Swelter (Video Game)

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Swelter Steam header image Release Date: 2023 Developer: SnowDropEscape development team Publisher: SnowDropEscape development team Eduard Rostovtsev Platforms: PC Genre: First-person shooter

Swelter is a Half-Life 2 mod created by the SnowDropEscape development team in 2023. Taking place before the events of Half-Life 2 in the post-Soviet Central Asian City 545, the main character is an agent sent by the European Resistance to assassinate the leader of the Black Battalion, a commune of anarchists, due to a series of disagreements. Swelter revamps weapon mechanics with aim down sights, new magazine systems, and updated animations for guns in game. The game also has an extra chapter unrelated to the main story, "Incident in Aperture", that is inspired by Portal.

Note: Swelter has a configurable viewmodel FOV which can be changed through the options menu. There are three settings: close, medium, and far. All screenshots on this page were taken on the "medium" setting.

The following weapons appear in the video game Swelter:

Handguns

Heckler & Koch USP Match

The Heckler & Koch USP Match returns from Half-Life 2. It's based on the 9x19mm chambered variant with an 18-round magazine. Like the original game, the only NPCs that use the weapon are Civil Protection officers.

Heckler & Koch USP Match - 9x19mm

The player character (who is not named at any point in the game) holds the USP Match in the delightful City 545.

Aiming down the glow sights.

Firing; the 9mm rounds used by the pistol are no longer caseless.

Dumping a used mag...

...and lining up a new one. The model for the magazine is taken from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's SIG-Sauer P250.

Thumbing the slide release.

A USP Match next to a 9mm ammo box. The pistol has the same world model as Half-Life 2.

Colt Anaconda

The Colt Anaconda returns as the "Officer's Revolver .357", using the same model from Half-Life 2. It is first found on the roof of a school right next to a dead Combine Elite, and is fired in single-action only. The revolver is not used by any NPCs.

Colt Anaconda with 6" barrel and Pachmayr grips - .44 Magnum

The first Anaconda found in the game, next to its former owner, 3650.

The rather dramatic draw sequence gives a good side profile of the revolver.

Holding the Anaconda in a scenic drained riverbed outside City 545.

Checking the sights.

Flinging a .357 slug downriver...

...and then cocking the hammer.

Reloading starts with a recognition of the fact that the cylinder can't be swung out with a cocked hammer, and so starts with a decock.

Swinging out the cylinder...

...and ejecting the cases. There is a modelled ejector rod and extractor this time, but the crane is still stationary.

Loading in new cartridges, with an actual speedloader this time...

...flicking the cylinder shut...

...and finishing off with recocking the hammer.

Submachine Guns

Heckler & Koch MP7A1

The Heckler & Koch MP7 returns from Half-Life 2 as the "Submachine Gun". It is based on the model from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive but modified to make it more closely resemble the HL2 version. It can also no longer fire grenades and its second barrel has been accordingly removed. It uses 30-round magazines that hold 45 rounds. It is the most common weapon in the game and is used by every faction.

Heckler & Koch MP7A1 - 4.6x30mm

Holding the MP7.

Aiming down the Hensoldt sight.

Shooting; the casing model is still incorrect.

Removing an empty magazine.

Loading in another empty mag. Note that the bolt can be seen clipping through the back of the gun.

Pulling the charging handle.

The world model of the MP7 next to a 4.6mm ammo box. Like the base HL2 MP7, the pistol grip has been moved back so that it can fit with the third-person hand positions. Note also that the barrel is misplaced; a pre-release screenshot shows that it did in fact once have two barrels, but the one that was excised was the bottom one, which is where the barrel is actually located on a real MP7.

Heckler & Koch MP5SD3

The Heckler & Koch MP5SD3 from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is known as the "Pre-war Submachine Gun" in-game. When aiming down the sights, the player character looks over the rear sight instead of through the peep hole. It is an NPC-only weapon in the main campaign where it is used by Academic and Black Battalion stormtroopers. In the bonus chapter "Incident in Aperture" it is used by the liquidators and is the only firearm available.

Heckler & Koch MP5SD3 - 9x19mm Parabellum

Academic with his MP5SD.

The Incident in Aperture protagonist holds the MP5SD.

Aiming... sorta.

