Carrion

 Switch
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 44
  3. Negative: 2 out of 44

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  1. pokegod11
    Jul 28, 2020
    10
    Good port of carrion that you can play on the go, or the toilet if that's what you prefer
  2. Cameel
    Jul 27, 2020
    9
    You wake up, perhaps as a test subject, trapped in an alien prison.

    A few fierce blows and your container breaks, setting you free in this fearsome environment. Or were you trapped for a good reason? You fling some foes around, and using your ferocious fangs you feast on their remains, and grow, getting more powerful, but also having its downsides. Taking damage makes you shrink. Before    You wake up, perhaps as a test subject, trapped in an alien prison.

    A few fierce blows and your container breaks, setting you free in this fearsome environment. Or were you trapped for a good reason? You fling some foes around, and using your ferocious fangs you feast on their remains, and grow, getting more powerful, but also having its downsides. Taking damage makes you shrink. Before long, you find other containers like yours, and merge with the DNA found inside, evolving, and learning new skills, tied to a certain size range. You'll soon learn how and when to make the most of the advantages and disadvantages of being small, medium, or large, and how and where to leave behind unwanted body mass, or pick it back up.

    But as you adapt to and infest the different locations and the area linking them all together, your captors use spiked energy shields, flamethrowers, drones, and mech suits to stop you. Perhaps you can turn your enemies against themselves and stealthily stick to the safety of ventilation shafts yourself? Grow larger and rip their mech suits apart, absorbing some damage in the process, but eating the cadavers and workers to regain what you lost?

    You may not be able to read a map (there is no map, only echo-location), or to understand these weird creatures their motivation (no written story or voice-acting beyond screams), but one thing is clear: the glass container may have been broken, but still this facility and its inhabitants, their machines and their flames and stinging projectiles, are standing between you and your freedom.

    As you make your way across the facility and its various surroundings, finding ways to overcome some clever defensive security measures, and fighting hostile security systems using different tactics, there's only one thing on your mind: you must escape.
    Or wait... What is this weird energy you feel? Is that... Fun? Are you enjoying this massacre? Do you enjoy consuming the helpless and hapless flesh of your foes?

    I know I have been enjoying this bloody rampage of meat consumption for "bio mass" gains a lot (and I'm a vegan... There, I told you, now make all the jokes you want). It came out of nowhere, painted the walls red, and when all scream and machine gun echoes went silent, it firmly but amorphously stood (and covered the walls and ceiling) as a new entry in my hall of fame of favourite games ever. And if you, like me, enjoy a good creature feature, a good horror film like John Carpenter's The Thing (one of my favourite films ever, with one of my favourite movie-game adaptations ever);
    a fast and fluid retro style horror-themed game with most of the modern needs and a vast variety of defensive and offensive moves and options;
    slow and methodically approachable situations mixed with hectic all out combat that has you observe, storm, adapt, retreat...
    You're in for tricky treat!    … Expand
  3. C3realkillah
    Jul 24, 2020
    8
    Carrion review

    Ever wanted to be a monster and strike fear into the hearts of unfortunate human scientists? What about ripping and tearing through an unbelievably large research facility leaving a bloodbath in your wake? Well here is your chance. Carrion is a beautiful pixelated metroidvania gem where you control a ravenous grotesque Eldritch abomination and kill your way to freedom. The    Carrion review

