It’s no secret that the release of Undertale and the currently ongoing Deltarune have made Toby Fox one of the most influential indie developers of our generation, standing alongside other legendary developers like ConcernedApe and the minds behind Team Cherry. Although Deltarune fans got a first look at Chapter 5 during this month’s Nintendo Direct, coming far sooner than we thought, there’s still a bit of a wait to enjoy it.
Thankfully, if you don’t feel like waiting or simply want to enjoy another game that Toby Fox played a part in creating, a brand-new release just dropped. Even better, you can download and try it for yourself right now entirely for free and appreciate one of the newest efforts involving the creative mind behind both Deltarune and Undertale.
After an excruciating 6-year wait since the previous entry in the franchise, the official X account for Hiveswap recently announced that the third entry in the series is not only arriving in winter 2026, but also that a free demo is now available through Steam, which has already received raving reviews by fans of the series.
If you’ve never heard of Hiveswap before, it’s a series of decision-based point-and-click adventure games that act as a spinoff of the long-running Homestuck webcomic. In the games, you play as a girl named Joey Claire who gets sucked into a strange alien world filled with unique puzzles to solve, government conspiracies to uncover, and countless colorful friends to meet along the way.
Of course, one aspect that makes the world so engaging to explore for returning fans and new players alike is the unique soundtrack that was made with the help of Toby Fox himself. After having contributed music for the first two games in the series already, he’s returning yet again for the new installment.
Hiveswap also has its own spinoff in the form of the Hiveswap: Friendsim visual novel, which lets you meet the characters in individual branching adventures.
The best part about Hiveswap is that you don’t need to have read the ever-infamous webcomic to understand or enjoy the story of the series, as it acts as an almost entirely self-contained narrative that has little to do with the other entries in the series.
This isn’t the first time Toby Fox has contributed to the greater world of Homestuck. Many Undertale fans will likely have been exposed to the fact that Undertale‘s creator has been contributing to the series as far back as 2009 when he lived with the creator of the webcomic, which even includes the first rendition of Megolovania years before Undertale even released.
With Toby Fox’s previous work on the soundtracks for Undertale being so beloved that it has received countless new releases in the form of physical media, mixes, or even live orchestral concerts celebrating the series, it’s always exciting to know that there is even more on the way from the Undertale creator.
Even if the new release isn’t directly connected to the main series that made Toby Fox so popular in the first place, Hiveswap is still a unique gameplay experience that is well worth checking out for fans of the creators’ other works. With two highly rated entries already under its belt, you can jump into the larger story right now if you end up enjoying the demo.
- Released
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September 14, 2017
- ESRB
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E 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Suggestive Themes, Alcohol Reference, Language, Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
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What Pumpkin Studios
- Publisher(s)
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What Pumpkin Studios
