Crow Country is an ALMOST perfect "Survival" Horror experience. (REVIEW)

[@underthemayo]

The Survival Horror surprises just keep on coming. Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/underthemayo Mayo merch here! teespring.com/stores/underthemayo KZbin Memberships to my channel now available, click the "Join" button. Follow me on Twitch at twitch.tv/underthemayo

[@scratchykoala545]

I love the puzzles because of one reason. There are no pointless puzzles in this game as ALL puzzles have a purpose and a point to them. If you are lost then just walk around and look at the map which has marked on it unsolved puzzles and see what parts you have. One of the best puzzle designs I have ever seen.

[@ouroldhouse3674]

Okay but that's not really unique is it? I mean, what Resident Evil or Silent Hill has "pointless" puzzles?

[@danielgeronimo5538]

​@@ouroldhouse3674Those games are the base templates for having no purposeless puzzles tho. It's not about being unique, it's about getting it right, it's the standard. Take Alone in the Dark 2024 and see how it compares with its puzzles, there's a noticeable difference. Especially when it markets itself as Survival horror. We haven't even gotten to the "latest" Silent Hill titles yet.

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

​@@ouroldhouse3674It isn't always about doing something differently, but doing something RIGHT

[@scratchykoala545]

@@ouroldhouse3674 what I mean is that in games RE: 7 or Village I don't like that I think I find a way forwards only for a collectable which is worth a couple dollars at the item shop. To me that puzzle is a waste and is pointless because after the first level or so I had enough money and I was never really short on ammo or items. It is clearly a me issue I know.

[@ouroldhouse3674]

@@scratchykoala545 Yeah it's ok that makes sense tbh.

[@apollonmoropoulos6900]

"i cant remember the last time we got an isometric camera into a survival horror game". wasnt like signalis last year or something?

[@underthemayo]

I don't really see it as isometric like this game is. Signalis almost feels top down.

[@shahabodinphoenix7502]

Then what about tormented souls? One of the best cameras that I have seen. . ​@underthemayo

[@underthemayo]

@@shahabodinphoenix7502 yeah I use it frequently a great modern implementation of classic camera. I have a video on the game

[@shahabodinphoenix7502]

@@underthemayo I know. Your video made me buy it. And tnx for the great game buddy.

[@mattmatter5643]

I loved signalis. Solid survival horror. Very tense at times. I’m probably gonna give it another play through after I finish crow country. I’m going to DL it

[@Spokenword]

Mayo is allowed to poke Ultrakill fans once per video, as a treat.

[@0verWay]

One of the best games I had the privilege of recently playing. Incredible game for a great price. Hope the devs behind it do more projects like this in the future. It's also great you can basically do a full pacifist run of the game and avoid every single enemy (except the final boss obviously)

[@danielgeronimo5538]

The art style is honestly interesting and beautiful. It reminds me a lot of the lego art style and the morbid aesthetics of something like American McGee's Alice. And yet it doesn't look childish and still has gore where it needs to be. It's interesting to see camera being brought up since while yes, we've had isometric survival horror before, like Signalis, or the masterpiece known as Darkwood. This kind of isometric hasn't been done before, specifically it's more similar to Diablo. A zoomed in version of it. Which to be fair if it focused more on puzzles would have been an actual survival horror because of how much it induces fight or flight decision making and resource management. The map exploration is interesting and so is the design of it. I always had a bit more interest when survival horror takes on this "town" settings and you get to explore it as things come together. But, when that happens, it needs to be offset with an appropriate challenge. Silent Hill does this by giving players difficult enemy encounters and puzzles, Evil Within 2 has a roaming stalker enemy that will kill you if you get too careless. But I think the best that did this was RE3. Where you're pressured at any given moment because zombies aren't the main threat, there is something far worst. If this game has remotely that, tankier or faster enemies that pressures you into combat, I'd say it'll probably be better than it is now. Hoping for it in hard mode at least.

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

Playmobil. Playstationmobil.

[@Impalingthorn]

Yeah, I really adore this game's art style. There is a weird appeal to Animal Crossing and FF7 style models being put in horror situations and I am just there for it.

[@rapunkill]

"maybe if there was a style meter" I see what you did there!

[@connormccarthy2745]

"maybe if it had a style me-" Oh my god I'm cracking up, that's excellent

[@prodby.blackwhite]

The style meter part got me laughing 😂

[@Mankey619]

I'm playing this game, and I instantly love Crow Country so much. As soon I saw your thumbnail, got me very excited to see your take of it. They really nailed the charm of old survival horror titles. I wish these awesome devs to make more games like this.

