Full disclosure, I'm like the number one fanboy of this game. Number two at least--five, definitely top five. Ten maybe. In my defense I'm pretty sure that's because CrossCode is just really, really good, I didn't know about these guys before a couple years ago, and I'm not really getting anything out of evangelizing it beyond the joy of sharing it with other people. It just excels at pretty much everything it does: clever writing, fluid combat, tricky puzzles, earwormy music and colorful art. And possibly most important, there's an incredible attention to detail and polish, with a solid foundation in good game design principles, and they continue to tweak and sand down every rough edge they find. I think the focus on "retro" actually does it a bit of a disservice, because an all-too-common first reaction is "this looks like another trashy pixel-art game among millions trying to cash in on some stupid nostalgia thing." The thing is, CrossCode isn't really trying to be nostalgic, and none of its engagement really derives from being LIKE something else you may have played on an SNES in the past. It absolutely stands on its own merits, with an art direction that is comfortable and familiar to the developers so that they don't over-promise and under-deliver. It will almost certainly remind you of things you've played before, but it doesn't really feel "the same as" anything else. And above all, whatever it's doing it's doing it well. So whether you want to get a sneak peek at a well-advanced development copy before everyone is talking about it later this year, or if you want to play it safe because you're just over early-access on principle, do yourself a favor and keep an eye on this one. I've seen a lot of people expect to be underwhelmed by CrossCode, and end up way more than just pleasantly surprised. You could be one of them too.