    Ever wanted to be a monster and strike fear into the hearts of unfortunate human scientists? What about ripping and tearing through an unbelievably large research facility leaving a bloodbath in your wake? Well here is your chance. Carrion is a beautiful pixelated metroidvania gem where you control a ravenous grotesque Eldritch abomination and kill your way to freedom. The developers call this a reverse horror game and I can definitely see why. The atmosphere, sound design, and soundtrack are all deeply rooted in horror. Scientists scream, panic, and run away at the site of you, praying they don't end up your meal. Too bad for them. Not everyone is afraid of you. Some will try to kill you with fire arms including flamethrowers as well as drones and even mechs. They put up a bit of a challenge but the game still leans on the easy side for the most part. The monster you control earns different abilities as you'd expect from a metroidvania style game. Some abilities include shields, a bash attack and a few others that I won't spoil. You really do feel like a killing machine in this game and the abilities are fun to use. Now I've mentioned most of the pros but as you'd expect from any game there are some issues. One of my biggest complaints is the fact that there is no map to rely on. You basically have to rely on your memory and even that can get you lost. The game doesn't give you any direction where to go at all so getting lost and going in circles is common. The length of the game is rather short as well it took me about 6 hours or so to complete and that is counting doing all the optional puzzles to get all the abilities. The controls are a tad bit too sensitive but nothing too bad. The creature moves incredibly fast and it's easy to go to the wrong part of the area but it wasn't a big issue. Replay value is pretty low since there is no new game plus or bonus features to unlock ( unless you care about playing the demo) or getting the optional abilities. Overall I really enjoyed the game. It's not perfect but it's not trying to be. It's a fun, gory at times unsettling game we rarely see. I hope developer phobia game studio make this a franchise or make more reverse horror games in the future. This unique title was a blast and I'd love to see more reverse horror style games like this.

    Pros: +You really feel like a monster
    +beautiful pixelated Graphics
    +Overall solid, fun metroidvania gameplay
    +Sound design and soundtrack

    Cons:

    -no map or clear direction where to go
    -relatively short with low replayability


    8.5/10    … Expand
  4. jcboyer515
    Jul 24, 2020
    8
    Pretty fun game! I don't know what I was expecting, but like a lot of other people I was interested at the premise. The game clearly is optimized for PC, it isn't as noticable in games like Gungeon. Regardless, the puzzles are intriguing & not always obvious. I don't like too much difficulty in puzzle sections of games that aren't exclusively just puzzle games. I find myself wishing onPretty fun game! I don't know what I was expecting, but like a lot of other people I was interested at the premise. The game clearly is optimized for PC, it isn't as noticable in games like Gungeon. Regardless, the puzzles are intriguing & not always obvious. I don't like too much difficulty in puzzle sections of games that aren't exclusively just puzzle games. I find myself wishing on occasion that the AI & controls for the humans were a little bit better. Other than that, the monster controls are easy to grasp & almost cartoon levels of fluid. I haven't finished it yet but I don't regret getting this at all! I look forward to playing multiple times to make sure I get everything, plus it looks much more cool playing without the HUD.… Expand
  5. vROBOCOPv
    Jul 29, 2020
    10
    Extremely fun game, with intuitive controls and rewarding moment to moment gameplay. Overall Carrion is very polished and gorgeous to look at too. The ending was incredible also.
  6. Kacek1996
    Dec 31, 2020
    10
    Carrion is a marvellous game, gem within 2020 indie releases. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that it's a game from my homeland. At first, I had low expectations, but the developers delivered a lot more than I anticipated. Overall, 2D pixelated games have a special place in my heart and I'm not really into horror games but the concept of the reversed horror game hooked me in. It'sCarrion is a marvellous game, gem within 2020 indie releases. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that it's a game from my homeland. At first, I had low expectations, but the developers delivered a lot more than I anticipated. Overall, 2D pixelated games have a special place in my heart and I'm not really into horror games but the concept of the reversed horror game hooked me in. It's truly a satisfying game. Soundtrack as well as sound effects (yes, screams as well) were nice, really atmospheric. Controls might be better but after a few levels I got used to them. The amount of game mechanics was shocking and the fact that all of them were useful and well thoughtful is awesome. I adore this game, I will probably 100% it later in the future, when I get over my backlog, but for now CARRION is a marvellous indie game with awesome game mechanics and concept,10/10 I would play a sequel xD… Expand
  7. Jakuzi
    Aug 4, 2020
    6
    Could be a better game and 8 for me if there would be a map, but it is what it is. I couldn't finish it without walkthrough in the begining and at the end. And both times i was exploring every hole on level without luck for 30 minutes. And useless rawr button only annoyed me and gave me frustration. But upgrade and skill system was fun and overall it was fun and new expirience.
  8. Adules
    Aug 8, 2020
    5
    Cool premise, greath pixel art, smooth fps and gameplay, decent level design. So what's the problem?