Firing; there's no real visual indication of this apart from the casing, since there's no muzzle flash.

Locking back the bolt handle...

...taking out the empty full magazine...

...inserting a full full magazine...

...and karate-chopping the bolt back into battery.

The MP5's world model. The only real difference is that it uses a lower-resolution texture.

Rifles

AK-74 with GP-30 grenade launcher

An AK-74 with a GP-30 grenade launcher appears in game as the "Pre-War Assault Rifle + Grenade Launcher". Its model is a modified version of the "AK-47" from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and retains its AK-47-style front sight and handguard. It is found only once in the game, inside a safe in the Overwatch Nexus in Chapter 3, where picking it up with also unlock the achievement "Echoes from the past"; it is also used by Black Battalion stormtroopers. Versions of the AK without the grenade launcher are used by NPCs in the game; this variant can only be acquired through cheats.

AK-74 with GP-30 grenade launcher - 5.45x39mm & 40mm VOG-25

Holding the AK in the Overwatch Nexus.

Aiming using the red-and-white contrasted sights.

Adding some 5.45 into the City 545 Nexus.

Pulling out the old magazine...

...rocking in a fresh one...

...and chambering a round.

Sliding a grenade into the GP-30. The grenade is marked "ВГП-125" but the HUD icon says "ВПГ-125".

Blooping out a grenade from the launcher.

The effect on target is as expected.

The AK-74 as it is initially found in the game, with a few 5.45 ammo boxes (which appear to be based on the 250-round belt boxes for the PK Machine Gun) and a grenade for the GP-30.

A rebel plays a guitar with an AK next to him, while the player character wonders if he's somehow wound up in the Zone.

The normally-unobtainable GP-30less version in first-person. Note that it still has the bracket for the grenade launcher sight.

Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle

The fictional Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle from Half-Life 2 reappears. Unlike its original depiction, its pulse plugs only contain one shot before being replaced, making it more akin to a belt-feed. Its secondary dark energy orb launcher now also needs to be reloaded instead of having the entire ammo pool in the gun at once.

Mosin Nagant M38 Carbine

A Mosin Nagant M38 Carbine fitted with a PU sniper scope appears in game as the "Sniper Rifle" and is found in Chapter 1 in a tutorial-like sniper section. It is loaded round-by-round due to the scope blocking insertion of stripper clips. Scopeless Mosins are used by various NPCs; like the grenade launcher-less AK-74, this variant can only be obtained via cheats.

Mosin-Nagant M38 Carbine with PU sniper scope - 7.62x54mmR

"Here's the rifle; it's old but robust, I hope."
The Mosin-Nagant as it is first found.

The player character looks out for the Combine gunners with the Mosin in hand.

Sighting up a gunner with the PU scope. The reticle is incorrect; the actual reticle is much thicker, and forms a T-like shape with three lines.

Attempting to hit the soldier without the helpful aid of the scope. A nice but not very noticeable detail is that the cocking piece visibly moves.

Running the action.

Five rounds down and zero hits, the player character opens the bolt. When a non-empty reload is triggered, the chambered round that gets ejected will be added to the player's reserve ammunition, even though a visibly spent case is ejected from the rifle and onto the ground.

Loading in five more rounds...

...and chambering the rifle.

A rebel holding the unobtainable scopeless version.

Sight picture.

Shotguns

Franchi SPAS-12

The SPAS-12 returns as the "Shotgun". The model is based on the one from Left 4 Dead 2. Like the original HL2, it holds an underloaded 6 shells in an 8-round tube. It no longer has the "fire both barrels" secondary attack, instead being replaced by an also-impossible 2-round burst. It is used by Overwatch shotgunners, Resistance shotgunners, and Black Battalion Stormtroopers.

Franchi SPAS-12 with stock removed - 12 gauge

"Why, I'm not sending him into battle with just his bare hands! Let him have a shotgun; that'll make him fearless."
Not-Barney hands the protagonist the SPAS-12.

The shotgun in idle.

Looking down the iron sights.

Letting out a salvo of buckshot...

...and racking the pump.

When firing the burst alt-fire the shotgun will visibly fly out of the character's hands. Like the base game, when the pump is worked only one shell will be ejected, the second one seemingly vanishing into the ether.

