Straight from the heart of Japan, visual novel Cupid Parasite comes from Otomate, who specialize in making games for female fans. Typically, otome games are the same visual novel style, but feature female leads with a mostly male cast to be romanced.

In Cupid Parasite you take on the role of Lynette Mirror, and are tasked with the mission of matchmaking the infamous Parasite 5. The game has a lot of charm, voice acting, and a distinct art style that is a true treat for fans of the reverse harem genre.

Cupid Parasite
Developer: Idea Factory, Otomate
Publisher: Idea Factory International
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: November 2, 2021 (North America), November 5, 2021 (Europe)
Players: 1
Price: $49.99 USD

From Heaven above, a stunning woman named Lynette Mirror works for the Cupid Corporation, meant to connect people with the right match. Lynette Mirror, or Cupid, is the top bridal advisor in Los York.

During a flashback, you find out Cupid has been lectured by her father Mars on humans not getting married and having children. After defensively answering and talking with her aunt, Lady Minerva, Lynette challenges herself.

Her challenge: Make humans fall in love naturally without Cupid’s bow and arrow. Ultimately, proving to her father that humans are capable of great things and don’t need to rely on the gods for everything.

As a bridal advisor, Lynette’s job is to find matches for members that intend to get married, and match-make her clients with other members. A machine called the CUPID system is a technological advancement that matches members with each other perfectly each time.

After being approached by her boss, Mr. Snail, she is given the opportunity for a promotion under one condition. She must match-make the Parasite 5, five men deemed impossible to match-make, and difficult to approach regularly.

The Parasite 5 all have different quirks that make them unsuitable for the general populace, forcing Lynette’s hand at times. Dealing with the Parasite 5 is going to be her biggest challenge to date, and one that determines her promotion.

The story is a fun read. It’s engaging, and most importantly, makes you want to solve this puzzle. Through certain events, you can see the collision of different personalities interacting. 

For example, Gill Lovecraft is also known as the Lovelorn Parasite. He is generally a good guy, but with the affliction of being stuck in the past and wanting only one girl.

Through stories and awkward moments where you may get secondhand embarrassment, you find yourself overwhelmed but headstrong in concluding the story. Moments like those were what gave me motivation to see if I could, as Lynette, match-make these characters.

Cupid Parasite does a great job of telling the story of love, and has unforgettable characters via their personality and specific looks. No two characters are alike, and this may be what you need to get in touch with your feminine side.

Obviously, being a visual novel means that gameplay is a bit on the hitting-the-A-button side of things. However, there are segments of filling out forms, and making selections for the path you’re on. Those are moments that add a little bit of a reprieve from the monotonous advancement of the story.

One absolute thing I disliked was the UI choices. When you look through certain menus or when you complete an application in the story, the button controls are stationed on the left side of the screen, and is inconvenient to read at a glance. It’s not something that’s a major discomfort, but it can definitely take away from what feels like a break from single button presses.

Mixed in with the UI is the distinct overlay choices. It’s very colorful, featuring mostly pastels. Characters also have these color choices, and are unique enough to carve out their own identity from a first glance. Fonts used in the game are varying from the profiles for each of the Parasite 5 to the menus.

Locations and backgrounds are the same, stylized, colorful, and bright. Some backgrounds are mismatched however, featuring odd item placements. For other scenes, there are massive amounts of detail; like in the case of Lady Minerva’s room near the beginning of the game.

One of the better moments of the game was hearing the soundtrack. It features different genres and character specific songs for the Parasite 5. Sometimes during the playthrough, I would stop and just listen to the music because it was so catchy. It has a little bit of a “generic” sound but, it doesn’t need to be anything more than that.

The sound effects are in a weird, but good place. Some sounds like a computer notification dings, or your phone vibrating and interacting with your controller. Everything sounds normal and never out of place, even if you are in the realm of the Gods.

In conclusion, this is a cute visual novel about love, perfect for something around Valentine’s Day. The price for this game is $49.99 USD, which is a little much when dealing with a visual novel with this much content. On one hand, this is a much more serious topic with a niche crowd that will appreciate it, but will take some convincing.

The time spent is not for nothing. Playing can be enriching to help different types of people learn a little more about themselves, and what they look for. It’s a lesson in love that can only be taught by Cupid herself.