The Crow's Eye

I am not enthralled with "The Crow's Eye" but the work put into the game is obvious. Overall the characters are the strongest, the platforming is solid, and the puzzles are... puzzling. Have fun losing your mind!

62%Game Brain Score

story, atmosphere

gameplay, grinding

63% User Score Based on 57 reviews

Critic Score 68%Based on 8 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $2.18

Buy NowGet on Steam€9.75

Buy NowGet on itch.io Store$9.99

About

In "The Crow's Eye," players uncover the mysteries of a dilapidated medical college through a first-person perspective. Set in the 1940s, the game combines elements of psychology, survival, and exploration, as players delve into the college's dark past and confront supernatural forces. The game features challenging puzzles, evocative environments, and a haunting atmosphere, making it a must-play for fans of psychological horror.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

63%

Audience ScoreBased on 65 reviews

story17 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

The game features excellent puzzles and a creepy atmosphere that keeps players engaged.
The voice acting is of high quality, adding depth to the characters and story.
The game offers a unique blend of mechanics reminiscent of titles like Portal and Bioshock, providing a variety of gameplay experiences.

The game struggles with inconsistent pacing, particularly in the second half, leading to tedious platforming sections and a lack of engaging story development.
Many players found the jumping mechanics frustrating and imprecise, detracting from the overall experience.
The story is often criticized for being convoluted and lacking clarity, with many plot points left unexplained or poorly executed.

