PARASITE CYCLE Special Demo Version
A downloadable computer videogame for Windows
I AM THE PARASITE THAT RESIDES WITHIN.
YOU ARE YOU,
I AM ME,
YOUR BODY NOW BELONGS TO ME.
YOU TOOK A VOW, ATE A SEED,
THOU ART NO LONGER THEE.
- DEMO NOW AVAILABLE! -
Ichishima, Japan -- 1998
When the seaside town of Ichishima becomes the target of a new parasite cycle, it is up to a schoolgirl possessed by a parasite to save the world as we know it.
Drawn in glorious 1-bit, PARASITE CYCLE (寄生虫のサイクル) is an atmospheric horror adventure through several locales in the cursed town of Ichishima. Face off against monsters, parasites, and yourself as you struggle to delay the inevitable end of the world.
After all, parasites must do
as they are told.
This demo features a majority of the game's first chapter. Anything in this demo can be subject to change.
FAQ
What’s the content like? Anything I should know about?
- While I do consider PARASITE CYCLE a hopeful game, it no doubt features themes that may cause distress or discomfort in the player, such as self-loathing and depression.
What’s your policy on fan content?
- I am generally fine (and even glad!) for any and all fan content, such as fan art, fan games, or other works like those. However, I would like to ask you to refrain from drawing 18+ content of the characters featured as they are minors. In the case of fangames, please make sure to note that the work is not original and provide a link to the game’s Itch.io page. Same goes for videos — if you record and publish a video on the game, please, include a credit in the video's description.
CREDITS
- Andrej "Cuttlefresh" H. -- Game Lead
- Lhunagian -- Cover art
- RPG Maker Plugins by Ryusa Works, Victor Engine, KisaiTenshi, Shaz, Quxios, Yanfly, caethyril, Triacontane, Astfgl,
- Font "Silver" by Poppy Works
- Font "Newsgeek" by Francisco Beltrán
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- PARASITE CYCLE Demo Patch 1.0.4 NotesJun 04, 2022
- PARASITE CYCLE Demo Patch 1.0.3 NotesMay 20, 2022
- PARASITE CYCLE Demo Patch 1.0.2 NotesMay 15, 2022
- PARASITE CYCLE Demo Patch 1.0.1 NotesMay 01, 2022
- PARASITE CYCLE Demo Released!Apr 30, 2022
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Parasite time.
Bizarre in a good way. Really looking forward to how this develops!
I absolutely love the game so far! it was slightly quiet in the beginning, but the atmosphere and storyline as it went on made it totally worth it! I do really look forward to the full version, as the demo captivated me with the awesome art style and plot. I hope to complete the cycle soon. :)
This was delightful to watch (pun not intended), thanks for playing!
Greetings! May I ask what should I do after I found the dead girl behind the locked door? I have examined every possible place to look but I must have missed something important. ( I also have got the scissors and cut the weeds )
Hi! Examine the paper next to her and knock on the final door in the female bathroom five times.
There seems to be a weird glitch on the stairs to the roof which soft-locks you, making you have to reload.
Hi, thanks for reporting! I’ll fix that in the full game, as I’m no longer making updates to the demo and am actively working on the full project. I’m sorry you had to reload!
I'm a little confused about the controls. It might be a bug on my end, but sometimes X/Shift opens the menu and sometimes it doesn't. In particular I'm stuck on the piano section, I try to repeat the melody by pressing the keys but the melody replays before I finish
Thanks for the feedback! The game does limit when you can open your inventory (can’t open it during cutscenes, for example) but it’s totally possible I made a mistake and left some open loops, you might call it. I’ll check a look! If X/Shift doesn’t work for the item inventory, please, do use escape to open the pause menu and select “ITEMS” from there for the time being.
As for the piano section, you do have to listen to the melody in full, and then try to repeat it by ear fully. I understand that this puzzle in particular is difficult for some players, so that will be addressed in a bigger patch to the demo (1.1 - ETA June-ish) which will also introduce some content that was left on the cutting room floor to make a deadline.
Once again, I highly appreciate the feedback! Hope you manage to finish the demo :>!
Thanks for the response! For the piano section, does the melody only replay when you hit a wrong note? That's specifically what's confusing me
The melody replays when you press the black note button on the left hand side!
Hi there ! The game looks really great, love the aesthetics of it and the overall ambience.
The music is also quite unsettling, which fits well with the game !
I've tried the demo but ran into some bugs (the desk with the computer not showing up, having the possibility to go behind the lockers...)
And I can't seem to solve a puzzle and I'm not sure if I'm soft lock, is there any guide ?
Anyway thanks for this demo :)
Hi! Thanks for the compliments, I appreciate them :> And, yes, obviously, thank you for the bug reports. There was relatively little playtesting done, so things like these are just bound to happen, haha. I’ll take a look-see soon to see if I can replicate ’em and what I can do about ’em.
As for the puzzle, I’m assuming you’re referring to the piano puzzle, I know that many players seem to be having problems with it, so I will most likely be patching in a better clue/hint with the aforementioned bug fixes. Unfortunately, I haven’t written any guides for the demo, but I can tell you that there’s an alternate ending if you’re willing to do a little experimentation with items and characters, so feel free to give it a try (wink wonk)!
Hope you have a good day!
Thanks for the tips, if needed I'll try to be more precise if you still want playtesting.
I don't think it is about a piano, I guess at the first floor in the lockers I can obtain an item ? Because a locker has openend but I got no item that's why I thought I got softlocked (but maybe not!). Where I am I have cut the thing off the entrance but still need a key to get in the sewer.
But I'll definetly try again !
Oh, if you opened a locker and got nothing on the first floor, then you definitely aren’t softlocked. That’s just a visual glitch, originally, you could open all the lockers but get nothing. I changed it in favor of a more obvious “open this locker in particular”, so you should be able to notice the one locker you’re meant to open.
I suggest you do a little more exploring in that case! You’re bound to find something on the second floor, no?
That's it ! I'm a parasite vanquisher and got 2/3 alternante endings :)
I'll make a review of bugs I had in the patch note ^^
Thanks for this game :)