There’s a mystery afoot in Crow Crime, and you’re seeking out the proof about the pudding.
It’s not Christmas, and — as you’ll find when you play it — Crow Crime is definitely a Christmas game, It’s also a detective game with a lot of style and pizazz. It has a moody, noire setting and feels like it delivers beyond the normal expectation of a bitsy game in almost every way possible. Even the music, the aptly titled Noire #1, adds to the setting and story.
In Crow Crime it’s Christmas, and three friends are all set up to chow down on a pudding after their lunch, however, one of them is up to no good and the pudding is gone. It’s incredibly simple, and pure — if you will — and it feels fun warm, similar to the Frog Detective games.
Anybody who knows the Bitsy engine will be familiar with the normal style of games which come out of it. That’s not to say that there are restrictions put in place by the engine, although every engine comes with its own restrictions, but more so to say that it normally presents narrative-focused games, or narrative exploration games if you will. Crow Crime manages to use the engine to emulate a selection menu, but it also manages to deliver on a deep style which is normally absent from the story-heavy, thought-provoking games which are among the highlights from the engine.
Ultimately the culprit is for you to decide on, there is no wrong answer. But, for that reason, it is worth three playthroughs and is worth taking a moment to reflect on how the developer has pushed beyond the normal expectations of the engine.
You can play Crow Crime for free, in your browser, over on itch.io. It might be a Christmas game, but I’ll let you play it all year round.
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