Entering Host

You play as a fragile spider-like parasite, solving puzzles by possessing robots, rerouting power, and sneaking past threats. As is often the case with moody, atmospheric adventure games, the story here isn’t spoon-fed to you through cutscenes or narration. Instead, the game places you in its strange, mechanical world and leaves much of the storytelling up to interpretation. What little you do know is established at the beginning: you take control of a robotic parasite, a tiny creature that bursts out of a damaged machine inside a mysterious industrial complex. Beyond that, the game provides no clear answers. To piece together what is happening, you’re left to carefully observe the environment and form your own theories about the world- You control this parasite, which resembles a spider. It is fragile, small, and doesn’t possess many powers, meaning stealth is your most reliable survival tool. The parasite is no fighter since most enemies will destroy you instantly if you’re spotted, so staying out of sight and using your movement abilities wisely becomes essential. The main mechanic you’ll rely on is your set of sticky legs. These limbs allow you to cling to and scuttle along nearly any surface, whether it’s a wall, a ceiling, or a corner. The orientation of the surface doesn’t matter, since your grip never weakens, and you can remain attached indefinitely. The one caveat is that metallic surfaces resist your cling, serving as deliberate limitations that prevent you from bypassing puzzles or simply crawling anywhere you like. Your other basic movement tool is the jump. The parasite can leap a fair distance, though compared to its wall-crawling prowess, jumping often feels secondary. Still, it’s useful for clearing quickly pits and small gaps. The jump mechanic has an additional feature: if you press the button again midair and there’s a suitable surface above, the parasite shoots a web to latch on and pull itself upward. The parasite’s most important skills, however, are tied to interaction with the environment. You can pick up objects scattered around each puzzle area, though the game doesn’t highlight them. Instead, you gradually learn to recognize which items are interactive by their visual cues. Key among these are glowing energy tubes, which can be placed into nearby devices to power them, and movable plugs, which let you reroute power to doors, elevators, or other machinery. Even more vital is the ability to possess robots. This mechanic forms the backbone of progression. You can leap into inactive robots and take control of them, granting access to abilities you don’t have on your own. For example, larger robots can smash barriers or engage hostile machines, while others might be useful for specific puzzle functions. The catch is that you can’t possess active robots; they’ll attack immediately, and since you die in one hit, being spotted usually means quick death. That said, clever use of ceilings or stealthy positioning often gives you a chance to escape and reset the encounter. Robots can be entered or abandoned freely, and you can also break them down for their internal energy tubes. This process is reversible because you can return the tube and restore the robot, so you never risk making a puzzle unsolvable. Enemy robots, once defeated, can also be revived. This becomes particularly important when dealing with robots equipped with laser weapons. To power them, you’ll need not just an energy tube but also a battery. Once functional, their lasers can obliterate obstacles quickly and, thanks to ricocheting beams, hit switches or targets positioned in otherwise unreachable spots. Each puzzle leans on creative combinations of robot abilities. A small utility robot might serve as a stepping stool, letting a taller machine jump over an obstacle, or as a makeshift platform to carry an energy tube closer to its destination. Robots can also open doors and even hold them open, which lets your parasite slip through. Overall, puzzles are very smart and require you to use robots in unique ways. Although the game gives the impression of an interconnected world, it is actually structured as a series of puzzles. Sometimes a puzzle spans multiple rooms, but you remain confined until you solve it and escape through a garbage chute-like opening. There’s still a certain connection between stages, but you don’t have freedom to explore. One frustration arises from the checkpoint system, or rather, the lack of one. Puzzles have no mid-progress saves. If you die, even a step away from the goal, you must replay the entire stage from scratch. This repetition is most obnoxious becasue you can't skip stage intros that you’re forced to watch again and again. Exploration is limited overall. There are no hidden collectibles or secret areas to discover. The only extras come from terminals and notes scattered throughout, which you can read to glean small fragments of lore. Replay value exists mainly through achievements, some of which challenge you to complete levels in unconventional ways, but otherwise the game is focused purely on puzzle completion. Visually, the game stands out with excellent pixel art and smooth animation. While many assets are reused across levels, subtle details and occasional surprises keep the world from feeling too repetitive. Humans appear, depicted only as shadowy silhouettes defined by their outlines, and you see their struggle against the invading robots.

An interesting twist on puzzle solving that can at times harken back to Space Station: Silicon Valley - with a combination of clever puzzles, varied hosts and modular abilities. The game makes excellent use of its primary mechanic (being able to swap hosts) while introducing new mechanics and features later on. There's also a bit of a story told as you progress. There's a lot to love here for puzzle fans.

I'm updating my review since the Dev was awesome to implement a checkpoint system and remove repeat cutscenes upon death. That change Improved the game a ton. Pixel art GREAT, Music GREAT, animations GREAT, little details, GREAT! Enjoyed the story, game-play, mechanics, and the puzzles! Was fun having to think about where your pieces need to be and what actions to take. Doesn't hold your hand and gives you everything you need to know from the start and 100% worth the price :) Hope to see more games in the future from this Dev, good stuff! [h3] Just adding this here incase someone elses brain is as mush as mine at times- [/h3] I came across an area I was stuck and frustrated at but I didn't put two and two together misunderstanding what bugs can and can't grab but figured it out after rubber ducking by posting and deleting a discussion post lol sorry about that. It's not the game, you just have to think a bit harder and don't get overwhelmed, it's straight forward. If you want a HINT: [spoiler] Your solution is just out of reach [/spoiler]. And Here's the ZONE I was stuck at if you want to spoil: [spoiler] Infestation [/spoiler]. Good luck gamers, go gain another brain wrinkle.

Spectacular. 10/10 sprite graphics, 10/10 puzzles, stays fresh the whole way through. There are some light (and interesting, and unique) combat sections, but if that's not a dealbreaker easy recommend. It's worth more than it sells at full price.

this game slays. i do however have to use every single one of my braincells to solve the puzzles. when you get stuck just take time to walk around the level and really look at everything. also lots of easter eggs to find across the game.

boring and not fun at all