While in other games players usually impersonate the hero of the story, Carrion is an excellent choice for fans of horror games, and it will leave players craving more horror-themed Metroidvanias. It can be finished in a few hours and loses steam near the end, but it’s a fun reverse-horror game experience for the time being.
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Carrion’s Plot Explained
Marked as one of the most underrated Xbox Game Pass games, in Carrion, players impersonate a monster. The titular organism is kept in a containment unit at a research facility owned by Relith Science, a Seattle-based science company. The creature escapes and makes its way through the facility in search of a way out. As the organism moves through the facility, it fights and devours the staff and security forces. Along the way, the creature discovers pieces of its genetic code that have been removed by scientists for study and containment, allowing it to evolve into a greater size with more defense and offense options.
The creature also comes across material analyzers, which, when activated, cause flashbacks that reveal its origins. Three scientists discovered the creature in an abandoned lab with biomass, and when it awoke, it killed two and possessed the third. However, the remaining scientist is executed by Relith security forces, forcing the creature to flee. The beast eventually returns to its original containment area, passing through lasers, and absorbs the last of its stolen genetics, allowing it to transform into a human form as the scientist it was initially infected with. The disguised creature then flees the facility into Seattle, which appears to be quarantined.
Why Carrion Is Worth Playing
Carrion is a good product for all horror fans. The gory creepy tentacle monster that players control is genuinely terrifying to look at, and the oddly graceful way it moves gives it a distinct feeling and personality, despite the fact that it is just a bloody blob. The ambient sounds and music do a good job of setting the mood, but the star of the show is the monster’s horrifyingly squishy sounds when eating or killing. Moving around the game world as the beast is fun, and the game’s sheer power ensures that, while there isn’t much challenge, it’s still fun to play the role of the monster for a while.
Another good thing about the game is that in Carrion players will unlock new abilities as the game progresses by finding scattered pieces of the creature’s biomass located in various areas. Every piece adds a new ability to the creature. The smallest form can shoot a web that stuns enemies, pulls switches, and temporarily disappears. The second-largest state can break through wooden barricades and cover itself in poisonous spikes. Furthermore, players will gain a few other passive abilities, such as mind control.
Although Carrion crossed an impressive milestone sales, it’s easy to see how some people might feel differently about the game because, nowadays, pixilated games are not as popular as before, and it can definitely be something that will turn up younger players’ noses. In addition, the environments are extremely similar, which makes sense for an underground possibly-military complex but wears thin by the end when players realize they won’t be seeing much more.
Carrion is now available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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