Carrion makes you feel like a deadly intelligent unstoppable predator
Carrion is a monster power fantasy game. You play as a hideous tube-like monster escaping from an underground research facility. The game makes you feel like a terrifying, powerful predator by slinging tentacles at humans and devouring their limbs using one of its' many mouths. The more the monster eats, the more it grows. When the monster absorbs specific radioactive substances, it gains new skills such as possessing humans and developing meat encrusted armor. The humans aren't all pushovers though, as there are soldiers that wield flamethrowers and pilot machine-gun walking mechs.
In an interesting twist, Carrion is more of a puzzle game than meets the eye. There are occasions where you need to intentionally downsize to use specific abilities and enter rooms not accessible in larger forms. There are several combat encounters where you need to fight in your shrunken form which requires more finesse and stealth as you take out a squad of soldiers one at a time.
Carrion is a short game that takes about 5 hours to complete. Despite the short length, the game sorely needs a map and an objective marker. The environments are too similar looking and it is easy to get lost in the late game especially if you are looking for collectibles.
Another minor gripe about Carrion is the controls. The controls are fine when the monster is at its' most basic form. The problem is when you start growing into a beast that can fill a fifth of the entire screen. It's difficult to tell which part of the monster you are controlling and which tentacle you are using to aim with. It's not a game breaker but it often felt like the other appendages were doing most of the work and all I was doing was slithering from corner to corner.
Outside of the initial premise there isn't much story to go on. There are these chambers that you can enter which changes your perspective to a human at the same research facility. The controls as the human are basic. You can run left or right, climb ladders and interact with doors and switches. Fortunately these sequences are not long and it helps bring a change of pace from the relentless human slaughter.
Carrion fulfills that ultimate monster power fantasy that is severely underrepresented in games. It gets a lot of the power fantasy elements right, you feel like a deadly intelligent unstoppable predator. The game's puzzles are clever and require you to change up your attack strategy especially when in your smallest form. Navigation is the biggest drawback to this game, the samey environments don't help and the lack of a map may deter people from completing the game despite its' short length. Carrion is probably not going to win any game awards but it was nevertheless an enjoyable monster romp while it lasted.