Review: HyperParasite (Nintendo Switch)

HyperParasite is Rogue-lite twin-stick action RPG. It offers local co-op for up to two players. Before you get family and friends involved, you should probably first find out if it’s worth your time. 

For those like myself, a Rogue-lite is a lesser version of a Roguelike game. Instead of having everything reset upon the player’s defeat, somethings such as skills, money, and status don’t reset. 

It’s some time in the 1980s, and planet Earth has been invaded by a Parasite that is attacking Earth because it finds it fun. You know the drill, it’s your job to stop it. It sounds kind of boring and like something we all have probably have all played before, right? Well, wait, hang on, that’s not exactly it. Players control the Parasite, which makes it a bit more exciting. 

As mentioned before, players will take control of the Parasite as it attacks Earth. You have two basic abilities, one being an infinite projectile attack. While it’s not exactly the most exciting, it gets the job done. The second ability allows you to possess the enemy, which is a bit more exciting. There are over sixty host bodies that can be possesed, and each one has its own abilities, so no two characters feel the same. The characters processed range from police officers, punks, and firemen to parodies of pop-culture icons from the 1980’s such as a professional wrestler, boxer, and ghost hunters, all of which I could have sworn I’ve seen somewhere else before. Some characters have projectiles, and others had melee attacks which helped the game feel fresh.

Not all of the host bodies are available to be the host from the start. Unlocking them isn’t always an easy feat. Players must first find their brain by defeating them and bring it back to Wito, a greedy shop owner. Wito will use some kind of weird technology to store the brain, which can then be bought from Wito. Money can be found by defeating enemies or destroying items within the stage. Throughout stages, there are bright grey spots that allow you to access them to upgrade the Parasite. 

I’ll admit I’m not exactly fond of Roguelikes, they’ve never really been my thing. Rogue-lite, on the other hand, is much more tolerable. Although the levels would change up every time you were defeated, they never felt too unfamiliar. Not losing all of your progress was also a plus considering the game could get rather tricky. Unfortunately, because I don’t have any friends, I didn’t have the opportunity to play co-op. So I can’t speak about the experience. 

Another confession sometimes when I play a game, I turn the volume down entirely or almost entirely    because the music annoys me. This was not the case for HyperParasite. The synth-wave music was actually quite catchy. 

My time spent with HyperParasite was a lot of fun. Aside from the difficulty at times, it was enjoyable to take over host bodies. Being able to take over people and use different abilities kept the game feeling fresh. HyperParasite is definitely worth the asking price of $17.99.