Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling review

When a series of video games is heavily story based, one of the worst things you can do is start playing a sequel before the earlier entries. I know this from experience, be it from skipping the 2018 God of War and jumping straight into Ragnarok or completing Persona 5 Strikers before putting a hundred hours into the RPG that spawned the spinoff. Sometimes the pull of playing a brand new game alongside everyone else is just too strong, and as long as you’re enjoying yourself and don’t mind missing out on a bit of nuance, who is anyone else to judge? This was my loud and proud cry as I marched into the Otome sequel Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling, but only time would tell if it affected my enjoyment.

In Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling you play as Cupid, the god of love who gets humans to fall in love with a little bow and arrow. In this story though Cupid has transformed into a human woman, and is in charge of a dating agency for problematic men. In the original game, you apparently spent your time trying to find love for a group of troublesome and hunky guys called the Parasite Six, and like any good Otome game, ended up falling in love with one. Taking place after the original game this installment has a few different modes you can play, which returning fans will likely get a kick out of.

The first mode you can choose is for those looking for a happily ever after, and tells an impressively long story of what happened next in each of these relationships. You’ll get to have lavish weddings and exotic honeymoons with each of the dishy dreamboats, while still getting to enjoy a little drama and some branching narrative paths. Yes I’ll admit as a newcomer this was a slightly jarring experience, but even so, I got to understand and get to know the various hunks of the game.

The other mode the game has to offer is easier to dive into without any Cupid Parasite experience. This bonus chapter is set after the ending where you don’t fall in love with any of the original boys and sees you carrying on your job and meeting some new love interests. The main suitor is a mystic with the power to see the future of anyone he looks at through his magical donut (yes really) but being a god in disguise he can’t do this to you.

This results in this magical character taking an immediate shine to you, and your character having to do everything in her power to stay professional and not just let him start wooing an agency matchmaker. This route through the game was a whole lot of fun, and he definitely would’ve been the one I picked if given the choice between everyone. Obviously without that choice, Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling is sort of like playing through an Otome game once, albeit with lots and lots of extra content for returning romance fans.

In terms of gameplay Sweet and Spicy Darling is very much a traditional Otome visual novel. You’ll read a whole lot of text (with some lovely accompanying Japanese voice acting), you’ll make a few choices and the story will continue based on them. This is one of the slightly deeper Otome games with a full-on flowchart to follow if you want to get all the endings, but don’t go in expecting any adventure game antics you’d find in an Ace Attorney game.

Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling is an entertaining Otome game with great characters and lots for returning fans to enjoy. As someone who skipped the original game though I must admit it wasn’t as easy to dive into, as this is a direct follow-on that’s more about “happily ever afters” than “will they won’t theys”. As a concept for an Otome series though it’s wonderful, and has definitely made me want to check out the original game.