CARRION Reviews
Carrion excels at creating realistic tentacle locomotion in the shape of a bloodthirsty nightmare. It falls behind when it requests precision from a monster only capable of blunt violence. As mad science grants sentience to raw brutality, articulation must be sacrificed for overwhelming power. It leaves Carrion as a mesmerizing concept overcommitted to its code.
Even after the credits rolled, there were still a lot of optional power-ups to hunt down. Carrion feels familiar in its gameplay but unique in execution. The blood may still be freshly dripping from the wall, but Carrion is certainly one of the highlights in gaming from this year so far.
Carrion is often obscure, uncomfortable, unsettling, and distressing. And this is why we loved it.
If you're looking for a cathartic pick-up-and-play game with little to no fat that you can slip in between this summer's massive story-driven titles, that's Carrion all the way. It's a devilish snack.
This is a tough yet fun creepy crawler with decent replay value you will want to tuck back into. This game includes a maze of levels, an evolving tentacle-beast, and a whole lot of people to consume. Play as the villain and eat like a king.
However, frustrations aside, Carrion was still an entertaining playthrough. As one of Devolver’s major releases of the year it doesn’t quite hit the high mark I expected. It doesn’t need to be a breakthrough experience, though. It’s just plain fun, and I could see myself playing through again.
Carrion is a beautifully orchestrated symphony of blood, guts, and dismembered limbs.
Carrion is a delightfully gruesome game that has just as many puzzles as it does action.
Carrion doesn't just flip the horror script—it's the ultimate power fantasy, packed into a tight, uncompromising space. It might utilize some video game tropes, but it doesn't seem too concerned with accepted video game values. It's a 2D side-scroller without platforming, an action game where you dictate the action. The Doom Slayer might talk a big game about ripping and tearing, but Carrion's meatball monster puts its money where its many mouths are.
Carrion is a fantastic game that flips horror tropes on their heads and allows you to be the one slaughtering the ignorant and incompetent humans. There is actually a lot more depth to the gameplay than I anticipated, which never led to a dull moment.
There's plenty that Carrion gets right beyond the fluidity and attention to detail its horrific, blood-red monstrosity is given.
There just isn't a reason to play Carrion. There is little narrative, repetitive combat, limited puzzles, and almost zero horror elements. The atmosphere is okay and it reminds me of Alien but that's about as far as it goes with horror. Just leave this monster stuck in the vent.
Carrion is an excellent spin on the horror genre that switches the power-dynamics of a traditional horror game while still retaining a lot of the tension.
Carrion is the perfect marriage of John Carpenter and Cronenberg horror, with an almost unsettling glee as you careen through the game devouring all in your path.
It’s equal parts Metroidvania and player directed blood-bath and one of the best games of the year so far.
Devolver’s seal of approval is more than ever evidence of a classic as Carrion’s credentials as an incredible Metroidvania title as well as an inverse horror experience will never be in question.
Carrion’s concept of playing the evil, inhuman creature that’s out to eat everyone is definitely interesting and, at times undoubtedly visceral despite its distant 2D perspective, letting you bloody up rooms and leave halves of corpses lying around for later consumption. Its movement enforces the foreign nature of its protagonist but frequent frustrations like repeated difficulty spikes during combat and getting lost in its unremarkable facility do chip away at its awesome parts. Nevertheless, if you can weather some frustration, you’re in for a lot of delicious dismemberment and many horrified screams as you take Carrion’s flesh beast on its bloody journey.