Crow Nation is coated in a murky inexperienced veneer that gives the look you are enjoying it on a grainy CRT TV in certainly one of your buddy’s bedrooms again in 1996. The polygonal determine of its protagonist, Particular Agent Mara Forest, along with her seen joints and single block of purple hair, harks again to any variety of PlayStation-era character designs. Equally, Crow Nation’s environments look splendidly pre-rendered, lavished in further element that sits in stark distinction to its easy, blocky characters. These aren’t the static backgrounds of yesteryear, nevertheless, however absolutely interactive playgrounds that add a contemporary tinge to Crow Nation’s distinctly retro sensibilities.
This affectionate nostalgia is in service of a recreation that pays loving homage to landmark titles of the survival horror style whereas additionally boldly standing by itself two toes. Resident Evil is Crow Nation’s most blatant affect, however traces of Silent Hill and Alone within the Darkish additionally stalk the darkest corners of its ’90s-inspired horror. It may be a tad too genuine at instances, that includes unwieldy fight that is tempting to disregard fully, however that is nonetheless a real advert for the fun of retro-modern survival horror when executed nicely.
Set in 1990, your first style of the titular Crow Nation happens when Mara pulls into its car parking zone in a white facsimile of a Volkswagen Polo. Crow Nation is a decrepit, deserted theme park that is each dense and labyrinthine regardless of its small scale–as if designed by the identical architect who labored on The Spencer Mansion and Racoon Metropolis Police Station. Mara is right here following up on a lacking particular person’s report for the park’s proprietor, Edward Crow, however it would not take lengthy earlier than she’s unraveling the park’s deepest secrets and techniques and most intriguing mysteries.
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The story unravels out of chronological order as you uncover notes left behind by staff, learn previous newspaper clippings, and work together with a small solid of relatable NPCs. It is expertly paced, with sharp writing that is self-aware and contains loads of nods to each gaming and horror tropes with out feeling corny. Discovering what occurred within the two years for the reason that park closed down propels the story ahead, and it sticks the touchdown with a memorable ending. Crucially, Crow Nation additionally would not comply with a well-recognized sample regardless of being a pastiche of style classics in nearly each different aspect of its design. There is not any zombie outbreak or lacking spouse, and the theme park setting is a refreshingly unfamiliar location, capturing the identical sort of uncertainty that the primary Resident Evil achieved in 1996.
There are monsters within the type of aberrant Cronenberg-esque designs that vary from bipedal shamblers to amorphous blobs. Their origins are tragic, tracing again to human hubris and greed, however you may also play your complete recreation with out them. Crow Nation provides two modes of play: Survival and exploration. The latter removes any hint of the park’s enemies so you may concentrate on exploration and puzzle fixing, which provides you a good suggestion of the place the sport’s priorities lie.
Throughout survival mode, the park steadily fills with grotesque creatures as you delve additional into the sport’s story. In true survival horror trend, you may keep away from most enemy encounters by merely working previous them, conserving your restricted provide of ammo within the course of. This has the knock-on impact of populating the park with further creatures, however the presence of extra enemies by no means feels problematic, and I solely bothered participating in fight in the event that they had been straight impeding a puzzle.
That is partly as a result of the survival facet of Crow Nation is comparatively straightforward. Until you are combating completely each enemy or aren’t completely exploring, ammo is plentiful sufficient, and the identical is true of med kits and antidotes. There additionally aren’t quite a lot of real threats to your life. The small, skittish Pinochio-esque creatures are stunning at first as a result of they’re quick, and the rattle of bones that accompanies the unusually elongated skeletons would possibly tempt you to nope the hell out, however each are uncommon and easy sufficient to breeze previous that they by no means pose a lot hazard. You will not discover a pack of zombie canine bursting by means of a window or encounter lethal frog-like creatures in tight corridors, so the sense of problem is severely missing. Stock management–normally a staple of the genre–is additionally notable for its absence. As an alternative of getting to rigorously choose which objects and weapons to take with you, you may go into the ultimate boss battle with all 4 firearms absolutely stocked, additional diminishing any sense of reward on the subject of the sport’s fight.
