This retro-inspired 2D Action RPG might outright surprise you. CrossCode combines 16-bit SNES-style graphics with butter-smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story.
CrossCode is all about how it plays!
Take the best out of two po...
This retro-inspired 2D Action RPG might outright surprise you. CrossCode combines 16-bit SNES-style graphics with butter-smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story.
CrossCode is all about how it plays!
Take the best out of two popular genres, find a good balance between them and make a great game. That’s what CrossCode does. And it works pretty well. You get the puzzles of Zelda-esque dungeons and are rewarded with the great variety of equipment you know and love from RPGs. During the fast-paced battles you will use the tools you find on your journey to reveal and exploit the enemies' weaknesses and at the same time will be able to choose equipment and skills for a more in-depth approach in fighting your enemies.
Dive into a massive adventure with a playtime of around 30-80 hours
Explore a large world with 7 unique areas and hidden secrets all over the place
Fight over 120 enemy types including 30+ boss fights
Enter 7 expansive dungeons, all with with unique themes and puzzle mechanics
Master up to 100 combat arts and even more passive skills
Solve over 100 quests with a great variety of tasks and unique challenges
A game that juggles story, combat, puzzles and exploration excellently.
Some people have mentioned that the pixel art style may throw people away from this game because what pixel art games hold the test of time other than through nostalgia? The beauty of pixel art though is the abstractness of story and the world. Everything is beautiful in it's own right, but when you're going through it at your own pace your imagination can take the set layed before you and really expand on it, guiding your emotions in a way modern graphics can't.
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.
I loved every part of this game. Beautiful pixel graphics, excellent music, a fun combat system, interactions that are fun and those that tug at the heart.
That said, a word of caution, I do not believe the game is for everyone. I grew up playing Landstalker on the Megadrive and so the isometric view feels very natural to me. I have read some people have difficulty with the aspect though and find it hard to judge some of the jumps. Te combat system involving shooting may difficult for some too.
For me though, it is one of the best RPGs in recent memory and well worth purchasing!
This game is even more fun than the trailer makes it look, the combat, story, characters, puzzles, etc. are all freaking amazing and more people need to know about this game.
The universe this game takes place in is just... so... COOL, and I love Lea, the main character!
The combat is very fast paced and intuitive, but also very deep. The controls take some getting used to with the mouse, but you can switch to a controller if you want.
The puzzles are fun, but can sometimes get insane--often I'll be stuck for a while and then realize... "Oh crap, they want me to do WHAT?!" ...and then I'll have to shoot an energy ball, switch to ice and quickly freeze a column of water so that it can bounce the energy, then switch to fire and light a fuse before the ball gets there, and there'll be a couple more steps before the puzzle is complete--but it's SO SATISFYING when you finally get it!
Oh my gosh, sorry, I just love this game so much. I'll just spend hours exploring the same maps over and over again trying to figure out how the game developers want you to get on top of THAT ROOF OVER THERE to get the treasure chest stashed on top of it. LOVE IT!
Graphics and music? Good grief, it looks and sounds like a science fiction Secret of Mana, I can't sing its praises enough!
Solid throwback to NES titles with some good quality design thrown in. Satisfying with tons of content and an NG+ mode that actually changes the dialogue and experience depending on what things you unlock and use.
I like the art in general and I think the story is solid. It provides a solid premise with a decent setting and great characters. The mechanics get more insane as you progress to the point they become absolutely ludicrous. There's techniques you can easily integrate and learn to truly maximize your ability to evade and do damage and its satisfying. Though not perfectly analagous, it gives the same feeling something like Hyper Light Drifter does when you chain together a perfect sequence of attacks, skills, and evades.
While I share similar reservations about the shooting mechanics (ON A CONTROLLER - I would argue the game controls better with mouse and keyboard) they're more than functional whatever control scheme you use. Some puzzles require some precision and aiming that can be frustrating on a controller but fine on KB&M, but those are rare. However, there is a slider that lets you slow down the speed of puzzles in the game allowing you much more freedom of timing.
Heck, there's even sliders that can make the game significantly less damaging or enemies even less aggressive if you dislike their mechanics. It's a completely accessable game that never punishes you for not playing it.
I do have issues with depth perception in this game because there's little that often distinguishes from one height block to another. If there were an objective criticism, this would be it. However it's rare and never impedes progress, only makes getting a few item chests annoying to discern at first.
As someone who is playing this at the suggestion of another friend, I've played enough to state that this is a game worth ANYBODY's time and effort. It's charming, well designed, and slick. The deserves deserve every ounce of success.
