CrossCode

An absolutely phenomenal game, I'd put CrossCode on the same level as Hollow Knight, Celeste, Pizza Tower, Gravity Circuit, Rain World, Darkwood, ULTRAKILL, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Star of Providence, etc. as a must-play indie title. To go over the things that probably don't need to be elaborated on as much, the game visually looks great. It's not quite the best pixel art you'll ever see, but the game is consistently visually appealing with detailed sprites, tons of animations, and characters that are expressive and have all the portraits they possibly need to show their emotions over the course of the story. The story is also great, with fun and interesting characters and covering some surprisingly deep and dark themes. Can't say much because I don't want to spoil it, but the story is a great compliment to the excellent gameplay. The soundtrack is also great, not quite top tier but it's got plenty of great tracks that suit the environments and story beats very nicely and make traversing the world enjoyable. The only thing I think could've been better would be different battle music for different areas as while the battle music is great, it does get a bit repetitive with how long the game's total runtime can be. Speaking of, the combat is excellent and one of the two pillars of the game. It controls smooth and the enemies are intelligently designed that you have to use different tactics for most of them, whether it's ricocheting ranged attacks into a weakpoint, timing an attack well to interrupt them, using a certain element or perfect blocking to stun them. What really makes the combat great is the elemental system. On top of your standard moves you can switch to 4 different elements you unlock over the course of the game, each of which alters your stats, allows access to a large variety of super-moves and allows you to inflict different status effects. Across all the different elements there are a few dozen of these, and it makes the combat incredibly deep while still being approachable with how it introduces portions of it over time. By the endgame you're utilising all of it in some challenging and incredibly fun, well designed fights. The elements also are part of the other pillar of the game, puzzles. You get a taste of these in the overworld you'll explore, which is fun to traverse being packed with secrets and chests you'll need to find ways of getting to higher elevation to reach. Once you get into the dungeons the puzzles really shine though, early on they're already a decent challenge but as you progress the elements get used in different ways and start being combined together to make for puzzles more complex than anything you'll find in Zelda. Not liking puzzles is the only thing that might be a reason to not get the game, but if you enjoy them at all this game has them in spades. The final dungeon in the DLC adds one new mechanic that combines with all the others to create some seriously mind-bending puzzles that are incredibly satisfying to figure out. To top it all off, the game is also jam-packed with content. Despite having almost 100 hours, I still haven't done all of the sidequests and have barely touched the arena with gauntlets of enemies and bosses. Some of the side-quests are your typical fetch quests or "kill X enemies" but the majority are all unique and engaging in their own right. Some involve optional side dungeons and/or new bosses, some have unique set pieces like fighting on top of moving cars, and some change the game entirely being fun mini-games that put a twist on the mechanics or make it a whole other genre like tower defence. The DLC is also well worth it, because the base game already has more than enough content to justify its price as well as New Game+ with all sorts of ways to modify a playthrough to increase the challenge or put twists on it. The DLC just adds even more, including two areas (one of which is basically a gigantic dungeon), a more satisfying ending and also a new final boss that somehow tops the already insane final boss of the base game. At the price it's selling for there is no reason not to buy the game if you're remotely interested. You'll thank yourself later. Consider getting the game on Good Old Games as it seems to go on sale more often there and you can get the game and DLC for $10 or less, which is an absolute steal for the quality and quantity of content on offer. It's truly a shame this game didn't get the attention it deserves.

It is overall a great game but not without its downsides. What I loved the most about the game are its characters. They were all amazing and very expressive. Dungeon and boss design is very good too. Loved the puzzles and boss fights. However, some standard enemies definitely felt like they thought about how they could make them interesting but didn't think about whether it would be fun to fight them over and over again.

This is most likely the most polished indie game I've played , the puzzles are difficult but the combat is great top down action and simple to understand kind of like the Mana series or 2D Zelda but with more bullet hell elements , as of this review I have not finished the game yet despite how many hours I have in it but I think its worth it and a must have for any RPG fan.

A very solid hacknslashish platformer rpg. The music is beautiful in places and high energy in others, the plot is intersting, if a bit confusing at times, A real fun time all the way thorough!

Absolutely phenomenal game. top to bottom. Visuals, art direction, witty and charming writing, incredible music, and superb gameplay that only gets better the further into the game you get. Unlocking all 5 stances makes you feel like an unstoppable killing machine, and it's just superb. I do feel the endings could use a little more oomph, but it's the smallest blemish on what I otherwise consider an absurdly incredible, near perfect game. I cannot overstate how much I look forward to RadFish's next game, already got it on my wish list, watching closely~. And I will be cross if Lea doesn't cameo. lol

