This Week I Have Been Mostly Playing…
Carrion on Nintendo Switch
It feels like every time I play a new game I learn some form of lesson. For Carrion it’s don't believe the hype. And I mean my own internal hype rather than the online kind that usually get whipped up. I was absolutely sold on the premise. You play the monster who is trying to escape a government facility. 2D, pixel graphics and brutally violent - of course, it's published by Devolver Digital! Flipping the action over to you being the big bad monster, gobbling up humans. Sign me up!!
As per usual I ignored all reviews and gameplay footage beyond the announcement trailer. It was very much built up in my mind as going to be an absolute classic. And… it’s pretty good. Some bits are amazing, in particular the movement of the monster. Thin tentacles fly out quickly allowing very smooth and quick movement around. Sure it's 2D but it gives you so much verticality and it's an absolute joy to get around.
It does have its problems. Moving between each area needs a loading screen which is pretty frustrating when you accidentally go the wrong way. The lack of a map is understandable, after all you are a barely sentient monster, I highly doubt his cartography skills are up to snuff. But every area looks so similar, grey concrete government facilities make navigation a nightmare. In the end I picked up what the developers were trying to do, creating routes with regular checkpoints. But I couldn't draw you the map to save my life and it's maybe the least memorable level designs I can think of.
Not that the designs of a monster chomping down on humans looks bad, it’s so satisfying to see a mouth dart out the side and chomp a human in half, pixel blood spurting everywhere. Eating people has two benefits, it stops them firing their guns (and later incredibly OP flamethrowers) and gives you health back. There are a lot of humans and not all of them are bad. Some of them are the ‘innocent’ scientists that were experimenting on you!
You start out as a small red blob, breaking out of a large specimen jar to go hunting around for the exit. As you explore different zones you can unlock upgrades and increase your size (& health). Most of the upgrades allow you to access new areas and occasionally help you take out the humans quicker. Diving into a new area, smashing a bunch of humans around like ragdolls and chomping down more than makes up for the numerous moments of disorientation.
Getting lost is going to happen though you figure out where they are trying to direct you in the end. I wish they made a few gameplay tweaks though, such as allowing you to eat a whole human when you are at your biggest size. Would speed things up a bit and reward you for getting the final upgrades. This is still far better and quicker than when you play as a human. Such slow boring levels as you navigate the military facilities to unlock a lever or two. You long to dive back in as the monster to glide around! Absolutely kills the pacing.
To be fair the game doesn’t outstay its welcome, its only 5 hours long. I won’t spoil the ending but they certainly went with the smart ending rather than the blow out fun kind. It certainly sets itself up for a sequel and there is enough scope to warrant one. For all my disappointment It’s worth a look if the premise intrigues. It's even on Game Pass at the moment. And after being so mean now I feel like the monster...
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