This is a very unique and enjoyable metroidvania. Being able to play as a big tentacle monster and reek havoc on a facility is just so enjoyable, all of the abilities you unlock and being able to use those to solve all the different puzzles is just so fun. The game is quite short, I completely perfected the game in under 7 hours, which isn't a bad thing, but it just leaves me wanting more of this gameplay.

Overall this game is just such a fun game, it has its small issues here and there but it all just comes together into a fantastic experience. It really makes me excited for the possibility of a sequel and all of the improvements that could be made.

This is a Metroidvania at its heart, and for the most part it does it well. There are some design decisions that I personally wouldn't have made had I been the one to make the game, but overall, it was a nice, fun, fairly short Metroidvania with a cool twist.

I'd say that the best part of this game is actually just moving around and using your tendrils to grab and eat people. I actually wish the game got out of my way to let me do it a bit more throughout. But there is a section at the end where they really let you go wild, and I had a lot of fun with that.

Overall, it delivers on the premise pretty well, but I have some personal gripes with it that knock it down slightly.

Така собі "міні метроїдванія", але без платформінгу (бо наш персонаж дуже вільно пересувається в повітрі за допомогою своїх щупалець), без нормального експлорінгу (бо нема мапи, загубитись дуже легко, а локатор абсолютно безкорисний) та без нелінійності. Взагалі досвід цікавий, бо це типу "зворотній горрор", граємо за монстра та вбиваємо переляканих людей, але ця атмосфера тримається не завжди. Самий головний плюс цієї гри - дуже сочна бойовка, от що що, а вбивати тут приємно, навіть базовою атакою. Шматки людей та ріки крові виглядають шикарно, особливо на Switch oled.

Really awesome short but sweet metroidvania game, a reverse horror game where you play as the mutant alien freak who escapes confinement and kills all the researchers is literally the coolest concept ever, and Carrion very much does it justice. It never got old entering a room full of cowering researchers and terrorising them all in my own sadistic ways. The monster's controls are really weird but extremely fun to play around with, grabbing things with your tentacle specifically is weirdly satisfying for how arguably awkward it is. The puzzles are well designed and hit that sweet spot for me of being simple enough to not burn me out (for the most part) but challenging enough to feel rewarding. In metroidvania fashion, you also gain new abilities (out of test tubes) throughout the game, and these allow you to go back and unlock new paths in areas you've already been to, which is handled well and is always very satisfying, most of them were also really fun to use and guve you more tools to play around with in fights with security, which lends to the sandbox-y feel of those segments.

I think the environmental storytelling they attempted could've been a lot more interesting, the flashback scenes especially are not only a massive momentum killer for the gameplay, but they also don't really tell you anything of value. I ended the game with more questions than answers. As far as other complaints, I found the ending a tad anticlimactic, the final leg is probably the easiest and most straightforward part of the whole campaign. The game can also be a little bit repetitive at points but that's not too much of a dealbreaker when the stuff being repeated is so good.

Overall a great and really unique experience, if the concept grabs you like it grabbed me then definitely check this out.

I should probably mention the sound design as well, the sound design is fucking great.

Sights & Sounds
- 16-bit-ish pixel art throughout evokes vibes that are more Sega Genesis than SNES. Might have to do with the more mature content
- There's lots of lovely gore everywhere. Your character is a gooey, bleeding, toothy collection of chomping maws that leaves a trail of blood (and maybe half a body or two) in its wake
- The music is pretty good. The cueing for exciting bits is really well done and helps to ramp up the tension
- The sound effects are great. Tinkling glass, human screams, and crunching bones form an excellent auditory backdrop to the roars of your creature (frequently punctuated by explosions)

Story & Vibes
- Being that you're a scary sci-fi beastie on a rampage, there's not a lot of overt narrative or dialogue. The game uses environmental storytelling to varying degrees of success to convey the background story underlying all the mayhem
- Leaving the player little breadcrumbs and clues is a fine approach to storytelling, but I always feel like I'm left with more questions than answers when all's said and done
- Carrion is very proudly a reverse horror game where you get to have all the fun as the scary monster. It's wholesome in that metal sort of way

