Carrion is a game about surviving to become an apex predator. These tips and tricks will get you started.
Need some help surviving the early stages of your escape from the facility? These tips and tricks will help you thrive to evolve your parasite. There’s no map, but some clever tricks can help you find your way around.
Size Matters
The parasite starts out as a spindly thing with a few arms and very little health. The size of the parasite directly impacts which abilities it can use. You can eat human parts to gain biomass.
The player can also deposit biomass into red pools littered around the levels. Increasing and decreasing your size is half the challenge of navigating the facility in the game.
Sometimes a beefy aggressive approach is best, but a stealth approach might work, too. Carrion is a game that lets you define how you approach exploration.
Know Your Enemy
Early enemy encounters in the game are terrified scientists and engineers. But you’ll quickly encounter soldiers with more weapons and defenses against your tentacles.
An electric shield prevents you from grabbing these soldiers head-on with your tentacles. Flamethrowers spell bad news for your biomass unless you can find water. Eventually, you’ll encounter humans in robotic mech suits that will require stealthy tactics to beat.
Save Early, Save Often
One of the best ways to replenish your life force in Carrion is by returning to the save points littered throughout the levels. The game is pretty generous with its access to save points, which also reduces some of the challenge. You’re never too far away from a health replenishment thanks to that. You can abuse the instant heal from the save point to avoid flamethrower afterburn.
Despite easy access to save points, you should still save any time you come across one of these alcoves. You’ll start out needing to find three spots to spread your biomass per level before you can unlock new destinations. Pretty soon, you’ll need to find four and five save points to completely infect the level.
Unlock New Abilities
Occasionally you’ll come across new bio-hazard containers that unlock special abilities for the parasite. Grab the container with your tentacles and briskly shake it back and forth to unlock the new ability. Each ability adds mass to the parasite and changes its active ability.
Part of the challenge in Carrion is figuring out how to use these active abilities to progress. Sometimes you’ll need to be able to manipulate a lever, or grow bulky and smash your way through wooden support beams. Later on, you can unlock a water traversal ability to make traveling underwater easier.
Don’t Forget to Backtrack
Some of the places you explore early on in the game feature aspects that you can access later with new abilities. Re-exploring these areas can be genuinely rewarding as you navigate the facility and spread the parasite to its far reaches.
If you’re having trouble figuring out where to go, try backtracking through areas you’ve already explored. There are a total of 11 skills you can find and unlock. There are three offensive skills, three defensive skills, three utility skills, and four skills that are considered bonus skills.
Carrion Game – Abilities
Arachnoptysis DNA
This is the first offensive ability you will obtain as the parasite. It is found in the military junkyard. It shoots a cobweb-like appendage to temporarily trap victims or manipulate levers.
Photokinesis DNA
This ability is obtained in the Botanical Garden. It allows the parasite to become invisible for a short amount of time. You can use this to sneak up behind enemies or to sneak past laser traps in later levels.
Xiphorrhea DNA
This offensive ability can be obtained in the Uranium Mines. The parasite can lunge forward, ripping enemies in its path to shreds. The momentum generated by the ability can break wooden support beams, rivets, and protected power nodes.
Acanthosis DNA
This defensive ability is obtained in the Leviathan Reef Base Bridge. The ability allows the parasite to grow keratin spikes from its body to shoot out when enemies get close. The initial activation of the ability doesn’t use energy, but it does begin to drain energy when close to humans.
Harpagorrhea DNA
This final offensive ability is unlocked in the Nuclear Power Plant. Once used, this ability sends out a vortex of harpoons. The ability functions much like a ballista, punching through enemies. It’s one of the most useful offensive abilities available to the parasite.
Keratosis DNA
This defensive ability is unlocked in the Armored Warfare facility. It allows the parasite to grow a thick keratin skin that protects it from damage for a limited time. The ability doesn’t drain energy to be activated, but according to how much damage you take. Surviving a sticky bomb with the ability activated will completely drain your energy reserves.
Echolocation
This ability is unlocked at the start of the game. It is used to locate nearby crevices and hives. The growl can also be used to lure humans into traps you’ve set for them. Some humans run from the noise, while soldiers will investigate it.
Hydrophilia DNA
This ability only activates while underwater. It can be found in the Leviathan Reef Base. The parasite transforms into long stringy worms that can more easily pass through small spaces while underwater. The ability activates automatically and drains no energy.
Parasitism
This offensive ability is unlocked in the Relith Science HQ. It is upgraded by reaching BSL-4 Research Ward. This ability is required to finish the game. The upgraded ability reveals spoilers about the game, so this is purposefully vague.
Carrion Game – Containment Units
These bonus abilities are hidden in Containment units and grant passive abilities to the parasite. Accessing the rooms with these upgrades requires having the right abilities.
- Echolocation – Found in Hazardous Waste Landfill. This ability allows the parasite to find consumable bodies.
- Polycheiria 1 – Found in the Frontier. This passive ability allows the parasite to grow a second tentacle for grabbing things.
- Electrosis 1 – Found in the Uranium Mines. It increases the parasite’s energy reserves.
- Pyrophilia 1 – Found in the Botanical Gardens. Increases the parasite’s fire resistance to flamethrowers.
- Pyrophilia 2 – Found in the Leviathan Reef Base. Further increases the parasite’s fire resistance.
- Electrosis 2 – Found in the Relith Science HQ. Further increases the parasite’s energy reserves.
- Electrosis 3 – Found in the Nuclear Power Plant. Further increases the parasite’s energy reserves.
- Electrosis 4 – Found in the Armored Warfare Facility. This final upgrade is the maximum energy level the parasite has.
- Polycheiria 2 – Found in the Bunker. This ability grants a third tentacle the parasite can control.
Conclusion
Carrion is a surprisingly relaxing reverse horror game. Upgrading the parasite can help you devise new ways to kill humans trying to contain you. Evolve to progress through the facility and destroy every human you find with clever use of your skills. Check out our Carrion review for Switch to learn more.
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