Crow Country Review: A Modern Classic (PS5)

Crow Country is a survival-horror game with a retro flavour, paying homage to a handful of PS1 classics while retaining an identity all of its own. Developed and published by SFB Games, Crow Country has been highly anticipated by fans since the demo released in October 2023 and is set to become a modern classic. Evoking feelings of nostalgia for old-school gamers while still being welcoming to newcomers of the genre, Crow Country cawlaborates a twisted narrative, low-res art style and spine-tingling soundtrack to create a quaint and tranquil experience. 

Crow Country released on May 9th and is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam from £15.49 ($19.99).

Story – A Murder of Crows

Taking place in 1990, Crow Country‘s abandoned theme park is home to barrels of secrets, and we are tasked with the role of detective. We take control of protagonist Mara, the story unravelling through discarded letters, gory environmental details and a handful of characters whose unvoiced dialogue is delivered through onscreen text boxes. It soon becomes clear that the characters are part of a secret that the player is not, and Mara herself seems to be withholding details during her inner monologues. All of the writing in Crow County is thoughtful and witty, calling out classic tropes and my stupidity. The drip feeding of narrative is nicely paced over my roughly 7 hours playtime, the omission of information leaving your imagination to unpleasantly fill the gaps while you discover the dark truth of Crow Country.

Everyone seems to be working to hide the truth of Crow Country.

Gameplay – Fight or Flight

Crow Country has a solid balance between retro and modern controls, allowing you to seamlessly show off tank control prowess or twirl Mara around with the left thumb-stick. The camera can be rotated using the right stick, which is useful for discovering handy ammo boxes, med kits and clues to solving the puzzles needed to unlock the next area. The theme-park is impressively expansive, even with the cancelled construction of new attractions. Multiple maps can be collected for each of the areas, helping you to navigate the interconnecting routes and pointing out unsolved puzzles with a red circle. The map can be accessed from the inventory, which is opened with L1. Here is also where survival gear is stored, the blocky grid menu displaying items you pick up off the floor or bully out of vending machines.

This was my first foray into PS1 style survival horror, so my gunmanship required some improvement to say the least, and I found myself still fumbling through R1 to aim, circle to shoot and X to reload towards the end. Thankfully the devs were generous enough to make the laser sight easy to find, so even with my dodgy shooting I was able to occasionally land a decapitating headshot. There are four weapons for you to find in your first playthrough, though two of these are classed as part of the fifteen secrets hidden throughout Crow Country, and it is easy to complete the game without acquiring all firearms. It certainly adds an element of challenge to preserve bullets and limit your use of med kits, which is essential if you are aiming to get graded S tier upon completion. Depending on the grade received, new game modes and weapons unlock, encouraging a second and even third playthrough. 

PS1 inspired controls will evoke nostalgia for genre veterans, and potentially challenge newcomers (me).

Puzzles and Exploration

Although threats can be disabled by beginning a new game in exploration mode, you will still need the shoot through some obstacles as you wander around the amusement park. There is a lot of backtracking in Crow Country; the majority of puzzles are solved using environmental clues or inventory items, and so you will often have to return to a room with the correct equipment. Despite the trekking back and forth, Crow Country never feels stale and keeps Mara on her polygon toes – actions can trigger changes across the theme park, enemies spawn in previously safe areas and more traps appear. However, with the exception of the scary number problems, puzzle solving is intuitive, and discovering new items will cause earlier solutions to click into place. 

Crow Country is a forgiving survival horror game which kindly adapts to the player. Even though my shots sometimes missed their target, I was rarely without ammo, and when I did find myself unarmed, resources would replenish in their previous locations. This was a very useful element of game design when in the final area, where I found myself with no ammo against the boss. After running around in circles for a good minute, I realised the game was sporadically delivering boxes of handgun ammo through the chutes. That being said, it is important to remember make use of the save points, as the old-school mistake of losing progress after death caught me out more than once.

The low resolution and gloomy visuals complete the retro survival horror experience.

Audio and Graphics – Retro Influence

While Crow Country creates the illusion of fixed camera angles, the camera can be moved. However, this rotation is limited to the horizontal axis with Mara as the focal point, cleverly restricting your view and forcing encounters to be uncomfortably intimate. Enemy design is particularly grotesque, and there are all sorts of bloody monstrosities lingering in the shadows. Mara and the other character models are strangely charming, their blocky appearance giving them a toylike quality. If you can momentarily ignore the fact that Crow Country’s grotty brick floors are splattered with gruesome remains, often surrounded by snacking crows, there is a sense of tranquillity as you wander through the theme park.  

Sound design is key to an ominously peaceful atmosphere, and there has been attention to the finer details in order to create an authentic retro experience, from the menu sounds to echoing clangs and squeaky footsteps. The only voices heard throughout Crow Country are the pained groans from the deformed mouths of the creatures you kill. Tying the package together with a harrowing bow is the soundtrack composed by Ockeroid, which features a blend of unsettling lo-fi with some sweeter sounding melodies. 

Crow Country was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by Neonhive.