Cats have taken over video games. Cat Quest III, Stray or the recent Little Kitty Big City are proof of this trend that makes it clear that felines are better than dogs (information, not opinion). Do you refuse to accept it? Then join me in this Gori: Cuddly Carnage Review.
We already mentioned it a few weeks ago in our impressions of Gori: Cuddly Carnage, what seemed to be a somewhat “silly” game hid positive sensations inside. Now that it’s coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC, it’s time to finally clear up any doubts.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage is the perfect example that sometimes, A video game just needs a touch of cat adorableness… and a bloodbath of zombie unicorns. to win over the audience.
What the hell am I talking about? Well, it’s time to find out everything that this game, one of the craziest and most out-of-the-box proposals of 2024, has to offer. Let’s go with the analysis of Gori: Cuddly Carnage for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC:
Gori: Cuddly Carnage gameplay, this is how its crazy proposal is played
What is Gori: Cuddly Carnage? We are facing a 3D action platformerMy colleague Álvaro Alonso defined it at the time as a mix between Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Devil May Cry and the truth is that I couldn’t agree more.
Although I prefer to define the new work of the Nordic studio Angry Demon Studio as if Stray had abused the consumption of amphetamines and narcotics or as if Conker’s Bad Fur Day he would have gone overboard with the ayahuasca.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage puts us in the shoes of a bipedal cat who teams up with a talking, extremely rude hoverboard and an AI suffering from depression to try to save the world from a zombie toy invasion.
The story is simple and is divided into small animated fragments “comic book style” that expand the story as we overcome the eight main levels of the game. In addition, the characters also give clues about their plots with constant dialogues in the middle of the gameplay.
The game’s writing and script are particularly notable for the comments, insults and constant insults of FRANK, the hovercraft that is much more than a companion. This personality is not something particularly new, but it does bring a great deal of charisma to the adventure.
Although the narrative is secondary here, what matters is the gameplay. Gori rides a futuristic skateboard through a series of closed levels (without much exploration) while grinding and jumping platforms and cutting up many, many enemies.
I had doubts about how the kitten was going to be controlled, but the truth is that The movement on this type of hoverboard is as smooth as if you were riding one (I guess, since I don’t have much experience with futuristic stuff.)
There aren’t too many actions beyond jumping, running along vertical walls and grinding on luminescent railings, but it’s not necessary to complicate things, although some movements are somewhat automated.
With these mechanics, Gori offers different levels of very enjoyable platformingalthough not too crazy, which refreshes the gameplay between fights. Because FRANK is much more than a skateboard, he also has sharp blades capable of cutting anyone into pieces.
Combat is geared towards hack ‘n slash since we can finish off dozens and dozens of enemies in a few seconds. We only have to resort to the sharp blades of the skateboard, which also has a mallet to break armor and a shooting mode.
Enemies have some resistance, but we can cut them down faster if we decide to consume FRANK’s fuel to give each attack more power. The result? A real carnage of horrifying unicorns. Blood everywhere.
The coolest thing about combat is that it has a lot of combos based on button combinations, like Tony Hawk’s tricks. The problem is that many times you just have to press a single button and you can get rid of the vast majority of zombies with equal or greater effectiveness.
I would have liked to see a little more use made of this system, given that at certain times, The fights become too repetitiveeven considering that the game has a good variety of enemies.
It is in the final bosses where it stands out the most. Following a classic style (there is even one that references the famous T-Rex technical demo for PlayStation). They are quite challenging encounters with constant action that tests what you have learned in each level.
And speaking of references, at every turn we can find number of winkswhether in level design or through dialogue. There are even phrases taken from the depths of meme culture. I laughed quite a bit at a reference to Star Wars’ General Grievous.
And we can always make things a little more gore by doing executions of downed enemies. Heads torn off, limbs mutilated… this kitty is quite bad-tempered, to be honest. You wouldn’t want to give him his Whiskas when he asks for it.
To give some more depth to its gameplay, Gori: Cuddly Carnage relies on a few collectibles scattered throughout each level that unlock outfits, coins that allow us to upgrade our weapons and equipment, or a scoring system based on combos.
We also have to keep an eye on the skate’s health and fuel, which can be obtained by performing tricks or smashing cars, since without it we’ll be pretty much screwed. There is a certain strategic component in the middle of the massacre.
