A little gem of a game, Crow Country is set in the abandonded theme park of the same name, with protagonist Mara Forest looking for clues on the whereabouts of the park's missing owner, Edward Crow.
Certainly more puzzle and navigation centric than combat focused, Crow Country makes up for its simple combat encounters with puzzles that are often challenging to unravel and reward you with more and more context on the truth about the park the further in you get, often via staff notes which are a pretty much a staple of the genre.
Crow Country felt to me like a beautiful (even if not too challenging) toy-looking puzzle box, if you've played a couple Survival Horrors then you probably won't struggle with the combat at all, but I think that's fine, as the experience imo feels like it's worth more than the sum of its parts; I had a great time even if the game wasn't trying to constantly kick my butt, if anything I felt that this allowed the puzzles to take center stage without excessive frustration.
Certainly more puzzle and navigation centric than combat focused, Crow Country makes up for its simple combat encounters with puzzles that are often challenging to unravel and reward you with more and more context on the truth about the park the further in you get, often via staff notes which are a pretty much a staple of the genre.
Crow Country felt to me like a beautiful (even if not too challenging) toy-looking puzzle box, if you've played a couple Survival Horrors then you probably won't struggle with the combat at all, but I think that's fine, as the experience imo feels like it's worth more than the sum of its parts; I had a great time even if the game wasn't trying to constantly kick my butt, if anything I felt that this allowed the puzzles to take center stage without excessive frustration.
Great horror game that's equally cute and spooky with a neat story that doesn't overstay its welcome. Some really good puzzles that honestly stumped me for a good while, and it plays perfectly on the Steam Deck.
After years of drift towards third-person action, survival horror finally returns to its roots: dunking your entire arm into every single trashcan you can find and showing disobedient vending machines and lockers the righteous fury of your boot heel.
Thank God the indie market is so robust these days, because the increasing homogenization of the modern big budget game and shrinking genre space therein means you wouldn't get proper survival horror otherwise. Crow Country and others like Signalis have been filling that void, but despite clearly playing to the charm of PlayStation era horror with its visuals - especially with its character models, which look as though they've been unearthed from an old Net Yaroze kit - Crow Country is no tired pastiche. It's safe rooms, puzzles, and resource management might harken to a design ethos that was at one point more commonplace, but these elements feel authentic and borne from a place of appreciation and understanding.
Nowhere is this more strongly felt than in the park's layout and the way in which the player navigates it. The amusement park theme allows for neatly defined areas with their own theming and unique attractions, with hidden passages, back rooms, cast tunnels, and a subterranean network serving as the connective tissue between each "land" in a way that feels appropriate for the setting while serving to make the park feel highly interconnected. Crow Country is great at providing a sense of space while conveying where the player should go and what to do next. I never felt lost or completely stumped by a puzzle and was consistently engaged and encouraged to revisit old locations to explore - the part of my brain that starts processing how I want to route my way through a game activated pretty early, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a sign that a survival horror game is living up to the promise of its genre.
The setting is also small. Crow Country is less Disneyland, more Santa's Village, so one way developer SFB Games succeeds in making repeated loops through the park threatening is by gradually introducing more enemies and traps to familiar locations. As the time of day progresses, rain and darkness further obscure the player's vision, and boobytrapped pick-ups begin to litter the map to prey on the sense of trust they've developed with their environment. I sprinted my way through the opening two hours, juked most enemies and picked up any crap I saw laying on the ground. By hour five, I was walking everywhere, stopping frequently, side-eyeing boxes of ammo, and finding that I actually had to conserve what I had due to the increased expectation that I shoot some damn "guests."
I also appreciate Crow Country for telling a complete and coherent story, something I think a lot of horror games have pushed away from. I think the Five Nights series has poisoned the genre and led a lot of other indie horror creators to believe a complex and intentionally vague narrative is the best way to ensure franchise longevity. Keep posing questions, provide no answers. I get it, sometimes it's best to let the audience fill in gaps, you don't want over-explain horror, but in the hands of a weak writer, the "unknown" can just be a euphemism for "nothing."
That's not to say Crow Country fails to raise any questions of its own, rather that in true PSX survival horror fashion, you're given all the clues you need to form the big picture through memos, context, and dialog. How well you do that is entirely dependent on how much you're paying attention, and whether you view Crow Country as being so cliched that its horror can be explained by way of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. I was extremely satisfied by the ending, which leaves just enough unanswered that you'll still have something to think of without feeling like you'll need to consult a YouTube series or read like, seven fucking books and play a dozen more games. An indie horror game with a conclusion that is both cogent and earned, thank christ.
So make the most of your Memorial Day weekend and bring the whole family down to Crow Country. Come ride our newest attraction: The Seven Seas, and discover new types of bacteria. Remember, vets and children under 6 get in free!
