CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs Review

The moment I set my eyes on the trailer for CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs, I knew I had to play it. Using a sort of first-gen Playstation aesthetic to fill out its world, CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs cuts a densely detailed slice full of dread and unease. Low-poly models and a muted color palette are not necessarily unique visual choices, but it’s easy to see at a glance that there has been a lot of care put into this vignette. What is quite unique, however, is its handling of its most basic gameplay elements. 

Publisher: CRITICAL REFLEX

Developer: Bastinus Rex

Platform: Played on PC

Availability: Released Oct 6, 2025 on Steam.

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Playing as a little goblin-like figure known as a Carimara, you’ve been tasked with solving the mystery of a haunting by an old woman in the woods. A seemingly malevolent spirit has taken hold within her basement, and your task is to remove it from the premises and figure out why the spirit persists.

There’s such a pervasive sense of unease throughout the opening moments, it becomes off-putting. The crone in the house that hired you is constantly shifting her tone and body language into a more threatening demeanor, and the darkness of the space makes it feel claustrophobic in a way. Your small size makes this a small wonder. How does that lady move around here comfortably? 

That first conversation also sets the stakes for your character. The client and other characters are quick to point out that your life is at stake, so care should be taken. This is not actually true, however. There are no true existential threats to be had. There are no traps to fall into, and no enemies to battle. You’re not here to fight for your life, you’re here to learn. But if the player character cannot actually speak, how are we meant to communicate and discover? 

Here’s where the cards come in. These little tools are acquired by examining glowing objects or people, and can be used to communicate or interact with things in the world. A Key card could be used to unlock a door, or a card depicting a statue could lead to the lady in the house doling out some more pertinent information. You’ll need to use the correct cards on the right people to make sure you get all of the information you need to set things right.

All the visuals have an unnerving feel to them.

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Unfortunately, the entirety of the game can be completed in only a few minutes. Even with testing every interaction I could think of with characters and rooms, I never crossed past the hour time mark. You could quite literally bumble your way through, if you wanted — there are no negative effects or long-term consequences for getting something wrong.

Instead, the game relies more on its art and sound to manifest those disquieting feelings. The low-poly models and ever-shifting textures make everything feel ever so slightly stilted. Sparring use of color splashes demark important areas or help set the scene in other ways. All of this is detailed and hand-crafted, with each and every object set for a specific purpose, whether that’s practical use or environmental storytelling. The things you can transform into cards are a bit of an exception in this regard. They are so obvious and bright that they feel out of place until you examine them. 

All of these elements serve to create a short but dense experience that is just waiting for people to explore. Despite that density, it does feel like something is missing. An extra layer of mystery that could liven up the brief time we spend here, or another scenario to work through to flesh out the card mechanics and introduce additional intrigue — these are the types of things I found myself longing for as the credits rolled. I see the vision. Just wish it had been grasped a bit tighter.

Verdict

CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs’ greatest detriments are that aforementioned length and lack of depth. It has a really great core concept, and an excellent atmosphere, but it feels more like the beginning of an adventure rather than a complete tale. With a few more mysteries to solve through exploration and utilizing the card mechanic, I can envision a game that would stick around in collective memory as one of the more unique and interesting horror games on the market. As it stands, CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs is more like a dream — an assortment of interesting, but half-formed ideas that will likely fade away in short order.

Image Credits: Bastinus Rex and Critical Reflex