Entering Host for Windows

Quick overview

Entering Host is a moody 2D action-adventure puzzle-platformer that puts you in control of a damaged but sophisticated robotic parasite. Awakened amid a city falling into disrepair after a catastrophic malfunction, you use your small size and parasitic abilities to explore ruined factories and sleek corporate districts, solve creative power-routing puzzles, and manipulate other machines while trying to learn why the leading robotics firm disappeared—and what your own role is in the collapse.

Core features and highlights

• Single-player experience only — no co-op or multiplayer modes are available.
• Puzzles that revolve around rerouting power, reprogramming devices, and exploiting circuitry.
• Parasitic mechanic: attach to or hijack other robots to access new areas and tools.
• Atmospheric 2D environments ranging from crumbling industrial complexes to high-end corporate facilities.
• Developed and self-published by NickSchemes, an indie studio with a focus on mood and mechanical design.
• Frequent encounters with hostile machines and errant bugs that force clever tactics over brute force.

The setting and narrative tone

The game is set in a city on the edge of collapse after a massive systems failure. Landmarks and districts show contrasting levels of decay—rusted manufacturing wings sit beside gleaming corporate towers—giving each area its own hazards and puzzle types. Storytelling is atmospheric and investigative: progress often reveals fragments of the vanished company’s secrets and clues about the parasite’s origin and purpose.

Gameplay loop and challenges

Gameplay blends platforming, stealth, and puzzle-solving. You’ll avoid or outwit hostile automatons, exploit your parasite’s ability to inhabit machines to bypass threats, and reroute power to activate pathways or disable obstacles. The puzzles emphasize inventive uses of limited resources and environmental interactions rather than fast-paced combat. Precision and planning are rewarded; the world is hostile to careless approaches.

Practical info and a similar pick

Entering Host is a premium indie title focused on a single-player narrative and mechanical puzzles. If you’re looking for a very different tone and a larger open-world, consider Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (commercial release) as an alternative—its gameplay, scope, and multiplayer options contrast sharply with Entering Host’s intimate, puzzle-driven design.