Thank God the indie market is so robust these days, because the increasing homogenization of the modern big budget game and shrinking genre space therein means you wouldn't get proper survival horror otherwise. Crow Country and others like Signalis have been filling that void, but despite clearly playing to the charm of PlayStation era horror with its visuals - especially with its character models, which look as though they've been unearthed from an old Net Yaroze kit - Crow Country is no tired pastiche. It's safe rooms, puzzles, and resource management might harken to a design ethos that was at one point more commonplace, but these elements feel authentic and borne from a place of appreciation and understanding.
Nowhere is this more strongly felt than in the park's layout and the way in which the player navigates it. The amusement park theme allows for neatly defined areas with their own theming and unique attractions, with hidden passages, back rooms, cast tunnels, and a subterranean network serving as the connective tissue between each "land" in a way that feels appropriate for the setting while serving to make the park feel highly interconnected. Crow Country is great at providing a sense of space while conveying where the player should go and what to do next. I never felt lost or completely stumped by a puzzle and was consistently engaged and encouraged to revisit old locations to explore - the part of my brain that starts processing how I want to route my way through a game activated pretty early, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a sign that a survival horror game is living up to the promise of its genre.
The setting is also small. Crow Country is less Disneyland, more Santa's Village, so one way developer SFB Games succeeds in making repeated loops through the park threatening is by gradually introducing more enemies and traps to familiar locations. As the time of day progresses, rain and darkness further obscure the player's vision, and boobytrapped pick-ups begin to litter the map to prey on the sense of trust they've developed with their environment. I sprinted my way through the opening two hours, juked most enemies and picked up any crap I saw laying on the ground. By hour five, I was walking everywhere, stopping frequently, side-eyeing boxes of ammo, and finding that I actually had to conserve what I had due to the increased expectation that I shoot some damn "guests."
I also appreciate Crow Country for telling a complete and coherent story, something I think a lot of horror games have pushed away from. I think the Five Nights series has poisoned the genre and led a lot of other indie horror creators to believe a complex and intentionally vague narrative is the best way to ensure franchise longevity. Keep posing questions, provide no answers. I get it, sometimes it's best to let the audience fill in gaps, you don't want over-explain horror, but in the hands of a weak writer, the "unknown" can just be a euphemism for "nothing."
That's not to say Crow Country fails to raise any questions of its own, rather that in true PSX survival horror fashion, you're given all the clues you need to form the big picture through memos, context, and dialog. How well you do that is entirely dependent on how much you're paying attention, and whether you view Crow Country as being so cliched that its horror can be explained by way of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. I was extremely satisfied by the ending, which leaves just enough unanswered that you'll still have something to think of without feeling like you'll need to consult a YouTube series or read like, seven fucking books and play a dozen more games. An indie horror game with a conclusion that is both cogent and earned, thank christ.
So make the most of your Memorial Day weekend and bring the whole family down to Crow Country. Come ride our newest attraction: The Seven Seas, and discover new types of bacteria. Remember, vets and children under 6 get in free!
"I'm kind of dumb, honestly" - Real and legal federal agent
Fun resident evil like with a unique art style. The puzzles are satisfying to solve, really utilizing the amusement park setting well. I think it can get a little too trap/enemy heavy at times, but the game still isn't super challenging, and it ultimately won't stop me from recommending Crow Country.
P.S. Give me more games in amusement parks.
P.S. Give me more games in amusement parks.
Classic survival horror is back! This game is really special. its atmosphere is impressive in bringing a 90s nostalgic theme park feel. That feeling was really what I loved about this because when thinking about the mysteries ,that you uncover throughout this game, I couldn’t help but feel all the characters were drawn to this place for a sense of comfort inside of the nostalgia of a closed down theme park. But then again the place is extremely eerie. It’s a very warped sense of nostalgia in this game. That’s sort of what makes it special the hope and the dread.
The game itself is terrific with engaging tricky puzzles and tense retro combat which works with its clunkiness. The writing is wittily charming and and involves a creepy mystery filled with characters with different motivations.
Truly remarkable.
The game itself is terrific with engaging tricky puzzles and tense retro combat which works with its clunkiness. The writing is wittily charming and and involves a creepy mystery filled with characters with different motivations.
Truly remarkable.
Edward Crow.
very good :)
vintage resident evil vignette with vibes venust
A really nice nostalgic throwback to the PS1 era with an art style reminscient in some ways of the original Final Fantasy VII though it obviously also calls back to Resident Evil, and to a lesser extent, Silent Hill. The controls for firing weren't the smoothest, and at times it wasn't always clear how some puzzles were meant to be solved, but it was fun, the story was fine, and the writing was decent. Finished in less than six hours, was only missing the achievement for S rank presumably because I used too many healing items. There is some incentive to replay, but I don't think I'd enjoy it so much--never really have enjoyed repeating content. Soundtrack is nice too, worth playing if you need something fairly light and not too intense.
