 They did remark that the armor mechanic is an impressive innovation, but nonetheless felt that the overall gameplay was mediocre at best.In their review, "GamePro" praised the armor mechanic and sci-fi styled graphics, but criticized the slow action and limited originality, and concluded that "there are more exciting Genesis fighters around".Even Sega of America president Tom Kalinske declined to defend the game; when an interviewer brought up the negative response "Cosmic Carnage" was getting, Kalinske said only, "Well, you know, every now and then there are games with which we're not so happy.