“Staring into the flames, I feel something…” – Mara Forest, Crow Country
Walking into the Spencer Mansion for the first time is a memory that I will probably hold until the day I die. Experiencing the cerberus (dog) jump through the window and jumping out of my own skin a few moments later solidified my love for the genre. As I got older, I felt like the genre was missing something, to the point that I was only really playing Resident Evil by the time the 8th generation consoles hit. However, thanks to the indie horror boom showcased by HauntedPS1, I have rediscovered my love for jump scares and the macabre. Which led me directly to a small town outside of Georgia to experience Crow Country.
This isn’t the Golden Saucer
Right off the bat, Crow Country looks like the love child of Final Fantasy VII and Silent Hill and this gives me false nostalgia bliss. The characters are stylized in mid-to-late-90s 3D, which is somewhere between a mix of chibi and real physical proportions. The camera angle is set in an isometric style, which is closer in vein to FF7, but you have much more control over it, which is a plus compared to most 90s horror titles.
The real star of the show visually is Crow Country itself, an abandoned local amusement park. The park is separated into several smaller locations just like Disney has different areas in their parks. There is a fairytale forest, an underwater/aquarium section, and a haunted forest, just to name a few. The map itself is small, but it is all interconnected and there are secrets aplenty, including optional boss monsters.
Shots Fired
The combat on standard difficulty felt just right, if not a bit easy on a few occasions. The main protagonist, Mara Forest, has access to four different firearms as well as grenades. Each one can be upgraded by finding the aforementioned secrets, but I will leave that be for the player to find and experience. The pistol, the starter weapon, is pretty much all you need as ammo is pretty abundant, but more can be gained from the trunk of your car if you find yourself running low.
Early in the game, I only died once to the antagonists due to overconfidence. I did, however, die a few more times due to environmental hazards. There are bear traps and other random distractions that are placed haphazardly throughout the park. As you progress, more and more variants appear and even locations that were cleared of enemies and traps will have new and more dangerous items placed to make sure you are never being complacent.
Silent Films
Without getting into spoilers, the story centers around the park and its mysterious shutdown years prior. As Mara, you investigate what happened, as well as try to confront your own demons which led you to the park. The cast of characters that you will come to interact with have their own quirks and reasons for being in this dangerous amusement park. There is no voice acting, but it really doesn’t need it. The sound of the text scroll is soothing in an otherwise oppressive environment.
Speaking of sound, the music is top notch. Ockeroid, the composer did a bang up job of creating the perfect ambiance that feels very cheery and eerie. Cheerie? We can work on names later, but without sounding cliché, it’s a vibe. Even if you aren’t good at horror games, you can experience the story with no monsters, only solving puzzles and vibing to the soundtrack by choosing the Exploration mode.
Final Thoughts
I feel like I have gushed about this game, but for once I feel like Crow Country has lived up to the hype I had for it internally. The atmosphere, the music, the gameplay, it all felt like what we remember old classics to be like, but it is actually a brand new reimagining of said nostalgia. If it was just working on nostalgia alone, it wouldn’t be this good, and I am extremely optimistic about what the future of the series or the next game from SFB Games.
PIXEL PERFECT
Recommended
Derek aka Schwetty is a lifelong game enthusiast who loves to dabble in *almost* every genre! He can be found talking about random things on Twitter @schwetty.