Wow this game surprised me!
I love the environment, the difference in areas and the whole theme of it being an abandoned theme park!
The enemies are eerie especially the lanky ones that kinda look like me ;)
The guns feel great to use! And the ammo system where you can kick vending machines or go back to bins that you didn’t find anything in before to give you ammo (as there isn’t any melee weapon until you get a B rank on your first playthrough, )so that you can progress is fantastic.
The puzzles can be a bit challenging especially the train one, that messed me up a lot, even chat couldn’t get it.
The save points I liked the feel of, all being centred around a fire and being cozy!
Characters were interesting, and added to the lore and plot of the game.
The optional bosses were different but felt way too easy if you had upgrades beforehand.
Ending was unexpected and definitely made me go “woah! Wtf!” 😂
Replay value I’d say 3 times, to play on the hardest difficulty and to do the crow hunt.
This really brought back memories of myself playing resident evil and Dino crisis back as a kid! So I applaud this studio! Please make more like this!
Some bad things about this was an achievement bugging out for me, that’s about it really lol!
I love the environment, the difference in areas and the whole theme of it being an abandoned theme park!
The enemies are eerie especially the lanky ones that kinda look like me ;)
The guns feel great to use! And the ammo system where you can kick vending machines or go back to bins that you didn’t find anything in before to give you ammo (as there isn’t any melee weapon until you get a B rank on your first playthrough, )so that you can progress is fantastic.
The puzzles can be a bit challenging especially the train one, that messed me up a lot, even chat couldn’t get it.
The save points I liked the feel of, all being centred around a fire and being cozy!
Characters were interesting, and added to the lore and plot of the game.
The optional bosses were different but felt way too easy if you had upgrades beforehand.
Ending was unexpected and definitely made me go “woah! Wtf!” 😂
Replay value I’d say 3 times, to play on the hardest difficulty and to do the crow hunt.
This really brought back memories of myself playing resident evil and Dino crisis back as a kid! So I applaud this studio! Please make more like this!
Some bad things about this was an achievement bugging out for me, that’s about it really lol!
Lovely little survival horror game! Loved the puzzles, and of course the art style and direction are phenomenal. Can't wait to see what these devs will do in the future!
Delightful little survival horror game.
Final Fantasy VII and Silent Hill had a baby and the baby is fucking awesome.
Endlessly Creative!
I remember when I first saw Crow Country during a Steam NextFest and thought, oh! This looks neat! Well, now that it's out and I've played it, I can confirm it's something really special!
I've seen people comparing this to both Resident Evil and Silent Hill, since I guess survival horror games tend to lean towards one of those paths. I can see the influence from both, it's got the atmosphere and inventory of a Silent Hill, but the tone of the writing feels much more in line with Resi for me. But I think those comparisons both fail to take into account all the original ideas this game comes up with, and that's where I think this games greatest strengths lie!
I'd love to write more about this at some point but I think the most important aspect of a survival horror game is it's world/map/location, and Crow Country (the amusement park, not the game) is an extremely good location. There's a certain dreariness the dilapidated amusement park brings, rides malfunction, some are poorly held together, etc. But underneath the rot and ruin, you can tell there once was somewhere really special. I think the locations that most amplified this for me where the Witch Wood and the entire underwater themed area, both of which really pushed the limits of what would be possible in a theme park. There's a certain rule of cool about how realistic the theme park should be, and the game isn't afraid to break that. The memorable locations make it easy to remember generally where puzzles are which is always good for survival horror games and making a mental map. However, the individual rooms within larger areas can be a bit harder to remember, and as more shortcuts and layers to the park unlocked I found myself having to check the map more, which is something I think you generally want to avoid with survival horror (I should be memorizing the map near the end). One more note on atmosphere! I really loved how near the end of the game certain things happen that effect the entire mood of the park. I don't want to spoil it but the music and effects changing with it was really cool.
I also enjoyed the story! It's not the deepest story, I guessed one of the big twists as soon as it was possible to guess, but it serves as a cool backdrop for this adventure. It also is surprisingly darker than I thought, with some really heavy "real life" horror at certain parts. I don't think the game ever capital S Scared me, but it had more of an existential dread. The characters within the game are fun too, I like how nonchalant some characters are about everything while everyone else freaks out about the monsters. Julie and Tolman were the standouts for me. I liked how off putting the entire mood of the game is, there's a little pit in your stomach each time you read about what these monsters are and how this whole crashing down came to be. I didn't guess the big twist, which is an, interesting twist, so that was a fun final moment. Also the final ending screen was really good, I love when a game applies something it's used the whole time in a new way. The monster designs were also really cool, ranging from zombie looking characters, to pinnochio looking freaks, to things I couldn't really describe. There's a really great collection of critters on display for a first time survival horror game!