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

And to think this is hot on the heels of Snipperclips! Talk about talent!

[@diszydreams]

Thanks man, I just remembered your channel again - and have been enjoying your 10 latest episodes. Just wanted to say: you are super good at breaking down concepts into very approachable real world application. So thank you for the vids!

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

Btw, I played the game on a 1080p monitor, and it STILL caused the other monitors to freak out. I think the game is trying to run at something lower than 1080p for the graphical effect.

[@flamestoyershadowkill]

480p?

[@Javifaa]

720p, confirmed by the debs.

[@JewTube001]

Love how this video pops up while checking out your other videos

[@adiveler]

After the experience of the frustratingly limited inventory of Signalis, I actually was thankful for not having to re-experience that again here!

[@underthemayo]

I heard they changed signalis to have the flashlight be a separate slot. That's a big change.

[@mattmatter5643]

See I really tried to conserve ammo, and run around enemies, but at the end of the game I realized I had a lot of ammo left lol. I loved signalis though.

[@procow2274]

Shotgun clips 😿

[@cthulhucultist8872]

Did you know the gun fire sound is actually the original RE 1's sound effect from the ps1 version

[@Fedor_Kisliakov]

Honestly, if we take RE games, only RE1R, RE2 OG on Hard and Zero on Hard really push the survival aspects of survival horror. Maybe RE3 OG if you decide to take on Nemesis every time. But other games give a crapton of healing items and ammo. But they are still good games. So, that is not much of a problem if Crow Country nails everything else. I'll buy it))

[@MrNinjaBurger]

I'd say Outbreak if you play on the harder difficulties pushes survival horror pretty well.

[@underthemayo]

Silent hill 2 and 3 on hard can be rough. And then we have new games like Signalis, Amnesia The Bunker, Nightmare of Decay, etc. All doing resource management pretty well.

[@onceyougozach2607]

I recently played through the original RE1 ps1 recently and I was surprised how much of a breeze it was. I completed both campaigns in 7 hours without a single death and just kind of running around from door to door. There weren't even really any puzzles besides some simple block pushing which I was surprised by. I don't fault the game for it but I found it confusing that people ever thought the game was too hard or obscure. It really is the type of game you can pick up and beat in one sitting without any trouble, the character movement is very fast and fluid and there are not many threats in the hallways, and if there are you'll always have enough ammo to kill them without thinking about it. The remake did a good job actually emphasizing the survival aspects and making the zombies a threat

[@Fedor_Kisliakov]

@@onceyougozach2607 Try Director's Cut's Arrange difficulty. Much more intense. More enemies with more health, rearranged item placements, etc.

[@underthemayo]

@@onceyougozach2607 it's true. It just set the template. Going back to it now it's horribly balanced. But what's important is how we remember it. RE1 is remembered by those kids who played it in the late 90s as being high pressure and having no ammo left. We are smarter now and we have higher standards, and we're trying to recreate that feeling in the new survival horror titles.

[@twynstyck7807]

I hope we will get a physical copy as well, this deserves a place on my shelf.

[@gabrielscoccola5960]

Akchually, this game doesn't use an isometric projection, it's just a regular perspective. Isometric perspective is a misnomer, since an isometric projection isn't a perspective.

[@underthemayo]

I mean.. we can get into the specifics sure, but saying "isometric camera" makes people think of this exact look. The old diablo look. Hades. Project Overkill. Saying "regular perspective" doesn't really mean anything to people. If you say "it has a regular perspective" they might assume over the shoulder at this point.

[@Javifaa]

Yeah, no. The game has an isometric camera (like Tunic, or Signalis), but it doesn't have an isometric perspective. The moment you can rotate the camera on anything that isn't 90 degree angles, in a very specific camera position, the perspective just stops being isometric. Notably, 2D games have had isometric perspective in order to create a 3D feel (and, if we stretch the definition of camera in a videogame, most 2D games have an isometric camera).

[@djukafox]

man the train puzzle and that red herring titanic, atomic bomb computer, music keyboard puzzle really got me.

[@Ghost_Text]

mid 2010s was the era of indie side scrollers walking sims and isometrics, mid 2020s are now the era of indie survival horror and arena or tactical pvp fps.

[@georgekostaras]

I'm in love with the way you talk about survival horror

[@underthemayo]

Hey thanks. I just think it's awesome to really look at them as how they play in the genre.

[@luisrblanco2d]

I liked the game a lot, the only thing I think needs more work is the enemies aggressiveness, right now they meant no harm at all, unless you stop moving and wait for them so you can receive some damage.

