HyperParasite

Genre: 2-Stick Shooter / Roguelike

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

HyperParasite is a 2-Stick Shooter with Roguelike elements that puts you in control of an alien parasite that is possessing the bodies of humans to fight through the rest of them in a mission to possess the president. This game was released on multiple platforms in 2020, including Nintendo Switch.

The visuals in this game are nothing special, featuring dark and unimpressive 3D visuals at such a distance that you can’t really make out any details. At the very least this is paired with a delightfully tongue-in-cheek voiced intro and some good techno-style music that works well to underscore the game’s action.

As for the action itself, I absolutely love the premise of this game – the parasite itself is weak and vulnerable, and to protect itself it needs to get within striking distance of one of its human enemies to possess their body, and can at any time discard said body to grab a more-suitable one. Take that premise, add in a fer Roguelike elements and gradual upgrades, and you have a formula for a potentially fantastic action game!

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really live up to that potential. Most humans are unavailable for possession until you unlock them through the course of the game, meaning that if you find yourself stuck as a parasite or in the body of a class type you don’t like, you’re stuck with it until you get an alternative the game will actually allow you to control. However, what’s worse is that pretty much all different class types are frustratingly slow when it comes to the use of their combat abilities, or they’re pitifully weak, or both. And while you can power up your host body’s attack gradually as you proceed, doing so is so gradual that you won’t ever really feel the increase in power.

In the end, HyperParasite is a decent Action game with a great premise, but one that never really reaches the full potential of that premise. With plenty of other great Roguelikes and 2-Stick Shooters on the Nintendo Switch, it’s hard to recommend this one.

tl;dr – HyperParasite is a 2-Stick Shooter with Roguelike elements that has you playing as an alien parasite taking over its human enemies to fight. It’s a great premise, but the game never really lives up to that premise, thanks to limits on who you can possess, and their limited capabilities.

Grade: C

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