Talking about monsters, my last point is the difficulty, which was my biggest issue with the game. I think the game is very very very easy. On a first play through I didn't die once. Now, this could be chalked up to me being pretty decent at survival horror and knowing when it's time for fight or flight, but I very rarely felt I needed to fight. I always felt well stocked up on ammo and healing as most things could be taken out with a single handgun clip, especially if you have the upgrade, and by about 3/4 through the game I had enough ammo for my shotgun I wasn't able to pick any up the rest of the time. Most of the damage I took came from the traps that spawn when you enter and reload areas, some of which I found really annoying (mostly the poison ones which were hard to see.) I think these traps would work better with a fixed camera as there were times where a building would be in my way and I would coat myself in poison or step on a little goo puddle enemy purely because it was fully obscured by something in the foreground. I also felt the puzzles were a tad too easy, mostly because many of them would have a note explaining exactly what to do a couple inches away, or have Mara think to herself "Hmmm, I bet the solution is x." Some of this can be avoided I suppose by not reading the magazine clippings, but also some puzzles are entirely reliant on the magazine clippings. I think finding a balance between explained and unexplained would be nice. I'm saying all this with a bit of a "hesitant" tone since the roadmap for updates says they'll be adding a hard mode soon, so this may fix a lot of my little issues. Oh and one final note, the tank controls are a cute addition but I don't think they really work in terms of non fixed cameras, rotating the camera WITH thank controls was clunky and I resorted to modern controls quick. Not an issue just thought I'd toss it out there.
Overall, this was a fantastic game! Creative in every way! A few hiccups for me personally, but I think that's expected for a first foray into a genre. I would easily recommend to any survival horror fans!
(Slight "Spoilers" but while writing this I realized the double meaning of the enemies being called guests.... that's really clever.)
I remember when I first saw Crow Country during a Steam NextFest and thought, oh! This looks neat! Well, now that it's out and I've played it, I can confirm it's something really special!
I've seen people comparing this to both Resident Evil and Silent Hill, since I guess survival horror games tend to lean towards one of those paths. I can see the influence from both, it's got the atmosphere and inventory of a Silent Hill, but the tone of the writing feels much more in line with Resi for me. But I think those comparisons both fail to take into account all the original ideas this game comes up with, and that's where I think this games greatest strengths lie!
I'd love to write more about this at some point but I think the most important aspect of a survival horror game is it's world/map/location, and Crow Country (the amusement park, not the game) is an extremely good location. There's a certain dreariness the dilapidated amusement park brings, rides malfunction, some are poorly held together, etc. But underneath the rot and ruin, you can tell there once was somewhere really special. I think the locations that most amplified this for me where the Witch Wood and the entire underwater themed area, both of which really pushed the limits of what would be possible in a theme park. There's a certain rule of cool about how realistic the theme park should be, and the game isn't afraid to break that. The memorable locations make it easy to remember generally where puzzles are which is always good for survival horror games and making a mental map. However, the individual rooms within larger areas can be a bit harder to remember, and as more shortcuts and layers to the park unlocked I found myself having to check the map more, which is something I think you generally want to avoid with survival horror (I should be memorizing the map near the end). One more note on atmosphere! I really loved how near the end of the game certain things happen that effect the entire mood of the park. I don't want to spoil it but the music and effects changing with it was really cool.
I also enjoyed the story! It's not the deepest story, I guessed one of the big twists as soon as it was possible to guess, but it serves as a cool backdrop for this adventure. It also is surprisingly darker than I thought, with some really heavy "real life" horror at certain parts. I don't think the game ever capital S Scared me, but it had more of an existential dread. The characters within the game are fun too, I like how nonchalant some characters are about everything while everyone else freaks out about the monsters. Julie and Tolman were the standouts for me. I liked how off putting the entire mood of the game is, there's a little pit in your stomach each time you read about what these monsters are and how this whole crashing down came to be. I didn't guess the big twist, which is an, interesting twist, so that was a fun final moment. Also the final ending screen was really good, I love when a game applies something it's used the whole time in a new way. The monster designs were also really cool, ranging from zombie looking characters, to pinnochio looking freaks, to things I couldn't really describe. There's a really great collection of critters on display for a first time survival horror game!
