Crow Country

As video games become more technologically advanced, more and more people are looking for simpler experiences that take us back in time. The latest game that tries to tap into our nostalgic childhood memories is called Crow Country, and just like the classics of yesteryear, it manages to paint a cosy atmosphere with little means while offering an engaging story.

The visuals are the first thing you notice when you kick off this indie adventure, and like the vast majority of PlayStation or Sega Saturn titles of the time, the graphics are made up of simple and square polygons. To the naked eye, it's very reminiscent of games released for the aforementioned consoles around 1997, but even though it's minimalistic in its design, it manages to convey a surprising amount of detail and emotion through clever handling of the self-imposed limitations.

The genre they operate in is "Survival Horror", but it is of course not the type of horror with visually grotesque images and ""jump scares" in droves, but here it is the mood that acts as the guiding star and to get to unravel a mystery that becomes more and more unpleasant the further you get. It may not be the best story out there, but the developers manage to maintain a focus and interest all the way to the end.
I won't reveal too much about the story itself (as the narrative is one of the greater pleasures of the game in question), but briefly, you take on the role of Mara Forest, a curious soul who travels to a deserted amusement park where several supernatural events have taken place after the disappearance of its founder Edward Crow. At first it seems like it's all just a bunch of tall tales and nothing more, but the more you explore the abandoned rides and premises, you realise that there's a disturbing amount of truth behind all the myths and stories.

However, you're not completely defenceless once things start to fall apart, as you can use both objects and shooters to defend yourself against various nasties. The focus of the experience is admittedly mostly on solving puzzles and taking part in the story just like in games like Resident Evil, but the action moments add a nice break from the quiet, and it's nice to clear the unpleasant atmosphere with a couple of hearty explosions and firefights every now and then. However, the aiming itself can feel a little outdated and clumsy for the inexperienced as you see everything from above, but if you were around when it happened in the late 90s, you will feel at home with the slightly more archaic control.

Crow Country is also almost perfect in its game length. It takes somewhere between 6-8 hours to complete the whole thing, and so it's not too short that you feel like you didn't get your money's worth while not dragging your feet and watering down the experience. When the credits started to roll, I simply felt very satisfied with what I had been given, and given that the price tag is around £15, there is no complaining about the value.

Because at the end of the day, Crow Country is a very well-composed horror adventure that blends the best of the past without us having to pull our old Sega Saturn out of the closet. Sure, it's no masterpiece in the way that the obvious inspirations were 25 years ago, but for those who want to experience the same kind of brilliance that took place during the first PlayStation era, Crow Country is a great option to indulge in now during the summer months.