    The problem is that the game should be a metroidvania, which requires you to explore, progress, puzzle solve, and figure out optimal ways to clear rooms. The reality is that it's a 3 hour linear game with no decisions on the part of the player and so **** easy that it basically plays    Cool premise, greath pixel art, smooth fps and gameplay, decent level design. So what's the problem?

    The problem is that the game should be a metroidvania, which requires you to explore, progress, puzzle solve, and figure out optimal ways to clear rooms.

    The reality is that it's a 3 hour linear game with no decisions on the part of the player and so **** easy that it basically plays itself. The "puzzles" are an illusion of puzzle and really just nothing more than lock and key gameplay. It's an average linear romp that amounts to nothing, packaged to look like there's more going on than there actually is. I bought this, with the expectation of a metroidvania.

    I wouldn't recommend this game for more than 5 bucks. Had they designed it to be more open and labyrinthine, I would recommend it. But it's not. waste of time and money. Lots of promise here, but the game doesn't hold up.

    I've seen people complain that it doesn't have a map, but it doesn't need one, that's how small and limited it is. There is always a path forward, and it's always the only direction to go.    … Expand
  9. MisterMacys
    Feb 28, 2021
    6
    Game has great atmosphere and a decent look. Music is utterly forgettable. Carrion is not a Metroidvania; it is almost entirely linear with only a few backtracking spots and basically no secret or hidden items common to the genre. Mechanics are simplistic, and gameplay is short even for a first playthrough.
  10. Lemymatair
    Jul 28, 2020
    7
    Good game a bit short but enjoyable want to give it 7.5 almost 8 if they implement a Map into the game or guide system or what ever I lost in the game almost 1 hours on some part almost think it’s a bug but when I found the new place I beat it so fast I beat it 3 in hours one sitting waste my time on finding next stage for the most part and when you get new skill they almost not explainGood game a bit short but enjoyable want to give it 7.5 almost 8 if they implement a Map into the game or guide system or what ever I lost in the game almost 1 hours on some part almost think it’s a bug but when I found the new place I beat it so fast I beat it 3 in hours one sitting waste my time on finding next stage for the most part and when you get new skill they almost not explain how to use some abilities and you can’t re-examines your ability or how many ability you have. If they improved from I mentioned I can see this game deserves score 8 even it’s really short but now just 7… Expand
  11. Filipes
    Apr 29, 2021
    8
    Very fun "turned over" horror with good mix of puzzles and action, that do not overstays it's welcome.
  12. lebk2440
    Sep 17, 2021
    8
    What an awesome game!! Very short but that’s ok. It makes you feel so powerful controlling that monster especially when you’re at its biggest. The sound effects are perfect, straight out of a horror movie. I loved that I could be huge then, a few seconds later, at the tinniest possible and somehow survive by feeding off corpses at the bottom of a pit. Then, become huge again and just wreckWhat an awesome game!! Very short but that’s ok. It makes you feel so powerful controlling that monster especially when you’re at its biggest. The sound effects are perfect, straight out of a horror movie. I loved that I could be huge then, a few seconds later, at the tinniest possible and somehow survive by feeding off corpses at the bottom of a pit. Then, become huge again and just wreck the crap out of everything. I loved that game. No map, but it’s surprisingly easy to find yourself. The DLC was good, I’d say it was a bit more difficult then the hardest parts of the main game. There were Christmas lights! Very short once again like 30min.… Expand
  13. bhappenstance
    Jul 5, 2022
    8
    Fantastic game (in a retro graphical style) where you get to play as a Thing-esque glob of gore. While movement is awesomely fluid and intuitive, there are a few finnicky control issues that crop up here and there. A bit on the short-ish side, but very satisfying nonetheless.
  14. donmopa
    Jan 2, 2022
    8
    With some polish, this could be an amazing game. The premise is an awesome idea, but the game still needs less simplistic puzzles and maybe more mechanics. Besides that, it is fun enough to play.
  15. tom974
    Feb 28, 2022
    7
    It's not everyday we get to play original games, Carrion is one of theses. Really interesting proposition. Playing the monster is fun and controls are quite neat once you get used to it. I'd like to rate it 7,5/10 , it could have been 8 with some adds (a map) and a less frustrating level design near the endgame (many avoidable rountrips). Globally a good proposition, with a good potentialIt's not everyday we get to play original games, Carrion is one of theses. Really interesting proposition. Playing the monster is fun and controls are quite neat once you get used to it. I'd like to rate it 7,5/10 , it could have been 8 with some adds (a map) and a less frustrating level design near the endgame (many avoidable rountrips). Globally a good proposition, with a good potential I wish to see again with further developments.… Expand
  16. kirrwed
    Nov 4, 2021
    7
    Carrion is a unique metroidvania. You play as a tangle of tentacles shimmying around laboratories and underground passages, hiding in vent shafts or in walls. Fans of stealth will enjoy sneaking up on unsuspecting enemies.

