Animal Country; Animal Well & Crow Country

When Crow Country first came out, I saw the hype. BUT, at the same time, I was playing Animal Well. Another great game that was getting hyped. I never did talk about it, so let’s talk about both right now. And yeah, I guess both will be spoiled.

Animal Well

I know I post a lot of high reviewed stuff, but I know what I like and consume the media I enjoy. A Metroidvania type game that was pleasing to play, I was so enamored by it, I focused on this game until I beat it. Once you start unlocking items, the game opens up in a new traversable way. The Frisbee, and discovering that you could jump on top of it to ride it across the screen until you hit a wall, oh I had a ton of fun. I do believe I found a trick that helped me reach areas I wasn’t supposed to yet, with the bubble wand. If you jump up and quickly look down and use the wand, you can land on the bubble. Then immediately jump and repeat the process to slowly make your way up. I used this trick to reach areas above or across the screen before getting the Frisbee. My only real challenge with the game was when you’re being chased by the cat spirit thing. I was able to reach the end destination eventually, but I couldn’t tell if I took the optimal path or if there was an easier way.

If you like Metroidvania type games, go check this out.

I haven’t played this game since it came out, so my thoughts aren’t fresh, but I do want to bring attention to the game because it deserves the praise. Just like the next one…

Crow Country

I understand why this game was also hyped. I think the PS1 looking graphics helps the aesthetic. There’s random lore placed around to gradually explain what exactly happened at the amusement park. Random notes to leave hints on how to solve puzzles and where they could be located. Definitely a go-to-game when you want something spooky. My only real issue is the health system, or at least visually seeing the damage being done. There were a handful of times that I did not realize mid-combat that I was almost dead, actually dying early on and having to repeat a small chunk of the game. I know the character starts to look exhausted after nearing death, but when you’re in the middle of combat with multiple enemies, noticing your character holding on to their side doesn’t translate when you’re focused on aiming your gun. Again, after dying the first time, I stayed on my toes to make sure it didn’t happen again. It didn’t.

At the end after beating the final boss, I like how the protagonist didn’t care to know how the other side was like. The rich man risked his life to solve this answer, and the one person he can share this knowledge with before passing, does not care to hear it, but move on with her life.

Since it’s spooky season, go play this spooky game. I’m glad I did.

TLDR; I enjoy games with puzzles to solve. Go support indie games. They’re the price equivalent of purchasing that new hard-cover book.