CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs is Short, Sweet & Just Scary Enough To Be Great

With the Halloween season upon gamers, there are plenty of horror games for players to dive into. However, even though there are strong new releases like Silent Hill f, it’s always worth looking beyond the AAA-space for what indie creators are doing with horror games — with titles like CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs proving that the genre is alive and well. A mystery horror game that plays out like a detective visual novel set in a fairy tale setting, the blocky but vivid graphics evoke earlier eras of the genre.

CARIMARA uses the self-imposed limits of the style to create something uniquely grim and charming. Tasked with removing a spirit from the cottage of a mysterious woman, players are tasked with investigating a steadily growing garden area and winding subterranean tunnels for hidden truths. The commitment to the aesthetic helps the storytelling and presentation, even at the cost of a more modern control scheme. The result is a game that feels plucked out of yesteryear that delivers an effective mystery.

4/5

Pros:	Cons:
Good art design that evokes an older era of horror games	Retro graphic limitations can add an unintended level of difficulty to the game
Strong storytelling lends the mystery game a solid core	The game is very short and can be finished fairly quickly
The tone and mood create a memorable experience	Specific design and storytelling removes a certain amount of personal agency

Carmara Is A Clever Riff On A Detective Horror Game

Published by Critical Reflex, CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs is a compelling little horror mystery that has more than enough clever design and strong storytelling to make up for its purposefully clunky controls and short run-time. Less of a straight horror title and more akin to a mystery-driven visual novel, the player is the titular Carimara. In a monochrome fairy tale land, the Carimara is something of a mute mystical detective.

Tasked with identifying and removing the ghost of an old woman’s cottage, the Carimara must explore the secret pathways underneath, investigate the surrounding area, and speak with hidden people to collect clues. The clue mechanic is one of the more unique aspects of the game design for Carimara: Beneath the Forlon Limbs. The information, suspects, and evidence of the central mystery of the ghost and her fate are collected as a series of cards that the mute Carimara collects.

Finding a potential clue will unlock a new card, which allows the player to move the mystery along further. It’s not really a card-based game despite the initial presentation. The game design is clever, and the actual act of exploring the cottage for more information inspires curosity and dread in an effective way. The biggest problem with the game design is the controls.

Designed as a throwback to the horror games of the original PlayStation, there is a certain bluntness to the movement controls and the visuals that can make the more exploration-heavy aspects of the story more frustrating than retro. Especially as players have to explore for otherwise hidden paths, the shaded greenery and clunky movement can be a real hindrance. However, as part of the attempt to recreate a bygone era of horror design, it does fit the overall aesthetic and presentation of the game.

A Somber Story Of A Far Away Land Elevates Carimara

CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs is the work of solo developer Bastinus Rex, with a clever and vivid design style that fits the retro graphics and somber story. The fairy tale aesthetic is tweaked just enough by the blocky graphics and stark animation to be instantly unsettling but oddly charming — and it can become genuinely striking and artistic when it wants to.

The retro visuals lend to the aura of unease that permeates the mystery, even as the scares never get too much beyond the sort of thing one would see on a children’s Halloween ride. The creepier elements of the game play into the mystery of the cottage, which can play out in two very distinct ways depending on the player’s discoveries.

The central emotional arc of CARIMARA‘s primary arc is an engaging and effective one, but it’s worth exploring a second time to discover other shades of this black and white setting. The character designs, although limited by the retro aesthetic, still have clear personality and character that help tell the story.

As with most fairy tales, the actual story isn’t all that long. That may be the biggest knock against CARIMARA on a narrative level, as the game can be solved fairly quickly by a curious enough player. It’s less of a visual novel than a compelling novella, but there’s something to be said for a game that knows not to overstay its welcome.

Carimara Gives Retro Horror A Fantastical And Artistic Edge

As a fusion of form and design, CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs is an impressive showcase for Bastinus Rex. The game’s subtle storytelling touches and flares of menace play into the tank-y controls and movement. While the controls might feel dated, the overall execution plays into the delivery of a retro-horror experience.

The short run-time invites multiple play-throughs to discover the secret paths the initial mystery doesn’t reveal, and the effectiveness of the storytelling makes it compelling enough to linger once it has concluded. All the problems with CARIMARA feel like deliberate decisions made to recreate a previous style of horror game. In that sense, the title is a rousing success.

While that doesn’t make it the tightest designed game in the world or one that really invites too much of a time investment, it does lend itself to an effective title for the Halloween season. It’s a short but solid experience, especially for gamers who enjoy the natural worldbuilding and mystery storytelling of games like Myst with a dash of horror. Go in expecting a compact and effective story, and CARIMARA: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs will be a perfect choice.