The Swapper is a puzzle-platform game with a side-scrolling perspective. In the game, the player has control over "The Swapper", a device that allows the player to create clones of themselves and take control of them (swapping). All clones respond to movement input, but only the active clone can activate buttons and create new clones.
The game is set on an mostly abandoned space station. The story unfolds mostly through diary logs and encounters with an NPC. The theme of cloning relates to human consciousness and the soul.
The gameplay involves trying to move different clones to the correct position at the right time so that doors can be opened by the pressure plates they can stand on. The addition of red, blue and purple lamps creates extra difficulty, blocking the player from swapping to other clones, creating new clones, or both.