HyperParasite

Difficult in unfun ways, even with the "everything is unlocked" mode. The concept of taking over enemies is great, but in practice as a naked blob you are so incredibly weak that it's almost never worth the risk to leave a body to try to grab a new one without getting killed. The "how it's meant to be played" mode is particularly infuriating because when you enter a new area you have no bodies unlocked so you can't even take over anyone, and as your unlocks progress it is not clear which bodies you can take over which makes it even more frustrating. Either way the core mechanic of the game is not fun.

It's ironic that one of the game modes is 'wrong millenium' as this game itself suffers a little of that. As an 80's-style arcade beat-'em-up it's a lot of fun. The kind that you could easily drop a few quarters into. As a rogue-like however the systems just don't gel that well. The meta progression feels both necessary for the central mind-control mechanic of the game, yet unrewarding. as by the time hosts are unlocked you've beaten them dozens of times already so their attacks have lost their novelty. Builds feel highly RNG-dependant (which to be fair is normal for this kind of shooter) but also highly anti-synergistic. For example many upgrades are gated by the type of attack on the host (ranged or melee), or the type of damage they do, so upgrades are frequently either totally unusable or just more of what you already do. The standout games in the genre always have the potential for a bonkers run where everything just falls exactly right and will be remembered for ages, on the other hand runs of HP end up feeling really similar. Look, it's a fun game, and I will probably try to at least beat it once, but there are many games that do the same thing but better.

Updating my review to a full recommendation based on them adding the "Wrong Millennium" Mode (the one with a pacifier icon). This 'fixes' the major upgrade problem by unlocking all the characters from the start. (Not in the Switch version.) Here's my original review: Mixed feeling about this one. The base gameplay is very good and that's usually enough to keep me playing. Also has nice graphics, neat looking aesthetics and the music is good too. The problem is the progression system is an abject failure. You'll basically be playing the first level over and over and most will never see beyond it. Even if you don't value your time and grind till you make it, it will be short lived since no characters are unlocked on level 2 so it's just a matter of time before you're expected to start over grinding level one again. And it is starting over. Not like a real rogue where you become more powerful over time. No, although you do collect brains you still have to pay to unlock them. Which means having to endlessly break barrels and boxes to collect cash, sigh. The devs responded to criticism by suggesting to 'freeze' characters so you can use them in the next level, but that's complete b…

https://youtu.be/c1yhmnu-SLA Slow progression both in run and at the meta level bogs down the experience with long stretches without interesting changes to the play which is key to a rewarding rogue like title.

Only recommend getting on a very steep discount. The game has a unique thing going and is addictive but it also feels cheap and unfair. Not sure if Im gonna keep messing with this one or not.

Short review: This game plays like if someone went back in time and tried to explain what a roguelite is to an N64 developer, but the dev didn't understand the concept. Long review: It's not a roguelite. Putting characters behind an unlock wall to make it impossible to progress without going through the same boring setup again isn't a good mechanic, and doesn't make it a roguelite. Making there be only 3 upgrade slots but one has to be offensive, one's defensive, and one's general would be fine, IF there's a mechanic for us to know which one's which. As-is, it's not a good mechanic. Spawning elite enemies that can one-shot you before you even know they're there - even if you've put all your points in defense - isn't a good mechanic. That just makes it so there's only one viable build: offense. I kept playing this hoping it'd get more fun, and it didn't. It's incredibly easy if you have all characters unlocked, and incredibly annoying if you have no characters unlocked.