CrossCode

A lackluster game. There is so mush unfun about this game that it kills all the fun elements that are in it. While playing Crosscode I got a growing sensation that its developers had a very peculiar notion of "fun". For them, it's like fun equals annoying B.S. The more finicky and annoying the puzzle is, the more gamers will like it! No, they won't, at least not all of them and especially not me. It's not that I can't take a challenge (I've completed games way harder than this one, Hollow Knight, for example), but the challange in this game doesn't feel rewarding. You've just spent 5 minutes resolving this puzzle-room full of contraptions that require a dead-eye accuracy with little to no room for error? Congratulations, have some more of it, two times larger! No, thanks, I'm out.

This is my (modified) Steam review of the game, when I played it in late 2018. It's like they took some of Seiken Densetsu 3, made the combat faster paced, removed magic, turned the limit break dial to 11, added a ton of puzzles that usually involve richocheting projectiles. Then slapping an MMO theme on it with tons of sidequests, materials to trade for gear, etc. The combat has equal focus on melee and ranged, melee being more damaging, staggering enemies, while ranged is safe, but weaker, also getting out of reach enemies. It's satisfying to beat up everything in sight, while also building up a chain to increase drop rate as you keep chaining enemy aggro. Then there's the element system, you get 4 different elements that exploit enemy weaknesses to take them down faster. CrossCode has a FF10-esque sphere grid skill/stat system, although less complex. Progression is like this: After the big tutorial/prologue, you explore an overworld area, while fighting wandering enemies at your own pace (most of them only aggro if you attack them) and optionally traversing all sorts of hidden and obscure platforming paths, sometimes filled with puzzles, that unlock shortcuts, or a path to a chest, or someother. Also, beating up all the local destructable plant life, to get about half of the games trading materials. Then you come across towns filled with quests, traders and the like, as well as the main quest eventually leading to a dungeon. Dungeons are typically filled with platforming, tons of puzzles, enemy gauntlets, and a boss. Rinse and repeat several times, with things switching up every now and then to keep it interesting, especially midgame, and towards the endgame. I'd say it's definitely worth 20$ for the amount of gameplay you get out of it (at least 25-60 hours), not to mention the game took seven years to make, the dedication for the game really shows, as it's pretty damn polished and great overall, minus some frustrating flaws and technical issues.

I was enjoying the story some, but was getting more and more frustrated with the puzzles once precise timing became required, and it kept getting worse. The overall difficulty level of the game, even with some cheats enabled, is just far too high for my enjoyment.

If you're into 16 bit graphics and rpg/hack and slash games then this is the one for you. It's so beautifully put together. The mechanics are smooth, the music is great, the story is not dull, and the combat is impeccable and doesn't feel boring. Highly recommend. Grab it while it is still on sale!

Nice Story, nice skill systems, very good combat and boss fights. The characters are charming, there are really smart jumping puzzles in this game, culminating in very good dungeons which test your skills. There is a good amount of personalisation and very nice metroidvania elements. Apart from the obvious inspirations this reminds me the most of Kingdom Hearts 1. A charming mix of metroidvania, jumping and parcour, riddles and puzzles, beautifull story and music, wonderfull worlds and very smooth combat. Basically KH1 in 2.5D without Disney and with better progression systems.