Talking about monsters, my last point is the difficulty, which was my biggest issue with the game. I think the game is very very very easy. On a first play through I didn't die once. Now, this could be chalked up to me being pretty decent at survival horror and knowing when it's time for fight or flight, but I very rarely felt I needed to fight. I always felt well stocked up on ammo and healing as most things could be taken out with a single handgun clip, especially if you have the upgrade, and by about 3/4 through the game I had enough ammo for my shotgun I wasn't able to pick any up the rest of the time. Most of the damage I took came from the traps that spawn when you enter and reload areas, some of which I found really annoying (mostly the poison ones which were hard to see.) I think these traps would work better with a fixed camera as there were times where a building would be in my way and I would coat myself in poison or step on a little goo puddle enemy purely because it was fully obscured by something in the foreground. I also felt the puzzles were a tad too easy, mostly because many of them would have a note explaining exactly what to do a couple inches away, or have Mara think to herself "Hmmm, I bet the solution is x." Some of this can be avoided I suppose by not reading the magazine clippings, but also some puzzles are entirely reliant on the magazine clippings. I think finding a balance between explained and unexplained would be nice. I'm saying all this with a bit of a "hesitant" tone since the roadmap for updates says they'll be adding a hard mode soon, so this may fix a lot of my little issues. Oh and one final note, the tank controls are a cute addition but I don't think they really work in terms of non fixed cameras, rotating the camera WITH thank controls was clunky and I resorted to modern controls quick. Not an issue just thought I'd toss it out there.
Overall, this was a fantastic game! Creative in every way! A few hiccups for me personally, but I think that's expected for a first foray into a genre. I would easily recommend to any survival horror fans!
(Slight "Spoilers" but while writing this I realized the double meaning of the enemies being called guests.... that's really clever.)
Simplesmente um MONSTRO em ambientação. Crow Country consegue resgatar com perfeição o feeling de terror dos antigos jogos de survival horror da era do PS1, e ao mesmo tempo consegue criar uma identidade própria fenomenal.
A estética de parque de diversões abandonado se encaixa perfeitamente com o gênero, gerando uma atmosfera familiar, fofa e ao mesmo tempo sinistra, o que com certeza ajuda em deixar o jogador sempre à beira de um ataque de nervos (not me though, I'm built different).
Os puzzles são bem RE-like, com dicas de como resolvê-los espalhados pelo parque em forma de textinhos, notas, cartazes, etc. Entretanto, nem sempre são óbvios, obrigando que o jogador coloque tico e teco para funcionar (not me though, I'm built stupid...), ou que use a barraquinha de dicas, esta que ajuda a apaziguar a frustração de ficar preso em um puzzle, uma ótima adição.
A limitação de recursos sempre me deixou na ponta dos pés, mostrando que até o fim do jogo o confronto direto com os inimigos deve ser evitado, algo que RE moderno falha miseravelmente.
Se tem alguma coisa negativa para dizer sobre o jogo, são dois pontos bem bobos: Primeiro, não tem resource management, então vc consegue estar sempre carregando tudo. Segundo, o jogo é bem curtinho, com um mapa bem pequeno, mas isso era esperado de um jogo indie.
Por fim, se esse time conseguiu entregar algo desse calibre com provavelmente financiamento nenhum, fico torcendo para que o jogo faça sucesso e consigam entregar algo com tanta maestria (ou quem sabe uma continuação) em um futuro próximo. Mais um indício de que a revolução indie continua forte, e a indústria AAA continua ficando para trás.
A estética de parque de diversões abandonado se encaixa perfeitamente com o gênero, gerando uma atmosfera familiar, fofa e ao mesmo tempo sinistra, o que com certeza ajuda em deixar o jogador sempre à beira de um ataque de nervos (not me though, I'm built different).
Os puzzles são bem RE-like, com dicas de como resolvê-los espalhados pelo parque em forma de textinhos, notas, cartazes, etc. Entretanto, nem sempre são óbvios, obrigando que o jogador coloque tico e teco para funcionar (not me though, I'm built stupid...), ou que use a barraquinha de dicas, esta que ajuda a apaziguar a frustração de ficar preso em um puzzle, uma ótima adição.
A limitação de recursos sempre me deixou na ponta dos pés, mostrando que até o fim do jogo o confronto direto com os inimigos deve ser evitado, algo que RE moderno falha miseravelmente.
Se tem alguma coisa negativa para dizer sobre o jogo, são dois pontos bem bobos: Primeiro, não tem resource management, então vc consegue estar sempre carregando tudo. Segundo, o jogo é bem curtinho, com um mapa bem pequeno, mas isso era esperado de um jogo indie.
Por fim, se esse time conseguiu entregar algo desse calibre com provavelmente financiamento nenhum, fico torcendo para que o jogo faça sucesso e consigam entregar algo com tanta maestria (ou quem sabe uma continuação) em um futuro próximo. Mais um indício de que a revolução indie continua forte, e a indústria AAA continua ficando para trás.
This game is an absolute work of art.
