Scarecrow: 90s Crime Story takes about 4 to 8 hours to beat. ChillouT Studio’s official FAQ says a standard playthrough lands in that range “depending on your chosen combat difficulty and how thoroughly you explore the world.” Rush it on Easy and it can be done in about 3 hours; take every side story on Hard and you will be near the top of the range.
Scarecrow: 90s Crime Story launched on November 12, 2026, on Steam for Windows, from ChillouT Studio and publisher Stellar Stag. You play Robert, a fox who works as a hitman in Severodvishchensk, a poor post-Soviet town split between gangs in the 1990s. By day you walk the town and get to know its people; by night you take the jobs, in fast top-down shootouts.
Scarecrow Length at a Glance
| Playstyle | Rough time |
|---|---|
| Rushed: Easy, no side activities, story dialogue clicked through | About 3 hours |
| Standard playthrough | About 4 to 8 hours |
| Every ending and achievement | More than one run, since there are three endings and a separate achievement for each difficulty |
The 3-hour figure comes from developer Marcello on the Steam forums, who wrote (in Russian) that a minimum run took about 3 hours: Easy difficulty so as not to die at night, every side activity skipped, story dialogue clicked through quickly, and a beeline for the fastest ending. That is the floor, not a normal first run.
How the Game Is Structured
Steam’s achievement list lays out the shape of a run: a prologue, then nine nights, each with its own achievement. Each night follows a day in town:
- Days are for exploring Severodvishchensk and its residents. The store page lists helping a friend out of a string of drinking binges, getting closer to a friend, talking to the bartender and the VHS tape seller, hearing from the homeless in the abandoned building, and checking on Robert’s mom.
- Nights are the jobs: kick in doors, pick from 20 guns, go in loud or quiet, and clear every location completely. You heal with medkits, shoot through windows from outside and blow up fuel barrels.
Scarecrow was once planned as a game in three chapters, but in April the studio announced it would launch as one complete game instead. Everything is in the box at launch, and it is not in Early Access.
What Adds Hours
Difficulty. The FAQ names combat difficulty as one of the two big factors. There are Easy, Normal and Hard modes, and Steam has a separate achievement for finishing on each one.
Side stories. The other big factor is exploration. Achievements track how much you help the town: City of the Sun for helping every resident with their problems, What’s in It for Me? for helping some, and Not My Problem for staying out of it. Doing every side story is the slow, full version of a run.
Grades. Night levels are graded. The hidden Straight-A Student achievement asks for a perfect grade on every night, which means replaying shootouts until they are clean.
Endings. The store page promises “personal choices that affect the ending,” and the achievement list has three endings. Seeing all of them means replaying, though later runs go faster once you know the town.
Platforms, Price and Steam Deck
Scarecrow costs $11.99 on Steam, with a 20% discount for its first two weeks that brings it to $9.59. It is Windows only, with no Mac, Linux or console version.
- Steam Deck: the studio said on launch day that the whole game runs on Steam Deck, with automatic resolution, a Deck graphics preset and UI adapted for the small screen. Valve’s store data lists it as Steam Deck Verified as of November 12.
- Controllers: full controller support, tested with Xbox controllers, and DualSense support. On keyboard, Marcello says you can remap keys under Settings, Controls.
- Languages: English, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Polish and Brazilian Portuguese.
- Content: Steam’s content notes warn of violence against humans and anthropomorphic characters, pixel-art blood, strong language, organized crime and references to alcohol.
The studio’s FAQ says the full soundtrack and a digital artbook will follow shortly after launch as separate add-ons.
If a short, story-heavy crime game is your speed, our list of the best games like GTA has bigger open-world takes on the genre, and the best PC games of 2026 so far has more from this year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is Scarecrow: 90s Crime Story? About 4 to 8 hours for a standard playthrough, according to ChillouT Studio.
What is the fastest you can beat Scarecrow? About 3 hours, per a developer, on Easy with side activities skipped, story dialogue clicked through and the fastest ending.
How many nights are in Scarecrow? Nine, after a prologue, going by the game’s achievement list.
Is Scarecrow: 90s Crime Story in Early Access? No. The studio dropped its plan to release in chapters and launched the complete game on November 12, 2026.
Is Scarecrow on Steam Deck? Yes. The studio says the full game runs on Steam Deck, and Valve’s store data lists it as Verified as of November 12.
Does Scarecrow have controller support? Yes. It has full controller support, tested with Xbox controllers, plus DualSense support.