As a big fan of horror games in general, I am always keeping an eye on which one I should pick up next, big or small. Crow Country is an Indie game that has come from seemingly nowhere to become one of the better horror games of the year and in recent memory. It won’t be for everyone, but those of a certain age will love it. Many gamers’ first foray into horror games would be the original Resident Evil back in 1996. At first glance, Crow Country appears like it was made around that same time. From the way characters move, the graphics and all-around general gameplay, it’s clear that the inspiration was from those early Resident Evil (and Silent Hill) titles. It just modernises the formula in certain ways.
I say this won’t be for everyone because you have to remember that 1996 was almost 30 years ago, meaning that what worked back then – especially considering 3D games were very much brand new at the time – doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll work today. If we continue to take Resident Evil as an example, the gameplay of those earlier titles feels primitive compared to the more recently released, over-the-shoulder games. Having said that (and while I love the direction Resident Evil has gone in the last 7 or so years), I personally think there’s absolutely a place for this style of game today and Crow Country shows us exactly why.
Crow Country takes place in 1990 and you take on the role of Mara Forest, who visits a popular amusement park to search for the owner, Edward Crow. Things (obviously) don’t quite go as smoothly as one would hope, as she must make her way through each distinct area of the park. The setting works well. While it’s never going to be as iconic as the Spencer mansion or the police station from Resident Evil or Resident Evil 2 respectively, a creepy, abandoned amusement park works as well as you would think.
While the similarities are there for all to see, it’s not a case of copy and paste. There are aspects that Crow Country does better than its contemporaries at the time. For starters, while tank controls are still here to some degree, it’s much easier to move Mara around and the camera is player-controlled, from left to right. This means you no longer must shoot blindly down a hallway at an enemy you cannot see. Some of the differences are simply quality of life changes, such as being able to change guns on the fly and marks on the map for which keys unlock which doors.
When you encounter enemies, you usually have two options. The first of which is to simply avoid them, and this is actually a decent option on occasion as it isn’t essential to kill every single enemy you come across. The second option is to kill them with a trusty firearm, and this is where it differs from old-school Resident Evil. You see, once you aim your gun, you don’t lock on to the enemy. Instead, a crosshair appears on-screen, and you must manually aim yourself. It takes some getting used to, but once you do, you’ll realise how much better this is than it was in the past. It allows you to exactly pinpoint which part of the enemy you want to shoot, rather than shooting at a general area and hopefully getting a headshot at random. This mechanic also allows other gameplay ideas to come into place, such as being able to shoot chandeliers from the ceiling or destroy traps on the floor. This almost feels like a blend between the PS1 era games and Resident Evil 4, in that you can freely aim, but you must stand still when doing so.
Thankfully, puzzles are part of Crow Country as much as they are in Resident Evil. While none of them were particularly mind-boggling to solve, it’s almost a core feature of the genre. Many simply require you to search around for clues, whether that be a code on the wall that you must remember or a letter from a mystery person with hints at what to do. The level of detail is a big strength of Crow Country and the puzzles ensure that the player is exploring at all times, as you can interact with many parts of the environment to find out little titbits.
As mentioned earlier on, this game looks like it was made in the 90’s and intentionally so. For those looking for a game with cutting-edge graphics (for the Switch, at least), you’re not going to find that here. While the visuals are very reminiscent and blocky looking, they’re not a carbon copy of anything that has come before in the genre. The characters especially look like something out of Final Fantasy 7, where they have extra fat around their joints. The environments aren’t a muddy blur like they would have been in the 90’s, either. They are much smoother, and it is easier to spot things in your surroundings.
Coming in at around 5-6 hours, Crow Country isn’t a particularly long game. You can get through it in a couple of sittings, which for some people is perfect. While I would have liked a little bit more, it makes sure that it doesn’t falter at any stage throughout the entirety of the game. It’s a strong performance throughout and for that, I can’t fault it. This is bite-sized, yes, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that you don’t get bang for your buck.
As a fan of the genre dating back to the 90s, even though I completely understand why titles such as Crow Country aren’t being made by the Capcoms of this world anymore, I do miss this style. While it has clearly been inspired by the early Resident Evil games, the modernisations and quality of life additions go a long way to ensure that this isn’t just a carbon copy of something that has gone before. If old-school survival horror is what you want in 2024, put Crow Country right at the top of your list.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by SFB Games
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