CrossCode

From everything I saw and read about CrossCode it seems like a game I'd really enjoy: a deep 16-bit style RPG with unique mechanics and interesting puzzles. However, after playing upwards of 20 hours, I had had enough. Here's why: - I hate the dual-stick ranged attack mechanics. I just couldn't get used to it, and very often I would resort to melee attacks because I was frustrated by just feeling incompetent. It could very well be a "git gud" type of thing, but I could never get to a point where if felt satisfying or comfortable to use. - The puzzles were generally good, but there were some that depended on the height an object was at, but I couldn't tell if something was higher or lower than I was currently at. It feels cheap that the developers rely on hiding things in their faux-3D space just to make a puzzle harder. - I'm not a fan of MMOs at all; never have been. I've quickly bailed on the ones I've tried because I quickly get annoyed and overwhelmed by the noise of the world. Even though CrossCode isn't actually an MMO, the fact that its setting is made the story less enjoyable. I realize these things won't be issues to everyone, but it was enough for me to put it down.

Concept & idea - 8/10 Fun-o-fun-meter - 9/10 Story - 10/10 Graphics - 8/10 Sound & Music - 8/10 Controls & handling - 9/10 Tutorial - 9/10 Overall: 9/10

Way too many jumping puzzles in an engine ill suited for it (isometric view with no way to judge height or distance). Even trash mobs are a puzzle with each having some invulnerability gimmick (and this is again taken to extreme on every boss). Just moving around a map is a puzzle as well usually with multi zone 50+ jumps to where you want to get to.

Tigh´t controlls with challenging but fair gameplay. The level design is genius and there is a ton of side content. Gameplay feels like a mix of rpg, bullet hell and metroidvania. The storys premise of a game within a game might sound similiar to the plot of a rather (in)famous anime but luckily is not.

I am absolutely obsessed with this game and have been for well over a year. It's just such an excellent game. The artstyle is a classic take on sprite work executed in a modern way, the story is character driven in a wonderful way, the combat gameplay is versatile and responsive, the gameplay puzzles are fascinating and polished, the overall attention to detail is immense. It's not a perfect game, but with every nitpick I can only really find ONE thing to pick at. For combat, there's one enemy that I always try to avoid fighting because they're not fun to fight, but the game never even forces you to fight them. Even if you DO fight them for 100% completion, you barely need to fight them more than a few times. That's the only bad thing I have to say about combat. The perspective of the art can be annoying in a few spots, causing some parkour/platforming puzzles to be more difficult than they should. That's the only bad thing I have to say about the puzzles and navigation all in one. The aiming mechanism for ranged attacks is less effective on a controller than keyboard+mouse.