Crow Country, a new survival horror game from SFB Games, released on May 9th to glowing user reviews. It’s inspired mix of old Resident Evil style survival gameplay with the uncanny horror of sensations like The Walton Files make for an excellent playthrough. However, with Resident Evil style gameplay comes endless locked doors, keypads, puzzles and mysteries, and this guide can walk you through it all.
Crow Country Complete Guide
This first guide covers the game up through until completing the Swan Puzzle and the Mush Room puzzle, so if you’re ahead, click through to part two of our guide.
If you’re already towards the latter end of the game, having already gotten the gold key, then skip on ahead to part three of our guide here. Be wary of spoilers for all sections!
Crow Country Hub Area I
You start the game in a dingy parking lot with only your car and some notes splayed out over the hood. The first major point in the parking lot is that you can interact with the trunk of your car, which will reveal some ammo. This will only ever give you eight rounds, but it will do so infinitely.
When you go through the main gate (making sure you pick up the flashlight on the way), you’ll be in what I will refer to mostly as the ‘Hub‘ area, as it is the place you will access all three of the main areas in the game. The bathroom is on your left as you enter the hub, and within there is some items, a blocked door, and an ominous pile of bones that we’ll have to come back to later.
Have a good look around to collect any items and notes, and then go straight ahead at the rather large crow, and enter your first main area… Fairytale Town.
Fairytale Town
Lovely spot for those that like mushrooms (which I really don’t), Fairytale Town is our first step in the journey of finding Mr. Crow.
One of the first things we need to do (which you’ll know if you’ve been reading the notes) is find the bronze key; which one note mentions is in the fairy pond. You’ll find the entrance to said pond here, but we’ll need a keycode.
Keep moving forward until you find a man on the ground, who is injured. Talk to him as many times as you’re able or until you’re prompted to offer him a healing item (I’d suggest using a regular med kit here; there’s no point wasting one of the big ones you may have found).
Talk to him again, and you’ll then be able to return him to the car, where he will remain for now. (Go back to your car and talk to him for an achievement and some dialogue – return at steady intervals and the two will have more to discuss.)
Once you’re back at Fairytale Town, he’ll be gone and in his place will be a scrap of paper with the code to the fairy pond. Just ahead of where the NPC was, there is a door leading straight on, and a door leading to the left.
Head through the door on the left first, but take care, as it will be your first official combat encounter (if playing on the survival horror difficulty), but also your first safe room. Head through the door, and dispatch the two enemies blocking your way.
When in the safe room, there are lots of things you can interact with. The major ones you absolutely shouldn’t miss, however, are on the left and back wall. One is some information on how to actually get into the Fairy Pond, and the other is an item of absolutely incredible importance, your first map. Make sure to interact with the fireplace too, as this is what allows you to save the game.
Once you’re done investigating head back out, but be careful, as some spiders will jump out at you on your way out. Don’t waste too much ammo on them and avoid them if possible, as there will now be enemies wandering around Fairytale Land. Make sure you’re careful with your ammo. Remember to utilize bear traps, exploding barrels, wall traps, and get closer to the enemies (and aim for the head) to do as much damage as possible whilst expending as few rounds as possible.
Next, we’ll head back to the ‘tree lady’ we passed on the way to the safe room and enter 3184 on the keypad. She’ll then turn around, so interact with her, and say the following words as we read in the note.
“Hear me, oh Great Fairy of Fairest Forest!“
Once inputted correctly (using up and down to select the phrase and left and right to change the part of the sentence), she’ll do a nice twirl, and gladly get out of the way for you.
Fairy Forest and Valve Puzzle
Right as we walk into the Fairy Forest, you can see another room directly ahead, which contains a weapon upgrade hidden in a wall on the back right wall. We won’t get this weapon until much later, but it’s worth grabbing early.
The solution to this puzzle is balancing the pressure in the filter pump using the valve. And if we mess it up, the vents will start up (and an earlier note mentioned that this might not be good for our health). Thankfully, there’s an antidote in the corner to the left of the vent override which you can use if you mess up. Be careful, though; once you start fiddling with the pressure valve, it will start to spew out steam, which will harm you, so make sure to walk carefully around it.
Thankfully, this is a nice and easy puzzle, so simply turn your camera so you can see the pressure gauge on the pump whilst being able to interact with the valve. Keep turning it until it’s slightly over the white section, and then carefully move to the pump, wait until it’s in the white if it isn’t already, and interact with the pump. If you mess up, run to the vent override and interact with it; and use the antidote as you’ll be poisoned.
Turn back to the pond and you’ll see a target in the water. Shoot the target, and the fairy will return holding the bronze key.
Crow Country Hub Area II
Heading back to the hub area, be careful as you enter, as there is a new enemy type on the left as you enter. Lead it over to the exploding barrel and shoot it for some extra initial damage before finishing it off with your handgun. Once it’s dealt with, head back over to the training room you passed earlier and unlock it with the bronze key; inside is another safe room with some more interactions.
Head back to the bird and, this time, head right, using the bronze key to unlock the next main area… Haunted Hilltop.
Haunted Hilltop
Our next locale should be a nice one, as now we’re in the clearly labeled ‘HAUNTED HILLTOP’ (complete with a little skull and bones and everything).
As you enter Haunted Hilltop, there’s a few potential places to go. Make sure to grab the second map first, and head to the right to speak to another NPC, this one banging on a metal door.
- 1A – Dungeon
- 1B – Crypt & Mansion
- 1C – Map Container
- 1D – NPC
First, head to The Crypt which is straight ahead, and then a right from where you came in. Another reminder to make sure you’ve saved before entering, as you’ll be locked in The Crypt until you solve a puzzle.
