internal pain of social shame. I feel like some of these routes were rushed, Honestly, in some parts I was unaware of the quality of Hussie's writing, it disappointed me a little. Besides this, it's funny and not the "generic datin sim" kind. It's really interesting to learn more about characters you like while interacting with them, in fact, theres one…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0668Steam reviews · Jun 25, 2024 · 134 h played

    Marvus Xoloto I would do anything for you.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4015Steam reviews · Apr 25, 2024 · 1 h played

    Hiveswap Friendsim is not a game, it's an e-book that's been dumped on Steam masquerading as a game. As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay, it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, "How did something this badly written end up on Steam?". When someone hoping to become an author is unable to get published in print, they spend $100 and dump their high school…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5021Steam reviews · Jan 31, 2024 · 10 h played

    that autistic orange guy is really neat

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8449Steam reviews · Nov 2, 2023 · 1 h played

    you can befriend a couple of clowns (literally) and a bunch of clowns (figuratively)

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2340Steam reviews · May 19, 2026 · 21 h played

    Despite the mixed art style and writing I absolutely adore friendsim. It perfectly captures that feeling of going out at night and trying to make friends in an often hostile world. Idk if I can recommend it to nonhomestucks but I adore this game.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0919Steam reviews · Oct 26, 2025 · 1 h played

    Fingers crossed this $0.00 investment pays off

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0774Steam reviews · May 20, 2025 · 17 h played

    A very funny and well-written visual novel that introduces you to the world of Alternia from Homestuck. Makes for a pretty good entry point into Homestuck imo. The music by James Roach, Toby Fox, and others from the Homestuck Music Team is all fantastic, and while there are some routes that aren't as great as others, the majority are really good.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7160Steam reviews · Oct 18, 2024 · 24 h played

    Fans of the Homestuck universe will understand.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3827Steam reviews · Aug 26, 2024 · 2 h played

    Not good Homestuck content, and not even a good visual novel. I'm a total nerd for this world and i've never been more uninterested in what its trying to say. save your money and just watch the chatlogs on youtube, i promise you're not missing anything. Thanks Hussie :/

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1851Steam reviews · Apr 23, 2024 · 3 h played

    if you like hivestuck and visual novels its great. if you dont, maybe pass?

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2731Steam reviews · Aug 5, 2023 · 9 h played

    A visual novel with 36 mini stories where your are trying to become friends with everyone. Some stories are better than others but there is kinda too many of them in my opinion so by the end I was just sick of them. Would probably be better played/read over a longer period of time. Linux version of the game works without any issues.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8130Steam reviews · Aug 14, 2026

    didn't like it that much

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1575Steam reviews · Jul 25, 2024

    this game sucks ignore my profile

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3781Steam reviews · Sep 16, 2023 · 3 h played

    It's literally homestuck what do you expect.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9707Steam reviews · Aug 14, 2023 · 7 h played

    you cant fight the homestuck it may be weird and random but its the greatest fandom

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3108Steam reviews · Jun 5, 2023 · 9 h played

    Elwurd was my lesbian awakening (just kidding it was Kanaya Maryam)

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6450Steam reviews · Aug 14, 2026 · 5 h played

    Not as interesting as Pesterquest. Played the previous games in the franchise, not read the source material. There's simply too many characters and a good half of them are very uninteresting and boring to read about. Couple it with the fact that there seems to be no good throughline for all these 30 characters and it just feels like opening 30 books in Skyrim and reading them. Yes the art is cute and some music is banging, but I kept waiting for when the actual story (beyond the "you're just…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3903Steam reviews · May 12, 2025 · 31 h played

    Hiveswap Friendsim is a delightfully unhinged visual novel set in the deeply dysfunctional alien world of Alternia — a place where making friends can be hazardous to your health, but you'll die trying anyway (and probably more than once). It's part love letter to Homestuck fans, part initiation ritual for newcomers, and part "What if Tinder, but everyone was a murder clown or potentially Shia LaBeouf?". While it can be disorienting at first if you're unfamiliar with Homestuck, the game cleverly…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9036Steam reviews · Mar 12, 2025 · 2 h played

    it's really fun being able to observe the lives of the trolls on alternia outside of all the sburb/sgrub stuff. i imagine this game would be an...interesting experience for someone who hasn't read the webcomic, though i'd still recommend it either way. as someone who somehow managed to read through all 8129 pages of homestuck in the past i think this would be a great way to pique one's interest in the actual comic especially since the start might be kind of boring

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3930Steam reviews · Oct 19, 2024 · 17 h played

    I have a crush on Mallek

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7096Steam reviews · Oct 19, 2024 · 8 h played

    I love all the clowns! Chuckle-voodoo lyfe

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0183Steam reviews · Jul 15, 2024 · 24 h played

    i made friends with the hot dog boy

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3027Steam reviews · Jul 12, 2024 · 2 h played

    i enjoy talking to all these grey losers

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8413Steam reviews · Jun 24, 2024 · 2 h played

    platonic troll dating sim hellck yes

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7454Steam reviews · May 1, 2024 · 14 h played

    Excellent writing, and superb characters. Love it.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3389Steam reviews · Oct 8, 2025 · 16 h played

    A fun way to learn more about trolls and Alternia, with some heartfelt stuff and some typical crazy stuff.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4250Steam reviews · Apr 19, 2025 · 30 h played

