Cupid Parasite Review
Release Date: November 2nd, 2021
Developers: Idea Factory
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PC
Price: $49.99
The concept of love is one that's been talked about and experienced since the dawn of time, tracing all the way back to the classic story of Adam & Eve. It's a concept and part of human nature that's been studied about for ages, and though there are some scientific conclusions we've come to learn about when it comes to how our minds process and react to the feeling of oxytocin, dopamine, pheromones, and endorphins coursing through our bodies, the age old question of "what is love?" can never truly be answered in one set way. It's this exact concept, however, that's allowed us as a species to survive for millions of years and carry out both a lineage and a legacy, going through the process of falling in love and heartbreak to help shape and define us before ultimately settling with "the one" to spend our lives with. Otome games typically touch up on romance through a female perspective but do so in a basic manner that typically have the protagonist paired with a bunch of male individuals and find themselves in some odd situation that somehow calls for the female protagonist to ultimately have to choose one of them to end up with (or at the very least get somewhat acquainted with) before reaching an end, but these multiple routes and endings (including neutral routes) make it so these games also have a lot of replayability for those that want to experience various kinds of scenes and stories with each candidate available in each game, unlocking every piece of art that can usually then be viewed again in a gallery. Some Otome titles are more elaborate than others, however, having not only multiple routes but choices that go beyond the typical "I choose you" decision, and instead influence the outcome of everyone's perception of you and making any sort of romantic involvement feeling much more natural instead of scripted or tailored. Cupid Parasite is more so in the category of being a very linear visual novel with not much going for it in terms of gameplay or decision making, but it's a very solid package and presentation that goes beyond what a a rushed, thrown together take on the genre is and instead has a well-written approach to its story of finding love as there's one big highly interesting catch: You yourself are actually Cupid.
Despite its linearity, Cupid Parasite is actually a rather entertaining story about your protagonist who works at a place called Cupid Corporation and specializes in helping others get married. Cupid Corporation mainly operates as a social networking and matchmaking website to help those online find others that may be compatible from wherever they are, and your character - who defaults with the name Lynette Mirror, though this is changeable to whatever you desire - is the best at what she does, though no one knows that she holds the secret of actually being Cupid. Feeling like she can do more and being known as the top bridal advisor within the company in just a year of employment, she wants to be promoted and move up, but it's not without a cost. As you play through Cupid Parasite's story, you can't help but ask "well, why is she working for a place like this when she herself is Cupid? And on Earth no less?". This comes to light the more you play, but in order to get her promotion she's tasked to find companions for profiles who are known as the Parasite 5—five individuals who seem to have no compatibility with anyone as they have a skewed vision of what love really is, so your job is to get them all married. Things become much deeper than this though, and it's not just a matter of a promotion but trying to infiltrate the company to better understand why Cupid Corporation has basically gotten love down to a science and essentially taken your job from you, causing you to be outcast from your realm to begin with, though in an odd way voluntarily as you aim to prove that humans don't really need the gods to fall in love anymore, making her failure of marriages not entirely her fault in the changing times of human living She wants to help people get married without the use of her arrows.
As one can imagine, these sorts of games always have candidates of varying designs and backgrounds to appeal to a large group of players so an individual always has someone to connect to. Each character for the most part is well written and displays a distinct personality that does well to both complement and differentiate from the other routes available, as well as have their own vibes and personas when engaging in conversation with them directly. Not only that, but there's no denying that the illustrative prowess of these types of games never hold back and always provide wonderful art and designs that really make the characters pop, and it's evident here also that there have been no shortcuts taken when providing the utmost detail in how each character is shown whether they have their own romantic route or not. From the complementary colors to how they all interact with one another in any given situation, there's a sense of comradery within its competition to please. Cupid Parasite is admittedly interesting, funny, and engaging as you play through a human-esque version of Cupid that tries to experience and provide love in a more authentic and organic manner that isn't just her every day routine of shooting arrows.
While narratively and through its illustration it exceeds where it all matters, the biggest complaint regarding its presentation is undoubtedly the extremely bright colors that have a tendency to make the eyes strain when playing too long. I love visual novels and have been playing them for quite a long time now - coming from all sorts of scenarios, plots, and themes - but Cupid Parasite unfortunately, for me, tends to be a bit slow-going and bright to the point that my eyes strain and I can only play for about a maximum of 45-60 minutes at a time before I have to put the game down due to the strain which adds to drowsiness I end up having alongside of it. It's not because the game is boring - it's the contrary - but with a very meticulous pace it can tend to make my eyes feel heavy, and then they have the stress on top of it thanks to the bright colors that I don't even want to think about seeing on an OLED model of the Switch. The menus also are some of the most messy and nonsensical I've seen in a very long time, with a diner-like theme that's filled to the brim with posters, cars, photographs, postcards, and the sort that is only rivaled by the likes of Where's Waldo. It's makes navigating rather difficult and the menus feel like a chore to go through for the times you do have to open it, especially when in the options menu.
Despite its overflow of colors and garage sale infested menus, however, Cupid Parasite is a unique take on the Otome genre that, while not exactly aimed towards men, is entertaining and flexible enough that even those outside of the target demographic can enjoy with its touch on mythologies and how we handle and interpret love in modern day society. Though not exactly a kinetic visual novel either because of the routes available for eligible partners, it remains fairly linear outside of these decisions that alter which way you'll go, and even then not everything needs to be taken into an entirely romantic route. Cupid Parasite is a beautiful looking game that also brings with it a compelling enough narrative touching up on the topic of love that thankfully doesn't entirely feel like a cheesy romance some other cheaper visual novels would do for those looking for a simple kick of romance, and makes it worth a play for those wanting to delve into a more romantic visual novel in general whether you're male or female, though there's no denying the heavy sway towards a female audience.
PROS:
The writing is straight forward but well done and cohesive, making it good enough to enjoy for those that want just a good story and no interest in the romantic routes
The idea of playing around with the mythology of the actual cupid and associating gods is actually really cool
Touch screen capabilities make the game feel more accessible in how you'd like to interact with the gameplay
CONS:
Way too colorful and can strain the eyes because of it
Messy menus that feel and look like a bunch of photos, postcards, and more have been projectile vomited on a canvas.
Our utmost gratitude to Idea Factory for providing us a copy of
Cupid Parasite for the purposes of this review