I honestly do not even have the words to describe how amazing this is, from the map, the puzzles, the art style, the music, the sound design, the eerie-ness, the creepiness, it's fucking incredible by every sense of the word. This game's story is really interesting, the level design is incredible, honestly the more I speak about it the less I have to say as I just finished the game like 10 minutes ago and I have nothing more to say than to PLEASE go to crow country and play it!
I honestly do not even have the words to describe how amazing this is, from the map, the puzzles, the art style, the music, the sound design, the eerie-ness, the creepiness, it's fucking incredible by every sense of the word. This game's story is really interesting, the level design is incredible, honestly the more I speak about it the less I have to say as I just finished the game like 10 minutes ago and I have nothing more to say than to PLEASE go to crow country and play it!
It's just "baby's first survival horror game" and isn't all that interesting to me. The style of gameplay is unique, and that's about the biggest compliment I can give, everything else the game does ranges from serviceable to ok. Not a bad game, just don't really think it's this groundbreaking thing that everyone claims it to be.
THE GIRL HAS GIRL !!!!!!!! I am a girl... too. robnot girl
A charming survival horror set in a dilapidated theme park. Each area of Crow Country, whether designed for customers or employees, is brought to life with excellent attention to detail. The gunplay takes a bit of time to get used to, but by the time the credits role you'll be taking down monsters like a certified firearms expert.
It is a joy to slowly unlock more and more of the theme park by solving puzzles. These puzzles are well designed but not too overwhelming. Players can utilize easier difficulties and a hint system to help bypass areas that they're having trouble with. I really appreciate how certain puzzles have multiple solutions, rewarding experimentation. Of all the puzzles in the game, only one stands out as weak due to its focus on brute forcing the solution. All other puzzles, whether they be optional or mandatory, are enjoyable.
The story is intriguing as well. Due to the game's concise length, you'll start piecing together the scope of the narrative fairly early on. Fortunately, the characters are fun to talk to and the discovery of what hides in Crow Country is fascinating. I especially love how the final act recontextualizes different parts of the game, which is great since repeat playthroughs are recommended.
It is a joy to slowly unlock more and more of the theme park by solving puzzles. These puzzles are well designed but not too overwhelming. Players can utilize easier difficulties and a hint system to help bypass areas that they're having trouble with. I really appreciate how certain puzzles have multiple solutions, rewarding experimentation. Of all the puzzles in the game, only one stands out as weak due to its focus on brute forcing the solution. All other puzzles, whether they be optional or mandatory, are enjoyable.
The story is intriguing as well. Due to the game's concise length, you'll start piecing together the scope of the narrative fairly early on. Fortunately, the characters are fun to talk to and the discovery of what hides in Crow Country is fascinating. I especially love how the final act recontextualizes different parts of the game, which is great since repeat playthroughs are recommended.
One day you’ll realize you’ve hit that age. That age where you don’t understand what young people are talking about, and the games you grew up loving have become the new retro indie style. Cool twitch streamers are playing it but you wonder if it’s the same feeling as playing Silent Hill in 1999 and you go into that school classroom and the phone on the desk rings. Your mind has been imprinted. You will literally never forget this moment. The phone rings in this game too. But it’s not the same.
I’m sure there’s more indie horror of this variety that have come out lately but this and Signalis seem to have made the biggest impact on the larger gamosphere. I rated Signalis higher than this but maybe it’s because I played it first. I’m all for indie games doing whatever but I’m not sure my brain can sustain many more games that call back to a childhood I can’t have back.
Anyways, this game is fun. I like the chunky ps1 polygons. I finished it right before they added a hard mode which the game needed because it is way too easy.
I’m sure there’s more indie horror of this variety that have come out lately but this and Signalis seem to have made the biggest impact on the larger gamosphere. I rated Signalis higher than this but maybe it’s because I played it first. I’m all for indie games doing whatever but I’m not sure my brain can sustain many more games that call back to a childhood I can’t have back.
Anyways, this game is fun. I like the chunky ps1 polygons. I finished it right before they added a hard mode which the game needed because it is way too easy.
Crow Country Review
Gameplay:
Crow Country aims to bring back the nostalgic feel of the original survival horror greats, it aims to blend a few modern mechanics with the familiar atmosphere of games like the original Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Dino Crisis, ect. They even added in a classic tank control scheme for those of you who want the classic feel but I opted for the more modern controls myself. The gameplay basically revolves around exploring Crow Country which is a dilapidated amusement park with a dark history. You play as Mara Forest, and if youve played the inspirations you basically already know what to expect. Solving intricate puzzles, stand still to shoot combat against slow and nasty creatures (that you do not HAVE to kill of course since this is a survival horror), not knowing where to go or what to do (good or bad?), and "intense" sections of long backtracking. The game goes for an isometric view instead of the third and first person standard for modern horror games, but it does add free aiming and a camera you can move which adds a bit of a modern feel to this style of game.
