Released in 2020 by Phobia Game Studio, Carrion is described as a reverse-horror game, whereby the player gets to control the big bad of the horror movie. Carrion places the player in the tendrils of a Thing-like monster, tasked with the sole objective of escaping its containment facility, and consuming everything in its path. It’s a simple premise, but it’s a highly effective and unique one, and one that makes Carrion worth picking up before its taken off Xbox Game Pass on July 15.
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Carrion’s Monster Fantasy Gameplay
From start to finish, Carrion is an absolute power trip. The game begins with the player-controlled monster appearing as just one small, round mass of red tentacles. As the game progresses, and the more humans are consumed by the player, the more the monster will grow, eventually filling the majority of the screen with its horrifying red mass of a body. This constant progression throughout each of Carrion’s stages is what gives the game its unique hook, and is what keeps players on board for the entirety of its relatively short five hour runtime.
As the game progresses, and the monster gains mass, the player unlocks new abilities ranging from a spider-like trap to extendable spikes. These abilities, the size of the monster, and its movement speed all combine together to make Carrion feel like a power fantasy come true, whereby the player gets to be the all-powerful, unstoppable monster seen in big-budget horror movies. The game’s mechanics only enhance this feeling even further.
Throughout the game, Carrion encourages the player to think tactically about the combat scenario they’re in. In any given arena, there’s usually a handful of enemies, some with shields and guns or other distinct abilities, and there’s often a range of environmental objects and pathways that can be interacted with. While storming in head-first is sometimes a more-than-acceptable option, some encounters require a little more planning from the player. In Carrion’s most rewarding encounters, players will be bouncing between vents, pulling their prey into the abyss, and lobbing their foes across the room, all in gorgeously-animated and gory pixelated style.
Once the player has unlocked more abilities, these scenarios become even more complex and rewarding, with the ability to turn invisible and shoot spikes across the room adding a great deal of variety to the gameplay. On top of all that, Carrion’s physics system does a lot to make the game’s combat feel satisfying, with ragdoll physics making each kill feel suitably horrific. For fans of Western monster horror, Carrion is an absolute must-play, and for those who aren’t, it’s still worth checking out before it’s removed from Game Pass on July 15.
Carrion is now available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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