Loading shells into the correct place this time.

Racking the pump after reloading from empty.

A SPAS next to a box of shells. The model for the shell box is reworked from the Incendiary Ammo model from L4D2. Note the misaligned texture on the bottom of the receiver.

Launchers

M79

The M79 first appears in the last map of Chapter 2 where it's given by the Black Battalion to shoot down a Hunter-Chopper. Unlike every other ranged weapon in the game, its sights cannot be used. Its ammunition is found significantly earlier than the launcher, as its grenades can also be thrown as impact-detonated munitions.

M79 grenade launcher - 40x46mm

Mounted rocket launcher

A vaguely Panzerschreck-like improvised rocket launcher is used as a mounted weapon. It is loaded from the front, and is aimed by using an attached bicycle handlebar. It uses the same rockets as the "RPG" from Half-Life 2.

RPzB 54/1 "Panzerschreck" - 88mm

The player character looks at a mounted RPG in the streets of City 545.

About to load in a rocket.

Loaded.

Firing the launcher. Sadly, any dickheads around had already been dealt with by the time of these screenshots, so firing it at nothing in particular will have to do. On another note, the launcher has no apparent trigger mechanism.

Grenades

MK3A2 Offensive Hand Grenade

The MK3 offensive hand grenade from HL2 appears in-game as just "Grenade". It is primarily found in puzzle sections with turrets, ammo resupply boxes, and hidden stashes in Chapter 2. Although grenades can be seen on the models of some rebels, they never use them, and the only characters to use the grenades are Combine soldiers.

MK3A2 offensive hand grenade

The player character holds a grenade, thankful that he has an infinite supply of them for this puzzle.

Unlike Gordon Freeman, the player character wisely recognises that holding an unpinned grenade at all times is a bad idea, and as such only pulls the pin out when preparing to use it.

Lining up a throw...

...and pitching the can. Note that, unlike base Half-Life 2, the spoon has not detached.

It still produces an effective explosion nonetheless.

It also retains its two other alternate throws...

...a short-ranged underhand drop...

...and a roll when crouched.

World model of the grenades.

"Grenade for Launcher"

As mentioned in the M79 section above, its ammunition can be used as standalone impact grenades as the "Grenade for Launcher". It is a 40mm shell but with a strange "wind-up" modification. Also stated in the aforementioned section, the Grenade for Launcher is found much earlier than the launcher itself, in Chapter 1.

Unusable Weapons

"Alyx Gun"

A rebel uses Alyx's pistol from Half-Life 2 in Chapter 2. Roki uses a suppressed pistol during the attack on the Overwatch Nexus but quickly replaces it with an OSIPR.

The rebel holding the pistol. The model appears to be from Snowdrop Escape.

Roki's suppressed pistol.

ATK SLAM

The SLAM is seen in the game as laser-activated tripmines. They are not available for use by the player.

ATK SLAM

A SLAM planted on the ground.

Fictional rocket launcher

The seemingly fictional rocket launcher from Snowdrop Escape appears as an unusable prop.

RPG-7 - 40mm

The rocket launcher perched on a windowsill, near the start of the mod. Here, the player has to toss three rockets to the rebel in order to destroy a Combine APC.

The player character decides to take closer look at a broken RPG instead of dealing with the attacking Hunter-Chopper.

KPVT

The KPVT can be seen on BTR-70 APCs.

KPVT - 14.5x114mm

Looking at the BTR's armaments.

M16A2

A rebel is seen cleaning an M16A2 at a base. It uses the model from Left 4 Dead but with the flashlight removed.

M16A2 - 5.56x45mm NATO

The rebel holding his M16. The cleaning rod can just be glimpsed at the top of this image.

PKT

PKTs are also mounted on BTR-70s. The PKT-based pulse machine gun mounted on Combine APCs also return.

PKT - 7.62x54mmR

Looking at the BTR's armaments.

Sawn-off Double Barrel Shotgun

The Sawn-off Double Barreled Shotgun is used by some rebels. Roki also uses the shotgun in the game's ending. It uses the model from Snowdrop Escape.

Sawn-off Stevens 311R - 12 gauge

The rebel holding his double-barrel. Due to reusing hand positions he holds it by a nonexistent vertical foregrip.