I found myself keeping a notebook of all the things, codes, and notes that I found that I need to come back to which was fun, but the games puzzles are either halfway across the entire map from its solution leading to a bit of confusion on what is or isn't important for each puzzle or digital lock. If you keep a piece of paper on hand this probably wont be an issue but even still I was at a loss for a few of these moments for a while.
A few things the game could've improved is the map system. When you enter a room, the map only shows what room you are in. It wasn't a big deal of course, but I felt like it would be beneficial to have a map marker of your player and orientation to help with larger rooms and knowing which room you are heading towards. Again, its not a big deal I just have a poor sense of direction and my memory isn't amazing either so I'm sure someone else will probably have the whole map committed to memory by the time the game finishes.
Final notes, this game also doesn't do anything really new, I enjoyed my time playing it but it was mostly just familiar mechanics. You shouldn't expect a crazy mind-blowing, innovative game, instead expect a solid recreation of a game that could've came out in the 90s but with most of the clunk removed. The scares are also pretty low as well which is to be expected for a ps1 era game where the low poly groaning of monsters was scary back then but nowadays that is tame. This game focuses solely on the classic scares which is a good thing for some, but I wished it would take its style and make it truly horrifying by completely blindsiding you at moments with things you would never expect.
Graphics/Visuals:
The art direction in Crow Country is really mostly focusing on the nostalgic feel, it doesn't really blow anything out of the water of course, but it WAS super creative to have detailed environments while keeping the main characters as low poly as possible. It reminds me of PS1 games where the background was only a picture and the low poly 3d model would walk around it, yet they kept this same exact style while making those 2D envonments 3D, leading to a cool effect when moving your camera around. The abandoned amusement park is brought to life with eerie lighting, those detailed background textures, and a great visual style that enhances the experience for me. The creature designs can be very strange at times, mostly consisting of extremely mutated, bloody and grotesque things clambering towards you.
I'll remember the atmosphere of this game the longest as it is pretty memorable at times.
Story/Narrative:
The story of Crow Country is compelling, balancing eerie and comedic moments that kept me engaged, giving that nostalgic feel of old Resident Evil dialogue but doing so in a charming way. Having fun little things that the character says when you inspect something unimportant, or awkward interactions with NPCs you find. The story follows Mara Forest as she investigates the park, uncovering the secrets and dark history of the place and encountering a very small cast of characters. The game never takes itself too seriously while still delivering a gripping tale until the ending that got pretty deep which I really enjoyed. You figure out the story pretty quickly but there is still some surprises and twists especially towards the ending.
Audio/Sound:
Great sound design, chilling audio cues and ambient sounds when you just know there is something spooky nearby but its too dark to see. The creatures moaning and the ambient noises of the park are unsettling for the most part. The distorted once happy tracks that were played made me feel uneasy. Guns felt powerful and the it always felt like something bad was going to happen.
Replayability:
The game offers a low level of replayability for me, seems like it only offers a few small mechanics on extra playthroughs. Once you know the answers to the puzzles it's a pretty simple and short game. For me, I say play it once and maybe replay in a few years when you forget most of the game if you really enjoyed it. The main story is pretty linear, and it doesn't seem like the one or two choices you make really make a difference which might limit the replay value for some players. Play it once on survival mode and you'll be fine.
Overall Enjoyment:
This is a standout survival horror game despite the few flaws I had that successfully merges those nostalgic elements with a touch of modern gameplay. It offers an atmospheric experience with challenging puzzles, classic combat, and a simple but interesting story. If you're a fan of classic horror games or looking for a modern take on the genre that doesn't take too many risks or change too much about the formula, Crow Country is recommended.
Similar Games:
Classic:
Resident Evil series
Silent Hill series
Dino Crisis
"Modern":
The Evil Within series
Amnesia series
Fatal Frame series
Gameplay:
Crow Country aims to bring back the nostalgic feel of the original survival horror greats, it aims to blend a few modern mechanics with the familiar atmosphere of games like the original Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Dino Crisis, ect. They even added in a classic tank control scheme for those of you who want the classic feel but I opted for the more modern controls myself. The gameplay basically revolves around exploring Crow Country which is a dilapidated amusement park with a dark history. You play as Mara Forest, and if youve played the inspirations you basically already know what to expect. Solving intricate puzzles, stand still to shoot combat against slow and nasty creatures (that you do not HAVE to kill of course since this is a survival horror), not knowing where to go or what to do (good or bad?), and "intense" sections of long backtracking. The game goes for an isometric view instead of the third and first person standard for modern horror games, but it does add free aiming and a camera you can move which adds a bit of a modern feel to this style of game.
