Ratalaika Games is known for their amazing console ports of previously-PC only titles and this time around, their latest release Parasite Pack brings two games Flea! And Tapeworm Disco Puzzle to consoles as part of one bundle known as Parasite Pack. Both games are different in terms of gameplay mechanics however they share some visual elements and art style along with different enemies and both of the main characters appear in other titles often as well. Both titles are perfect for the collection and they actually feel like part of the same franchise despite being two different games. This is our review of the PS5 version of the Parasite Pack in which we jump non-stop to collect some blood and pick up cassettes while scavenging for music notes.
The first title in the collection is called Flea and this is a simple 2D puzzle game with side-scrolling boss battles. You play as Henry the Flea who has a problem of jumping. Henry is always jumping and your goal is to navigate Henry around while collecting vials of blood in different places, avoiding obstacles and other deadly insects, and dashing for the exit in each level. The concept behind every level is basically the same: you collect blood, avoid obstacles and reach the exit levels. After every 10 levels, you must defeat a boss which is mostly a larger insect chasing after you, and the level keeps moving to the right and you have to avoid getting killed by the insects chasing you and reach the exit while dodging the plethora of obstacles in your way.
As you are navigating these levels, you will also encounter different NPCs which are really weird but considering the fact that you are an always-jumping flea, collecting blood, everything fits into place. These NPCs will tell you about what is coming next or something about the world as you try to make sense of what is happening in the game and why is someone trying to kill Henry the Flea before he collects all of the blood. Henry the Flea is not invincible and has limited lives however you can trade all of the blood vials you collect for lives at key points with a weird, fat NPC. This way you can make sure that you are always one step ahead of all of the deaths coming your way. Flea is a really challenging title so you will die a lot in the game because the levels are filled with spikes, insects, and more obstacles.
Since Henry is always jumping and the control is not in your hand, this can make progress in the game a little tougher as well as you might accidentally jump into a spike at the top while you are trying to avoid falling down into a pit. To slightly suppress your jumps, you can tap the X key which lowers the height of every jump. This important mechanic is important for progression in the game and you will require it regularly in order to traverse some of the sections in various levels. There are 80 levels to conquer in Flea and you will come across around 8 bosses during the campaign.
The second game in the collection is the Tapeworm Disco Puzzle which is more of a maze-like puzzle instead of the side-scrolling and platforming of the first game. In this game, you play as a tapeworm who is the owner of the night club and you must ensure that all of the fleas are having a good time in your club. Your tasks during the puzzles will range from collecting all of the music notes, helping fleas survive various enemies, and also collecting blood while doing so. Apart from this, you will also be looking after Fleada, the catwalk model flea who is the star of your nightclub. You will move from one grid to another which costs a move however you can move back to the same grid and your move will be added back to your move count. This is not a traditional one-move-only grid puzzle solver. You can move ahead and then back as much as you want to solve puzzles and complete different tasks in the game.
While completing your tasks, you will come across various challenges that you will need to think about and then solve the puzzles. Unlike Flea, you can take your time and think about solving these puzzles. Each level is unique and you will need a different strategy for each level to move on. On key spots of the story, you will also have to fight bosses and throughout the game, you will come across around 4 or 5 bosses as far as I can remember from my playthrough of the game. The overall mechanics of Tapeworm Disco Puzzle are different and you will need to adjust according to its gameplay in order to complete the puzzles and move on.
Both Flea and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle share a similar art style and most of the enemies are the same in each game as well. You will notice some other similarities in both of the titles as well such as the Fleas will be jumping in both of the games and they will want blood. Both games have progressively harder levels and the difficulty curve is really high in the later sections of the game. If you love collecting trophies, you will be happy to know that the game features both Silver and Gold trophies and it is an easy Platinum as well. Apart from this, there are some other modern features in the game as well such as the ability to assign custom controls, Save/Load game states, video settings including custom CRT filters and aspect ratio, and a cool Rewind option that allows you to quickly rewind the game to your desired spot and fix your mistake to keep your lives high.
Both Flea and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle are great games and each of them comes with a different gameplay style that is easy to play yet difficult to master. Both of the main characters featured in Flea and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle regularly make an appearance in the other game as well and they both help each other in different ways. While Flea normally follows the very same formula right from the start to the finish, Tapeworm Disco Puzzle does change the pace by changing the type of puzzles on the go to keep things fresh and addictive. The PS5 version of the Parasite Pack runs great on the console and during my playthrough, I did not remember encountering any sort of visual or gameplay glitches but then again, Ratalaika Games has mastered the art of porting classic games to modern consoles and the Parasite Pack is no different. Choosing a favorite game from the two is hard however if I really have to choose, I will go with Flea since it keeps you on your toes with its never-ending jumps and cool boss fights.
Final Verdict:
Both titles in Parasite Pack are a brilliant combination of challenging puzzle platformers. While both titles may share some elements with each other, at their core, both offer a different set of challenges for you to conquer with Flea aiming for a more fast-paced platforming experience while Tapeworm Disco Puzzle goes for a subtler and strategic approach to solving puzzles. While in true life, both of these parasites may suck you dry but in the Parasite Pack, both of them will keep you busy for quite some time as you jump, crawl, and think your way to the end of each level. If you love playing classic platformers and video games that take you back to the early 90s, the Parasite Pack brings two such classics in one brilliant package.
Final Score: 8.5/10
