Perhaps that’s why Crow Country feels so much like coming home.

Crow Country review

Well.

If I stomped around home melting deformed denizens with my flamethrower, anyway.

Crow Country official screenshot showing the main character in a room full of retro arcade machines, lit by a flourescent pink glow

I’ll be honest, though; these kinds of retro homages?

I’m kinda done.

Even though they look human-like from a distance.

Cover image for YouTube video

The way Crow Country itself unfurls up before you is wonderful, too.

I’ll admit that if I played again, that’s exactly what I’d do.

Talking of which: it’s Crow Country’s puzzles that truly shine.

Mara stands at the entrance to Crow Country. A banner spelling out the theme park’s name straddles a dirty, empty entryway.

(Now that’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.)

The environmental traps, though, feel unduly punishing.

Not in the feverish glow of games likeAmnesia: The BunkerorAlan Wake 2, anyway.

Mara straightens up and lines up her laser sight down the corridor where a human-esque shape lurches forward in the darkness, half-shrouded by shadow.

I’m definitely of the former camp.

Yes, the combat can be annoying.

Yes, sometimes I felt as though I was fighting the camera as much as the spooky park guests.

Mara stands in a far corner of Hilltop Manor, staring at a staff memo pinned to a railing.

What an unexpected treat.

A copy of Crow Country was provided for review by SFB Games.

A stylised keyboard is on the screen, showing the letters C D E F G A B. F A D is shown above the keyboard.

Mara stares at the bloody corpse of a stranger on the ground in front of her.

Crow Country’s inventory screen. It shows a lifeline, equipped weapon, map, and then all the items within here inventory. There’s a lot.

Mara’s standing in a creepy maze, a tall stone-like plinth in front of her. It says: “There’s a symbol that looks like a star. Press B to Leave it. Press A to Kick It”.

Mara’s obtained a silver key. It was removed from a treasure chest, which you can see peeking out below the pop-up screen.

Mara stands in front of a slide projector, which gives her the option to read the slide or turn it off. A gruesome figure – seemingly called the “Grinner” – is on the screen. It looks like one of the enemies you’ve encountered but there’s no way to zoom in and double-check.

Mara stands, bathed in bubble-gum pink neon. There’s a selection of retro electronic games like pinball machines around her. The carpet is reminiscent of 80s/90s arcades.