Gori: Cuddly Carnage Review – A Frenzied Feline Adventure

Gori: Cuddly Carnage Review

Certain games effortlessly combine elements from a range of genres to create something unique. Gori: Cuddly Carnage takes Tony Hawk-style traversal, Doom-esque mayhem and Devil May Cry combat and blends them into a vibrant, fast-paced adventure that aims to be both fresh and familiar. Will the manic hack-and-slash platformer manage to combine distinctive aspects to create a cohesive and chaotic experience?

You play as Gori, a cute but badass cat that was created by a professor as part of the Ultra-Pet initiative. Deemed not viable and sent for destruction, you are rescued and partnered with CH1-P, an AI robot and F.R.A.N.K, a sentient hoverboard. The supporting cast is full of character with F.R.A.N.K erupting in profanity-ridden tirades and CH1-P evoking the melancholy mood of Marvin from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Together, the band of misfits embark on an adventure to stop a deadly uprising. Although a straightforward story, its delivery is strong with comic book style segments and dialogue that accompanies the action. Angry Demon Studio places humor at the forefront and while the expletive-laden rants will give you a giggle, they don’t always land and can get a little annoying.

Slice and Dice

With a range of messed-up unicorns and other nightmare-inspired creatures, you will decimate everything in your path with the help of your hoverboard. Fountains of blood will quickly fill the screen as you sever the limbs of foes. In addition to your quick board attacks, you can also combine these with heavy strikes that break shields and do more damage. Gori can also pull out a gun and blast enemies across the battlefield further diversifying fights.

Enemies vary, meaning that you must alter your method of attack in order to vanquish them. Some need dazing with a bullet while others require you to dodge attacks and wait for the opportune time to strike. Although the diverse range of foes adds a layer of strategy to proceedings, the volume of fodder opponents highlights the lack of depth in the combat. Rather than focus on intricate timing and button combinations, encounters tend to become button-mashing affairs that grow tiresome. Most combat-focused missions see you fighting waves of enemies or protecting an area for a particular amount of time. I would have liked to have seen more variety with these portions as they lack the ingenuity that engulfs other elements of the game.

Traversal is a blast and a highlight of the experience. With your hoverboard, you can grind bars to build more energy and ride walls as you progress from platform to platform. The levels are designed to take advantage of this so that you can effortlessly glide to your location. Portions of the game require you to race away from danger. These segments emphasize the platforming mechanics and are an absolute blast.

Feast Your Eyes

Each level has a clear theme and shines with originality. Areas are well-designed and full of oddities that will keep you wondering what is next on the horizon. While the ideas are fantastic, Angry Demon Studio doesn’t take full advantage of the themes. One segment sees you venture into retro arcade cabinets. Although the environment changes, the enemies and gameplay remain the same rather than adapting to the location. There are several moments like this where it feels like the developers missed an opportunity to elevate the experience.

The overall presentation is a feast for the eyes and ears. Vibrant neon colors seep throughout to create a distinct aesthetic that captures the odd nature of the game. The beat-based soundtrack is the perfect accompaniment for the chaotic action that imbues the experience. With its solid performance, you can navigate the arena without issue. I did, however, encounter the odd glitch where the next sequence didn’t initiate, but this seemed to be a solitary issue and didn’t occur when restarting from a checkpoint.

Gori: Cuddly Carnage is a manic action adventure that successfully combines multiple gameplay elements. Traversing the world is a thrill and is accentuated through platform-focused segments. Unfortunately, the basic combat gets tedious due to the lack of depth and repetitive missions. Although that portion is underwhelming, it’s still a chaotic crusade packed with style.

***A PS5 code was provided for this review***