Gori: Cuddly Carnage is unlike any other game I’ve played, and for the most part, it’s a good one. The bizarre world and premise pair well with the incredibly bloody combat and spirited voice acting, making it one of the wildest games of the year.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage
Developer: Angry Demon Studio
Price: $30
Platforms: PS4, PS5 (tested), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS5 code for review
When I saw the preview Gori: Cuddly Carnage A while back, I was only able to play the first few levels, but was optimistic about the overall experience. Now that I’m reviewing the game, I realize that my initial assessment is pretty accurate, as the whole thing is filled to the brim with crazy moments that constantly held my attention.
Gori: Cuddly CarnageThe premise of evil toys may sound like a trite idea, but the game is serious and unlike anything else in its approach to this plot. The characters all swear like sailors (which sometimes even seems a bit over the top), one of the biggest antagonists is a toy bear with a face made of seemingly torn flesh, and one of your allies is a mutated fish who thinks he’s human. Additionally, your main goal is to create an orbital laser, which is essentially a giant laser pointer. The title is filled to the brim with absolute insanity, making it a bizarre and fascinating experience.
As the name suggests, Gori doesn’t hold back on the splatter and carnage in its explosive battles. Using FRANK the hoverboard, the titular cat can chop up nasty toy unicorns, clowns, and more with brutal results. The blood and guts of these adorable and creepy creatures cover each stage as you decapitate and dismember them with disturbingly satisfying smoothness. They also drop money that can be used to upgrade your various attacks or change Goris and FRANK’s appearance, adding silly fun to the gameplay loop.
“There is an incredibly fun locomotion system that allows you to happily hop around on your hoverboard and glide smoothly across surfaces.“
The variety of differently designed levels and bosses in Gori: Cuddly Carnage is impressive, even if the bosses usually boil down to a similar two-stage process. One area has a creepy circus/fun house theme, replete with gross-out clown imagery, while another area has you diving into arcade games to learn new skills and battle a giant, sharp-toothed maw. Throughout, though, there’s an incredibly fun locomotion system that lets you joyfully hop around and glide smoothly across surfaces on your hoverboard. Somehow it just feels great, as you can accelerate and grind on glowing rails to whiz around at high speeds.
The voice output in Gori: Cuddly Carnage is another strong aspect as it emotionally grounds the oddball characters and world. Even though Gori just meows and his two closest friends are robotic objects, you get the sense that the trio care about each other as they face off against hilariously evil toy enemies. The fish friend Gori creates is also a goofy addition to the cast that rounds out the crew and makes them pretty memorable.
My biggest criticism is that Gori: Cuddly Carnage crashed more than once during my time with the game. One of these crashes happened right after a long boss fight, which meant I had to replay the fight from the beginning. Ideally, these crashes will stop after a patch closer to release, but we’ll see how it goes over time.
The last word
Gori: Cuddly Carnage is a truly quirky game that is a ton of fun to play. While it does have a few unfortunate technical issues, the unique world and wonderfully gruesome gameplay go a long way towards creating a game unlike any I’ve experienced before.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
