Version Reviewed: [v0.1]
Parasite Inside, in its current state, is a glorified walking simulator- or rather, a crouching simulator with the sheer amount of vents you have to crawl through in order to progress. Both its story and its gameplay need heavy polishing in order to live up to that 'gripping Sci-Fi Horror game' experienced promised by the overview. In its current state, I cannot recommend this game less.
Environmental storytelling is at a minimum, with most of the lore being contained within easy-to-miss terminals with clunky user interfaces. throughout the game, you find yourself navigating a maze of grey, featureless hallways, with naught but a constant, unpleasant droning noise to keep you company. (Hell, it's not the existence of the drone that's bad, it's just too loud and detailed when it's meant to be just background noise.) The environment, overall, sucks and is boring.
I wish I could say the horror aspect is laughable, but there's barely any to begin with. What little horror there is is largely tied to body horror, and I find that disappointing. When it comes to parasitism, there can absolutely be complex topics to explore, an example being whether the people being parasitism can be saved. This game does not pose any tough questions. It is straightforward, and it is boring.
The usage of generative AI to create voice lines and collectable images is disappointing, yet unsurprising. At the core of every good game is the blood and tears shed by those who worked on it. To replace that love with artificiality makes it difficult if not impossible to connect with the main character. The AI voice lines sound human, yes, but they are disjointed, uninspiring, and emotionless. With them, our protagonist is not a character, but a cinder block on legs. Why should I care about a cinder block on legs?
I can only pray that this game gets the creative treatment it deserves, else it is doomed to sink into the mediocrity of bad horror games, as so many have done before. There is potential, yes, but it is impossible to appreciate it through the mountain of issues this game's direction has. As it stands, it is a boring game with nothing inspiring to bring to the table. Also hire a damn voice actor.
