Crow Country on PC

If you’ll pardon my idle navel-gazing for a moment, I’d like to express my appreciation for how blessed we are by the strength of the indie gaming scene in 2024. Able to occupy fringes that AAA studios simply can no longer touch, it allows for some truly unique aesthetics that can evoke fond memories of days long gone.

Case in point, SFB Games’ newly released survival horror title Crow Country, boasting a clear visual direction that honours the PlayStation 1 era of pudgy polygonal models and isometric perspectives. As I’ve alluded to previously, this is very much my jam, so it was academic that I would make the trip out to Georgia to unravel the grim mystery behind the Crow family.

Set in an abandoned theme park in 1990, Crow Country follows the investigation of agent Mara Forest. She is seeking out the park’s owner, Edward Crow, who has gone missing following a series of controversial events that brought about the establishment’s downfall.

The game doesn’t labour too much over setting the stage, allowing you to instead piece together the mystery by interacting with the many objects strewn about the park. This is very much to its benefit, as it maintains the flow and mitigates the amount of stopping and starting endemic to the industry of today.

Before long, you’ll begin encountering the ghouls lurking around Crow Country. They take the form of moaning zombies at the start, to be joined by malicious piles of goo, prickly assailants, and other such menaces. Mara is plucky and confident, but not built to sustain a lot of damage. You’ll have to decide whether to unload a few handgun rounds, or avoid them entirely.

The latter may seem preferable at first, however true to its Resident Evil-esque inspiration, the map is designed in such a way that you’ll be backtracking quite often. As time passes, more and more monsters will begin to spawn, and if left unchecked, you’ll find yourself having to deal with entire swarms.

Ammunition is fairly generous, but some of the larger foes can prove to be absolute bullet sponges. There are traps strewn about that you can lead them into, but if you haven’t got your wits about you, you may fall victim to those same traps yourself.

When you’re not dealing with these nasties, you’ll be moving from room to room, solving puzzles and other such brainteasers. This is the bulk of Crow Country’s gameplay, and I’m happy to say it’s very much a strength. The puzzles are satisfying to solve without becoming too obtuse, and it’s usually pretty clear where you’re supposed to return to when you locate a new key item.

The map is a pleasure to navigate. Crow Country is divided into themed worlds, including a horror realm and an underwater land. Enemies will overlap for the most part, but unlocking a new biome remains fascinating, both visually and with the ways that you’ll have to interact with the environment.

One of my favourite moments was descending into a submarine exhibit, low on health and wary of what might be lurking within, only to learn that it was a safe room — complete with a warm fire to save my progress, and a lilting musical score to punctuate the tranquility.

The soundtrack of Crow Country is charming and menacing overall, well suited to the atmosphere. That save room theme is a definite highlight, drawing particular parallels to Heart of Anxiety from Final Fantasy VII.

All of these nods to the halcyon days of the PS1 are readily apparent throughout the game, though it is never overplayed or used as a crutch. Tank controls are present on the d-pad but not a necessity, and while each area has a ‘standard’ camera angle that gives the illusion of pre-rendered backgrounds, you can freely rotate said camera to prevent shooting blindly in tight corridors.

There is also a constant distortion filter to hammer that low-res retro vibe home. It’s much more appealing in motion than it appears in still images, however I would have appreciated the option to turn it off entirely as well.

On the note of customisation, Crow Country offers an exploration mode that removes enemies entirely, allowing you to scour the park unimpeded. This seems like such a simple change, and yet it is quite a revelation that gives more squeamish players an opportunity to join in on the fun.

I really hope more games follow this cue, because the notion of a creepy series of brainteasers, sans danger, is actually quite appealing. To be honest, the combat isn’t necessarily a highlight anyway. Most monsters move at a sluggish pace, and though they are visually impressive, it’s mostly a matter of positioning yourself a safe distance away, pointing and shooting, then repeating as necessary.

Some of those aforementioned piles of slime will begin forming awful faces and spindly arms, and as imposing as they look, they continue to simply slither towards you and flail those limbs to inflict damage. Were they to be able to extend their arms, for example, it would add a layer of strategy to their disposal.

In fairness, combat in survival horror’s origins wasn’t necessarily too engaging to begin with. Mara is able to precisely aim her reticle for headshots, and the closer you get, the more impact your shots will have, so it’s not entirely without strategy.

Crow Country is more than just a facsimile of those classics, after all, and there are so many touches of detail that showcase the level of care that went into it. For example, when reading a note, Mara will turn it around to face her. Upon encountering a strange man in a dark room, turning on your flashlight will cause him to shield his eyes. None of this is entirely necessary, but all of it is appreciated.

I just cannot overstate how well this game balances the whimsy of yesteryear with the conveniences of today. The writing is much punchier than the sometimes dubiously translated scripts of the 90s, and Mara is an instant classic with her sardonic wit. I love how oftentimes her solution to a problem is to just kick the shit out of it.

Consider it to be a sign of my greed, but the main thing I would have liked from Crow Country is more of it. A standard playthrough will be over in 5-6 hours, almost certainly leaving you wanting more, more, more. Without trying to place any undue pressure on what is a tightly crafted project, there’s an opportunity for DLC to open things up a little bit further. If it were to add, say, another expedition of an hour or so, its runtime could be just about ideal.

With that being said, what we’ve got already is very good. Even if this is it, it’s a surefire hit for the survival horror and retro crowds. It lays the groundwork for what could become a fabulous franchise; there’s room for improvement in its combat, to be sure, but the exploration and puzzle solving fundamentals truly warrant another go round.

Final Verdict

Crow Country

Release Date: 9 May 2024

Platform: PC (also available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)

Developer: SFB Games

Publisher: SFB Games

Crow Country really is a gamer’s game — familiar yet fresh, with an enticing visual style and brainteasers that will get you thinking without leaving you feeling helpless.

Although its roster of monsters could use further refining and its runtime is somewhat slight, they’re both serviceable enough, and thanks to the exploration mode you can forego combat entirely.

Most importantly, it delivers on the promise of evoking the spirit of the 32-bit classics that preceded it. It’s not as finicky as titles of the PlayStation era, but it most certainly understands the heart and spirit that made us fall in love with them in the first place.