Crow Country

Statistically, only about 30 percent of the players who start a video game will see it through to its end. As a result, many single-player games are front-loaded, on the assumption that a solid start is a better use of developers’ time than a strong finish.Crow Country defies that in its last half-hour, with a plot twist in its final moments that neatly turns the rest of the game on its head.

Before that point, it’s a quietly effective throwback to the ‘90s, both in its PlayStation-style graphics and the reflexive post-Scream irony of its script. As Mara Forest, an improbably young federal agent, you’re exploring an abandoned park in search of its reclusive owner when you’re attacked by strange mutants. From there, it’s a struggle to stay alive, save the handful of other people in the park, and still accomplish your stated goal.

Most of Crow Country is creepy without being scary, with a deliberate appeal towards nostalgia. (The designers went out of their way to createmock literature for it like a manual, magazine ad, and GameFan-style preview page.) It wasn’t until I reached the final area that it took that final swerve, which turned Crow Country into something dark, bleak, and quietly frightening. It’s worth the whole run just for that moment.