Update: Cuni's time has been beaten by speedrunner teddyras who now holds the top time of 21 minutes 19 seconds.
Original story: You know that moment in horror films where the monster just zips past the camera in a blur of shapeless colour? That's what I'm reminded of as I'm watching this Carrion speedrun. All the humans see is a flash of teeth and tentacles as the monster tears through its path with ferocious speed. It's grisly, terrifying and I can't look away.
If you're not familiar with Phobia Games Studio's Carrion, it's a reverse horror game where you play as a fleshy human-eating monster on a mission to escape an underground base. In your tentacle-y form, you get to tear through military chambers, unleashing havoc and devouring guards and scientists as you go.
Controlling the squishy amalgamation is relatively smooth, but with all those tentacles and mouths it still takes some getting used to. There's weight behind this beast and learning how to move it fluidly is part of the gruesome fun. Slithering up walls and slipping through small gaps is immensely satisfying—if gross.
I have yet to harness this finesse. When I control Carrion's monster, I have as much grace as a lump of wet spaghetti, which is why watching speedrunner Cuni complete the game with frightening speed is so mesmerising.
Cuni currently holds the world record for their Carrion speedrun, blitzing through the game in 21 minutes and 33 seconds. The monster's tentacles reach and grab with such ferocious speed it looks like it's flying through areas. By the time the humans have time to ready their guns, the creature is far from gone and when he does have to deal with them it's a whirlwind of bullets and gore.
It's obvious that Cuni has put in the practice, his movements and puzzle-solving are precise and efficient. It takes the monster to another level of horror because it gives the impression that this creature is not only scarily fast, but also wickedly intelligent.
Carrion speedrunners have found a vital skip towards the end of a run (around the eighteen-minute mark in Cuni's run) that lets them miss a chunk of the game. It's a tricky skip to achieve because it involves the player brute-forcing their way up a one-way drain pipe. This is an important part of a run and Cuni manages to do it in a minute and a half, which is impressive.
According to Carrion's speedrun page, Cuni currently holds the top spot closely followed by Soku with a run time of 23 minutes. If you would like a comparison of just how fast Carrion's speedrunning is, check out Chris' impressions complete with bloodthirsty gifs of how the monster usually looks. I'm currently hooked on Carrion's ruthless antics although I don't think I'll get over my squeamishness anytime soon.
