Endoparasitic is decently enjoyable and very atmospheric, but does end up being one of those games being more interesting to talk about than to play. It's a genuinely fascinating concept for a game: everything is done one-handed (both by the protagonist and by the player, who solely uses the mouse), making it impossible to do multiple things at once. If you want to shoot a weapon, reload, heal or open a first aid kit, then you're going to be unable to move for a few seconds while you work your way through the deliberately clunky UI.
That UI is a mixed blessing, and is probably the first thing you'll notice about the game. There's no 'reload' button, for example: if you want to reload, you're going to have to pick up the gun, open the inventory, pull the spent ammo out of the chambers one by one and then load in new bullets individually. It's a similar story with healing, and inventory management in general. This sounds tedious on paper and yeah, it can be. If you're in between combats and there are no immediate threats, it feels like pointless busywork. But in the middle of a fight it is extremely tense; for the most parts, combats are designed to let the player have just barely enough time to get in a reload if they're damn quick about it, and it genuinely feels very good to pull it off. Endoparasitic ends up being a remarkably immersive experience for what it is, and the level layouts and oppressive level of fog of war make it feel very claustrophobic in a good way.
I do however feel like this focus on doing everything one-handed doesn't quite work 100%, and there is enough jank in the controls to be noticeable and frustrating in the late game. Your character's one arm has some degree of physics to it, meaning is sometimes will get stuck on a table or something when trying to reach for an item and have to wiggle around a bit to try and get free. I found aiming to be weirdly inconsistent too; quite often the recoil from a first shot would send your arm right back into your torso, and the game would get confused by your hand being so close to your shoulder. Drawing and holstering weapons was always a bit awkward as well; where exactly you have to grab each gun felt pretty inconsistent, and there is no visual tell to show where you have to click to stow them once you're done. Endoparasitic makes up some points with it's movement; dragging yourself across the floor with your one hand ends up being much more fun than it sounds, especially when you get good at it and can just yeet yourself across the room.
Aesthetically, it's more of a mixed bag. I'm not really sure what tone it's going for; the plot, stark visuals and opressive atmosphere all make me think it wants to be taken seriously, but honestly the game comes off as more silly than anything else, in a B-movie kind of way. The voice acting is all extremely melodramatic and somewhat amateur, the main character is an idiot with bizarre priorities, and the things he manages to do despite his horrific injuries are just kinda laughable. But this isn't a problem per se, I enjoyed the cheesiness here even if it wasn't intended. As for the visuals, the UI feels pretty great (throwing smoking shotgun shells to the ground looks and sounds pretty satisfying every time), but the enemy design is a little uninspired and the environment design is extremely samey. And it's a minor thing to pick up on, but the sound the zombies make when they spot you just sounds... bored? It's a sound you hear a lot, and it just puts a dent in the otherwise great immersion this game manages to attain.
So overall, great concept for a game and I'm glad it exists, but there are enough little issues here and there that I can't really overlook them. I feel like the game would probably be better if it was about 2/3 of it's length, as it sorta feels like the dev ran out of things to add; the mid-game can get pretty samey, and the enemy types get less fitting and fun to deal with the later they are introduced. But Endoparasitic largely achieves what it sets out to, and ends up being a pretty memorable experience. Can recommend this one.
That UI is a mixed blessing, and is probably the first thing you'll notice about the game. There's no 'reload' button, for example: if you want to reload, you're going to have to pick up the gun, open the inventory, pull the spent ammo out of the chambers one by one and then load in new bullets individually. It's a similar story with healing, and inventory management in general. This sounds tedious on paper and yeah, it can be. If you're in between combats and there are no immediate threats, it feels like pointless busywork. But in the middle of a fight it is extremely tense; for the most parts, combats are designed to let the player have just barely enough time to get in a reload if they're damn quick about it, and it genuinely feels very good to pull it off. Endoparasitic ends up being a remarkably immersive experience for what it is, and the level layouts and oppressive level of fog of war make it feel very claustrophobic in a good way.
I do however feel like this focus on doing everything one-handed doesn't quite work 100%, and there is enough jank in the controls to be noticeable and frustrating in the late game. Your character's one arm has some degree of physics to it, meaning is sometimes will get stuck on a table or something when trying to reach for an item and have to wiggle around a bit to try and get free. I found aiming to be weirdly inconsistent too; quite often the recoil from a first shot would send your arm right back into your torso, and the game would get confused by your hand being so close to your shoulder. Drawing and holstering weapons was always a bit awkward as well; where exactly you have to grab each gun felt pretty inconsistent, and there is no visual tell to show where you have to click to stow them once you're done. Endoparasitic makes up some points with it's movement; dragging yourself across the floor with your one hand ends up being much more fun than it sounds, especially when you get good at it and can just yeet yourself across the room.
Aesthetically, it's more of a mixed bag. I'm not really sure what tone it's going for; the plot, stark visuals and opressive atmosphere all make me think it wants to be taken seriously, but honestly the game comes off as more silly than anything else, in a B-movie kind of way. The voice acting is all extremely melodramatic and somewhat amateur, the main character is an idiot with bizarre priorities, and the things he manages to do despite his horrific injuries are just kinda laughable. But this isn't a problem per se, I enjoyed the cheesiness here even if it wasn't intended. As for the visuals, the UI feels pretty great (throwing smoking shotgun shells to the ground looks and sounds pretty satisfying every time), but the enemy design is a little uninspired and the environment design is extremely samey. And it's a minor thing to pick up on, but the sound the zombies make when they spot you just sounds... bored? It's a sound you hear a lot, and it just puts a dent in the otherwise great immersion this game manages to attain.
So overall, great concept for a game and I'm glad it exists, but there are enough little issues here and there that I can't really overlook them. I feel like the game would probably be better if it was about 2/3 of it's length, as it sorta feels like the dev ran out of things to add; the mid-game can get pretty samey, and the enemy types get less fitting and fun to deal with the later they are introduced. But Endoparasitic largely achieves what it sets out to, and ends up being a pretty memorable experience. Can recommend this one.