    The most glaring problem with this game is there is no map. Obviously metroidvanias have much backtracking and this can get dizzying as more and more areas open up,    Carrion is a unique metroidvania. You play as a tangle of tentacles shimmying around laboratories and underground passages, hiding in vent shafts or in walls. Fans of stealth will enjoy sneaking up on unsuspecting enemies.

    The most glaring problem with this game is there is no map. Obviously metroidvanias have much backtracking and this can get dizzying as more and more areas open up, and you have no map. It's a little bit linear in that the only open route is the one that progresses the game, but not always. And this is not the case for getting all the secret stuff either.

    The other problem is the sensitivity of the monster's motion. Sometimes you can barely push him around the corner and he will go flying out into the open amidst a bunch of armed guards. It felt inconsistent at times for when he would go springing off like that. As a result, much damage and missed passages were had because of overshooting.

    All in all, a good atmospheric 2-D platformer with stealth. Not a long game either, for those that enjoy one you can complete in a night or two.    … Expand
  17. Legrand
    Jul 10, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Un juego diferente, bonitos gráficos pixelados y buen sonido... Muy completo!!… Expand
  18. ophone
    Dec 22, 2021
    9
    What a game!
    It took me some time to get used to the controls, managing them after a wile it was a guilty pleasure to devour anything that moves on the way out of the military research complex.
    As usual in a Metroidvania, the protagonist learns different abilities during the game, all having a use to progress. By the way, the one I liked most was the one where the monster controls a    What a game!
    It took me some time to get used to the controls, managing them after a wile it was a guilty pleasure to devour anything that moves on the way out of the military research complex.
    As usual in a Metroidvania, the protagonist learns different abilities during the game, all having a use to progress. By the way, the one I liked most was the one where the monster controls a human with one of its tentacles. And what a feeling of success when I solved riddles by combining different abilities.
    Graphically the game is in pixel art with its dominating colours fitting the scenario. Just as the music which could've come directly from a movie of the genre.

    A real gem that game. There's currently a free DLC for it, I need to give that a look too.    … Expand
  19. FunkyBoi
    Jul 18, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Underwhelming and counter-intuitive. This game had an interesting premise, taking clear inspiration from classic horror films such as The Thing and transitioning these ideas to game format. The opening level of the game encapsulated that perfectly, the feeling of being a terrifying predator lurking through the vents of a mysterious laboratory. But it was after that point that the fun ended for me.

    The game has numerous flaws which significantly hampered my ability to enjoy it. The first, and most noticeable, is the controls. To play as an amorphous blob-entity sounds interesting in theory, but it controls like a rally car with wheels made of butter on a track lathered in frozen olive oil. With no discernible front or back, it's incredibly difficult to make fluid movement from A-B, which the game frequently requests of you in both puzzles and combat, leading to numerous deaths. Some might see this as a feature, I myself found it needlessly counterintuitive.