It's quite difficult to say whether I would recommend this game or not. Is it a good game? Yes, it is. Did I enjoy playing it? Well, most of the time - not really. The game was clearly made with a lot of effort and is well-polished. It has beautiful pixel art, amazing bosses and skill animations, great music, memorable characters, and a nice story. However, when it comes to gameplay, as for me, not everything works well. The first issue is the multi-layered maps. While this concept isn't bad in itself, it's definitely overused. Almost every chest is unreachable from ground level - you need to figure out how to get there first. It's often unclear how to reach different layers, so on each map, you end up running around the entire area just to find the access point to another layer. This mechanic feels okay early on, but as you progress, it becomes increasingly frustrating. Especially when the only way to go up is two maps away from where you are. By the middle of the game, I was simply exhausted from searching for new paths and trying to remember everything I needed to collect. The second issue is the puzzles. I wouldn’t say the puzzles themselves are bad, I actually like how they're designed, but the amount of them is absolutely went too far. Even for someone who enjoys puzzles, it was just too much. Dungeons are mostly puzzles, quests may have puzzles, reaching chests often requires solving puzzles, even boss fights may have puzzles. The worst part is that most of these puzzles can't be skipped, because you need to clear the dungeons to collect all the elements and progress the story. So get ready for a few hours of non-stop puzzles each time you need to get a new element - and even more hours if you're aiming for good equipment. The third issue is combat. The game's description says that the game has fast-paced combat system, but it highly depends on the type of enemies you're fighting. Often, you have to break an enemy's shield before you can deal any damage. To do that, you need to wait for the enemy to enter a specific state first. As a result, the "fast-paced" combat often turns into "stand and wait" until you get the chance to break the shield and finally inflict damage. I found this part quite frustrating and ended up ignoring some enemy types, simply because it took too long to defeat weak enemies that didn't drop anything useful. Aside from this issue, the combat is actually quite nice. To sum it up: if you're ready to solve a ton of puzzles, take your time with combat and map exploration, then I’d say give this game a try. Otherwise, you might end up dropping it - just like I did during my first playthrough.

Best silent protagonist. Also puzzles, alot of really good puzzles.

I first played this game when I was in high school, before recently returning to it and completing it a while after I graduated from college, nearly a decade later. This game has always stuck with me in the back of my mind in how so much of this game is just expertly crafted to perfection. Everything from the characters, the story, the combat, the writing, the puzzles (even though I hate puzzle games), the pixel art is just amazing. It still shocks me to this day that this game isn't more popular despite it all... The only critiques I kinda have of it is just that, due to the 2D art and perspective, it's a little hard for me to judge the height of things relative to the environment around them. Also, it kind of drags in the development of a certain relationship/character during a chapter (those of you have played this game might know who I'm referring to). It just felt kind of rushed to me is all. But that's honestly it in terms of my issues with it. This game was an absolute joy to play, and I can't wait to play the post-game DLC. Please pick up this game and give it a try if you haven't. This game has moved me emotionally on so many levels and the combat/puzzles kicks ass.

I've only played for a couple of hours but can already tell this will be one of my favorite games of all time: the combat is smooth, the puzzles are engaging, and the story is captivating. I'd like to give a more nuanced review but there is seriously just nothing more to say - it's just about perfect (at least to me). I do recommend you give the demo a try so you can tell if it's for you though.

Nice game on sale. Only thing to dislike are the puzzles legit not even trolling im in 1 part of the game and to progress the main story I have to watch a 40 min guide on how to do all puzzles.... L game design there but other then that fun game.

Good + Good puzzles (challenging and fun) core aspect + Good Environment + Good Fast paced combat + Good Parkour elements Mixed ~ Skill Tree: While the use of different elements in puzzles is quite successful, when it comes to combat the similarities between skills make it feel repetitive. The use of different elements on enemies to break is not sufficient. ~ The hidden chests, placed on platforms in the cities to be found, are not rewarding enough. ~ Keyboard/Mouse Controller little bit frustrating you probably perform many long-range attacks to attack from close range or the opposite Cons - Story: There are so many aspects that can be touched upon regarding existential crisis, and the game opens a door to this, but then quickly closing that door with a 'let’s just forget everything and play the game, haha everything’s fine' attitude is quite bothersome - Homing and Fast Attacks: Almost every attack is homing and coming like lightning speed and it's really annoying. - Item Trade: WTF is this really? In order to get better equipment in the game, you need to trade gear, and to make that trade, you always have to collect enemy parts. It's very grindy.

interesting story and combat

Pretty decent game that has some good combat and element switching. Puzzles can be a little frustrating if you have poor reaction times (though thankfully there's a setting to change speeds). Storywise it's great!

After 120+ hours in it, I can confidently say this game is a masterpiece, a jewel on the crown, absolutely fantastic plot, storytelling, plot twists, characters, graphics and effects, combat, puzzles, map, navigation. Frustrating and rewarding. Loads to explore. This game raised the bar! It will be in my Top5 for many years to come. I can't wait for my first child to be old enough to introduce them to this wonder!

