We don’t really talk about mobile games here, do we? Well, despite that, there are actually some diamonds in the rough if you’re lucky to find them. Parasite Days is one of those games.
Parasite Days is a 2020 parasite management sim made by Japanese sole developer Jima under their Zxima studio. The game requires you, the hostbody, to care for yourself with the sole purpose of keeping a “cute” sentient parasite alive, all for the sake of science.
You have seemingly either willingly or unwillingly given your body to science, with the Find Future Foundation deciding that you are a suitable subject to attach a parasite to. The parasite speaks to you, as does a robot watch that records your survival process.
Throughout Parasite Days, you must eat food, drink water, and inject potions of some sort to keep your body going and, in turn, keep your parasite happy. There will be times where you get the chance to talk to the parasite, and in these moments you can choose to be kind to it or be mean to it. Doing all these things will improve your vitals, which include health and affection. Also, you might get seizures from time to time.
The dialogue in this game is refreshingly funny, and the pixel aesthetic is simple and effective. The parasite is genuinely very cute, but maybe that’s just because its tendrils are connected to me, making me THINK that it’s cute.
Like most free games on mobile, there are ads in Parasite Days. However, the way that they include them feels like a part of the game itself in a number of ways. Firstly, if a random ad comes in, one of the characters will shout “IT’S COMMERCIAL TIME!!” as if it’s all a part of the experiment. It’s funny to me.
Watching an ad is also part of the minigames known as ‘tests’ in the game. I’m not completely through it, but as of writing, there are 3 tests you can do to receive points in Parasite Days: a needle-threading precision-timing game, a robot-building swiping-agility game, and literally watching an ad. If you watch the ad, you will automatically get the top score and the robot watch will commend you on how good you are at watching the ad. Me personally? I laughed.
If you’re not interested in the ads, you can pay to get rid of them, with one microtransaction option of $5.99 getting rid of all ads while still allowing you to reap rewards from ads. However, any payments in Parasite Days will also turn off random “COMMERCIAL TIME” ads, including the cheapest $1.19 option that gives you a laser pointer for needle threading, which is all sorts of useful in that mini-game.
The thing is, it isn’t just about keeping the parasite alive. The game is also about getting it the hell off and getting the hell outta there. But I’ll let you figure out that one for yourself, as I highly recommend you give it a go. It’s a whole lot of fun! Sure, it’s been out for a couple of years now, but I’m always on the hunt for good mobile games and if I find them, you’ll know.
Parasite Days is available for free on the App Store and the Google Play Store.
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