    The next is the format. The game markets itself as something of a metroidvania, but it only follows this format sporadically and loosely. In actuality, the game is a series of monotonous levels. It takes the 'lock and key' format of metroidvanias, and crams them into singular levels, which breaks the gameplay into a predictable pattern of enter level, find power, use power, leave level, rinse and repeat. This wouldn't be an issue if the majority of powers were remotely interesting. Some, such as the mind-control and invisibility, were incredibly interesting and complemented the gameplay tremendously, opening up new and exciting ways to engage with combat and puzzles alike. But others boiled down to 'now you can pull stuff' or 'now you can kill stuff by touching them rather than grabbing them'. The use of these is rarely encouraged in combat, particularly considering how forgiving the game is with checkpoints and health, so I ended up rarely if ever using the majority of the powers in favour of the ones I enjoyed the most. I could understand that perhaps the developer's intention was perhaps to allow for greater player freedom in engagements, but without any actual challenge even combat became incredibly tedious and bland towards the end.

    My last issue is with the level design and hub world in general. Why on earth did they not think to implement a map, or at least a map-like feature. Don't get me wrong, I don't think metroidvanias necessarily NEED maps all the time, as sometimes it's good to let the player get lost in the areas of levels. But most games in the format follow the same general formula: no map until you discover the world for yourself, then you get some form of map to allow you to effectively backtrack to areas of note. The choice to fully omit any form of map, combined with infrequent or non-existent waypoint markers and monotonous level design, led me to be completely and utterly lost after putting the game down for any extended period of time. Combine this with the fact that the rewards for even backtracking are the most overplayed and underwhelming rewards like 'get more health' or 'get more energy (stamina)' and you have completely killed my enthusiasm for doing anything other than blazing through the story, out of fear and disincentive of not being able to find where I was up to, and having to either consult an online map or wander aimlessly in the hub world for 15 minutes before I can pick up where I left off.

    Great idea, poor design, poor execution.    … Expand
  20. BlockyDogy
    Mar 26, 2022
    7
    Loved the premise, and some parts of the game excecuted on the premise beautifully, but most did not. Hard to navigate world, frustrating backtracking, painfully little creativity in fight areas, and a depressingly disappointing ending. Like the whole game, there was a lot of potential for the ending, finally, a new power, an upgraded parasitic control power almost. But then you never getLoved the premise, and some parts of the game excecuted on the premise beautifully, but most did not. Hard to navigate world, frustrating backtracking, painfully little creativity in fight areas, and a depressingly disappointing ending. Like the whole game, there was a lot of potential for the ending, finally, a new power, an upgraded parasitic control power almost. But then you never get to use it. You open one door, and the credits roll. Lovely art, lovely controls, hard to aim your tentacles.… Expand
  21. Kurolie
    Aug 20, 2022
    8
    Interesting premise and smooth gameplay.
    Moving around as the creature feels really smooth and satisfying. The puzzles are not too easy and sneaking around as a giant monster is definitely fun.
    My main issue with Carrion is the lack of a map/navigation. I often found myself not knowing where to go next or even know where I am. This took away some fun of playing the game and brought me    Interesting premise and smooth gameplay.
    Moving around as the creature feels really smooth and satisfying. The puzzles are not too easy and sneaking around as a giant monster is definitely fun.
    My main issue with Carrion is the lack of a map/navigation. I often found myself not knowing where to go next or even know where I am. This took away some fun of playing the game and brought me more frustration than I would like in a game.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Universo Nintendo
    Dec 16, 2020
    85
    Carrion is a fun reverse Metroidvania, in the sense that you play as a villain, not the human/hero. In a universe full of anti-heroes and complicated moral choices, here, you just have fun destroying and devouring everything you see ahead.
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  2. GAMINGbible
    Oct 15, 2020
    80
    These minor niggles aside, Carrion is a title that I think is well worth checking out for the design of its monster alone, and the carnage you can cause together. It's been a rough year, and we all need to blow off some steam somehow. I just never quite expected that taking control of an otherworldly nightmare unit would be the cathartic experience i needed, but life comes at you fast. Much in the way that giant red tendrils can.
    Read full review
  3. Video Chums
    Aug 26, 2020
    55
    Carrion is a game that I would love to play through in one night with a group of friends as long as I'm not the one playing it. While it's not the best Metroidvania to navigate, it's a joy to watch. If you love horror, especially old monster movies, this is worth checking out for the atmosphere alone as it makes for a rather spook-tacular night.
    Read full review
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