Crow Country Reviews
Crow Country might not be a new genre-defining title, as its aspirations in both scares and scale are reasonably modest. It is, however, an excellent journey into a deftly rendered setting, and it's hard to find significant fault with its intimate understanding of what makes this sort of thing tick. Crow Country is an assured love letter to the original crop of classic survival horror titles, but what really matters is that it's a delightful new entry in its own right.
It’s truly impressive what SFB Games has accomplished with such a small team. If you like 90s horror games — Resident Evil especially — then you owe it to yourself to try out Crow Country.
Given the sheer amount of hints and instructional text plastered all over its environments, Crow Country is tuned to be approachable and readily digestible. You’ll never find yourself desperate for resources or racking your brain over a fiendish puzzle. Even the old-school tank controls are optional, mapped to the D-pad just in case any players feel compelled to experiment before going back to the analog stick. These decisions are hardly out of step with the pleasantly nostalgic presentation, but they also ensure that the game succeeds far more as a puzzle object than as a horror freak-out. For better and for worse, Crow Country goes down smoothly.
But even with a couple of missteps, I'm still scoring Crow Country highly. The story engrosses, and the puzzles challenge without being too ridiculous. The game is long enough to be rewarding but not so long as to make replay intimidating. And the retro horror may even make you jump a couple of times, in teen-rated fashion. The Snipperclips devs have done considerably good work here, and anyone who predicted otherwise can eat crow.
Crow Country "caws" back to old-school horror games from the PS1-era, preserving what made them suspenseful and engaging while adding some updates. Not all of these work, but enough do, making a trip to Crow Country worth taking for fans of retro survival horror games.
Crow Country threw me back to my childhood days of sitting in front of a CRT TV with a controller in hand, while streamlining the less desirable, archaic sensibilities. Familiar elements and tropes are well-executed, and the perfect runtime of four to five hours allows it to end on a high before it overstays its welcome due to its smaller scope. Perfect for a weekend! I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Crow Country and I am looking forward to what SFB cooks up next!
Crow Country is the perfect kind of nostalgic trip, one that doesn’t bait players along in hopes of being more of the same thing they remembered. The best games of its type work to wedge themselves into the library of classics they were inspired by. Crow Country looks, sounds, and plays similar to old 32- and 64-bit games because it is, not because it wants to be.
Crow Country is a quaint compilation of survival horror's many time-tested tropes, from its tank controls to its labyrinthian network of corridors. For all it loads into a relatively small package, it pays homage to its roots within an irresistible framework from the antiquated era once befitting the original PlayStation.
A worthwhile retro survival horror experience that utilizes every inch of its three-to-four hour runtime while paying homage to the greats. Even though it's lacking in scares, it manages to enthrall with its excellent brain-scratchers and deft design decisions. A small and successful slice of survival horror.
Between atmosphere, mechanics, and storytelling, Crow Country gets caw-fully close to bonafide classic status in the survival-horror pantheon.
It is a good sign when a tightly paced, dense horror game leaves players begging for more. It’s preferred than a game overstaying its welcome and feeling like you never want to play it again. Crow Country is compact, but I found myself feeling very cozy in its world, never wanting to leave.
A tight package of intriguing puzzle design and nail biting ambiance that is perfectly tuned in difficulty. There's even a hint system in place to ensure you don't get stuck too long on any single puzzle. I loved my time with Crow Country and it will definitely be making an appearance on my Game of the Year list.
Crow Country, a new PS1 style survival horror title from SFB Games aims to authentically revive the feel of classic early 3D horror titles.
Crow Country is an homage to the whole survival horror genre of PS1 era.
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Considered on its own, with no space for nostalgia or positive past experiences, Crow Country isn’t a great game. The presentation is limited, and the gameplay never tries to do anything new. The puzzle design is good and the story, while starting off slowly, does have some great moments and one big strong twist.
With neat retro visuals, smart puzzles, and an interesting theme park location, Crow Country is an appealing survival horror game that suffers a little from clumsy action and minimal challenge.
Despite a few minor critiques, Crow Country is a fantastic game. I'm glad I gave Crow Country a try, as it has quickly become one of my favorite Halloween games because of its rich atmosphere and compelling narrative. The story is compelling, and though it’s set in a creepy, abandoned amusement park with Playstation One-style aesthetics, it leans more into the realm of a sci-fi thriller than pure horror. The twist takes me completely by surprise, and the ending leaves me wondering about Mara’s fate and the secret she uncovers. If you’re looking for the perfect spooky game to dive into this Halloween, Crow Country is definitely worth your time.
Overall, Crow Country is a well-catered survival horror title featuring an old-school look and feel without feeling dated. Crow Country being an abandoned amusement park, carries a lot of the ambiance featured, even though it feels one note at times, it's one heck of a note. The game’s narrative structure and plot feel a little loose regarding how players will encounter it, but they still work and feel unique, or at the very least, anything but shallow. Crow Country is a must for fans of survival horror and those who crave 90s nostalgia. The latest entry into the grunge horror genre offers a compelling aesthetic, enticing characters, and engaging puzzles. Despite the horrors that will stick with me for a lifetime, I can't recommend SFB Games’ nightmare enough.
Crow Country is a delight to experience. It leverages a unique style that has obvious inspirations and successfully pays homage to them while sporting its own fun story. The overall adventure is a little marred by sub-par combat controls but it has so much intrigue and so many cool puzzles that it’s still a blast. The journey of Mara as she explores a strange dilapidated theme park is something worth experiencing and the Switch is a fantastic platform to do it on!