Carrion (2020) - Video game review
Monsters are complicated, especially creatures like the one featured in Carrion . It's often easy to dismiss the grotesquely squishy and slimy organisms of horror as pure evil, after all, they kill us, the humans and we're definitely the 'good' guys...
Right? It's been referred to as a reverse-horror game, but I feel like that's pretty inaccurate considering you start your adventure trapped in a specimen tube, burrowed deeply in a secret lab. Your actions may appear gruesome but they're singular, instinctual, it's about survival.
Carrion made me wonder about many famous monsters in horror fiction. If we were to take on the perspective of the gelatinous, man-eating goop from Chuck Russel's excellent The Blob or the assimilating alien of John Carpenter's The Thing , how would it make us feel? After all, they're simply tales of survival against an alien threat, whichever perspective you take.
This game isn't about being evil, it's about being a survivor. So we can put aside our human bias and do what needs to be done. Also, if braining one of your captors with a vending machine is wrong... I'm not sure I want to be right. It took me mere minutes to fall in love with Carrion.
You burst from your glass prison, slithering through tunnels all while listening to the terrified screams of the lab workers who were once your enslavers. Fear drives you forward, giving you a sadistic insight into what's to come. It's a simple but powerful introduction to the game, a no-nonsense approach to setting the theme which represents the title perfectly.
What strikes me about Carrion is it's focus. The control scheme and fluidity of movement is there to serve your monstrous machinations and all of the mutation powers you receive as you progress are useful. I've played countless games where there's a myriad of upgrades only to find many of them fade into obscurity as you find your play style.
Each power you receive in this game will be repeatedly necessary to your progress. That certainly doesn't mean you won't be given creative options to cause chaos. Once you gain the ability to set traps, control humans and turn invisible, conflict and navigation choices grow exponentially.
This allows you to be the creature you've always wanted. Slipping through a tunnel beneath an adversary only to drag him into your gruesome maw through a grating is as evocative and satisfying as you might imagine, but that's just one way to be monstrous.
Level design and goals are also lean and digestible. Sections simply require you to spread your biomass and unlock doors to escape. I don't want to appear reductionist, there's obviously more nuance to it, but its narrow focus is definitely one of the games positives.
Knowing your objectives instantly makes new areas less intimidating. Simply finding your way out is always the aim, so tackling the environment with your many talents is fairly obvious. I felt like Carrion always knew what it wanted to be, it's not a metroidvania - even though there's clearly some influence in it's labyrinthine level designs - it's a monster simulator.
It's purposefulness is evident in the sound design too. Sharp, bright sounds burst from your actions, there's deep thundering gunfire from your enemies, a slapping, goopiness to your movements and a satisfying crunching when you devour an unfortunate.
Cris Velesco's minimal, synthy, orchestral soundtrack draws heavily from John Carpenter and James Horner and gives just the right hints of mystery, menace and growing dread. If you collect soundtracks, it's definitely one to own. All these pieces add to form a tight, focused experience that's as single-minded as its protagonist.
Although I have high praise for this remarkable game, it did frustrate me at times. Once your creature grows in size in the latter part of the game, it can become a little unwieldy. I often found myself stuck in narrow tunnels with my mass pulling me in two different directions.
It wasn't a major problem but it can be a little frustrating when you've just pulled off an incredible, acrobatic combat manoeuvre only to be stumped by a small tunnel. Also, different abilities are accessed based on your mass. This means that you have to consistently adjust your size in order to solve puzzles.
In theory it works fine, but It can be maddening to shrink for a puzzle only to have to engage with enemies with a limited move set. I understand these decisions where designed to add challenge and variety, but I missed having the option to tackle situations with my own creativity.
But these complaints are minor scratches on the exterior of a machine that delivers what it promised. Carrion is a respectively focused game with slick controls, simple objectives and a beautiful art style. It wants you to be the monster, to empathise with a creature we usually demonise in pop culture.
You're given the tools and scenario to do so, and I loved it. The current gaming landscape can be filled with content overload and intentionally complex mechanics as a way of implying depth or value, and it's been refreshing to get invested in such a pure experience.