    I think Friendsim is easily the most mixed bag games I ever played, although that is quite literally by design. This game features 18 volumes covering 36 chapters (38 trolls) with 10 different writers, and the quality between some of these were like night and day. The context of Friendsim itself is that it serves as a setup for Hiveswap Act 2 as most of these characters find their way into that game. It's probably best to read this before diving into Act 2. Each chapter introduces a troll that…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7982Steam reviews · Jan 1, 2025 · 12 h played

    chahut my beloved

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8269Steam reviews · Sep 6, 2024 · 4 h played

    I hate read Homestucks Epilogues

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0519Steam reviews · Jul 26, 2024 · 7 h played

    I'm going to be real with you, some of these characters are A LOT to take in, and that forces me to take a break after playing for a while. Otherwise? Pretty fun game! And it's nice to see some familiar faces from Hiveswap haha

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9777Steam reviews · Aug 1, 2026

    A cartoonish visual novel telling a story about friendship. I found nothing of interest in this work - you need to make strange choices to progress, which immediately left a bad taste. I bet there are some good bits and pieces that you can get from this game, but as a whole, it is not interesting enough continue playing.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1798Steam reviews · May 13, 2026 · 14 h played

    Hiveswap Friendsim is an eccentric, emotionally chaotic, and surprisingly heartfelt visual novel that expands the Homestuck universe through a series of strange friendship stories filled with absurd humor, emotional vulnerability, and endless personality. Developed by What Pumpkin Games and published by Fellow Traveller, the game acts as both a companion piece to Hiveswap and a major exploration of Alternian culture, placing players into a bizarre alien society where survival depends less on…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9028Steam reviews · Mar 25, 2026 · 16 h played

    SO silly, its such a blast to play because I never know whats going to happen. the soundtrack is also so lovely

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4949Steam reviews · Dec 18, 2025 · 12 h played

    pretty fun honestly. characters were charming cant wait to play hiveswap. music was nice and the game was funny sometimes. felt a bit like quantity over quality sometimes with the amount of routes but idk i still enjoyed it

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2389Steam reviews · Aug 5, 2025 · 1 h played

    You could find something on wattpad or ao3 for about the same quality the only difference would be that the ao3/wattpad author would atleast care about what they are writing

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5486Steam reviews · Jul 21, 2025 · 6 h played

    I want all the friends. I started playing this game when the chapters were just coming out individually and I found such value in it even then that I was willing to pay for each one as they came out. I am glad that they eventually put it all together though. I love the storylines. It's a great inner look at the world.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5723Steam reviews · Apr 25, 2025 · 97 h played

    If you're a fan of Homestuck, then go for it. If you're not a Homestuck fan, it will be confusing but it's designed to introduce you to the alien planet of Alternia and catches you up to the biological and societal mechanics within its world. I played through this multiple times when it first came out, waiting for each volume every two weeks and doing multiple playthroughs with friends. The music is wonderful, the writing is hilarious, the characters are all memorable in their own ways. There…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7727Steam reviews · Mar 22, 2025 · 23 h played

    Nothing makes any kind of sense here but at least I'm (mostly) having fun.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9622Steam reviews · Mar 8, 2025 · 6 h played

    amazing visual novel. bit sad that there's no romance, but some scenes can be interpreted as such if you think really, really hard.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0129Steam reviews · Jan 1, 2025 · 1 h played

    so i guess this game is basically trolling fans and this is disgusting. awful. too bad it's too late for a refund

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6964Steam reviews · Feb 19, 2024 · 6 h played

    This game is genuinely one of the best visual novels I've ever played. It has made me absolutely cackle for hours on end. I enjoyed this game a hell of a lot. Fair warning though, you should probably play the actual game chapters before playing this.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1316Steam reviews · Oct 8, 2023 · 3 h played

    Very interesting and enjoyable! Loved the art and music :3

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Lbabinz 🇨🇦 @lbabinz.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 13, 2026

    Prime Gaming August Free Game Lineup buff.ly/s6HPiXM Aug 6 - Right and Down - Hiveswap Friendsim Aug 13 - Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room - Airship: Kingdoms Adrift - Steelrising Aug 20 - Royal Romances: Forbidden Magic - Spray Paint Simulator Aug 27 - Havendock - Clash: Artifacts of Chaos

    unlabelledView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9600Steam reviews · Aug 4, 2026 · 8 h played

    This is very explicitly a friendship sim and not a dating sim, yet I can't help but be in love with at least half of the girls in the cast. The writing in most of the chapters is just that good. In terms of story navigation, this is kind of like a baby's first VN, but when it comes to VNs I'm basically baby so that's good for me - I just like Homestuck lol. And speaking of which, I wish James Roach could just take over the entire ownership of the franchise from Hussie cuz honestly the chapter…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5969Steam reviews · Jul 13, 2026 · 1 h played

    i regret buying ts. do NOT buy this game if you dont want to: 1. feel dirty 2. rip your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ eyes out and make them bleed 3. blow your brains out and MOST OF ALL 4. be dissapointed with your favorite characters if I hadn't bought this as a bundle and had played it in the first two weeks of purchase, I would have happily returned all my money. this game isn't worth any of your cash.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5580Steam reviews · Dec 28, 2025 · 28 h played

    Everyone knows zebruh is the best one in the whole game!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3378Steam reviews · Dec 13, 2025 · 28 h played

    Don't waste your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ time dude the entire game and why I played it for 30 hours is best described as a car crash so horrific you can't look away

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4725Steam reviews · Nov 2, 2025 · 9 h played

    its a fun game, lot of death but that would be the homestuck universe for ya

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3159Steam reviews · Oct 15, 2025 · 5 h played

    very silly critters. except that zebruh guy i hope he gets thrown off a cliff

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →

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