One more reason you would possibly keep away from fight fully is that it is not significantly participating. Crow Nation is performed from an intimate isometric viewpoint with free digital camera motion, instantly making it extra palatable than the video games it is impressed by. That mentioned, aiming and capturing with an isometric digital camera feels intentionally awkward and clunky, particularly since you’re aiming each horizontally and vertically. You are locked in place when doing so, which a minimum of makes you susceptible and provides a component of stress as you fiddle along with your laser pointer, however taking down enemies remains to be easy even when the controls are combating in opposition to you. There is a pure development of weapon unlocks as you begin with Mara’s service pistol earlier than buying a shotgun, magnum, and flamethrower. Other than some weapons dealing extra harm than others, nevertheless, there is not a palpable distinction in really feel between every one, so their affect is essentially dulled.
Regardless of these shortcomings, Crow Nation nonetheless manages to determine a creepy ambiance as you navigate the park’s varied nooks and crannies. It is perhaps an ominous low hum or the comforting–yet in some way nonetheless offputting–music enjoying in each save room, however the recreation’s rating does a wonderful job of constructing stress with music harking back to the period. The dilapidated theme park setting can be a major a part of the sport’s general allure, whether or not you are exploring the aquatic zone with its imported sand and faux starfish, speeding previous the fairy forest’s abundance of large mushrooms, or skulking by means of the haunted city to achieve a spooky mansion and underground crypt. The janky animatronics and pervasive crow-theming could be eerie even earlier than introducing monsters, damaged glass, and ominous blood spatter to the equation.
Every zone is distinct and memorable sufficient that navigating the park is a breeze. It additionally helps that your complete map’s format is extremely intuitive. After strolling up a miniature model of Disneyland’s Important Avenue, you come to an open sq. that acts because the park’s centerpiece, with doorways splitting off into all three zones. The map is open-ended, encouraging you to slowly broaden your entry to completely different areas by venturing forwards and backwards to search out all types of clues and objects. Interconnected shortcuts by means of workers rooms and again places of work take away the tedium of backtracking, and the park steadily begins to fold again in on itself, revealing a hidden depth that belies its comparatively small scale. It is inherently satisfying to unearth a brand new doorway resulting in a earlier space the place you now have the objects wanted to unravel a puzzle and make much more progress, and Crow Nation is teeming with rewarding moments like this.
The puzzles themselves are enjoyable to unravel, too, expertly toeing the road between befuddling and condescendingly straightforward. Worker notes and firm memos typically present hints, however most options derive from logic and customary sense–even if the previous is a definite taste of survival horror logic. The map’s smaller scale works in its favor right here as nicely, with most of the puzzles being fairly self-contained. The objects it’s essential to remedy a selected conundrum are sometimes close by, and even when you must enterprise additional afield, it by no means takes too lengthy to get again. The puzzle designs are additionally delightfully assorted, tasking you with enjoying particular notes on a piano to open hidden compartments, uncover a key by melting an animatronic’s head with acid, and remedy a riddle utilizing the names on varied gravestones whereas a skeletal arm waves a shotgun in your face.
Crow Nation pays homage to a golden period of survivor horror with out counting on easy mimicry. It is concurrently acquainted and but unfamiliar, concerning tropes and style trappings whereas using fashionable strategies to reinforce the expertise and make it extra approachable for newcomers. It isn’t a very difficult recreation, and fight is uninteresting and unwieldy, however this facet of the sport is straightforward sufficient to disregard, particularly when there’s an attractive theme park stuffed with secrets and techniques and rewarding puzzles to delve into. The story can be surprisingly wealthy, telling a fascinating story with good writing and a memorable ending. Crow Nation is clearly lovingly crafted, leading to a nostalgic throwback that manages to keep away from feeling by-product. It does justice to the video games that impressed it, however it’s additionally a unbelievable recreation in its personal proper.
