Crow Country | Analysis & Review

Crow Country is a fantastic nostalgic return to the classic survival horror genre that does it better than any other game I've seen!
This video is a full review and analysis of the game - including it's major successes and some of it's faults, as well as a full walkthrough of it's story and mechanics.
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Intro 0:00
Art Direction 1:15
Sound Design 7:43
Character Design 10:57
Gameplay 12:40
Controls 14:05
Puzzles 17:42
Enemies & Traps 19:25
Hard Mode 21:24
Story 23:59
Story (Spoiler Zone) 31:01
Outro 55:36

[@allyli1718]

A lot of what’s sweeping about crow country reminds me of what swept undertale into massive popularity. Great music, retro but in a way that plays with the source materials, a good story-but most importantly, one with time to breathe. Like some of undertale’s most memorable aspects were the way it played with the player in a way unique to video games and RPGs. Genocide and pacifist routes play with the standard RPG violence that most games never question. The character you name is not you but instead a different character altogether, and your narrator/player is actually a character in their own right names Frisk rather than a character you can project onto/role play. (The RPG disco elysium was also famous for these kind of meta elements, with the game making it clear (through the narrative device of amnesia) that while you can customize the player character, he is not a blank slate either! Much like the way someone in real life will still find themselves predisposed to certain traits through nurture/their environment.) Undertale I remember being considered very retro at its time for being an 8-bit RPG. Particularly memorable is that people clowned on the graphics, which I thought were cute as someone who wasn’t very familiar with video games, but I didn’t realize that 8-bit stuff wouldn’t be commonplace for most gamers, so it was considered weirdly retro af at the time. Similarly, Crow Country plays with nostalgia in a way that I’m not familiar with at all. Unfamiliar with final fantasy, unfamiliar with PS1 graphics-except as the new trend that’s been making the rounds as of late. As such, it’s not nostalgic to me beyond being a puzzle game like Undertale and a lot of those RPGmaker games were. But yeah, both Undertale and Crow Country bring something new to the table, Undertale mostly with its meta storytelling/themes, though the combat system was unique. And Crow Country in its pre-rendered aesthetic background that acts as an immersive sim like interact-able background. And like, the nostalgia is huge though. A lot of the moments reviewers keep referencing are the bits where characters make cute jokes about how it’s weird you need to go through like 5 puzzles just to get a key. That’s the type of joke you only get once a genre has established tropes and cliches, aka when a genre has been around long enough to feel nostalgic. Undertale also made similar meta jokes that show a love for the genre it’s in, as does Disco Elysium, and it creates a sense of kinship between the player and the characters and the developers (because it’s an in-joke). Finally, the moments to breathe. The game encourages and rewards exploration, and it has story beats and moments that reward slowing down before a big moment and to just feeling what the characters are feeling AND appreciate the experience of this genre of game itself. With Undertale, it’s the whole “filled with determination” save mechanics and the “you’re still you” mirror scenes. Like Mara’s scene where she appreciates her key items like a lot of survival horror fans do near the end of play throughs. along with the almost tonally abrupt Undertale lore dump of the echo flower room that would be boring in a different game, but instead feels like the intimacy of a child finding out their family secret thanks to its visceral atmosphere. Rather than characters telling you, it’s just flowers echoing you the information-leaving you the player alone enough to really take in the info as if you were Frisk and letting you process it as you will, without any push from other characters. Not frisk, not anybody else, just the player. Similarly, that scene where Mara is climbing down into the heart of darkness on that ladder. Oh boy, it’s that same feeling of letting you really process what you’re getting into, of slowing down to feel the visceral emotions and enjoy the experience thanks to its intense atmosphere. I think under this lens, it makes a lot of sense why Crow Country is on such an easy mode despite ostensibly being a survival horror game. I feel like in a lot of ways, it has cross demographic appeal, specifically connected to Undertale’s more RPG puzzle/newbie/young demographic. Undertale even has that horror level with the creepy amalgamations. So while Crow Country’s survival horror audience is baffled at its choice to make easy mode the default, since the whole point of the genre is stuff like resource management and the adrenaline of trying to survive, an RPG audience is not quite as used to that level of anxiety while playing lol. It would be forgiving to these undoubtedly beginner players who come for that crossover appeal, who don’t know what to expect and therefore wouldn’t know to go on “easy” mode (if murder mode was set as “normal”). Though maybe this is a bit too coddling XD