Gori has just enough to captivate fans of action platformers. It doesn’t boast much and could improve in certain areas, but The combination of satisfying gameplay and such a particular and violent style add a lot in its favor..
Gori: Cuddly Carnage technically: graphics, aesthetics and more
We enter the section that can cast the most shadow on the highlights of the game. Obviously, the technical aspect of Gori: Cuddly Carnage is one of its weak pointsespecially when it comes to graphics.
The character models and certain animations outside of pure gameplay (especially Gori) feel quite below other sections and this does not enhance it too much either. a aesthetic that is going to be tremendously divisive between the players, both male and female.
I’ll be honest, I don’t like how Gori: Cuddly Carnage looks visually, but this is something tremendously subjective and I understand that rougher and more direct style may attract the attention of quite a few interested parties.
However, looking at certain scenarios (which is where the game stands out the most in terms of its artistic side) I think that the cyberpunk atmosphere with neon lights could have been used more. There are cool areas, but the game feels somewhat wasted.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage features two display modes. Performance mode at 4K upscaling and 120 fps and Quality mode at 4K and 60 fps. I’ve barely noticed any optimization glitches, with no texture loading issues or particularly catastrophic drops in fps.
As for the dubbing, it is English and is well executed with some Spanish texts quite well localized to follow the jokes and the crude and shameless humor of the game. Although it would have been great to have had a dubbing into Spanish to fully exploit FRANK
Gori Difficulty Level: Cuddly Carnage
I haven’t died too many times in Gori: Cuddly Carnage, but the truth is that the vast majority of boss fights have put me in trouble on more than one occasion. I didn’t expect the game to be so challenging.
And that’s even though I’ve played on the “normal” difficulty of the four available (the hardest one has to be unlocked). So, the higher you go in rank, the more complex and demanding the game becomes… although the third level doesn’t raise the difficulty too much either.
There may be much more difficult games on the market than Gori: Cuddly Carnage, but Ang Demon Studio’s title presents certain level of demand that fans of action platformers will appreciate experiencing.
Upgrading certain FRANK weapons early on can make combat a bit unbalanced, but overall the gameplay feels fair and challenging when it needs to be. Don’t expect anything crazy in this regard, but Gori delivers in this regard.
How long is Gori: Cuddly Carnage?
You can expect Gori: Cuddly Carnage to be of standard length for what we consider an indie action adventure. Completing the game by going straight to the story may take you a few minutes. 6-7 hoursmore or less taking into account the degree of skill as well.
To give you an idea, Each level of the game usually lasts about 25 to 35 minutes. depending on how much you get into it or how many attempts you make. I won’t spoil anything for you, but the game does expand its options at some point.
However, the adventure also offers more challenges, collectibles in the form of keys or quite a few achievements and trophies to unlock. Therefore, if you want to complete Gori: Cuddly Carnage This duration can be extended up to 10 hours..
Gori: Cuddly Carnage Price, Editions, and Platforms
Gori: Cuddly Carnage is available digitally for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC with a standard edition at 21.99 euros. In addition, you can also get the Special edition at 24.99 euros which includes two cosmetic packs.
In addition, a physical edition of Gori: Cuddly Carnage for 34.99 euros for PS5, PS4 and Nintendo Switch that includes extras such as a reversible cover, poster, stickers or the possibility of getting a golden ticket to exchange for a real skateboard.
Finally, know that if you are interested in the game, but are still thinking about whether to give it a chance or not, you can always take advantage of playing the free demo of the game which is now available on every platform.
Without looking for three legs on the cat
To be completely honest, when I saw Gori: Cuddly Carnage I thought it was a “B-series” game, one of those that are created more to attract the attention of a few with crazy ideas than to offer something truly tangible and special.
Rough-looking and displaying a certain ugliness and crazy dynamics, I didn’t take this game seriously, but the truth is that Gori: Cuddly Carnage doesn’t take himself seriously either and that is why it has ended up convincing me more than expected.
It may be unpleasant, but Gori is not a bad game by any meansI have enjoyed every level, no matter how well-established the formula is, and that is what should matter most to us when we launch ourselves into this type of game.
Sometimes you don’t have to look for three legs on a cat. Sometimes, all it takes is a two-legged cat, a foul-mouthed skateboard, decapitated unicorns, and an apocalyptic world full of blood to make us enjoy ourselves. Gori: Cuddly Carnage does it, despite its “buts”.
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