Is it blasphemy to call a survival horror game “relaxed”? Maybe so, but when I think about the game Crow Countrythe word came to my mind several times.
Without skipping a beat, no questions asked Crow CountryThe PlayStation 1 influences that its creators at SFB Games talked about beforehand: it’s a very intentionally creepy-sweet kid. Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Final Fantasy VII. Launching May 9 on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox X/S, the game checks almost all the boxes for survival horror, but takes a softer approach to the genre, making it feel more like a test of mental endurance . against some darkness that is more exhausting than the constant struggle for your life. (But it is hard mode looks like it’s on its way).
You play as Mara Forest, who must make her way through an abandoned theme park in 1990 to find its elusive and clearly corrupt owner, Edward Crowe. Supplies such as ammo and health kits must be scavenged. Skinless monsters can emerge from the shadows to ambush you at any turn, and puzzles of varying complexity promise to halt your progress. There is an ensemble of characters, each with dubious motives, including the protagonist.
It’s a familiar formula combined with a familiar character design style combined with a familiar unsettling atmosphere, but still Crow Country he manages not to feel supported by a nod to his predecessors. With an emphasis on mood and mystery rather than violence (and sprinkled with some humor), it’s unique enough to stand on its own as a distinct work. The whole experience has this reflective air, and I think the developers describe it perfectly in their synopsis. Crow Country offers: “a beautiful, unusual mix of tension and serenity.”
Nostalgia hit me like a truck as I cautiously took my first steps around the eponymous Crow Country theme park as Mara. Of course, he walks at a snail’s pace and stops every time he fires a gun. Its running speed is good though, and you have 360 degree control over the camera angle, so you’re not completely bogged down by the limitations of the PS1 era (a good thing).
I was prepared to be disappointed with the stopping and jumping throughout the game, but I understood what the monsters were. also slow as hell. Well, most of them. If you want, you can run next to them in almost any situation. It made killing more of a choice than a necessity and immediately removed the sense of urgency I had going into my first enemy encounter. This is not a bad thing at all. When the stakes were lowered, I looked at these meaty monsters as target practice and picked them up mostly for fun. This, along with the gradual realization that there won’t be jumps every 5 seconds, lured me into a more relaxed experience than I expected.
Without panicking about my every decision, I was able to take my time walking around every corner of the theme park, stopping to read every notebook or paper and examine every object on the floor or hanging. the walls. I was able to concentrate on the puzzles in front of me, some of which were really hard. I even had to take out a pen and paper at one point. It also wasn’t too difficult to stock up on necessities like ammo, health kits, and anti-venom, which can be found randomly throughout the park and in vending machines.
Soundtrack by Ockeroid (this just got its own separate digital release) is very soothing and helped to create an atmosphere that completely drew me in. Crow Country‘s save mechanism is also perfectly suited to the game’s brooding environment: you can find respite in the various sources of fire Mara will look to before spouting passionate thoughts about hope and fear in the face of uncertainty. I played Crow Country On the steam deck, I cuddled up with my cats on a gray, stormy day, and I can’t think of a better way to take it all in.
In typical survival horror fashion, the environment becomes increasingly hostile as you progress through the game; creatures start to appear in greater numbers, someone faster joins the mix, it starts to rain, it gets dark, someone shoots at you from the shadows. But any real weight Crow County balanced with just the right amount of playfulness. The characters are often so frivolous, going back and forth with irreverent dialogue. And you can’t ignore the raven-themed facilities that are everywhere – you rely on some of them for resources and insight.
First, Crow Country Mara hints that there’s more to it than what we’re told, but doesn’t give any explanation as to who she is or why she’s at this abandoned theme park. Nor does it explain early on why the park is littered with squirming abominations and noticeably prevalent references to the number 2106. The ending tied everything together in a really satisfying way.
It’s short, but not too short, takes 5-10 hours depending on how thorough (or slow to figure out the puzzles) you are, and has a lot of replay value. The game is full of secrets that aren’t essential to the plot but can make your life a little easier – there’s even a map that shows you where they are, if you can find them – and they add another layer of difficulty to the overall gameplay. GARBAGE COLLECTION, imajlik. The upcoming Hard Mode might make it even more interesting to revisit. The game currently gives you the option to play in Survival Horror mode (the version I played) or in “you won’t be attacked” Exploration mode.
I missed a few secrets in the first playthrough, so my main goals for the next run are to find the rest and hit 100 percent of the achievements. I’m also interested in how different choices I make in my interactions with other characters can affect how the story plays out. In the end, I got myself moving Crow Country for reasons that have almost nothing to do with nostalgia.
