When indie developers decide to go retro, it has become clear that there are varying degrees they can shoot for. On the one extreme you have people who’ve literally worked within the confines of the original hardware, for better or worse when it comes to visuals or technical limitations of some kind, including two-button and relatively unrefined controls. On the other you have those that may use an 8 or 16-bit pixellated look, or chiptune music, but are still looking to deliver a game with more modern mechanics and sensibilities. In the case of Codename: Black Crow, whether intentionally or not, it definitely feels like an older-school title in a variety of critical ways, but not always in ones that are positive.

Feeling like a mix of some different old-school influences from the iconic Commando to the OG Metal Gear, you’re playing as a former child soldier turned one-woman army, dropped into the jungle on a mission to find and then neutralize a terrorist threat. While I did find the effort to try to flesh your character, and her backstory, out far more than you’d normally expect, it was also window dressing I didn’t need for this type of game. That said, some may appreciate it. Regardless, despite the efforts to send you in with the best possible technology and gear to make your mission more of a breeze, you’ll instead be starting from pretty well zero, with only your knife and killer instincts.

From there it’s honestly mostly a grind, working to kill whatever enemies are within the limits of your current weaponry and gear, gathering up random material drops, and then going back to your workbench where you’ll hopefully be able to improve your situation, or simply replenish your limited supplies like bandages or ammo. With patience you will continue to make headway, graduating from bugs to generic armed soldiers to more challenging armored equipment, as well as some bosses. Outside of it feeling a bit too deliberately paced on the slower side as you try to gear up, the biggest problem is the insistence on not having more nuanced controls. Your aiming being limited to the direction you move in may be a staple of earlier eras, and I respect the choice to go that route, but it doesn’t obligate me to enjoy it either. This makes facing off with stock soldiers particularly aggravating, as trying to not waste ammo but still wipe a few out on-screen at a time, will make it nearly impossible not to take a few hits yourself. 

Again, I get it, that may be consistent with the olden days, but when that ship sailed decades ago it feels strange to see now, and some of those same sensibilities seep into other aspects of play as well. If you’re willing to stick it out you’ll find there are multiple endings, and you’ll even unlock a bonus game as well, but the road to get there definitely struggles with a feeling of bloat and having to play with one arm tied behind your back. If that’s what you’re looking for, more power to you, but there are loads of games with retro style out there that have a little more modern DNA, and are ultimately more engaging and satisfying.