Some of my favorite games in the late ’00s were weird titles that offered an interesting concept. Raze’s Hell is probably the best example of these titles. It involved killing creatures known as Kewletts, with a design reminiscent of Teletubbies. Due to the niche appeal, and increase in development costs, such titles have fallen off in recent years. This made Gori: Cuddly Carnage so exciting. With the same unapologetic humor, and over-the-top violence it looked to capture the same spark of those in the past. However, with a more generic concept, and decades of advancements, is this enough to stand out, or is there a reason these experiences died out?
Gori: Cuddly Carnage doesn’t have much in terms of narrative. A handful of scenes with Professor Y detail Gori’s motivations, coupled with explaining how these killer unicorns came to be. Such explanations could easily ruin the experience, but Angry Demon Studio makes the wise choice to focus on making Gori an empathetic character.
While there is enough to make players care about Gori, and their relationship with Professor Y, most of the dialogue is rather campy. There is a strong emphasis on swearing, one-liners, and off the cuff style comments. What makes it work is a lot of seemingly small choices.
For instance, the hoverboard, F.R.A.N.K., starts with a profanity filter enabled. There are some jokes about how it can’t swear, and channels iconic experiences like Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Another fun choice was having The Manager seemingly voiced by a child. A lot of their jokes are centered around the novelty of a kid swearing, and trying to sound like a grown up.
It’s a lot of fun, and always left me curious where Gori: Cuddly Carnage will go next. And while the narrative typically kept things fresh, gameplay often felt lacking.
On a basic level I was disappointed by the largely linear levels. Outside of a small handful of collectibles, there was no point in exploring every level. At most there might be a health station, or a couple of bucks that can be used to purchase upgrades.
Combat starts by being a lot of fun. There is a slash, bash, and as things progress grenades, and other considerations. Enemies are designed around proper utilization of skills. I could wait for an enemy to finish attacking, or lob a grenade to break their defense. Other enemies might have a shield I can bash, or are extremely deadly if I don’t quickly slash them.
Where it starts to fall behind is variety, and difficulty. Most enemies had a set best tactic, so my options were to either abuse that, or slowly chip away at their health through ineffective means. Thankfully, finishers are pretty easy to perform, reward health/energy that can be used to increase damage, along with offering a welcome change of pace.
While I wouldn’t consider Gori: Cuddly Carnage a hard game, I also wouldn’t consider it an easy one either. I often found movement floaty, coupled with a good number of sections requiring a surprising amount of accuracy. This made it easy to take damage, have to repeat a chase scene, or simply die to seemingly bad luck.
Enemies also do a surprisingly high amount of damage on higher difficulties. It got to the point where a single mistake would result in my death. Some of these felt deserved, such as mistiming a dodge, whereas other times I’d get hit for a moment, and be critical. Lasers, and gunfire were especially annoying given how quickly they could build up considerable damage.
That said, I want to applaud Gori: Cuddly Carnage for including unlockable costumes. There are multiple different fur designs, eye colors, and clothing options to unlock. These are becoming increasingly rare, and something I always like to highlight.
I also like the unique aesthetic found in Gori: Cuddly Carnage. The crude humor works well with the crude, and grotesque world. It also makes progression a bit more interesting, as I was never entirely sure what to expect.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage Review Verdict
Gori: Cuddly Carnage: For the most part I liked Gori: Cuddly Carnage. It's funny, over-the-top, and kept things interesting throughout the adventure. That said, it's on the shorter side, and there wasn't a ton to see long term. This, coupled with the rather rudimentary combat system hold it back. But if the experience speaks to you there is more than enough present to get your moneys worth, and then some. – Grant
Editor’s Note: Gori: Cuddly Carnage was reviewed for PlayStation 5, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.
