We put ourselves in the shoes of a destructive metamorphic alien in this all-platform roguelike where death is behind the corner
An alien has come to our planet with clear intent. This is from the bad guys, from the blues, from the tentaculars and from those who kill before asking. His plans for conquest are confusing, but the threat is already enough for the government to declare martial law. This parasite is not a saint, but humans are not either. If the patch on the President's bad-tempered eye and face is not intimidating enough, the many urban tribes who take over the streets will do so, with their makeshift weapons and tacky clothing.
Did we mention that we are in the eighties? Well we are in the eighties. The vintage atmosphere is accompanied by a recognizable cyberpunk setting, which is why the streets are full of chaos and violet neons.
This is the world we enter and take command of. We play on behalf of the alien, of course, but the most interesting thing is that this alien can metamorphose into the bodies of any of its enemies. This is the part of "parasite" that gives the title its name. In its structure, HyperParasite is an action roguelike with twin-stick shooter mechanics, but it is this mechanic of being able to become the enemy that gives it its identity.
HyperParasite is frantic and difficult. The philosophy of trial and error that characterizes these titles is present here at its best, even more than is desirable. The learning after each death is little, and basic, the variety of the games is not enough to justify so much punishment.
It is a progression system that goes a little to stumbles, we unlock new characters with relative ease, if we want to, but the in-game currency also serves to pay for upgrades such as passives or "definitive" abilities, so our choice is key. help us in the long term or fix our lives in the short term? The amount of money that we get in each game is also quite limited, so there are games that will be a clear pimp in order to advance in the unlocks of new characters.
By developing the latter a little more, our ability to transform ourselves into enemies is closely linked to the game's progression system. Each level of the game has a unique set of enemies that will make things difficult for us, and each enemy is a potential character that we can control.
In the parasite form we are a very vulnerable entity. We can move with speed, fire fast-paced projectiles, and dodge enemy attacks, but it's really a transient form between bodies, a single attack (not backed by unlockable upgrades), and we'll die and have to start over.
With the special ability of our parasite we grab an enemy and immediately move to control it. This is where the crux of the matter is, to unlock the possibility of transforming ourselves into enemies we need to previously kill a good handful of them, take their brain to the level store and have a few hundred coins. This process is the loop in which we will be involved most of the time we are playing HyperParasite, unlocking new characters is the only way to really advance in the level, since without their abilities and without the possibility of alternating between them it will be very difficult to face the bosses of each zone.
There is a good variety of bodies that we can control, and although it is true that at each level they are different, we often find altered versions of those we already know. We can separate those that are at a distance or melee. Attack cadence and pattern varies between characters, we have a tramp who pushes his car in powerful lunges, but we also have characters with faster blades or axes that propose an in and out approach.
At a distance, the range is greater, there are characters available that offer the classic medium-distance circular projectile gun experience, there are others with shotguns and fast machine guns, and there are others with more experimental attack patterns, such as a sustained laser that makes a burn effect. short-term or a very powerful loaded long-range projectile.
In the heat of combat, chaos and unpredictable waves of enemies mean that we cannot become attached to any of these bodies that we control. It really isn't the intention of the title either, each of these bodies is as vulnerable as our own basic form of parasite. Each character can endure a couple of attacks before being destroyed, which is why we are forced to keep an eye on which is the next body in which we can transform.
This gives the game a frenetic pace. Recall that the goal is ultimately to spend as little time as possible in our vulnerable parasite form, so intelligently alternating different bodies depending on the situation is key to victory.
In addition to the bodies themselves, there are a couple of elements that help us achieve this, the first is that randomly on certain screens of the level we can see marks appear on the floor that improve the statistics of our character. We can improve the resistance and luck (the ability to give critics or get money from enemies) of the characters, their attack, or we can also give more lives to the parasite, to make survival easier. This short-term progression is ideal for how we want to focus our game. If we find three marks and climb the attack with them, we will be killing machines, but if we prioritize raising our resistance or the parasite's lives, we can make more mistakes before falling.
Long-term progression is less satisfactory. We have already discussed how unlocking new characters monopolizes the function, but what is offered to us beyond that is not particularly attractive either. In the store of each level we can find random improvements that will change in each game. Once in a while there are passives that are really interesting, like raising a percentage of our weapon skills or precision, but in general they are consumable abilities that only provide a momentary advantage in combat, such as a freezing area attack . The body capture system is so embedded in the DNA of the video game that any other proposal outside of that feels like an extra anecdote.
Mastering this system is mastering the title, and it must be said that HyperParasite is not an easy game to master. His dungeon does not propose anything particularly novel. Each game puts us on the same levels but with the screens tucked into a blender and changed in order. This means that each level is not completely new either, but rather a remix of the previous ones, and there are confrontations that we will repeat as is from game to game.
This dungeon feels purely transitional, but the battles we find are the real challenge, waves of enemies await us on each of the screens of their levels, any of them can deliver a death blow, and only have put hours to the title It provides us with the ability to gradually turn those enemies into allies. And this is just high school for the real challenge that are the final bosses. Some of the bosses who seemed so overwhelming become easier when we discover that there is a specific character who is more useful in the fight than the others, but getting to it means seeing a lot of the Game Over screen and farming coins like crazy.
We are then faced with a dangerous balancing act in which the first hours become quite frustrating due to how difficult it is to advance (especially our arrival at new levels) but when we are more advanced, it seems somewhat repetitive because it is staying with no significant rewards to offer us to make up for the time we are putting in.
Right in the middle of that is where the crumb and satisfying HyperParasite is. Although its roguelike components are sometimes more of a drag than a virtue, its frenetic action is satisfying in itself, and its motley roster of characters becomes the biggest incentive to keep playing.
Code provided for the Playstation 4 version.
CONCLUSION
HyperParasite is presented as a correct roguelike, marred by repetitive levels, a somewhat limited progression system, and high difficulty due to a lack of resources with which to equip us, which severely punishes our first hours of play. But it is in its arcade shooter aspect where it convinces and engages. His frantic action is well resolved, and the mechanics of becoming the enemy adds an unpredictable touch to each highly stimulating encounter, which, linked as it is to the progression system, progressively transforms each level from a tricky ambush to our own playing field.
THE BEST
- The mechanics of changing bodies endows the game with all its identity and is well resolved
- Frenetic and stimulating action
- Variety of the characters we control, each with its strengths and weaknesses
WORST
- High difficulty when soloing, to the point of being frustrating
- Slow and demanding progression system, ask for more than you give
- Repetitive level design, missing variety
Okay
It meets the expectations of what is a good game, it has quality and does not have serious flaws, although it lacks elements that could have taken it to higher levels.
