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It's a Strange Mixture of Hope and Dread
1990. A special agent Mara Forest (don't forget, don't mess it up) arrives at the scene. She's looking for Edward Crow, the owner of a theme park called Crow Country. Is Mara's look a tribute to Suzi from the Sphere Hunter? She definitely has the same haircut. Anyway, what we have here is an eldritch sci-fi story about gold, monsters, and an injured girl. Sadly, the story doesn't develop naturally, opting for an exposition dump at the end. The notes and talks are lacking, yet it's neat regardless. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, having a cutesy sense of humour, which only sometimes goes full clown. All in all, it remains somewhat sombre and weird throughout. A bubble art dragon from Ecstatica watches you from behind the glass, a grandfather clock points a shotgun at you. You pop open a mermaid for her battery and burn a fairy's head for her key.
The unique presentation is so lo-fi it's hi-fi, these game's high-class and tasteful visuals are rare and unique, making for one atmospheric adventure. These backgrounds are a work of art, too, no doubt. Simpler character models leave room for imagination, hence their cutesy look adds to the dwindling fear factor. I find innocent-looking things harbouring malicious intents a rather scary phenomenon under the right circumstances. Little Big Adventure was unnerving at times, like when a friendly-looking elephant plushy clubbed Twinsen to death. It felt like a betrayal. Overall, the survival horror stylisation is impeccable. Alas, it's only stylisation. I wouldn't call Crow Country a survival horror. It isn't terrifying, only slightly discomforting, and it's not challenging enough to say you fight for your life. But it's rather peculiar still.
Maybe Everything Will Be Okay
The mechanics are also nothing but stylisation. The game gives you a ton of resources, you can get complacent. Healing, ammo, gun upgrades - all in droves. If you're in for the guns, it has all the classics: pistol, shotgun, flamethrower, magnum. Allegedly! I never found the last two, but it didn't matter, in the long run. It's an easy game, my stingy ass slipped through while only using a pistol and grenades. Keys, notes, puzzle items take priority, for CC is more about puzzles and exploration. Crow Country doesn't write down codes for you. Everything is cryptic, everything is locked. It's up to you to blast the game open. And it forces you to pay attention. The lack of highlighting coupled with muddy visuals makes finding things tricky, but hey, the locations are tiny and the map is really helpful. The loot is somewhat randomised or maybe trash cans only give you resources when you lack them? Seems so.
Thus, attentive scavenging becomes an integral, enjoyable part of your exploration routine. A plethora of secrets and shortcuts also add to the sense of discovery. You'll find lots of items and interactions hidden in the environments, including objects to shoot. Like explosive barrels, electrical generators that can shock you or your enemy, bear traps, crates, jars, and barrels. The traps get more devious and abundant with time, you'll see that they're the main source of health loss here. But healing items are scattered all over the place. Not to mention unlimited saves in abundant save rooms, positioned on every corner. It's a confined, intimate world, which makes backtracking a relaxing ordeal. It is a leisurely stroll through an amusing theme park, after all. I suppose it's my problem that I was looking for hardcore RE experience that was never there.
Or Maybe It Won't
Once again, it's a game of puzzles and hazards, less so murder. The monsters, even when there's a bunch of them, don't have a menacing presence. Sure, they "smell like an infected wound", they're "broken, shaking, falling apart", they're "in no shape to continue living"... quite literally, in practice, a kid could tear them apart with their bare hands. There's no glory in killing. Conceptually, it's Silent Hill-ish, I guess? The roster is fine. Flayed crow people, cronenbergs, creepy crawlies, bubbling puddles of flesh, and brittle bone giants... all more pitiful than fearsome, all easily avoidable. Even though packs of enemies spawn in the places you visited, creating some clutter, I probably killed no more than a dozen, and those - for convenience, not survival.
It's a shame since I found the local elegant aiming system fun. You don't just aim in a general direction but can freely move your reticle, being able to target different body parts, decapitate, etc. It adds more control, and therefore depth, to combat encounters. Bullets also lose power with range, so it's beneficial to stay close, which would be a neat risk-reward system if simply shooting fast wasn't the most effective tactic. What else is there? I hope I didn't come off as a hater. Like, uh, there's some replayability! Quite a merit, right? You even unlock bonus items and challenges upon completion. But no, thanks, it's a one-and-done for me. Still, it's alright for the price. Clever puzzles and unique visuals elevate it above mediocrity. To conclude, Kendrick is a godlike prodigy. Sorry, I got bored talking about the game and would rather argue with a Drake fan in the comments.
P.S. I've heard the inclusion of a hard mode is a possibility. That would be a game-changer. Oh wait, it's out NOW... I keep telling myself to never buy games at launch.
My curator Big Bad Mutuh