“I can do this one-handed” is a popular statement that many people use to show their bravery. The indie survival horror game “Endoparasitic” seems like it was made as a response to this because it basically asks, “Could you really?”
At a lunar research station, a foreign parasite breaches containment while under analysis, turning the station’s inhabitants into feral freaks. A few scientists barely managed to survive, but lead scientist Cynte had it the worst when his mutated brethren ripped off his left arm and both of his legs. Losing three limbs isn’t enough to stop him, though. With his remaining arm, he cauterizes his stumps and hauls himself through the station to preserve his research and escape.
“Endoparasitic” has outdone itself by making you feel weak. True to the character, you’ll use one hand for most of the game except to go to the menu. The use of only the mouse is a stellar idea given the premise. You’ll initially enter the mind of Cynte thinking this will be easy, but you’ll soon realize how difficult it is. “Endoparasitic” isn’t playing a game of Slaps with you, rather it’s playing Five Finger Fillet.
There’s also a sense of urgency. Cynte is infected by a parasite burrowing into his brain over time, and it progresses faster when he takes damage from monsters. Once it reaches the brain, you die. Hypodermic needles can be found around the station that suppress the parasite rather than expunge it.
On top of all of it, because of his condition, Cynte can only see what’s close by, not far away. In a room, this might not prove terrible, but in claustrophobic ventilation, you’d best be ready to shoot.
When it’s time to fight, you need to know what you’re doing immediately. Cynte picks up a small but useful arsenal throughout the game: The revolver is a weak six-shooter that takes the longest to reload; the double-barreled shotgun does high damage at the cost of having to reload frequently; the flare gun can take out numerous enemies with one blast, but flares occupy a lot of inventory space; and the crossbow is a wind-up, silent killer with reusable bolts. Stapling a demand for weapon knowledge only enhances the survival-horror aspect.
Cynte keeps every weapon on his torso. If you’re in a panic, you might grab the wrong gun and waste its ammo on something extremely weak or something strong enough to endure what you fire.
Understanding the situation at hand, you’ll always be alert. It doesn’t matter what room you enter—you will always feel the urge to whip your gun out upon entering. You might accidentally pull yourself into a situation without even knowing it, and it might take dying once to comprehend what to do.
Part of this comes from when “Endoparasitic” packs some clever stealth gameplay into its danger. Once you’re familiar with how to move Cynte, you’ll be yanking yourself around without a problem. Toward the middle of the game, you meet some monsters that won’t attack unless you make noise by being in a hurry. It’s stressful—slowly pulling yourself through somewhere without making one sudden movement to trigger a thin, skeletal monster on the floor or trying to ensure a giant, mutated monkey goes for the bait you set and not you.
All of it is encased by mystery. There are only three main characters including Cynte throughout “Endoparasitic.” Although, it’s very hard to like any of the characters when you learn how all three contributed to this dilemma.
Pravi managed to stay within a tolerable sphere with Cynte before the outbreak, but this doesn’t erase the fact that she still assisted research into what caused this fiasco.
Luce felt exiled from Pravi and Cynte’s circle of research and risked contact with the parasites for the sake of becoming omnipotent. Even with the great power she gets, she helps nobody and abandons Cynte.
Cynte himself is notably vicious and sinister, from his soulless voice to his motivations of godhood by becoming a specialized parasite “host.” His original intentions were to release the parasite for research purposes, which he soon realizes was a terrible idea, and after mostly everyone is dead, he retains no sympathy for who remains.
Rarely do you find a game with a despicable cast of characters holding not even one redeeming quality, but “Endoparasitic” scratches that itch. The main issue is that it doesn’t do that for very long. After its three-to-four-hour story, it leaves off on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger before the credits roll.
“Endoparasitic” should only have players hoping for a sequel or update. It has pioneered something so simple and successfully made it difficult, then circled it with clever writing. While you wouldn’t want to be in Cynte’s position, it’s an experience for thrill-seekers to get their horror-game fix.