A Playthrough of CARRION, the "Reverse Horror Game" Where You Control a Monster Escaping a Research Facility

The protagonist is a strange, squirming creature trapped in a research facility. It apparently can take on the powers of whatever it absorbs, which the commentator likens to "an overseas version of Kirby." The immediate goal is to escape the facility, moving through ducts into adjacent sections and smashing doors with its tentacles as it goes. Whenever it finds a human along the way, the commentator says "With gratitude for every ingredient" and devours them.

At the military waste disposal site, the creature uses its tentacles to pull a lever and unlock a door. Armed humans were patrolling the area, but it took them out by blasting the door into them.

Absorbing the containers found while exploring lets the creature take in new DNA and gain abilities. The first one it obtained was the ability to shoot webs to move objects, which expanded the area it could explore. The commentator says they plan to keep evolving like this and aim to become "the ultimate lifeform."

Against humans wearing protective gear, the creature lured them near a door with its cries, pulled down a lever to open the door, and threw nearby debris at them to neutralize them all at once. However, these armored humans apparently can't be eaten, so at this point all it could do was crush them and leave them be.

The next container granted a charge ability, and the creature's body seemed to get a little bigger, too. Now able to break through walls, it could shred troublesome armed enemies along with the walls they stood behind, and the commentator remarks that this lets it "cook" them safely.

In the botanical garden, a container beyond some laser sensors granted the ability to turn invisible by spending energy. The creature recharges its energy at a power distribution panel and uses invisibility to slip past sensors that close doors when touched. The commentator thinks this will also work well against humans, who tend to rely on sight, and sees it as likely to come in handy for future "meals."

Next, seeking a way to explore underwater, the creature visits the "Leviathan Atoll Base," where it absorbs the ability to transform into a swarm of worms while in water. This lets it pass through previously inaccessible passages, and the commentator says that "this moment is one of the real joys of games like this." It sneaks up behind the guards patrolling the base and devours them in one go before they can react.

A container inside the base granted a parasitic ability that lets the creature control other living things. Using the body of a human it has taken over, it slowly gets up, operates a lever, and proceeds through the door. Once it's done, it releases its hold and bursts out of the host's stomach, terrifying everyone nearby.

According to the commentator, this ability made the rest of the exploration more comfortable. Humans in combat suits, which until then could only be discarded because they couldn't be eaten, now became useful as hosts more often. The video also shows a scene in which the creature has a possessed human operate a lever to open a door, then takes care of that person's coworkers before leaving the host.

The next ability it obtained lets it grow spikes all over its body by spending energy. The commentator thinks this is a combat ability meant for humans rather than for puzzles, and uses the spikes to take out a group of humans all at once.

Where this creature came from is revealed by crawling into devices that can replay past memories. These devices let you see the creature's flashback scenes.

The flashback begins with an unconscious researcher slowly getting to their feet. The researcher had come to the monster's lair to collect samples, but suddenly found they had passed out, and the monster they were investigating had disappeared. They go outside and rejoin the rest of the research team, but the researcher had already been taken over. The mimicry is exposed by a camera, and the monster is restrained, torn apart, and stored in a container. The commentator explains that it seems to have been kept locked up in the facility as research material ever since.

The next ability it gained lets it fire its muscle like a harpoon. Not only can it skewer humans, it can also be used to pull out plugs, which opens up passages all over the place. The commentator says that by this point the creature feels like it has grown quite large. While going around pulling plugs, it finds a new area, and beyond a spot with lax security there is another container.

This is the eighth ability taken from it by humans, and it regains the ability to cover its entire body in hardened protein. Since there was a puzzle it had been stuck on just outside the room, the commentator guesses this ability should let it get through. The creature forces its way past a trap that attaches an instantly lethal time bomb to anything that passes through, by hardening its whole body.

After that, the protagonist returns to the research wing in the starting area. Now able to break through reinforced glass walls, it reminisces about the place where it was first confined, "says hello" to the researchers, and reaches the final container. The last ability it regains is an upgraded version of the parasitic ability, letting it take the form of a researcher it previously possessed and get past biometric authentication meant for humans. Now in control of every level of access in the facility, the protagonist heads for the exit, and the game ends as it reaches the outside world and blends in among the humans.

The commentator says that, beyond the fun of playing as the monster, they felt the game pays close attention to detail in building atmosphere, from the intricate tentacle graphics to the humans' screams and the music. Finding the tentacle-based combat and puzzle elements enjoyable as well, and saying the game offers a unique thrill of controlling a monster, they describe CARRION as "a reverse horror game where a cute creature runs around a facility" and close out the video.