A top-down, rogue-lite shoot ‘em up at its core, HyperParasite is now in active development by Bari, Italy based independent games studio Troglobytes Games.
Set in an alternate-history, post-World War III model of the 1980s, the game follows an invisible, body-snatching organism’s quest for global domination in an era of obnoxious pop culture.
Herein alliances are formed between battle-hardened law enforcers and the most degenerate of criminals to make way for a global hunt, all while martial laws add to the paranoia of mentally ravaged society.
With players picking up the titular role of humanity’s deadliest adversary-to-date –
- Being able to dynamically snatch and switch between the bodies of nearly every weapon-wielding Homo sapien they encounter, ensures bullet hell almost never ceases.
- Persistent wit and dexterity is demanded with multiple character classes to consume, host-specific abilities to exploit and a skill-based progression system to overcome.
- HyperParasite takes its rogue-lite mechanics very seriously. Procedurally generated levels, multiple game-play objectives, grueling waves of enemies, deranged bosses and perma-death make it nigh-impossible to beat in a single run.
- All while Troglobytes’ in-house dungeon-generation technology, Vania, ensures the seamless randomisation of visuals, sub-levels & secrets.
HyperParasite will also feature local co-operative multiplayer, letting players cherish its characters, urban legends, items and pop-culture references with a mullet-wielding friend.
The title is Troglobytes Games second IP in-development, the first being its multi-console, Metroidvania ARPG, Tenebrae: Twilight of The Gods. Having concluded Tenebrae’s prototype phase in December, 2016 after more than a year of development, the team decided to alter its production focus due to a lack of sufficient funds.
‘Our vision for Tenebrae is too large to sustain on the limited amount of resources we have been thriving on,’ states Luciano Iurino, Lead Developer at Troglobytes. ‘Despite our best efforts and numerous prospects, we found ourselves unable to secure for the game a suitable financial partner/investor/publisher.’
‘As such then, we’ve had to direct Troglobytes’ focus towards much smaller, more feasible projects in an attempt to independently fund Tenebrae’s production. This is where HyperParasite comes in.’
Admittedly, HyperParasite pays homage to an era that Troglobytes Games considers itself heavily influenced by; the absurd, pop-culture ridden decade of the 1980s.
The game’s structure and core mechanics is such that it allows for expansion and iteration on existing content (procedurally generated levels, dozens of unlockable character classes, items, powers, skills, etc.), which in turn provides for plenty of publishing options.
‘Although, we’re yet to decide what’s best for the game yet.’ adds Iurino. HyperParasite is being prepared for a 2018 launch on Steam by Troglobytes’ core team and a selection of external collaborators. Console releases will follow.
A few closed testing sessions are planned, while a playable build is being primed for an appearance at the Milan Games Week later this month.
Tenebrae: Twilight of The Gods meanwhile will continue production, albeit at a much slower pace. Any significant updates with regards to the same will be issued across the game’s dedicated website, indieDB and/or Troglobytes’ social media channels.
