Gori's Cuddley Carnage was an unexpected but welcome surprise. I was expecting a 3D platformer with a hoverboard from the gameplay footage I have seen of it but the game is ultimately a combination of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, meets the newer Doom games, meets Devil May Cry, meets Sunset Overdrive with some elements of older God of War. I never expected the game to be as combat heavy as it was but the combat turned out to be the best part and why I enjoyed the game as much as I did. If you are one of those people who think indie games particularly the indie 3D platformer scene is trying to hard to replicate the games of old, here is a title that I think if worth looking into.
What Gori's Cuddley Carnage is 3D platforming and combat but surprisingly, what I originally came to the game which is the platforming turned out to be one of the weaker parts of the game, it's not "terrible" but so much of it can either be jumping from platform to platform, going at high speeds and dying because I didn't seen an obstacle coming, the double jumping not working when I wanted it to, or me double jumping when I'm supposed land on a wall which activates a contextual wall slide animation but I end up over shooting it and either missing the wall, or move the analog stick in time and barely make on them which can also lead so some disorientation from the camera. The platforming physics didn't feel as precise as I would like due to the reasons I mentioned.
It's not all bad, I eventually got used to the quirks of all this like for example, instead of using double jump I used the dodge roll instead, to reach furthur platforms since it can work like a dash during platforming. I also like how there is a dedicated grind rail button, which is something I really wished Bomb Rush Cyberfunk had since if I press R1, Gori will grind automatically where with Bomb Rush reaching a grind rail and successful landing is a 50-50 guessing game.
However, where the game shines is the combat, at first it might seem a little basic with the game shoving in basic fodder enemies and all you do is slice and dice them. Fortunately, Gori constantly shoves in new enemies and not all of the enemies can beaten by just hitting the attack button, some enemies have a shield and you have to shoot them which means frontal attacks will damage you, they will provide shields for other enemies and you have to kill them before you can attack them, there is flying enemies which launch projectiles, but are easy to kill and also refills your rocket/laser gun, enemies have shields and you have to use the slam wheel to break them, there also enemies where you have to hit them while they are attacking and once you do it exposes their weak spot, other enemies will have summon an area of effect attack that can damage you and decativate your shield but you can kill them by getting close and using the slam wheel.
The game throws in enemies like this to constantly shake things up. It doesn't just end there, there is death pits to avoid and be weary of like in the newer Dooms but you don't get a game over if you fall into them which I can picture bother some.
I mentioned elements of the older God of Wars and the game has a decent number of moments where you need to watch out for environmental hazards and the levels possibly doing damage and killing you while you are fighting. Some levels do this more than others. Particular level 2, level 4, and level 7. There's parts where you have to shoot switches to avoid getting game overs while fighting enemies, avoid drowning in water, and avoiding electricity to name some examples.
The game checkpoints really well so there is no need to worry about redoing lots of content.
Two aspects of the game I really enjoyed is how the game constantly incorporates shooting in every facet of gameplay, you need to shoot switches to solve puzzles and activate platforms, and shooting will be done to damage enemies and bosses like I mentioned earlier. I also like how the game introduces an idea early in the level and then slowly eases the player into them. For example, there an underwater level where Gori has limited breath and missiles will slow down underwater, and you need to activate oxygen stations in order to restore breath, and using the slam wheel on on the drain will lower the water. Another example is how in an earlier level you need to precisely shoot multiple switches to activate parts of a level to proceed and the game gives you a small puzzle introducing you to concept showing you how the idea works.
On a side note, I love the gyro aiming on PS5 for the missile/laser gun, it geniunely feels precise, and I never once switched back to analog control, I wish all gyro aim on PS5 was like this.
What didn't I like? The penultimate level is too long and unnesscary since it's ultimately a dream sequence, the slam wheel can be a bit buggy at times where I hold the trigger and triangle and it simpily wouldn't activate, and the bosses felt a little too easy mainly because their HP goes down so fast.
Overall, I highly reccomend. If you like fast paced action games then this is highly worth looking into.
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