Shane
Being the hero – nah, that’s so over done.
Phobia Game Studio and Devolver Digital’s newest retro-looking platformer Carrion places you in the role of the monster.
A tentacle like beast, resembling an entangled mix of intestines fused with The Thing from the 1982 film with teeth, you are on a mission to freedom from a research facility.
Humans? Don’t mind them so much – they are your food source. But do mind their firepower – it will eventually take you down so chomp on down as quick as you can when any of them cross your path.
Carrion is essentially a puzzle platformer in a stylised 16BIT dark visual where each Level is bite sized and linked to the next one as you make your way through the underground facility that you had been captive within.
There’s a bit of figuring out to be done and the way forward, or back, or sideways is not so clearly pathed out for you.
Vents and large pipes act as a gateway to another part of the same area, or a different one, and you can expect a fair bit of back tracking as you progress through Levels, smashing down doors, flipping switches and eating humans.
As you are a primordial beast with some intelligence gravity does not apply to your sticky outer substance, you can move around all the on screen surfaces and use your tentacles to grab humans or interact with environmental objects.
Spawn yourself to ensure your survival at game specific times aswell.
There is no easing in to play and real quick you’re going to come up against with some puzzling escape path. Carrion also makes use of both joysticks on console or both joy-cons on Switch.
One to move yourself about and the other is to wield your grabby tentacles.
Carrion is hell fun to play and full of tongue in cheek humour.
It’s a challenge, a series of non-stop sticky challenges to be precise but well worth the addictive play.
Released: July 2020
Rating: M15+
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (also on PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Genre: Puzzle, Platformer
Developer: Phobia Game Studio
Publisher: Devolver Digital