Playability & Replayability
- I wouldn't say it's a platformer in the traditional sense as there's not really any platforming challenges. You just ooze around and solve door puzzles while wreaking mayhem on various scientific facilities
- The tentacle controls felt super awkward at first, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly
- You grow in size and ability as you munch on delicious humans (the ones without the shells, anyway). Each size level you reach comes with a different set of skills that you'll need to use to metroidvania your way through the map
- At some point, the game switches up the puzzle solving by making you switch between various sizes/abilities in order to progress. Sometimes this ramps up the challenge by putting you at a considerable matchup disadvantage against groups of enemies
- The level design is pretty good, and I like how the game sometimes presents you with different options on how to progress. Unfortunately, this means that you can sometimes find that your creature is too large to comfortably navigate some rooms. Still possible, but often very awkward

Overall Impressions & Performance
- Will run well on most hardware
- An excellent Steam Deck game that performs well without fiddling with settings
- It's a short little snack that won't take you too long to beat. It limits the experience somewhat, unfortunately. At least the ending seems to suggest there will be a sequel that may tie up some loose ends

Final Verdict
- 7.5/10. A simplified metroidvania that intertwines combat and puzzles in an interesting way. I just feel like I wanted a little bit more of everything the game offered, which was a little unsatisfying. Still a fun game, though

Иронично, что игру, эксплуатирующую сеттинг монструозного бади-хоррора, со страхом связывает лишь навязчивое чувство клаустрофобии, последовавшее за неимением карты и фаст трэвела в здешней метроидвании и присущей ей бэктрэкингу. Такой дискомфорт от дизориентации и ощущения замкнутого пространства Я не испытывал ещё нигде. Но стоит ли это приписывать в плюсы данного экземпляра? Сомневаюсь. Достижениями в Steam меня соблазняют проследовать в пройденные локации, но без должных ориентиров заниматься этим у меня нет ни малейшего желания. А в целом это весьма милая игрушка про зверька, обиженного злыми людишками.

Weirdly the only 'Metroidvania' (If you can call it that) that I've actually managed to complete and I think it's because it barely counts as a Metroidvania.

Carrion is a lot shorter than I expected it to be, I was expecting around 10/12 hours and ended up completing it in 4. Is that a bad thing? No, not really - short games can sometimes be very good in not outstaying their welcome and enjoyment. However, I really wish there'd been just a bit more to it.

It was fun to play as some kind of alien creature escaping a governmental lab that increases its mass by consuming people before then burrowing part of itself within walls to 'expand' and take over the facility (which, non surprisingly act as checkpoints).

Controls did get a bit annoying the larger you got though, with the final tier having me confused as to what end of the creature I was moving and ending up with annoying deaths as I'd have part of me within the room full of enemies that had flamethrowers etc etc.

The scattering of lore thrown about the game - mostly in the form of controllable "cutscenes" - were nice, however, I still have not a single clue as to the actual story (if there is one) besides alien escaped and at some point (past or future) a scientist walked around the facility? - Maybe I just didn't pay attention enough but that's what I got from it.

It’s okay. The premise of the game is interesting. You play as a monster and then have to break out and kill those in your way. The idea is cool, but in execution I wasn’t a fan. I got really annoyed at how often the game would force you to change forms and solve puzzles. I thought the game would be a power fantasy type of game where you just run through and kill everything. That’s probably my mistake for placing that expectation on the game.

Without the puzzles, the game would be shorter than it already is. So is that bad? No. But for me it was. I have enough stress in my life as is. Being able to relax can be stressful in and of itself. It always feels like I have other things to do and relaxing can get in the way of that.

When I play a game, I used to do it to relax and have fun. But nowadays I would rather read a book or something else. When I find myself dying often, getting lost, unsure of what to do, or reading obstacles in games I don’t like that. I just want an easy ride with minimal pushback. Carrion had many points where I was lost, I died often, and found myself getting frustrated. Never enough to rage, but frustrated enough to wonder why I’m still playing.

I do think this is a good game and people will enjoy it. But this game was not for me. I clearly have different priorities and this game was not one that I enjoyed all the way.

Carrion absolutely delivers on its premise reversing the classic horror paradigm by becoming the hunting monster. It's bloody, gory, with cool and flashy dark and red-dominating pixel art. Yet it lacks of impact and originality, becoming boring after a few hours in. From my point of view, the gameplay does not explore its possibilities enough, most times, you are simply to powerful and in the last third, I noticed myself rushing through the levels with no want to produce more blood-imploding corpses.