[Preview] Gori: Cuddly Carnage | Cuddly Carnage in the Palm of One’s Hands

Clawsome combat. (August 25, 2022)

Having had the chance to play Gori: Cuddly Carnage for the first time back in August 2022, when attending a special event hosted by Wired Productions to celebrate the release of Arcade Paradise, I already knew it was something special. So, in the twenty-two months that have passed since, I’ve eagerly been following the game’s progress and with its August 29, 2024 release drawing ever nearer, I’ve recently had the chance to fall in love with it all over again.

With another invite in my inbox, on Friday, the 21st of June, 2024, I boarded a train and made my way to London. Passing the world-famous Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bagel, within a few minutes more, I found myself on Bethnal Green Road, standing outside Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium, the very first Cat Cafe in London. As a haven for our feline friends, which has managed to home more than sixty cats that have come into the care Lady Dinah’s, Wired Productions couldn’t have picked a better venue for a Gori: Cuddly Carnage preview event.

In a historic part of London, Lady Dinah’s is a delightful abode, home to a Café that has a cat-themed menu, and a decorate setting that gives off Alice in Wonderland vibes, and once inside, voyaging to the room beneath the streets of London, is where this kitty paradise really comes alive. With a giant tree in the center of the room and cats running riot above and below, kitty carnage was everywhere and that’s not counting the tables set up here and there, with PCs, Steam Decks, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite’s on them.

But, having already played the Steam build of Gori: Cuddly Carnage, there was only one console I really needed to play Gori: Cuddly Carnage on, was the Nintendo Switch. Having seen a Switch available, I snatched up the hybrid console, grabbed myself a seat and off I went. Now, as I have previously covered Gori: Cuddly Carnage in a previous preview piece, this time around I will be focusing on the updated changes and how the game performs on Nintendo’s hybrid console, but since it would be a shame not to do a quick recap on the game, let’s get that out of the way first:

Developed by Angry Demon Studios, a developer based in Sweden, Gori: Cuddly Carnage is the latest game in their arsenal. As an action-based platformer, full of classic button mashing, hack-and-slash action, the easiest way to define Gori is to say Tony Hawk meets Stray styled musou. Oh, and that neon lighting, and cyberpunk feels, (chef’s kiss), it’s downright beautiful. As for the story, the titular Gori is a “cute, cuddly, yet extremely deadly” synthetic pet that was “smuggled out of Cool-Toyz Inc.”

Now joined by F.R.AN.K, Gori’s main companion and ride of choice, this hoverboard loves to swear and hates the fact his language is censored,  but then there is also CH1-P, a character we get to see more of as the game goes on, but with the three working together, the hunt is on to find Professor Y, the only human whoever cared for them.

Now on to the Switch version. As the lesser powered platform of all platforms Gori is in development for, some slowdown can occur during instances when Gori is completely surrounded by enemies and you’re trying to hack and slash your way through them. Although, having said that, the only slowdown I encountered during my playthrough, was minor and no different to what you would expect from any musou title playable on the Nintendo Switch.

Nevertheless, at no point did it felt like it took away from the gameplay experience and that other than slowdown, Gori: Cuddly Carnage runs with no other issues and still looks utterly gorgeous, in all of its fast-paced splender. What’s more, having had the chance to speak to some of the developers behind Gori, they admitted that bringing Gori to Switch was a hardship in itself, so to be able to have it in the state that it currently is, is a triumphant in itself.

Still, if you do wish to play a superior version of the game, you’re welcome to do so by getting it on any other platform, but, Gori: Cuddly Carnage is still an exceptional game none the less that wrecks of early Shovel Knight and Yooka-Laylee vibes, in the sense that this is easily a game that can live on, is perfect for streamer and could easily evolve into a series/IP that makes its way to other games? Gori in Mortal Kombat? Sign us up! For more on this brilliant game, including a proper deep dive, we ask you to wait for our eventual review and in the meantime, here’s a quick YouTube short of the event:

Wired and Angry Demon, we thank you for having us and can’t wait to get our hands on the full title and for those keen to give it a try for yourself, you can always download the steam demo, which is available now.

About Gori: Cuddly Carnage:

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 A.I companion, CH1-P, to slay the evil Adorable Army with lethal combos.

Fuelled by insatiable demand, ‘Cool-Toyz Inc.’ created ‘Ultra Pets’. The ultimate companions that never hunger, never require bathroom breaks and are impervious to the ravages of time. Little did anyone expect the mutation that transformed these perfect pets into twisted toys straight from your nightmares, hell-bent on wiping out humanity.

Master explosive weaponry and devastating combos in an epic battle to prevent the Adorable Army from conquering the galaxy, and rescue Professor Y, their missing creator and only human who showed Gori and his friends love. Push your combat and platforming skills to the limits as you fight your way through twisted landscapes filled with environmental hazards, razor-sharp adult humour and a bone-crunching, pulse-pounding soundtrack.

These reluctant heroes must track down and obliterate the generals of the Adorable Army, and with the help of a wild cast of unlikely allies – discover the truth about Cool-Toyz Inc. and unravel the secrets of this thrilling, action-packed hack ‘n’ slash adventure. Get ready to unleash the cuddly carnage!