Crow Countryis a new entry to the survival horror genre in gaming, developed by SFB Games. They took the nostalgia of the originalResident Eviland Silent Hill games that fans of survival know and love while updating and making it feel new to all players. Something about investigating what went wrong and what you can do to fix the situation while avoiding all sorts of nasty creatures has been a staple of the genre that’s hard to hate. When done right, it can be stressful or downright thrilling to go through each area and learn about the world that our characters are living in.
730 Days Later
You start the game in the year 1990, playing as Mara Forest, armed with a pistol and some basic information on what went wrong two years ago in the theme park named after the game,Crow Country. Like other survival horror games, you aren’t given a linear plot to follow. Most of the plot that you will see will be written in journals spread throughout the game so that you can see what’s truly been going on behind the scenes of what looks like an innocent park.
Mara is a Special Agent sent to investigate the whereabouts of Edward Crow and what has been going on. As she navigates the park, she’ll encounter others who are working with Edward Crow or also just trying to get into contact with the man. Continue making your way through the park and investigate each area thoroughly to unravel the threads of the park’s mystery.
Solid Gameplay But Flawed Puzzles
Crow Countrydoesn’t do much to separate its gameplay fromResident EvilorSilent Hill.It references both games as they are both big inspirations for the developer. In terms of gameplay, they are all similar, but what’s nice aboutCrow Countryis that it has two types of controls for players to use and two types of “difficulty” options to play the game with. If you would like classic tank controls, you may use the d-pad on your controller and rock the older controls for survival horror games. But if you’d like something that feels more modern and easy to play, you can use the left thumbstick to go in the directions you wish without the tanky feel of the classic controls. Giving players both options is nice because not everyone is a fan of tank controls, but it’s always nice to have the option to use something else.
The game does offer two types of difficulty options. It’s hard to call them difficulty options at all, however, since you will be offered “Survival” or “Exploration” modes. Survival will be the normal experience where the player takes on fighting enemies and gathering supplies to reach the end of the game; it’s relatively easy but still entertaining to play through. The Exploration mode will get rid of the monsters entirely and allow players to explore and solve puzzles without any problems. Exploration mode can be useful when attempting to learn the routes of the game so that you can achieve the S rank at the end of the game for the final reward for new runs, but otherwise, it’s not the most meaningful addition toCrow Country.
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Just like their inspirations, you won’t be able to run around and shoot like in some of the newer titles in survival horror games. You have to get some distance and place your shots on enemies carefully while also avoiding wasting too much ammo on the smaller enemies. Killing everything in your path isn’t a benefit to you inCrow Country, and it’s going to hinder you more than anything, since there’s limited ammo scattered throughout the park you are running through. You’ll pick your kills accordingly and as you progress you’ll notice more enemies occupying the park. Be careful and choose what battles are worth fighting. It’s a huge part ofCrow Country, and it’s compelling.
As you progress through the game, you will get an assortment of upgrades, optional bosses and shortcuts to navigate the park easily from puzzles or objectives. Each of the four optional bosses and Mara’s upgrades are hidden in objectives you’ll be completing while navigating the park. If you thoroughly explore everything in the game you’ll find all it has to offer easily, making them nice little rewards for being true to Mara’s Special Agent nature. The only downside to the puzzles inCrow Countryis that they aren’t the best puzzles around, they’re all similar and all come down to entering the right code that’s located somewhere in the room or area.
The Look and Feel of the Classics
Crow Countrycaptures the essence of retro gaming with its distinctive style reminiscent of the PSX era. Embracing low-poly models and pixelated art, the game evokes a sense of nostalgia that transports players back to the golden age of gaming. The backgrounds not only serve as eye-catching visuals, but also enhance the atmosphere.Crow Country’svisual style of the game reflects the inspirations as well as its animations. Mara has the obvious critical health animations, and it can be argued that some of the clunkier animations only help with hamming up the nostalgia the game is trying to get you to experience.
In the spirit of classic survival horror games, the developers have created an experience that resonates with fans of the genre. With attention to detail, they’ve made each area of the park have unique themes and aesthetics. As players journey throughCrow Country, they experience a series of adventures through the park sections, each offering its own set of challenges and surprises.
The sound design ofCrow Countryis also spot on. Each area looks the part but also sounds like it. Some areas might completely lack something other than Mara’s movements or they might have eerie music to pair with the events going on. Mara’s weapons are going to sound like they are from the PSX era as well, which is a nice touch and makes the game even more immersive than some might expect.
Closing Comments:
Crow Countryis a tribute to retro survival horror games, inviting players to embark on a nostalgic adventure that will keep players asking questions and investigating everything the atmosphere has to offer. SFB Games did a wonderful job emulating what had made the classic survival horror games truly special. The puzzles aren’t amazing or innovative, but they’re still solid and provide enough information for anyone to solve on their own.Crow Countryis relatively easy, but the developer does have a roadmap planning the inclusion of a Hard mode to hopefully add a significant challenge to it. While it is somewhat flawed,Crow Countryis a solid and compelling experience for those who enjoy the genre, and it was a blast exploring and learning about the world SFB Games has created.
Crow Country
Version Reviewed: PC
A love letter to the nostalgic PSX era of legendary survival horror titles. Travel back in time to 1990 and survive a theme park filled with creatures looking to hinder your progress while managing ammo, collecting upgrades, and finding out what is truly going on inCrow Country.
