Review: Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling Is Delicious

When Cupid Parasite launched on the Switch, it didn’t hold back and told over-the-top, often goofy love stories. Now Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling is here to continue the routes from the original otome game and add two others, and it is just as silly and stylish. 

The meat of Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling is that there are new After Drama and Bonus Episodes for Allan Melville, Gill Lovecraft, Peter Flage, Raul Aconite, Ryuki Keisaiin, and Shelby Snail. After Drama stories all pick up after the good endings in the Cupid Parasite otome game, with Lynette in committed relationships with the other characters. You choose responses that are “sweet” or “spicy” in response to them, netting different situations that can be cute or sexy. So there typically aren’t so much “bad” endings and you mainly experience different types of romance, though there are some exceptions to that. Getting to the end of a story can then unlock the subsequent Bonus Episodes for the love interests. 

All of these routes are generally pretty fun, and they’re often well-thought out. I was amazed how much I enjoyed Raul and Ryuki’s stories, because I they weren’t my favorites in the original games. Some of them feel like perhaps they take directions that don’t always take into account plot points or character development in the original, such as Shelby’s. I also appreciated that some of the out-there elements from the original showed up in the plots for Allan and Peter. I also didn’t mind the fact that the Bonus Episodes are locked behind After Drama, because it does feel like it makes sense in this situation.

There is also the matter of Merenice Levin. While 90% of Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling involves new moments with existing characters, his story is entirely new. It’s a case for Lynette that immediately falls after the common route in the first Cupid Parasite otome game, making you pretend any character development or other romantic developments ever existed. He does have his own “gimmick” like the other guys that gives him trouble, in this case using a doughnut like a crystal ball to see the future. I felt it has its moments and could be funny sometimes, but the pacing felt a bit rushed compared to the original routes. That, paired with the way Merenice pursues Lynette, made it a difficult to see that romance as being as genuine as some of the others.

I will say that even if one of the additional original stories don’t go exactly like you’d want or expect and Merenice doesn’t click with you, Idea Factory International and Otomate did not miss when it came to appearances. Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling is as poppy and gorgeous as the original. I love the UI elements. The use of color is fantastic throughout. Plus there are some absolutely fantastic CGs here. I think I’d even say I liked the event images better in this follow-up than I did in the original otome game.

The main downsides, aside from some narrative choices in the main After Drama routes and Merenice perhaps not being everyone’s cup of tea, is that Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling has more of a limited audience than some otome games. If you didn’t play the first game, you need to play that first. There’s no possible way to jump into this and still have a good time, because they are too tightly bound together. I also ended up getting one of the apparently few “bad” endings when I went through one of my past favorite’s routes, and it sort of soured my whole experience with that love interest in this entry.

Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling is a clear situation of more of a good thing, and people who enjoyed the original Switch otome game will be pleased. The new routes build on existing characters in typically entertaining ways. I will say that someone’s opinions of Merenice may vary, as it may come across a bit forced compared to the goofiness from the first game. Still, there’s a lot here for people who loved Shelby, Peter, Allan, Ryuki, Raul, and Gill. 

Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling will come to the Nintendo Switch on May 28, 2024, and the original otome game is immediately available on the platform.