I found myself keeping a notebook of all the things, codes, and notes that I found that I need to come back to which was fun, but the games puzzles are either halfway across the entire map from its solution leading to a bit of confusion on what is or isn't important for each puzzle or digital lock. If you keep a piece of paper on hand this probably wont be an issue but even still I was at a loss for a few of these moments for a while.
A few things the game could've improved is the map system. When you enter a room, the map only shows what room you are in. It wasn't a big deal of course, but I felt like it would be beneficial to have a map marker of your player and orientation to help with larger rooms and knowing which room you are heading towards. Again, its not a big deal I just have a poor sense of direction and my memory isn't amazing either so I'm sure someone else will probably have the whole map committed to memory by the time the game finishes.
Final notes, this game also doesn't do anything really new, I enjoyed my time playing it but it was mostly just familiar mechanics. You shouldn't expect a crazy mind-blowing, innovative game, instead expect a solid recreation of a game that could've came out in the 90s but with most of the clunk removed. The scares are also pretty low as well which is to be expected for a ps1 era game where the low poly groaning of monsters was scary back then but nowadays that is tame. This game focuses solely on the classic scares which is a good thing for some, but I wished it would take its style and make it truly horrifying by completely blindsiding you at moments with things you would never expect.
Graphics/Visuals:
The art direction in Crow Country is really mostly focusing on the nostalgic feel, it doesn't really blow anything out of the water of course, but it WAS super creative to have detailed environments while keeping the main characters as low poly as possible. It reminds me of PS1 games where the background was only a picture and the low poly 3d model would walk around it, yet they kept this same exact style while making those 2D envonments 3D, leading to a cool effect when moving your camera around. The abandoned amusement park is brought to life with eerie lighting, those detailed background textures, and a great visual style that enhances the experience for me. The creature designs can be very strange at times, mostly consisting of extremely mutated, bloody and grotesque things clambering towards you.
I'll remember the atmosphere of this game the longest as it is pretty memorable at times.
Story/Narrative:
The story of Crow Country is compelling, balancing eerie and comedic moments that kept me engaged, giving that nostalgic feel of old Resident Evil dialogue but doing so in a charming way. Having fun little things that the character says when you inspect something unimportant, or awkward interactions with NPCs you find. The story follows Mara Forest as she investigates the park, uncovering the secrets and dark history of the place and encountering a very small cast of characters. The game never takes itself too seriously while still delivering a gripping tale until the ending that got pretty deep which I really enjoyed. You figure out the story pretty quickly but there is still some surprises and twists especially towards the ending.
Audio/Sound:
Great sound design, chilling audio cues and ambient sounds when you just know there is something spooky nearby but its too dark to see. The creatures moaning and the ambient noises of the park are unsettling for the most part. The distorted once happy tracks that were played made me feel uneasy. Guns felt powerful and the it always felt like something bad was going to happen.
Replayability:
The game offers a low level of replayability for me, seems like it only offers a few small mechanics on extra playthroughs. Once you know the answers to the puzzles it's a pretty simple and short game. For me, I say play it once and maybe replay in a few years when you forget most of the game if you really enjoyed it. The main story is pretty linear, and it doesn't seem like the one or two choices you make really make a difference which might limit the replay value for some players. Play it once on survival mode and you'll be fine.
Overall Enjoyment:
This is a standout survival horror game despite the few flaws I had that successfully merges those nostalgic elements with a touch of modern gameplay. It offers an atmospheric experience with challenging puzzles, classic combat, and a simple but interesting story. If you're a fan of classic horror games or looking for a modern take on the genre that doesn't take too many risks or change too much about the formula, Crow Country is recommended.
Similar Games:
Classic:
Resident Evil series
Silent Hill series
Dino Crisis
"Modern":
The Evil Within series
Amnesia series
Fatal Frame series
Quite literally the only thing keeping this from a 5 is the lackluster gameplay. Everything else (Visuals, Story, Secrets.) Are a complete home run. I really hope the devs fine tune their gameplay if they decide to make a sequel
Excellent. A big surprised.
I fell in love as soon as I touched the dpad and I started playing with tank controls 🩷
I'm usually not a fan of horror set in theme parks, but I quite like how this game portrays the park as this dinky, local place - it has a lot of charm. It's a bit puzzle heavy, but I love that sort of thing - The sound design in this game is particularly great, and was the thing best replicated from the 1990s survival horror style. With the game being 5-6 hours, it packs it's runtime with a lot to do and enjoy : ]
This game is a tale of a roller coaster. First 90 minutes I was in love. I would have given this 5 stars. Then, the BS started happening. Annoying traps spawning and respawning monsters in areas that require a lot of backtracking. Absolutely ruined the experience for me. I had saved the game right before the final boss thinking I was going to give this game 3.5/5. Then, the ending happened. It's a very good ending, so I brought it up to 4 stars.