Developer Angry Demon Studio and publisher Wired Productions brings you Gori: Cuddly Carnage, an action-platformer that wouldn’t feel out of place if it had been released for the Dreamcast in 2001. And this cuddly cat is called Gori for a damn good reason.

“Humanity has been destroyed – and it’s up to Gori, along with his deadly but wise-cracking sentient hoverboard, F.R.A.N.K, and morose AI companion, CH1-P, to shred and slay the evil Adorable Army!”

Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like if Jet Set Radio moved in with Devil May Cry and decided to adopt a cat with a talking hoverboard and a depressed bit of AI? Of course, you haven’t, no sane person has ever wanted to know. However, Gori: Cuddly Carnage pretty much gives you an answer to exactly that. The basic plot of Gori has you plying as the titular biped feline to take down an army of gone bad toys being controlled by a nefarious leader. Oh, and you have to find your owner/creator too. In terms of the story, Gori: Cuddly Carnage doesn’t do anything groundbreaking. It is your standard good vs evil plot, but the writing is peppered with humour and a lot of swearing that really showcases that, Gori himself may be cute and cuddly, but there’s a hell of a lot of adult carnage thrown into the mix. 

While you play as Gori, the cat is joined by F.R.A.N.K the hoverboard and CH1-P the rather downtrodden AI. CH1-P’s main function seems to be offering doom, gloom and very little in the way of encouragement, F.R.A.N.K is the polar opposite and always has something to say to keep you pushing forward on your quest… usually with a lot of swearing too. Seeing as Gori is mostly mute, aside from the odd meow and mew, F.R.A.N.K is where most of the dialogue comes from as he offers his rather unique assessment on any given situation. 

Oh yeah, F.R.A.N.K isn’t just a hoverboard that Gori uses to get around the levels, he’s a deadly weapon. F.R.A.N.K comes armed with razor sharp blades and Gori can spin the hoverboard around to quite literary cut enemies down to size, usually tiny little chunks of flesh kind of size. F.R.A.N.K also has a flail that you can use to smash the crap out of pretty much anything that gets in your way. Throw in some hoverboard-based grinding and wall-riding, and you get a rather versatile little way of traversing and to deal bloody death to all of these evil toys that are trying to stop you. Before I forget, F.R.A.N.K’s a rocket launcher too.

The levels in Gori: Cuddly Carnage are varied and offer up some really great touches. You’ll be hoverboarding through neon-lit streets, a toy factory and even an arcade where you can jump into some of the games. There’s platforming to contend with, some very light puzzle-solving, and lots and lots of visceral and violent action. With eight main levels to get through, plus plenty of secrets to find, Gori offers up a lot of gameplay and most importantly, it’s really bloody great fun . Build up combos, finish levels with style, take on some pretty bizarre and monstrous bosses, and try to get gold stars in various categories to earn some coin. You can then use that coin to buy upgrades for F.R.A.N.K along with a ton of cosmetics for Gori and his trusty hoverboard.

Coming with a price tag of around £18, Gori: Cuddly Carnage is so much fun for such a great price that it should probably be illegal. I have reviewed games recently that are more than twice the cost and have less than half the gameplay value. Great combat, brilliant level design, and while the story may be very “by the numbers”, it is written with a wonderful level of adult humour and balanced with just the right amount of puerility to keep a smile on your face from start to end. You’ll get around a five-hour playtime if you just stick to the story and don’t bother with finding and finishing any of the bonus areas. But I’d say that you could add another four to five hours if you want to get 100% out of the game… and the proper ending too. I never really bother playing through games multiple times these days, but Gori had me starting again as soon as I finished watching the end credits. I’ve just started a third playthrough on the hardest setting. The fact that there is a (kind of) game+ mode where you keep all of your previous upgrades when you start another playthrough is very welcome, and it makes trying the harder difficulties a bit more bearable too.

Who knew that cutting off a unicorn’s head and smashing it into the now decapitated unicorn’s body – creating a geyser of blood and guts, was so much fun? Gori: Cuddly Carnage is a perfect example of why I adore indie gaming. No AAA studio would take a chance publishing a title that looks like a cute kids’ game, but plays like something that would’ve been banned if it has been made 25 years ago. Gori feels like a video game, if you know what I mean. Pure and unfiltered fun from days when that was what gaming was all about. Gori’s genuinely gratifying gameplay gone gloriously gory, gaining great glorification – gleefully.