Our VerdictA no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.
Our VerdictA no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.
Our Verdict
Our Verdict
A no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.
PC Gamer’s got your backOur experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you.Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
PC Gamer’s got your backOur experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you.Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
What is it?Survival horror from the days when CRTs made everything scarier (and fuzzier)Expect to pay:$20 / £17Developer:SFB GamesPublisher:SFB GamesReviewed on:Intel i5-13600K, RTX 3070, 32GB DDR4Multiplayer?NoSteam Deck:VerifiedLink:Official site
What is it?Survival horror from the days when CRTs made everything scarier (and fuzzier)Expect to pay:$20 / £17Developer:SFB GamesPublisher:SFB GamesReviewed on:Intel i5-13600K, RTX 3070, 32GB DDR4Multiplayer?NoSteam Deck:VerifiedLink:Official site
What is it?Survival horror from the days when CRTs made everything scarier (and fuzzier)Expect to pay:$20 / £17Developer:SFB GamesPublisher:SFB GamesReviewed on:Intel i5-13600K, RTX 3070, 32GB DDR4Multiplayer?NoSteam Deck:VerifiedLink:Official site
Crow Country is a VHS home movie of a kid’s amusement park recorded in 1997, then left in a hot, fetid cabinet until the tape has warped and mildewed. A yellow visual smear gives its throwback graphics a rich but fuzzy CRT texture, muddying everything enough to add a patina of creepiness impossible under the harsh light of high definition. If horror movies have taught me anything, it’s that when you find an object at the back of the cupboard that has every chance of being cursed you can’t, like,notwatch it.
You gotta jam that thing into a VCR, then obstinately shrug off the ominous vibes that begin to cloud your waking life. Was Crow Country sneakily manifesting new items into rooms I’d already wandered through just to mess with me, or had I simply missed that welcome medpack nestled on a grimy shelf through the haze? Am I just imagining things?
Nah—tape’s definitely haunted.
This snack-sized bite of PlayStation-era survival horror makes a strong case for horror games that can comfortably fit within the length of a VHS tape. I beat it in five hours across two sittings, the perfect amount of time to spend unspooling a series of Resident Evil mansion-style puzzles as I worked my way through the rotting remnants of Crow Country’s gift shop and haunted house and undersea arcade.
In those five hours I played notes on a piano to open secret compartments, solved a gravestone riddle while a hand jutting out of a clock menaced me with a shotgun, and jolted back in my chair at least twice when Crow Country nailed me with jump scares. This is not the kind of horror that soaks you in constant, high fidelity dread, but it does have the kinds of demented monster designs that immediately make the skin crawl when you see them in the distance.
Crow Country is funny as often as it is scary, thanks to some wry writing—my character reacting “Barf, no thanks” while investigating an adult magazine or “It’s a computer” while looking at a computer. (The game’s set in 1990, when “It’s a computer” was still a more novel observation). There are also plenty of cheeky nods to game and horror tropes; of course the combinations of items you need to use to solve any given puzzle are absurd, the guy running this theme park has lost his damn mind!
Image1of7(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
Image1of7(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
Image1of7
(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
There’s no shortage of games today cleverly reaching back into the past to pluck ideas and aesthetics that still work today, but Crow Country feels like a true case study for retro-modern survival horror. With a gamepad I could freely move around in 3D with one analog stick and rotate the camera with the other, or I could move my thumb over to the D-pad and play with the tank controls that Resident Evil has long abandoned. Aiming and shooting with the isometric camera is deliberately awkward, adding a fumbling tension when monsters shamble toward me.
There are little niceties I deeply appreciated, like a catalog of all the notes I’d collected around the park bundled up at each save point, so I could flip through the remaining clues.
Crow Country makes the safe bet that there are a lot of people like me who’d rather play a five hour horror game than a 15 hour one, that will feel satiated with a few good jump scares, satisfied after a dozen-or-so puzzles and nod in appreciation at the way the park gets more and more haunted as the game progresses, even if it never ends up particularly challenging. A few puzzles bordered on too obtuse, where I knew what I needed to do but struggled with how the game wanted me to do it, and I would’ve appreciated some map icons showing me where the hell to backtrack when I finally got my hands on the bronze/silver/gold keys. But there is a generous hint system for getting over these humps, which I didn’t mind using when I was unsure if I actually had what I needed to progress.
Image1of7(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
Image1of7(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
Image1of7
(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
(Image credit: SFB Games)
I never died or even ran low on healing items, and the enemies are generally creepier than they are threatening. It’s probably tuned to be too easy, but that just contributed to the feeling that Crow Country and I were on the same wavelength—we were both there for a good time, not a long time. Priority #1 was ensuring our time together never dragged.
The Verdict77Read our review policyCrow CountryA no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.
The Verdict
The Verdict
77Read our review policyCrow CountryA no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.
77Read our review policy
77
Crow CountryA no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.
Crow Country
A no-fat riff on the early days of survival horror that knows just what to streamline and what to keep pleasingly obtuse.
LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-characterPath of Exile 2’s first patch of 2025 is coming later this week, with ‘more rewarding’ endgame mapping and the rollout of respawns when fighting pinnacle bossesSee more latest►
LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-characterPath of Exile 2’s first patch of 2025 is coming later this week, with ‘more rewarding’ endgame mapping and the rollout of respawns when fighting pinnacle bossesSee more latest►
LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-characterPath of Exile 2’s first patch of 2025 is coming later this week, with ‘more rewarding’ endgame mapping and the rollout of respawns when fighting pinnacle bossesSee more latest►
Latest
Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-characterPath of Exile 2’s first patch of 2025 is coming later this week, with ‘more rewarding’ endgame mapping and the rollout of respawns when fighting pinnacle bosses
Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13
Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13
Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-character
Players are still finding edge-case Baldur’s Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-character
Path of Exile 2’s first patch of 2025 is coming later this week, with ‘more rewarding’ endgame mapping and the rollout of respawns when fighting pinnacle bosses
Path of Exile 2’s first patch of 2025 is coming later this week, with ‘more rewarding’ endgame mapping and the rollout of respawns when fighting pinnacle bosses
See more latest►
Most PopularTurtle Beach Stealth Pivot reviewIkea Matchspel gaming chair reviewASRock DeskMini X600 reviewZotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C reviewMinisforum AtomMan G7 Ti reviewSamsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra reviewNoctua NH-D15 G2 reviewGulikit KK3 Max reviewBallionaire reviewMarvel Rivals reviewBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review
Most PopularTurtle Beach Stealth Pivot reviewIkea Matchspel gaming chair reviewASRock DeskMini X600 reviewZotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C reviewMinisforum AtomMan G7 Ti reviewSamsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra reviewNoctua NH-D15 G2 reviewGulikit KK3 Max reviewBallionaire reviewMarvel Rivals reviewBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review
Most PopularTurtle Beach Stealth Pivot reviewIkea Matchspel gaming chair reviewASRock DeskMini X600 reviewZotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C reviewMinisforum AtomMan G7 Ti reviewSamsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra reviewNoctua NH-D15 G2 reviewGulikit KK3 Max reviewBallionaire reviewMarvel Rivals reviewBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review
Most Popular
Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot review
Ikea Matchspel gaming chair review
ASRock DeskMini X600 review
Zotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C review
Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti review
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra review
Noctua NH-D15 G2 review
Gulikit KK3 Max review
Ballionaire review
Marvel Rivals review
Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
1
Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
2
Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
3
Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
4
Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
5
Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits
1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits
1
Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback
2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback
2
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
3
WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4Ikea Utespelare desk review
4
Ikea Utespelare desk review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
5
Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review