[@robbyg1232]

Great review but shotgun clips?

[@robcoguy6909]

This game was pretty great, it fits right in with the other recent indie survival isometrics like "Heaven Dust" 1 and 2 and "The Devil" on Itch (although that's more a top down fixed camera) which I highly recommend to anyone who liked this one.

[@blipblap614]

13:53 Exploration mode sounds like an accessibility feature for players without 90's nostalgia for awkward aiming (2:15). If Crow Country holds up as just an adventure game, I love it. Different nostalgia, same appreciation for good puzzles. (Stronger aversion to spoon-feeding, note-reading, and fog. If that's my reward for clunky-on-purpose combat, I'm out.) Suppose hard mode makes the enemies dangerous. Do you think you'd feel enough resource pressure without limited saves or inventory space? Like: resource management is about dread, being unprepared. It's easy to embrace in a roguelike (Bunker), that's the fun zone. Otherwise, the threat of losing progress / getting stuck incentivizes backtracking -- unnecessary tedium (SIGNALIS). I'd love to hear you talk about how survival horror can get this right.

[@underthemayo]

For this game, I think what it needs it possibly MORE enemies on screen so it's harder to run around them. Combine that with fewer resources and you could have something decently challenging. You should probably also slightly speed up the enemies. Not too much, because the aiming is awkward. And I'm fine with exploration mode it was just a joke.

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

4:11 “shotgun clips” 😅💀

[@ScileSc]

Predicted exactly how this review was going to go. I´ve never actually played a survival horror game and I´m really glad that the crow country demo was my first one. But the only reason I ever took damage was because I felt so safe that I just started to fruck around and find out.

[@shayoko6]

you want isometric horror? SIGNALIS

[@danielx1224]

He loved signalis

[@underthemayo]

Yeah it feels more top down than isomeric even if it is a bit angled.

[@attilabertoldbozo4248]

@@underthemayo That's such a weird take, the camera in Signalis is totally isometric by definition. A top down example would be Darkwood.

[@Skuttie]

This game's great, we need more entry level survival horror like this. Somewhat lighthearted story, easy gameplay loop.

[@PoissonedApple1]

I have not played this game, however I think you're maybe too good at survival horror games. It happens to me when playing rhythm games and think they're too easy (and the last bomb in Keep talking and nobody explodes, which is dumb easy for me). But that doesn't mean they are easy for the average player. Just a thought though, it can be badly balanced as well. I'll definitely check it out.

[@underthemayo]

No no, really. It's piss easy. Everyone has said that and they just responded by updating the game with a hard mode. It's really good.

[@RacoonCitySlayer-cb6mo]

Feeling nostalgic over bad clunky aiming.😂 When younger people talk to me about challenges in gaming, I am always like try controlling a camera in the 90s on a pitchfork shaped controller.

[@danielgeronimo5538]

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

[@RacoonCitySlayer-cb6mo]

@@danielgeronimo5538 exactly. 😂

[@HollowRick]

Perfect dark man 😂

[@vanilla.icescream]

putting this in my wishlist because of you, thank you for this gem!

[@edusoares20]

Furthermore, it is a very good game and the world that was created is impressive, the inspirations in Resident Evil and Silent Hill are very evident. It really only lacks in the challenges part but I believe that some updates can solve this. I missed an extra mode after finishing the game. OBS: I have the same problem on the resolution and the default control layout bothered me a little, often instead of reloading it would drop the grenade.

[@HollowRick]

I hope we get more ps1 style indie games

[@rawmaw]

you are so fun to listen to ramble about topics you passionate about!

[@underthemayo]

Thank you!

[@salarzx62090]

​@@underthemayoDead Space 3 exists

[@damndanielcruz6754]

I know it was a small thing but hearing you even mention final fantasy VII made me very happy my favorite game. But to talk about the game from I've seen in the video the visuals are absolutely amazing im impressed i would mostly consider myself semi new to survival horror as i didn't get into it properly till 2019 but once you dig into a good one its an amazing feeling but yeah thie game looks really awesome thanks for always covering the genre take care and have a great day

[@roseuslotus92]

I'm so happy that you featured the safe room music from Tormented Souls in this video. Can't wait for the sequel!!!

[@underthemayo]

Hopefully it's over the shoulder camera!!!

[@mr.flitch4287]

I finished this game & reviewed it myself. It’s excellent. My only gripes are the enemy thing, lack of archives for files, & a plot hole with the lawyer

[@silentknightstudios4686]

Finally picked this up on sale and it did NOT disappoint! And with Murder of Crows its *chefs kiss*

[@Sanjipika]

Glad you reviewed this. I played the demo when it released and thought it would be cool to see u do a video on it

[@zabylurt]

You can just use the flamethrower to melt the head to get the get the key

[@underthemayo]

Yeah but I'm not gonna put a puzzle shortcut in the review.

