Parasite Mutant Demo Review: A Love Letter to Parasite Eve with Old-School Horror RPG Vibes
Hey everyone it’s Total Doom Oz here. So I booted up the Parasite Mutant demo, by IceSitruuna and about ten minutes in my brain goes, hold on… I recognize this unease. This feels like Parasite Eve, back when Square decided to scare people with science, mood, and restraint instead of menus full of cosmetics. That alone earns points, because most modern games are afraid to be quiet, strange, or patient for more than five seconds.
The cell-shaded art style looks damn good. Clean, confident, stylized. Then the backgrounds show up doing something completely different and instead of clashing, they work together. I do not know if they are pre-rendered, hand-painted, or summoned by a nervous artist at 3 a.m., but they give the world that staged, unsettling look Parasite Eve nailed so well. Like the environment itself knows something horrible is coming and is politely waiting for you to catch on.
Exploration leans hard into classic vibes. Fixed camera angles. Slow, deliberate movement. The kind of design that says, take your time, idiot, this hallway matters. I loved that. It scratches that old-school itch where tension comes from atmosphere instead of explosions. The downside is that some important objects are hidden so well the game starts feeling like a quiet little bastard testing your faith. Not your skill. Your faith. Eventually you learn that if you get close enough, important stuff shows up on the map, which helps. But until then, you are rubbing against walls like a confused Roomba wondering if this is your life now.
Story-wise, it is a demo, so expectations are reasonable. Most of the narrative comes through emails, notes, reports, texts. Corporate horror. Scientific arrogance. Paperwork documenting the end of the world. Very on-brand for this kind of game. It works, but I would love some voice acting. Not a lot. Just enough to add texture. Parasite Eve understood that a single voice line can do more damage to your nerves than a full paragraph of text.
Now the combat, this is where the game really wakes up and grabs you by the collar. Real-time with pause, ATC gauge filling while you move around the battlefield trying not to get eaten. Big Final Fantasy 13 energy, but with more tension and less hallway guilt. You are constantly repositioning, watching meters, deciding when to strike. It feels good. It feels intentional.
You have melee weapons, parasite psychic powers, guns, armor, upgrades, stat distribution. Damage, hit chance, range. Actual RPG decisions. Not pretend choices that funnel you into the same build anyway. You can feel your character becoming more capable, which is something modern games weirdly avoid in favor of cosmetic growth and emotional resilience.
That said, here comes the yelling. Where is my dodge. Or block. Or parry. Something. Right now a lot of combat is running around like a nervous intern waiting for permission to be effective. A simple defensive mechanic would make a huge difference, especially considering how rare healing items are. When you get hit, you feel it. That is good. But give players one more way to avoid damage so it feels like skill, not just cardio. Take points form either Expedition 33 or Sea of Stars at least.
Also, scene transitions. If I am holding a direction, let me keep moving. IN THE SAME DIRECTION, not like my character forgot how legs work. I kept accidentally walking back and forth between screens like a guy who walked into a room and forgot why he was there. This was solved years ago. Someone in the room already knows this.
Despite all that, I played the demo for about an hour and never once thought about stopping. That is the real test. No boredom. No menu fatigue. No urge to check my phone. Just curiosity and tension, which is exactly what a game inspired by Parasite Eve should deliver.
Parasite Mutant feels like it remembers a time when horror RPGs trusted players to be patient and a little uncomfortable. Tighten the movement, add a defensive option, sprinkle in some voice work, and you might finally give Parasite Eve fans something they have been starving for since 1998.
I am wishlisting it and you can to. Steam or Playstation Store
Now please let me dodge before the industry forgets how again.
Parasite Mutant wears its inspiration on its sleeve — so tap into that nostalgia.
👉 **Parasite Eve intro video on YouTube** – A classic cinematic intro that showcases how horror RPGs used to set the mood. Sphere Hunter does a fantastic job covering its greatness.
👉 **Parasite Eve on Amazon (PlayStation)** – A classic cult RPG that helped define cinematic horror RPGs in the late 90s, great for fans seeking the roots of this style.
👉 **Parasite Eve II on Amazon (PS1)** – The follow-up to the original classic, also great for comparing old and new RPG mechanics.
👉 **Parasite Eve novel by Hideaki Sena (book)** – The original sci-fi horror novel that inspired the games and worldbuilding.
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