Crow Country (SFB Games, multi)
FROM Willy’s Wonderland to Carnival of Souls, the abandoned amusement park is a horror staple – so given we’re in the eye of gaming’s fallow summer period, this week I’m cheerleading an indie gem that’s already been out for a while, set in a gloriously crappy theme park that makes Barry’s look like Disney World.
From indie London developers SFB, Crow Country is a 90s-set horror that takes a feather out of Resident Evil’s cap. A retro throwback to the golden age of survival horror when the original PlayStation was king, it’s a fuzzy VHS rather than some modern marvel.
But, stone the crows, its lo-fi slice of park life, tucked away on digital stores, is the best-kept secret for fright fans and proves nostalgia is what it used to be.
Playing as Special Agent Mara Forest (or is she?), our young heroine is sent to the titular theme park to investigate why it closed down, what caused an accident which hospitalised a young punter, and to find its mysterious owner, Edward Crow.
The carnies may have left but an even more grotesque threat remains, with hordes of mutants running amok.
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Separated into themed areas - Fairytale, Ocean ,Crypt etc – Crow Country’s labyrinthine map opens up into a web of connected tunnels and service doors, and progress demands backtracking through its eerie acreage, solving puzzles and blasting enemies.
With knowing nods to the classic survival horrors of the PlayStation generation, Crow Country is littered with keys, cranks and soothing save rooms while employee notes and newspaper clippings flesh out the bittersweet plot.
Some of its teasers - mainly around finding codes - will have your head scratched to the bone, but the clues are all there. The old-school tank controls can be tweaked to a more modern layout, though aiming is always a pig, and while Mara can find a range of weapons to blast monsters, most are easily side-stepped.
Indeed, you can opt to play the entire shebang without any enemies, turning its survival horror into a fright-free puzzling adventure. But it’s best to crow a pair and enjoy this gem in all its mutant-blasting glory.
It’s not particularly scary, though. Like a Fisher Price Resident Evil, Crow Country’s cutesy visuals – complete with old CRT telly-style grain - would look more at home in an early Final Fantasy than a horror, while goofy humour and silly one-liners add to a cosiness that belies its 16+ rating.
A love letter to survival horror’s infancy, if you’re old enough to have cradled an original PlayStation controller, Crow Country is the best £15 you’ll spend.