We are an experiment, which of course goes wrong. Freed from our containment tank, it’s time to make those meat sacks pay, as we continue to evolve and escape from the base that holds us back. But how does it feel to control the creature in Carrion? We find out in this review.
We have not always been “the hero” in the video game. The idea of Carrion , of being the monster, may not be new, but the feeling of controlling him is. It does not matter if we exemplify with the velociraptor of that Jurassic Park from Mega Drive or with any of the xenomorphs that have swarmed the Alien games. When we pounce on our prey we feel powerful, but one carelessness is enough for any little guy to end our slaughter. At Carrion, however, we are a force of nature. As I walked through this top- secret base looking for a way to escape, the feeling that my passage through each of the rooms gave me was not that of being a predator, but of being an avalanche. An overwhelming force of nature, unstoppable,Not only cannot you fight against, but before you even realize it’s presence, you’re already dead. To illustrate with a graphic example: the final scene of Cabin in the Woods, when the containment doors open (you know what I mean).
This is what controlling Carrion’s monster feels like. Phobia Games calls this “inverted terror” because it is clear that those who have a hard time are the defenseless workers of this laboratory, that if they had a little more definition in their pixels, we could see how they piss their pants. Our passage through each room destroys the technical team, the human and part of the furniture in just a couple of movements with the command.
I understand that Carrion is structured as a kind of metroidvania. Not pure, because here backtracking is rather optional, but it is the best way to understand its structure. However, their levels always go forward. You will seldom repeat rooms, and when you do, the game will make sure to place you near a new exit to keep moving through the lab. Much better this way, because here we don’t have the typical map with squares and because since you can’t find the exit you can wander around its facilities for a long time. Our monster wants to escape the enclosure in which it served as a guinea pig and, for that, we will have to expand our biomass at certain points that will allow us to open the containment doors that keep us imprisoned.
We destroy everything in our video gameplay of Carrion, a horror game in reverse
The monster’s abilities are useful for combat, but also for puzzlesThe map will become increasingly complex and will require more biomass points from us to expand, so the real challenge is to make a mental scheme of the scenario to navigate it efficiently. Unlike other similar games, the speed of our monster is such that we go through the scenarios almost instantly. This, while comfortable, generates collateral damage: it’s easy not to memorize rooms or connect biomes. A map of a video game is learned when you suffer in it and you are forced to go through it again and again. If you go to history, therefore, you will not have problems. But if you’re looking for all the containment tanks to fully develop the creature’s abilities, you’ll have to do a few extra laps.
Handling the monster is one of those pleasant sensations achieved through pure Game Feel. It’s nice to control it. I spent several minutes simply making small movements with the stick and seeing how the tentacles of the creature grasped the different parts of its environment and how the viscous body full of eyes and teeth slides sluggishly across each surface, defying gravity . It is worthy of praise, since it is difficult to think about the work that the study will have taken to develop the algorithm so that our creature can move so quickly, organically and adjusted to different environments, whether they are long spaces and small nooks and crannies.
Eyes and teeth. And nothing more.
The creature is fast, fluid and agile. The game is worth watching in motion to check it outThere are times when Carrion’s combat can hardly be called that, “combat.” We are, quite simply, that unstoppable hurricane that destroys everything in its path. But although the game allows you in the opening bars (and also later, in calculated moments) to gloat in your superiority against the weak sacks of meat, there are enemies created to do you a lot, but a lot of damage. They are the most chaotic moments of the game, without a doubt, because here the speed and unstoppable force turn against you. It is at the moment when you have to fine tune the use of your tentacles, when the game becomes perhaps too imprecise.
It is clearly noticeable against enemies that have a shield and that can end our life in a matter of seconds. It is somewhat chaotic and impreciseface them face to face, since you never know for sure when you will be able to grab them with one of your tentacles. I think the game is aware that it cannot cope with the speed of the monster with the finesse of combat and sometimes (not always) prepares the room to feel like a xenomorph more than ever. Sneak through ceiling or under-floor vents and appear on their back, thus avoiding the shield. However, this is not always the case and often, faced with this inaccuracy, you resort to crushing the buttons of your skills while moving the stick from one side to the other, hoping that at the end there will only be a stack of arms and legs around you. . Bloody, yes, but with little specific mechanics.
Later on, new enemies appear that are still determined to destroy that fantastic feeling of being a superior and omnipotent organism, but Phobia Games always tries to give us new abilities to counter it. For example, creating spikes with our body to protect ourselves in short distances or turning the tentacles into powerful spears at long distances. We can even create a useful shield with our biomass. All in all, I think Carrion’s fight is nominal. Despite the monster’s abilities and the alternatives to direct combat, it’s hard not to notice its chaotic character. We need to be more precise in our movements and to know exactly in each case what has killed us and why.
The puzzles, however, are much more gratifying. Opening doors or accessing blocked areas is a requirement to advance in the game and there comes a time in the middle of the adventure when they become quite challenging, because they have the great peculiarity of making you think creatively. Enough times I’ve found myself in a situation, thinking it was unsolvable until I got a new skill, only to go back to the zone and rake my brain until I realized that skills can be combined in unique ways. If we add to this the extra challenges of getting all the containment tanks, don’t be surprised if I say that Carrion, with all its violent action, is a puzzle game in spirit.
The offal is insured. The passage of the creature through each scenario leaves a guaranteed blood trail
There is another part of Carrion that is less attractive and even breaks the rhythm of the game a bit. They are scenes in which we can “visualize” and control humansperforming certain tasks on the base, sometimes exploring, sometimes solving little puzzles and sometimes fighting. I think Phobia was trying to add some variety to the experience (almost reminding me of that Jurassic Park from Mega Drive again), but the contrast between monster and human is too strong. After moving nimbly with our tentacular terror, the human parts are soporific and honestly quite simple. Be careful, I am not referring to an ability with which we control the mind of a human through a tentacle, to solve puzzles, but unique moments in which we have to control them directly. He never gets to take advantage of his combat system, which is not as polished and does not cause the same effect on the player.
I think, ultimately, Carrion is one of those games that delivers exactly what it promises:You are a terrible monster and you have to escape, leaving a trail of corpses in your wake. Seeing the progression of this creature and how it grows as it feeds on biomass is very attractive, even if you are not the biggest fan of pixel art. Evolutions bring with them not only a more terrible presence, but new abilities, to the point that sometimes it will be necessary to “regress” to be able to use other characteristics of the monster when solving puzzles. But to the elements that weigh down the experience is added the dreaded moment when we face the umpteenth door to unlock and the game runs out of resources to make it stimulating. It only remains to go through the same game pattern again, with a little more difficulty, before the adventure ends. But by then
“Okay”
Carrion
Carrion perfectly achieves its purpose of making us feel like a powerful creature of unknown origin, laying waste to the poor humans that we find in our path. Despite the creature’s agile movement, combat is somewhat chaotic and imprecise. Luckily, there will also be some good puzzles to solve as we navigate this base in order to escape. The different evolutions of the creature that give rise to new powers enliven the progress in the adventure that, although it reaches a certain moment of stagnation in its final part, makes us feel the pleasure of being, at last, a truly monstrous and unstoppable force.
- The feeling of being a powerful and brutal nightmare monster.
- The movement of the creature is fantastic and it must not have been easy to achieve.
- The puzzles are clever, creative, and challenging.
- The fighting is somewhat chaotic and imprecise.
- The moments with humans cut the rhythm of the adventure.
- There are some signs of exhaustion in the formula in its final stretch.