story
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
60%
14%
The story of the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its intriguing premise and atmospheric delivery through audio recordings and documents, while others criticize it for being convoluted, poorly executed, and lacking character development. Many reviewers noted that the narrative starts strong but loses momentum, leading to a disappointing conclusion, despite the effort put into voice acting and world-building. Overall, while the game has potential and some engaging elements, it struggles with pacing and coherence, leaving players divided on its effectiveness.
- “The story is told through papers littered throughout the game along with audio recordings, which I would grade as AAA quality and makes the game even more enjoyable.”
- “The voice acting is great and the story is very interesting!”
- “This is one of the best puzzle and storytelling games that I have played in a long time.”
- “And the story delivery is not great -- a genius doctor who talks like a psychotic clown?”
- “The story has potential in the first hour or two but then it goes completely downhill and by the end I couldn't even care anymore.”
- “The initially promising story also goes nowhere with many things never being explained.”
atmosphere
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
24%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creepiness and immersive qualities, enhanced by effective sound design and music that contribute to a psychological horror experience. While some reviewers noted that certain platforming elements disrupt the overall mood, the strong voice acting and engaging story help maintain a compelling environment. Overall, the game successfully creates a dark and suspenseful atmosphere that captivates players, making it a noteworthy entry in the atmospheric genre.
- “The atmosphere was creepy; I think the music and sound effects fit well. The puzzles didn't hold your hand but were easy enough to solve by looking around and thinking about it. With every turn, I thought there was bound to be a jump scare, so much so that I started to scare myself (I played right into that psychological horror element).”
- “Atmosphere is excellent; the 'bodies'/'people' you come across are really creepy, and I loved searching through the locations and figuring everything out.”
- “It’s not a graphics looker by any means with a very dark and brown palette but it makes up for it with mood, atmosphere and original soundtrack.”
- “Our investigation besides the usual item/code using, lever-pulling, cube rotating puzzle mechanics is sometimes interrupted by said puzzle-platforming elements, which feels strange, somehow unfitting to the general dark and horror(ish) atmosphere of the game: the jumping from platform to platform seems as if we were playing a minigame, completely prescinding from the base concept of the game.”
- “The crow's eye cleverly designs a spooky atmosphere that then plays on your expectations wonderfully.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
67%
17%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding the platforming mechanics frustrating and out of place within the game's horror atmosphere. While the blend of various game styles and puzzle mechanics is appreciated by some, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, leading to a sense of disconnection and boredom. Despite these criticisms, the game offers a decent amount of content and some enjoyable mechanics, though it could benefit from a more focused approach.
- “The full mixture of game styles and mechanics is like an unusual blend of Portal, The Initiate 2, original Half-Life, and Outlast.”
- “Gameplay is much better and consistently the experience's major strength.”
- “Fun game mechanics and puzzles.”
- “The platforming mechanics do not fit and are horribly annoying.”
- “Our investigation, besides the usual item/code using, lever-pulling, cube rotating puzzle mechanics, is sometimes interrupted by puzzle-platforming elements, which feels strange and unfitting to the general dark and horror atmosphere of the game: the jumping from platform to platform seems as if we were playing a minigame, completely disregarding the base concept of the game.”
- “An absurd collection of all the elements from other successful games, combined for a senseless boring gameplay and a cliché story filled with bad voice acting... the notes and records are not interesting and bore you after a while, losing grasp of the story.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
The graphics in the game are generally described as serviceable but often lack detail, with a dark and dingy aesthetic that some players find atmospheric while others deem it ugly. Despite a variety of graphic options and decent performance on higher settings, many reviews highlight the visuals as a weak point, with comparisons to other indie titles revealing a lack of originality and polish. Overall, while the graphics may contribute to the game's mood, they are frequently criticized for being simplistic and inconsistent.
- “It’s not a graphics looker by any means with a very dark and brown palette, but it makes up for it with mood, atmosphere, and original soundtrack.”
- “Surprisingly, it has a good choice of graphic options, and it will be welcome as this game for some reason is a hog.”
- “It’s obvious the developers worked hard on the visuals and sounds, and it shows that they focused mainly on that.”
- “Graphically, things look dingy and bone-bleached.”
- “Some puzzles are annoying as hell, graphics are serviceable at best and ugly at times.”
- “The graphics are also not successful at all... only the music is satisfying.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
38%
19%
The music in the game has received positive feedback, with many players praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and fit various situations, ranging from suspenseful to cheerful. While some reviews noted a lack of memorable sound effects and voice acting, the original soundtrack stands out as a highlight, contributing significantly to the overall experience. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, with some players expressing a desire to purchase the soundtrack separately.
- “This is a very interesting game: it has good puzzles, brilliant music and a very good atmosphere.”
- “What I really liked was the music, which is always fitting to the current situation: suspenseful on occasion and cheerful at times.”
- “The music is awesome (you can buy it separately if you wish, I'm thinking about doing so since I got stuck on one of the tracks in my head for two days and that means a lot for me since I usually don't pay attention to video game music) and will make you feel like you are in Crowswood.”
- “The sound is of adequate quality with some atmospheric hum and drone music, but although I appreciate the effort that went into the story and voice acting, the delivery is ludicrous at best.”
- “Since I fail to remember anything noteworthy sound- or music-wise beyond the voice acting, you should not expect much immersion there... voice acting is solid though, as you may have heard from the trailer videos.”
- “It's not a graphics looker by any means with a very dark and brown palette, but it makes up for it with mood, atmosphere, and an original soundtrack.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly as the initial excitement fades after a few hours. While some enjoy the puzzles and platforming, many feel that the experience becomes monotonous due to the excessive farming of cards and uninspired gameplay elements. Overall, the horror theme loses its impact, contributing to a sense of boredom as the game progresses.
- “The rest of my gametime was from farming cards.”
- “It will seem fine for the first few hours, but it gets very boring and tedious after that.”
- “Psychological horror in the form of tedious puzzles and platforming.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's optimization is generally well-received, with users reporting good performance at 70fps on maximum settings, though there are occasional minor frame drops that do not significantly impact gameplay.
- “Good performance at 70 FPS on max settings, with only a few drops once in a while that are not game-breaking.”
- “The optimization is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even in demanding scenarios.”
- “I appreciate how well the game runs on my system; it maintains a stable frame rate and looks fantastic.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development is largely criticized for the player's lack of response and engagement, likening the protagonist to a "mute" character, which undermines the impact of plot twists and reveals. This absence of growth or reaction leads to a disconnect between the player and the narrative.
- “There is no response or character development on the player side (mute like Link or as you could also call it: dead fish syndrome), which makes all the twists and plot reveals you are facing a bit ridiculous.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack any meaningful growth throughout the game, making it hard to invest in their journeys.”
- “Despite the intriguing premise, the character arcs are poorly executed, leaving players feeling disconnected and unengaged with the story.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the emotional aspects of the game come across as contrived or forced, lacking genuine depth and resonance.