So, if you've spent a lot of time looking through the indie gaming scene, you'll probably notice that there are kind of a lot of metroidvanias around. If you don't know, a metroidvania is a game with a vast, interconnected world which you gradually gain more and more access to by unlocking new equipment or abilities. And while I love the sound of that formula, and I'm a huge fan of the [i]Metroid[/i] series itself, I've never really cared for this subgenre... at all. But then I discovered [i]Carrion[/i], a "reverse horror" game where instead of playing as a weak human being hunted by a powerful, terrifying monster, YOU are the powerful, terrifying monster hunting a bunch of weak humans. And I was instantly intrigued. But I didn't realise it was a metroidvania until I played it, and ended up discovering the most interesting and creative game within that subgenre since [i]Super Metroid[/i] itself. [i]Carrion[/i] is a game with excellent, and wildly inventive gameplay, where you take control of a fleshy, disgusting, tentacled creature, slinking under drains and through vents, grabbing hold of screaming pixel-art humans and stuffing them in your mouth. And it also has a great puzzle-oriented world to explore - a facility you've been trapped inside, and now have the goal of trying to escape. But what makes the game most interesting is the new and inventive approach to a [i]Metroid[/i]-style progression system. See, most games of this style haven't really changed much since [i]Metroid[/i] first originated this kind of design philosophy. You pick up new weapons in order to break through previously blocked off doors, and it's always kind of the same stuff; an explosive to break this door, a better explosive to break the next door, a higher jump here, oh, now you can fly. And so on. This is cool, and interesting, but I love that [i]Carrion[/i] takes this approach and truly innovates it for the first time in a long time. And it does this in two ways: 1) [i]Carrion[/i]'s upgrades are much more creative, and genuinely make it feel like the organism is evolving. Instead of glorified keys, you unlock new ways to use your disgusting monster friend. I won't spoil any of these, since the surprise is part of the charm, but what's important is how fresh and different these upgrades are compared to other games, and also the fact that these upgrades impact both progression and puzzle solving, like most [i]Metroid[/i] clones, but also impacts your combat and... erm... hunting potential. 2) The biomass system introduces itself early on, and really makes the game feel fresh and unique. Instead of having a HP bar, you have a bunch of biomass, which informs how big you are, how much damage you can take, and most interestingly, which abilities you can use. See, as a large monster you're obviously much more dangerous, both offensively and defensively, with aggressive hunting abilities. But you're also clunky, easy to hit, and not at all equipped for stealth. But take enough damage, or choose to shed some of your biomass in a pool of acid, and now you're smaller, faster, sneakier, and have access to older abilities your larger form is unable to use. This leads to an endlessly engaging back and forth gameplay loop, and a fascinating approach to interconnected world design. This all comes together to produce an inventive reverse-horror, metroidvania game with a satisfying gameplay loop, lots of options for creativity and personal expression, and a game with a surprising amount of tension, despite being a reverse-horror. The grotesque, violent character design and atmospheric, perfectly paced world design will for sure draw you in. And I highly recommend this game to anyone interested in horror, metroidvanias or indie games in general. Oh, also, this game is published by Devolver Digital. So you know you're guaranteed quality! [b][u]Tl;dr:[/u][/b] Go play [i]Carrion[/i]! It's short, cheap, and one of the most interesting titles of this gen. There's nothing to lose!