Carrion - PC Review

 

Early last year developer Phobia Game Studios and publisher Devolver Digital revealed a game called Carrion. Essentially you are alien/experiment that breaks containment in a lab that has to kill and attack the scientists and soldiers inside. The gritty and pixelated visuals had me hooked along with the gameplay itself. While I wasn't familiar with Phobia Game Studios, Devolver Digital has a keen eye for games so was more than willing to try it.

Many, many years ago I used to work for Super Valu as a teenager (dark days). Before work each day I would run home and throw on a frozen curry first. They looked pretty good and I like curries, at first, it seems okay but then it becomes tasteless and an unappealing and end up being just pure substance. In reality, it was just a sad excuse for a curry and fooled myself into thinking it was even in the same league as a real one. Playing Carrion I found myself asking was this a real tasty curry or was I just eating a frozen one trying to fool myself?

Story

The opening scene is focused on a containment unit marked with a biohazard symbol. Inside is an experiment or perhaps a being from another world. Its mission (and also yours) is to destroy anything that stands in your way, become stronger and try to find a way out.

Overall the story does not provide much detail but that is okay, the only downside for me was the ending which felt a little underwhelming.

Visuals

The visuals are intense and gritty, not only the look of the creature with its many tentacles but the dark underground you navigate. While there are different areas within the facility you are imprisoned some of the areas can feel the same, the greatest strength of the visuals is also its greatest weakness. It can get extremely tiresome on your eyes and made me reminisce of when I got the GameBoy first and if the light was low in the room at all it could be a real struggle.

Overall the visuals are good but the only way to play the game is in short bursts, trying to play it a single sitting would just be a little too much (I played it over two sittings). 

Music

The music to me can be best described as a horror scape, spine chilling sounds, creeping danger and music you may hear in a horror to create a tense atmosphere and let you know the bad guy is coming. But what happens when you are the bad guy?  Instead of it being scary it becomes exhilarating, and for me could be compared to the feeling I get from listening to the music used in the latest instalment in the Doom series. The music is created by American composer Cris Velasco, who has worked on and created the music for; Darksiders, Mass Effect, Assassins Creed Unity Dead Kings, Bloodbourne and Borderlands to name but a few.

The soundtrack runs just shy of being an hour, and features a number of great tracks including; 'The Hunger', 'What's Yours Is Mine', 'AMD (Armoured Tech Drone), 'Metamorphosis IV' and 'Attack Of The Peacekeepers'. Overall a great soundtrack with really good sound effects.

Gameplay

The game is a side-scrolling horror game with some Metroidvania style gameplay. The game starts you escaping from a containment unit before killing and absorbing a few scientists. As you consume so shall you grow and the more hideous and horrifying you become. 

There are a number of abilities that can be unlocked in the game by finding other containments units scattered throughout the facility. The creature undergoes a number of metamorphoses, each time unlocks new abilities. Interestingly it is sometimes necessary to reduce your mass to get through certain areas which is quite interesting and unique to the best of my knowledge.

The save points are pretty frequent so you never need to worry too much if you die and later on you will, a lot. The enemies start with handguns and get's a lot tougher. The biggest downside for me was the lack of a map, so try to remember which areas you need to revisit and where exactly they are located can be tough. Including this feature would have made Metroidvania elements more fun.

Overall the gameplay is good, the only downside is the lack of a map.

Final Thoughts

Soooooo, after eight hours of playing how did I feel? Mixed. The story has an interesting concept but fizzles out, the visuals are great but become really tough on the eyes after a relatively short time. The music is really good, the gameplay is pretty strong and was certainly interesting getting to play as the bad guy. Overall, this one get a 3 out of 5