Developer: Angry Demon Studio
Publisher: Wired Productions, CouchPlay Interactive
Platform: Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Tested on: PC
Gori: Cuddly Carnage – Review
The idea of cute animals going on bloody murder sprees isn’t exactly new. In the early 2000s, Happy Tree Friends and South Park’s Woodland Critters already did just that. When we first heard about Gori: Cuddly Carnage, we were under the assumption that the game was aiming to bring back that kind of humorous juxtaposition. In a way, it did, but it also delivered so much more than just that. Read on to find out what makes Gori such an exceptional game.
Story
For as unhinged of a premise that Gori rolls out, the writing is actually surprisingly good. The world has been taken over by the Adorable Army of sentient toys from the evil Cool Toyz™ corporation and it’s up to our titular hero to deal with these. Gori himself is a rejected Cool Toyz™ prototype, and is on a quest to be reunited with his creator, Professor F. Our furry friend doesn’t have to deal with hordes of monstrous unicorn plushies and the like all by himself, however. Accompanying Gori on his quest are F.R.A.NK., a foul-mouthed talking hoverboard, as well as CH1-P, an AI suffering from depression. We probably don’t have to mention that Gori’s plot can be a bit… much at times, but it is made a lot more palatable thanks to a generous amount of dark humor.
Graphics
As we’ve seen in other games, a cyberpunk setting lends itself well to neon-filled environments and bright colors, and Gori certainly delivers on this front. Enemy designs tie into the horror toy tropes, with grotesque, distorted designs juxtaposed against the cute and cuddly look of the good guys. And with a title like Gori, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is plenty of, well, gore. Blood liberally splashes across the screen as you go on a murder spree. You may be wondering why toy enemies have blood in the first place, but in all honesty, who cares? Gori’s premise is ridiculous anyway, in the best way possible, and seeing hordes of enemies being turned into minced meat is glorious. The game’s cutscenes deserve a special mention too, as they alternate between in-game visuals as well as comic-book-styled segments. In terms of performance, Gori pleasantly surprised us as well, delivering fast-paced action with barely any hiccups.
Sound
It’s clear that a lot of effort went into Gori’s voice acting. The game is almost fully voiced, with the standout character being the foul-mouthed F.R.A.N.K.. Well, we say foul-mouthed, but he starts the game censored, and you’ll need to purchase an upgrade to be able to hear his swears. The other cast members don’t suffer the same fate, and there are plenty of foul words used to emphasize the strength of some of the dialogue. Ahem. While the voice work does lend a lot of appeal and personality to Gori’s characters, the fast pace of the quips and audible swearing does get tiring after a while. We should note that Gori, being a cat, speaks in meows, and there is even a dedicated meow button available, which was quite a nice touch. As for Gori’s soundtrack, the electric guitar tunes sound like something you’d find in a Doom game, rather than the Cyberpunk-like music we’d expected. Don’t get us wrong, the music is actually pretty darn good, and we’re happy to say that there’s an in-game jukebox, but the OST did catch us off guard a little.
Gameplay
Beneath Gori’s stylish-yet-gruesome aesthetic, you’ll find a surprisingly accessible hack-’n-slash action platformer. Players take control of Gori and ride F.R.A.N.K. throughout the game, stylishly killing off any enemies they come across. Both Gori and F.R.A.N.K. are perfectly suitable for dealing with the Adorable Army: the sentient hoverboard is equipped with all sorts of blades and wrecking balls, acting as Gori’s main weapon. Our furry friend is quite the capable boarder, able to perform different jumps and grinds. He’s no slouch in combat either, able to use slashing attacks as well as a rocket launcher. The game’s aim isn’t to just maul enemy hordes, but to do it as stylishly as possible, and ideally within the time limit. At the end of a level, you’ll be scored based on your performance, giving you plenty of reasons to return to the levels as you aim to improve your score.
The former Cool Toyz™ factory acts as the game’s hub. From here, you’ll need to venture out into the different themed levels, and collect the items necessary to assemble the weaponry needed to stop the Adorable Army once and for all. However, those items are guarded by the Toy Generals, who act as bosses at the end of each level. Individual levels are well-designed affairs, striking a good balance between offering challenge, especially to those wanting to stay under time limits, and being accessible for those not familiar with the genre. If you can complete a level within those time limits, you’ll earn bonus rewards. Back at the factory, you’ll be able to purchase upgrades for F.R.A.N.K., making him more efficient in the levels. Gori may stick to a tried and true formula, but the way said formula is being executed here is top-notch. It reminds us of the more outlandish risk-taking titles like Conker’s Bad Fur Day. In an era where big game publishers play things safe and stick to established franchises, it’s refreshing to see a game that harkens back to the days of the N64 and PS2 era in terms of design philosophy.
Clocking in at around 10 hours, Gori doesn’t overstay its welcome, and in all honesty, that’s for the best. It’s not a very difficult or frustrating game, at least not on normal mode, but the fast-paced action, combined with the chaotic storytelling and busy audiovisual presentation can get tiresome after a while. Gori does have quite a lot of replay value, and we can see ourselves going back to it, to give it a try on higher difficulties. However, before we do that, we’re probably going to play some less chaotic games for a while. If you’re thinking about giving Gori a try, then heed our advice and pace yourself, rather than binge through it. You’ll only end up appreciating the game more.
Conclusion
To say we were pleasantly surprised by Gori would be an understatement. We half expected the game to rely on shock value as its main selling point, but beneath the combination of cuteness and gore, we found a solid hack-and-slash action platformer. The one weakness we found with Gori was that the sheer amount of chaos it keeps blasting at you can get tiresome after an extended play session. In short bursts, however, Gori: Cuddly Carnage delivers a kind of fun we hadn’t seen properly executed in decades.
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