[@jayros4269]

Waiting for hard mode to play this. Can't wait.

[@sierrakobold6896]

to me it looks like Ogre Battle 64 in Silent Hill, great overview of this nice vintage survival horror game

[@The_Last_Data_Hound]

I'm surprised I haven't heard of it but I am glad you introduced me to Crow Country. Will you ever visit or revisit Dino Crisis?

[@underthemayo]

I would love to do Dino crisis

[@kmartgoth8313]

Got it a couple days ago, really enjoying it so far 9/10

[@marcelofeijao8411]

A style meter in a Survival horror game? I think RE 9 will definitely have that!

[@combatbrony6705]

I bought this game and im lovimg ot so far and yes its nice that this game is able to trust that players will be able to figure things out eventually i hope these devs get to produce more games of such high quality like this i really hope the old school graphics while i love them i know others wont try this game because of it anyways thanks for always making fun well informed videos you kick ass bruddah

[@TheRexTera]

“Maybe if it was a style meter” 😂

[@Crimsonrosso]

cool video! id personally argue they look more like ff9s models more to be honest tho

[@civilwarfare101]

I find the character models to be really offputting but I already bought this game and will plan to play it...eventually.

[@oztekofficial8150]

love the tormented souls music

[@MichaelBrown-tv6qx]

Mayo, I immediately rush to steam and add survival horror games you recommend to wish list after playing Tormented Souls and Signalis. Allow me to return to favour and recommend Dredge if you haven’t played it, it’s a horror fishing game

[@techieg33k]

Sure looks fun. I hope it gets a Switch physical

[@cainanneedham9022]

“Shotgun clips”

[@ignaciocabrera219]

Hey Mayo if you feel like playing a relaxing game, I recommend Ghost of Tsushima. I'm playing it right now and it's basically a Far Cry with Japanese samurais and a melee sword combat system similar to Batman Arkham's but with animation cancels. If the concept catches your eye you should give it a try (don't expect nothing innovative or exceptional, just a game to sit back and relax). DISCLAIMER: the first 40 minutes or so before the game opens up ARE SO BAD, I pushed through it and it got good. Bad tutorial of mechanics, slow press w intro, takes away the control from you every 2 minutes. But if you can get through it go for it :)

[@underthemayo]

I played GOT. I like how the combat works. Feels way better than souls games or new God of war. But I just can't get into the open world. I wish it were a streamlined linear campaign.

[@SomeGuy1234X]

I really don’t like how she uses one hand for everything. Otherwise, I’m excited to try this game out.

[@fenison4430]

13:38 Never stop doing what you do and being who you are mayo, moments like these are why i love this channel lmao.

[@CygnusX-11]

Under the Mayo is a sucker for survival horror lol... i love it

[@Lonely_Gamer85]

I was waiting for this.

[@LonelyRatel]

Finally! you understand that you are too old for video games.

[@ThomasPaine01]

This game is right up my alley. Must buy!

[@Fedor_Kisliakov]

Okay, bought it and beat it. Great game. Combat sucks ass, but everything else is amazing. Even the story feels a bit unique, it subverts your expectations just enough. One thing I like is that some puzzles can be brute forced with guns. The puzzle that you mentioned here? Forget about acid, just use the flamethrower😂 Thanks for the recommendation, Mayo)

[@underthemayo]

Really? You can melt the head like that???

[@Fedor_Kisliakov]

@@underthemayo Yup. And the best part is, it is not a contrived solution. Earlier, you used flames to burn resin to get the woeful mask. So when you find the fairy with resin on its head, this solution comes naturally.

[@underthemayo]

@@Fedor_Kisliakov im glad I didn't find it because I may have been tempted to talk about it here

[@RacingSnails64]

13:39 LMAO

[@John_Souls]

Game is great. Fantastic story. Not at level of Signalis, but still. I think game suffers from AI being pretty stupid, and overall game being too easy. Same as Dread Delusion I'mk playing right now. But overall great game. Definitely every survival horror fan should play it.

[@btchiaintkidding7837]

Well "SiGNALiS" in an aboslute gem, a soul crushing depressing exitentially tragic masterpiece. it is a high bar in terms of gameplay department (resource management, combat balance) "Nightmare of Decay" still takes the cake. its hard mode is perfectly balanced it is a short game but incredibly well designed, give it a go, it is like RE1 but FPS. "Evil Tonight" is another game i like but most people didnt get the gameplay hence disliked it and mixed reviews. i am stoked to play Crow country tho.since looking forward to it for months. Never heard of dread delusion i will check it out tho thanks

[@KoalaMarch77]

Crow Country for old men.

