Sly Crow soars into production for Windows and Mac

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Humorous hand-drawn, point-and-click zombie adventure unveiled on Steam and itch.io

All zombie tales involve a quest for brains in some form or another, but usually it's the undead looking to EAT the brains of the living. In the upcoming point-and-click adventure Sly Crow, however, it's a zombie who's lost their brain and it's the player's task to get it back. (Preferably without snacking on it.)

Clearly, this isn't your ordinary zombie story. Nor is it your ordinary zombie world. Instead, it's a world where "zombies and humans have found a way to coexist." Like the living, zombies are able to work, play, talk and laugh. There's just one problem: their brains are protected only by a loose skull cap, making it easy for conniving crows to swoop down and snatch them away. That's exactly what happens to the father of a clever, sarcastic zombie girl named Zoti. And so she sets out to retrieve her dad's stolen grey matter, leaving her rural family farmstead behind, accompanied by an equally unlikely sidekick: a goose that she releases from its trap. Together they must confront the many obstacles for a young girl and a bird to overcome, as well as "uncover mysteries to make Zoti’s family whole again."

If you're imagining something dark and dangerous like Day of the Dead or 28 Years Later, think again, as instead of a grisly survival game, Sly Crow is meant to be a humorous and thoughtful one "about friendship, unexpected kindness, and the belief that the world isn’t just black and white." It sends players through a variety of "vivid, whimsical" environments on a journey through "cozy villages, stubborn little towns, and a city that literally never sleeps (because half the population can’t), with plenty of sunny wastelands in between." And it's all presented in a distinctive hand-drawn art style that blends "graphite pencil and watercolour" techniques, backed up by an original soundtrack.

Gameplay is largely traditional: Zoti will explore her surroundings, converse with any "odd locals" she meets, interact with hotspots, and pick up anything that isn't nailed down (or "hoarding with purpose" as the game's indie developer amusingly calls it). There will be plenty of puzzles to solve, whether by using or combining items or completing the many standalone logic challenges, from "old-school knots and steam pipes to hi-tech human systems and other little contraptions," with a hotspot highlighter and hint system to help out when needed. There will also be some "arcade mini-games" to complete, but where this game really stands apart is in its separate interface for the goose. Your new avian friend will waddle along beside you, but it can carry things in its beak and you can direct its actions via an on-screen icon with three separate commands: Honk, Pack, and Pick. Experimenting with your sidekick is encouraged, as it can "open up different ways to solve the same problem," or simply result in "goose-induced chaos," as "how much trouble you cause on the way is entirely up to you."

We're still a way off from a final release date, but Sly Crow is now available for wishlisting on Steam for Windows and Mac, with a demo expected before the full game arrives. In the meantime, you can follow its progress on itch.io or directly through the devlog on the SlyCrow Games website.

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