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Wow you wrote a whole essay comment, but it's well thought out. I think your comment gives me some things to think about. I think I somewhat took it for granted that the audience for this video would already relate to the game in all the ways the other big reviewers have mentioned. But seeing how you describe your thoughts on it makes me want to reconsider a broader audience as well next time, so thanks for that. Also, I can't speak for other reviewers and their experiences so seeing the game as having immersive sim-like qualities is just my opinion. But I do think the game's charm in character and story is definitely what makes it stand out the most if you don't already have a love of nostalgic survival horror. Thanks again for your comment - it was pretty insightful for me!

[@allyli1718]

Oh I didn’t get the hype around crow country’s mimic pre rendered backgrounds until you mentioned the way it acts like an immersive sim. Thanks, you’re the first person to really help me understand the hype

[@KalTheSkeleton]

This is a great, well made review. I could easily mistake it for something I would listen to from a channel with several hundred thousand subscribers. I look forward to more of your content, and I'll be adding you to the pile of "people to study while making my own videos."

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Thanks man, I appreciate that! That's a big compliment!

[@IA-wr2hb]

Amazing review I hope your channel continues to grow you should have way more subs for tgis quality!!! 😮❤

[@kinoexe]

I was a little underwhelmed by the demo, but loved the aesthetic and craft.

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Yeah fair enough. I definitely think Hard Mode really improves the game like I mention in the video so if you end up trying the full game I'd stick with that mode.

[@Kaedevirus]

Damn, that ending was better than I would've expected, not gonna lie.

[@ElucidatedByFire]

@@Kaedevirus Agreed. I was pleasantly surprised by the story. It was really refreshing. I went in thinking it would basically just be Silent Hill, but it did it's own thing really well I think.

[@LilyCat2399]

7:25 Oh my god i want to replay it with this mod now. That looks like it would be so much easier on the eyes.

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Right? It's nice. And you can tweak the settings to your preferences a lot

[@charlottelazuli8958]

This is such a high-quality video! I thought you were one of my usual game review channels. Keep it up!

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Thank you! That's a big compliment!

[@charlottelazuli8958]

@@ElucidatedByFire Also, if you can give a short recap after the characters talk in the future, this would provide great insight for the people who listen to this in the background (it's me, I am people). :D

[@ElucidatedByFire]

@@charlottelazuli8958 Sure thing. I will keep that in mind.

[@mfrunyan]

The gun aiming felt like the worst part

[@billwilliams2453]

Dude this video was amazing! Please keep doing it you’re super talented

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Thank you! Thanks to comments like this, I definitely am going to keep working on videos. Got a new one cooking right now

[@vhsdinosaurgo]

I can't believe I haven't heard of this game until now! it looks amazing

[@bradff7]

Great video! Havent heard of this game before back man does it look awesome! Love the style and presentation of the video!

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Thanks! I definitely recommend giving it a try if you're into survival horror games!

[@jjjogos6751]

thank you for the amazing review, i love your content and look up to future videos!

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Thanks man, I really appreciate comments like this!

[@Mona240811]

Great work😊 im happy I found you channel😊

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Thank you, that means a lot!

[@MegaCygnusX1]

Very impressive, you have a bright future ahead and I'll be here for it. Subbed.

[@ElucidatedByFire]

I sure hope so. Thanks!

[@itsjustmaddisen]

This was really well made I hope to see more from you. I have a weakness for hour long reviews so that I can get things done with it in the background.

[@ElucidatedByFire]

You most certainly will! I try to keep audio only listeners in mind, though I know there are parts that require you to watch the screen. Hopefully it wasn't too demanding!

[@itsjustmaddisen]

@@ElucidatedByFire no, it was great!

[@sushigimme]

I gotta say, I'm really glad that I stumbled upon your channel. Similar to Boulder Punch and Gingy, I love this format of reviewing and/or analysing games (whether they are popular or obscure) while staying straight to the point with no overused memes thrown in every 30 seconds or so. Looking forward to more videos like this. Keep it up, dude! =)

[@ElucidatedByFire]

Thank you! This is an insightful comment that I'll keep in mind in the future. It's always good to hear what people do/don't look for in my videos, so thanks!

[@milenarkioshi4288]

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