[@mro9466]

Under The Mayo: Recommends a classic survival horror game Me: shut up and take my money

[@T0nKaM0E]

This game looks awesome.

[@the.bloodless.one1312]

THANK YOU FOR GIVING A PUZZLE SPOILER WARNING!!! 🙏🙌 God damn you have no idea how many reviews of games I’ll watch, like GameXplain does this, and they just straight up spoil puzzles, Christ. 😤👎

[@toptier2800]

fuck no i aint playin no horror game im just here because mayo made a video and its entertaining

[@carlmcobleas]

babe wake up, new worst take ever conceived by mankind channel just dropped a new video

[@underthemayo]

This super positive breakdown of a universally well received game is such a bad take!

[@carlmcobleas]

@@underthemayo nah, ur whole channel is one very bad take!

[@the_travelingbreeze]

Commenting to help you in the algorithm.

[@enwsiths]

exactly, the same thing i girst thought, ff7 visuals

[@TetrisEffect023]

i was waiting for this one 🔥 i want to see your thoughts everyone is talking about this fucking game.

[@chiefenumclaw7960]

This game is awesome!

[@barn8110]

Ultrakill

[@lonewolfgames7779]

Huh......So this is where we are? Praising games that looks like they was made 20 years ago? Don't get me wrong parasite eve was excellent when it first came out. All the Resident Evils on Ps1 were excellent...... But you're talking to a guy been gaming since colleco, master system and NES era. I've SEEN all the technological ERAs. This doesn't make me Nostalgia.....this makes me SAD. This is gaming? From the looks of it still can't touch Chrono Trigger. And that's a different genere altogether. Point is if THIS is modern day gaming. Hahaha hahaha you gamers are doomed. You gamers are SO Fuqin doomed. We've been here. We've done that. And FYI Simions Quest is the reason Symphony of the night exists. Advances. From 8 bit 16 bit 32 bit 64 bit toooooo 128 bit with Dreamcast...... Advancement. This doesn't make me nostalgic it makes me sad . But you gamer's wanted this with your every year COD. Every year Assassin's Creed. Every year Battlefield. And I just laugh y'all act like this is something new. Pc, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, even Sega. You are all tribal can't pull together and these are the results. So I'm just going to laugh into obscurity because you think it's bad now. ( I remember ET when it happened). Haha.....Hahaha...hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@danielgeronimo5538]

Okay so do propose a new game idea, go on, we can wait.

[@Quiet737]

Dude, what are you even talking about. Go outside

[@lonewolfgames7779]

@@Quiet737 I do construction for a living HA. Cope harder your losing your hobby from corporate greed and activists.

[@danielgeronimo5538]

​@@lonewolfgames7779 Ah yeah the guy we hire to construct our houses. Reminder that your job is also governed by corporations and privatized money. You're more of a corporate slave than we are

[@obitosenju3768]

Can I get some of what you are on? Seems good

[@Mire_Klick]

omg. is this a video....where.... you....are saying something positive about something? you? is this real? are you drunk? i cant even feel the hate and no auto aggression. what is happening? XD

[@corbtv]

Fucking kek at the style meter cut off

[@knerf999]

shotgun clips xD

[@theduck4595]

Duck

[@John-ce6gt]

my brother in christ stop reviewing games your very bad at it

[@underthemayo]

Between a random commenter crapping on a VERY positive technical review, and the actual creator of the game liking my review, I thiiiiiink I'll go with the creator. ;)

[@John-ce6gt]

@@underthemayogood point but I'm still toxic on the ultrakill stuff, i recommend watching some videos on how to ultrakill tech like shotgun swapping or shotgun parrying then p-ranking all the levels, may change your view on the game (don't call me an ultrakill fanboy I'm into doom more)

[@underthemayo]

@@John-ce6gt I already like Ultrakill a lot. My videos go on to talk about how I discovered the fun in Act 2 and the cybergrind. I am a fan of the game. I use parries, and projectile boosts, and rail coins, etc. I have fun. My criticisms around the balance of Act 1 on violent are completely separate from how I actually play and enjoy the game.

[@John-ce6gt]

@@underthemayo sick, when act 3 comes out maybe talk about that and do a less harsh review

[@underthemayo]

@@John-ce6gt oh, there's way too much to cover before we actually talk about act 3