Light Gun games have always drawn on a variety of sources and horror has always been a major source of inspiration for the genre. From Chiller and Zombie Raid to House of the Dead, Light Gun games have done well with the genre, due to the sense of being able to fight back against monsters, while horror tropes like jump scares make perfect sense as gameplay elements. In 1998, Midway released what would be an extremely well remembered light gun horror game, that has sadly remained exclusive to the arcades. CarnEvil was following in the footsteps of the aforementioned House of the Dead, and some levels even seemed to reference it, but managed to put its own spin on the formula by going as over the top in all aspects as possible.
CarnEvil is the best remembered Light Gun game from Midway, and the most successful that they made. The game uses FMV based rendered graphics with real polygons layered on top of them, a process that leaves the game with visuals that are both dated, but have a certain charm to them even to this day. What is not charming though was the low frame rate and resolution, which held the game back, especially considering it came out the same year as House of the Dead II. What makes the game age okay though, is the art style that is over the top and adapts well to the way the visuals were done.
The game is extremely gory, but there were software settings that allowed for the the amount of blood and gore generated when enemies are killed to be toned done even significantly. There was also the option to replace the zombie baby boss called Junior, with a demonic stuffed bear called Deaddy, if the operators of the arcade felt it was too much. This boss fight part took place in the Freak Show stage, and there were four stages total. Three stages could be played in any order, but the last stage required you to complete the other three first. Over the course of the game, you could find a variety of weapons and powerups, like the machine gun, acid gun, flamethrower, and shotgun, but these cannot be reloaded like the standard gun. The magazine increase powerup does remain however, at least until you lose a life while playing. You would gain this, and more life by shooting power up icons, but caution must be taken to avoid hitting the character of Betty, since shooting her counts against you.
The game had amazing music that stands out even now, and some incredible boss fights, along with enemies that bordered on disturbing but are held in check just enough by the game’s over the top nature. CarnEvil should have come to some form of home system, perhaps the Dreamcast or PlayStation 2, with improved framerate and resolution, among other fixes. As Forever Entertainment is remaking the first two House of The Dead games, CarnEvil would be a great game for them to tackle once those are done and they move on to their next project. This is a game more people should play, because it is truly excellent.
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