For quite a while now, the major otome companies have only been releasing their games on the Switch, but today Idea Factory announced that Cupid Parasite will be coming to the PC later this year!
Personally, I prefer to play visual novels on a handheld system when I can, so I’d probably stick with Switch releases anyway.
However, it’s still exciting news! Now I can recommend Cupid Parasite to even more people.
And believe me, I will.
I loved Cupid Parasite and found it to be one of the funniest visual novels I’ve played, with loveable characters and a ridiculous sense of humor.
I also quite enjoyed playing the (sometimes unhinged) fandisc earlier this year. No word on the fandisc coming to PC yet, but hopefully it will eventually.
Right now it’s not clear if this is just the first of many otome games Idea Factory will bring to PC, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a test case to see if the market is there.
Will you be playing Cupid Parasite when it comes to PC?
Back in 2022, I played and absolutely loved Cupid Parasite, an otome game in which the main character is literally Cupid and takes human form to prove she can help humans find love without her powers.
It is one of the funniest otome games I’ve ever played, and I loved the characters. I was thrilled when the fandisc, Sweet & Spicy Darling, was confirmed for localization.
(As a reminder, a fandisc is sort of like a sequel, but with lower stakes. I usually view it as a game to let the characters enjoy their happy endings.)
So, how does the fandisc hold up?
It’s not as funny as the main Cupid Parasite, but it’s still a wild ride with a lot of amusing and outrageous moments. Each of the six love interests has a story that takes place after his route from the original game, with various new conflicts the couples experience now that they’re together. Meanwhile, instead of standard good/bad endings, this fandisc uses a gimmick that’s in the title: each character has a sweet ending, a spicy ending, and a sweet & spicy ending, along with a couple others for certain characters.
The sweet & spicy endings are basically the best endings, the sweet endings are self-explanatory from the name (with the exception of Allan’s, whose sweet ending I found to be pretty sad), and the spicy endings are… insane.
Some were tamer than others, but most of the spicy endings had me once again asking, just like I did with the original Cupid Parasite, “Are you allowed to do this in a T-rated game?” One character even had an additional “bad spicy end” that’s actually locked behind multiple warnings before you’re allowed to see it. I’ve gotten the impression that some fans dislike how wild the spicy endings can get, but I found it to be fun. You really never know what might happen.
In addition to these six routes, there’s also a new love interest with a route of his own, one mini-route for a supporting character, and a small tease of what a route with the first game’s main antagonist could be like.
I found the new love interest to be quite likeable, a fine addition to the cast, and the mini-routes just left me hoping we actually do get a second fandisc that expands them into full routes. The biggest surprise for me was that I didn’t enjoy Allan’s route as much as I expected it to, mainly because it had more angst than I usually expect from a fandisc but also because Lynette’s attitude felt a little weird in this route at times.
Click for Sweet & Spicy Darling Allan Route spoilers
Lynette has become a demon so she can be with her incubus husband… and this is the route where she’s going to worry that sex doesn’t have value if they can’t have children? I understand the idea coming up because they’re not human, but it felt bizarrely out of place with the incubus context.
Overall, however, I enjoyed all the routes, even those of my less-preferred characters.
Some parts of Cupid Parasite: Sweet & Spicy Darling are pretty wild, but I enjoyed playing it, and I’d love to see a second fandisc someday. It was a perfect game for Valentine’s Day.
If you’ve played Cupid Parasite: Sweet & Spicy Darling, what did you think of it?
Today had the potential for some exciting video game announcements, so I was looking forward to it, starting with Level-5 Vision 2023 II early this morning.
It began with a message from Professor Layton’s Japanese voice actor, who revealed that when he was first given the part of Professor Layton, he drew inspiration from James Bond. Not what I expected, but that’s a fun detail.
The first game they showed was Megaton Musashi Wired, which will be out on April 25, 2024.
Getting an actual release date for one of the games relieved some of my worries, even though I’m not interested in that one specifically.
Next up was a new trailer for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which I’m really looking forward to! The new trailer highlights changes from the first game as well as a summer 2024 release window. While that’s further off than I’d like, at least it gives me a chance to get through the rush of early 2024 games first!
They spent a good deal of time looking at the next Inazuma Eleven game after that. I’ve never gotten into that series, but since this game has been delayed over and over again for over 7 years now, it’s nice to see it finally making progress. While it didn’t get a release date, there will be a closed beta test for the online features in March 2024.
Now, you know I only watched this live because I wanted Professor Layton news, so I was thrilled when they showed Professor Layton and the New World of Steam next.
The new trailer shows a small section of the game, including a 3D cutscene and some gameplay. Watching them tap around for hint coins and encounter a puzzle might not sound like a big deal, but seeing that good, familiar Professor Layton gameplay make me so happy. Hearing narration during the puzzle-solving was a bit odd, so I think that might have been purely for the trailer (unless that’s the way hints will be handled in this game). It also appeared like they were using the touchscreen, which is interesting.
Unfortunately, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam won’t be out until 2025. With the other games all delayed to 2024, I was expecting it, but it was still a little disappointing.
I had expected them to end with Professor Layton, but instead they went on to briefly discuss the success of the Yokai Watch mobile game, and then they continued with Decapolice.
I’ve been interested in Decapolice since I love mystery games and it seems to have JRPG elements as well, but I was surprised to hear them describe it as an open world game. The showcase also said the release date had been moved to “post-2024,” although a tweet later clarified that they meant 2024.
The showcase ended with the announcement that the next showcase, titled Level-5 Vision 2024: To the World’s Children, will be held in April 2024, teasing an announcement implied to be a new Yokai Watch game. So that’s certainly exciting!
While it was mainly a showcase full of delay news, I was still thrilled to get a longer look at the new Professor Layton game. And the day wasn’t over yet, because Idea Factory’s otome-themed “just chatting” stream was coming up next with the promise of an announcement.
Indeed, Idea Factory kicked things off with the announcement that Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling, is being localized! This is the fandisc of Cupid Parasite, which I loved.
I’ve been hoping the fandisc would get localized, so that was a great surprise! It will be out in 2024, and a Limited Edition will be available as well.
All in all, it was a great day for video game news for me. And while the Level-5 delays might be disappointing, I’ve got plenty of games in my backlog to occupy me in the meantime.
How do you feel about the new trailer for Professor Layton and the New World of Steam? What about Level-5’s other announcements? Are you excited for the Cupid Parasite fandisc?
For quite a while now, the major otome companies have only been releasing their games on the Switch, but today Idea Factory announced that Cupid Parasite will be coming to the PC later this year!
