Very cute survival horror game. Lovely aesthetic, great puzzles, fantastic story, the perfect length to hammer it out in an evening. I didn't grow up playing these kinds of games so the controls took a bit to get used to, but it clicked after a little bit and I ended up having a great time. Got a few jumps out of me and kept me on edge for most of the duration.

CAAW

Crow Country is quite the indie darling of a survival horror game. It’s extremely lean, looks incredibly charming, and has a genuinely great story to boot. I was cautiously excited to play this one, a bit afraid of the difficulty a lot of pure survival horror games feature, but was pleasantly surprised that this game is pretty accessible to newbies of the genre, all while never even slightly overstaying its welcome. The first thing that will catch your eye is the visuals, echoing early PSX games like Final Fantasy 7 in both its blocky, almost chibi-like characters as well as the pre-rendered looking backgrounds. They’re not actually pre-rendered, containing a lot of small animated details that you can’t replicate with pre-rendered, but it still captures the energy.

The visuals are striking, creating a small, but detailed run-down amusement park with mystery oozing from every locked room, every strange sighting of these unknown creatures, and the scattered people who are just as confused as you (or are leading you to believe they’re just as confused as you). The world design is arguably the game’s strongest aspect, giving the player multiple areas of the park to explore, characterizing themselves as attractions within Crow Country. There’s a map provided, but each area is so visually distinct that you’ll rarely find yourself lost, moving between the backrooms through the fantasy, horror, and underwater areas, with lots of hidden rooms in between.

The combat is very akin to the first Resident Evil, requiring less actual aiming skill and more so good positioning and managing of your ammunition (which isn’t particularly hard to come by like it is in RE1). Some of the enemies are pretty creepy, the looming skeletons were actually really unsettling. But in general, the actual gameplay isn’t too demanding, provided you watch your step and move cautiously. The story is surprisingly robust, and unveiling the mystery behind the park, what happened to it, and why your character is involved was really quite gripping from beginning to end.

I would highly recommend this game for any fans of survival horror, but especially those who like Silent Hill or the original Resident Evil trilogy. Crow Country is a lean, no frills experience that engrosses the player from start to finish with a gripping mystery, likeable characters, and a unique and engaging visual style. AND you can unlock dumb weapons when you beat the game, another great homage to Resident Evil.