Crypt Puzzle
Upon entering you’ll be met with a ticking clock, a shotgun, and four gravestones.
The solution to this puzzle is check the first letters of whatever names the gravestones might have, and then turn the heads to the corresponding compass direction accordingly, using the compass on the floor as a guide.
Once you’re done with the puzzle, a monster will burst from a hidden compartment to the right of the gate on the back wall of the room. Lead it away from the wall, and there’ll be some ammo hidden on the right of the hidden compartment if you run out.
Once it’s dealt with, return to the wall compartment and interact with the handle to open the gate to the safe room, and a new area. Before you leave, make sure to carefully check the walls of the Crypt as there is an item (gasoline) that you’ll need later.
Crypt Saferoom and South Utility Corridor
Upon opening the gate and heading up the stairs, you’ll be met with another save point, so be sure to use it. Heading straight on from the fire will lead you to The Cell, an elevator, a safe, and the vault door the NPC is stood on the other side of. Check out the door at 1A first to collect some handgun ammo and gasoline.
- 1A – Door
- 1B – Elevator (Not working)
- 1C – Safe, Map, Cell, NPC Door
Head straight on and interact with the latch on the right of the large metal NPC door to open it and allow her inside. This will allow you to converse with her, to which you should do so until her dialogue is exhausted. Assuming you help her, she’ll mention she’s heading into the cell.
Before following her, interact with the safe. There’s a book to the right of it which will give you a hint, but otherwise, the safe code is 1872. This will give you the hand crank, another important item we need for later along with the gasoline.
Enter The Cell and speak with Julie again, exhausting her dialogue. She’ll give you a hint on where to go next, but first, interact with the hidden floor panel to open the cell door for a large med kit. There is also some more handgun ammo hidden behind Julie.
- 1A – Hidden Panel
- 1B – Large Med Kit
- 1C – Handgun Ammo
Leave through the door you opened for Julie and head for The Haunted Mansion.
Haunted Mansion
Once again, there is more enemies in the area now, so be careful heading out. The Haunted Mansion is directly opposite where you entered into The Crypt, so head back that way. You’ll be met with an owl and a locked door, interacting with the owl will prompt it to hoot five times, so you simply need to ring the bell to the left of the door five times, and then choose the ‘leave’ option.
Upon entering, you’ll hear a telephone ringing. Head towards the top left to find it and pick up, exhausting the dialogue. In the Mansion there is a Piano, Bookshelves, and Clocks and a fortune teller machine in the room.
- 1A – Telephone
- 1B – Bookshelves
- 1C – Clocks
- 1D – Piano
Be careful interacting with the bookshelves, as the name of the book will correspond to an effect if you interact with the book again.
Inconsequential will do nothing, Histories Deadliest Poisons will poison you, A Swift End will instantly kill you, and Pull The Pin will grant you a grenade item. The books on the shelves appear to be random each time, so there may be some not mentioned here. Head over to the clocks, and interact with the demon painting in-between them for a hint on the solution, but otherwise, you’ll have to set the left clock to 10:20, and the right clock to 11:15. You can do this by using the crank item you got from the safe in the tunnel.
Interact with the item that appears from the demons mouth to retrieve the gemstone, which we’ll be using for a puzzle back in Fairytale Town.
On your way back from Haunted Hilltop, the telephone near the fortune teller machine in the hub area will be ringing, pick it up for some more mysterious dialogue. Once you’re done, head back into Fairytale Town, taking care of a new enemy type. Once again, lead them towards barrels to save ammunition, but be careful not to stand on these ones as they will explode and damage you. Head to the door on the left as you enter to see the Swan Puzzle.
Swan Puzzle
With the gemstone at hand, interact with the pillar next to the wheel. Use the gemstone item, and then take control of the wheel. Your aim is to guide the swan to the broken spot in the fence to the left of the wheel. Once you’ve done that, interact with the swan to get the chain item.
Next we’ll head to the new door that has opened up since the last time we were in Fairytale Town, the Mush Room. After leaving the Swan Room, head straight down until you see a large mushroom on the right, directly opposite the Fairy Pond we were at earlier. Enter through the mouth of the mushroom.
Mush Room Puzzle
It is highly suggested you save before doing this puzzle, as it has a higher chance of killing you than most. Enter the Mush Room, and shoot the chandelier trap so it doesn’t catch you later. Head straight down the room, and check the scrolls on either side of the Mushroom King.
The solution is intentionally misleading; the aim is not to eat only the good mushrooms, it is to eat ALL of the mushrooms, so you must do so strategically. Use the guide below to know which are good, and which are bad. You’ll know if you’ve eaten a bad one based on the animation of your character holding their stomach. After eating a bad one, ensure you heal or use an antidote if you are poisoned.
- “LENTINULA EDODES” = Good (Shiitake)
- “MORCHELLA” = Good (Morel)
- “AMANITA RUBESCENS” = Good (Blusher)
- “AMANITA PHALLOIDES” = Bad (Death Cap)
- “LEPIOTA BRUNNEOINCARNATA” = Bad (Deadly Dapperling)
- “AMANITA BISPORIGERA” = Bad (Destroying Angels)
Completing this puzzle will grant you your first weapon upgrade by speaking to the small mushroom that appears in the head of the Mushroom King after successfully eating all the mushrooms.
If Crow Country has you in the mood for some more horror related content, check out our 10 Best Horror Games of 2023, or if you’re not out to face it alone, our Best Multiplayer Horror Games of 2023 will see you right. Whatever the case, we’ve got you covered at Pro Game Guides.
