The last decade or so has seen all kinds of Metroidvania games from indie developers, and with so many available, each one has to come up with a unique gimmick to draw in players. Whether it's Guacamelee's professional wrestling-inspired moves and story or Hollow Knight's dark, haunting art style, Metroidvania games consistently come up with hooks to help them stand apart from the pack. With Carrion, the gimmick is that instead of playing a hero, players are in control of a deadly, parasitic monster.

Carrion is touted as a reverse-horror game, with the disgusting blob-like creature players control used to terrorize, dismember, and eat humans unlucky enough to be stationed at a remote, underground research facility. Taking big inspiration from horror films like John Carpenter's The Thing, Carrion certainly delivers on the concept of a reverse-horror game, giving players the tools necessary to wreak havoc on all the unfortunate souls the monster comes across.

Like other Metroidvania games, Carrion gradually introduces new abilities that players can use to reach previously inaccessible areas. Players start the game as a relatively small mass of red tentacles and sharp teeth, but eventually grow into a huge monster that is capable of grabbing people by the ankle, smashing them into the ceiling, and then throwing their corpse across the room at the next victim. New abilities include smashing through barriers and even transforming into a school of worms to slip through tight, underwater spaces. Carrion gives players new abilities regularly, so the game is consistently trying something new and the core gameplay never gets stale

The monster in Carrion is vicious and powerful, with players rarely at risk of death. Most of the humans players come across are completely defenseless, though later Carrion players have to deal with things like mechs and soldiers equipped with flamethrowers. Even so, almost nothing is a real threat, with players able to steamroll through most enemies with little trouble. Sometimes players may have to sneak around in the ventilation system to surprise someone from behind, but they're otherwise pretty much an unstoppable force as long as they use the monster's unique abilities effectively.

Carrion doesn't provide much in the way of challenge when it comes to combat, and it also doesn't really have any challenging puzzles either. Everything is straightforward, with the only real difficulty coming from getting lost in the game world. Carrion doesn't provide players with a map of any kind (which makes sense considering they're controlling a blob), so navigation can be somewhat confusing. Players are able to screech to sometimes show the general location of the next save point, but things can get confusing when moving from one main area to the next, especially when backtracking is involved.

This could have caused major pacing issues in other Metroidvania games, but Carrion lets players move so quickly across the screen that it's not nearly as big of a problem. There will be times when players may get lost, but the monster's tentacles will propel them across one screen to the next in a heartbeat, so getting lost is more of a minor inconvenience than it is a major issue that detracts from the experience in any significant way.

For the most part, Carrion has players controlling the monster, ripping people to shreds as they navigate their way through the research facility. However, there are some times when players control humans instead. Sometimes this is by possessing them and using them to mow down their fellow humans, but there are some segments where players are controlling a human character directly with no monster involvement. These segments task players with solving simple puzzles and are short enough that they are inoffensive, but they also seem pointless and just keep players from the really fun part, which is playing as the monster.

Moving around the game world as the monster is fun, and the sheer power the game gives players ensures that while there isn't much challenge, it's still entertaining to play the role of the monster for once. Unfortunately, just when players really get invested in the game, it comes to an end, and the "ending" is really underwhelming. Players reach a point where they are just encouraged to go back through and try collecting all of the things they may have missed in areas they've already explored, which isn't nearly as fun as exploring new areas and being rewarded with a satisfying ending to the story. This excessive backtracking in the last part of the game brings Carrion's momentum to a screeching halt, but the ride up to that point is a blast.

There's also a sameness to the levels, with everything having that dreary, retro sci-fi look to it. It fits the theme of the game, but it does add to the confusing navigation issues and makes backtracking a bit of a bore. Otherwise the retro art style is a definite highlight of Carrion, especially with how the monster is animated. It's also impressive how chaotic things can get on-screen with no slow-down or other issues.

As players zip around the game world with their tentacles, they will be accompanied by an eerie soundtrack that brings the entire presentation together. It's a great, foreboding score that will make players feel a little uneasy, even though they're the ones with all the power.

Carrion is a great pick for horror game fans, and will make players want more horror-themed Metroidvanias. It can be completed in just a few hours and it loses its momentum at the end, but it's a fun reverse-horror game experience while it lasts.

Carrion launches July 23 for PC, Switch, and Xbox One. Game Rant was provided with a PC code for this review.