I am absolutely terrible at this game, but I love it and it feels so great to play. Sometimes you can tell whether devs prioritize art over gameplay or vise versa. This game is not only beautifully designed in both aspects, but also challenging in a way that feels fair to the player. The puzzles are difficult and thought-provoking and the parkour/combat mechanics are smooth and precise. If I mess up on a jump or die while fighting, I know it's my mistake, not the fault any badly mapped terrain or unclear attack patterns. All of these factors, combined with how much there is to explore in the world, make CrossCode a joy to play, especially once you finally beat that boss or solve a really difficult puzzle. I'm not done with the story yet, but I'm really enjoying it so far! I'd definitely recommend giving this game a fair shot. I'm guilty of letting it sit unplayed in my steam library for too long and I definitely regret not playing it sooner.

I love the story, the map exploration, items and weapon collection, the brain teasing time puzzles, and the awesome battle art that slaps and makes you feel really strong as you charge per stage. Not to mention the music! I love all of them. In summary, this game is easily up in the best games I've ever played. Thank you Radical Fish Games team and looking forward to your next badass project

AMAZING pixel-art, great story, fun gameplay, all in all good game

I haven't beaten the game yet, so I'll edit it later if I remember to, but man this game is genuinely incredible! It's so much fun exploring the world and finding loot and items to upgrade your character. The puzzles are difficult enough to be engaging, but not frustrating. The story so far is just great. If this was a show, I'd binge it. The combat is also satisfying and fun, and the game rewards you for speedrunning in a sense with how combat works. The faster you move and kill, the higher the chances enemies will drop whatever loot is in their pool.

combat is fine and the story is interesting, but the parkour and puzzles can be so frustrating. it may get better later on, but starting the game with the ice section just feels like a bad choice... too frustrating to continue

This is a tough one because writing this feels like experiencing a break up. But it’s also needed for closure because honestly? I don’t think I can play this game anymore without feeling all sorts of unpleasant emotions. I really loved the story, the artstyle, and especially the music…at first. During the first 10 hours or so. I didn’t mind the endless number of chests that test your perceptiveness, the sprawling puzzle dungeons that require quick reflexes and lateral thinking, or even the drip-fed of story beats. I genuinely fell in love with the world of Crossworlds, and its many delightfully animated characters. But it all changed, around mid-game, when things were supposed to “pick up and get good”. Yet somehow I didn’t care for the twist? I felt awfully cold and indifferent towards what was supposed to be a major reveal and honestly? The philosophy behind the twist was largely dubious and completely uninteresting. It’s a plot point I’ve seen a million times, except in formats that demanded less agility, and much much less patience. Basically my desire to see this game though ran out at some point. And what was initially a wonderful sense of discovery was replaced by an acute sense of dread - I found myself checking to see how much of the game there was left, I started looking up tips online, I found myself constantly enraged and frustrated. What finally broke me was this unskippable third duel with Apollo - whilst some of the worst side quests in the game could wait until I got stronger with higher stats, this fight simply had to be completed in order for the story to progress…and you know what? In true Crosscode fashion it’s homing missiles and war of attrition. Except you can’t heal, you can’t dodge. And with the amount of HP I had I had to lose. And it felt cheap, and unfair. I didn’t want to git gud, I questioned why I subjected myself to this world of pain in the first place. I feel like the devs hate their players? Some of the puzzles I kid you not I literally had to use two thumbs on the joy stick just to find the pixel-perfect angle to shoot. And there’s just this overall feeling that the game is too good for casuals, either you play by the rule book or you can eff right off. And you know what? I’d much rather prefer to do the latter at this point. Perhaps one day I’ll return to this game. But it’ll be a long long time before that happens. I tried.

很想给出一个爽快的好评，但是太过频繁的解谜部分实在让人难受。只能勉强推荐的这样子。

I am unsure if this is intentional, but one of the characters uses a word frequently which seems to possibly be a common expression in another language. This is referring to the English localization of the game. However, this word is spelled similarly to a slur and at the end of chapter 10, this word is used in a location and nearby a character that seems to belong to the ethnicity that the similar sounding slur is directed towards. To my understanding, this does not serve any narrative purpose besides discrimination that is unaddressed.

The devs wanted to make a billard game with occasional combat I guess.

Don't believe the liars and plagiarists like "Amerisian" This game hurts ya just right.

I've had a brainrot of this game for 5 years i got it on ps4, switch, and now pc and I have like 500 hours+ across all of them anyway yeah games good

Peak. (edit: It's a very cool game, I love it.)

This is my favorite game. It just might become your's too 10/10

Mandatory play if you like Ragnarok Online and Chrono Trigger.

fun but very grindy

Why is this game so underrated

Really fun once you get the hang of it.

I MISSED ONE KEY IN TEMPLE MINE PLEASE HELP ME

Protect Lea. That is all.

i like this game more than i dislike puzzles

Incredible game

Great game!

So good

I only know Lea for 5 hours at this point. But I already love her ^^

i would do anything to make lea happy

hi lea me wait who lea me you lea me

Excellent

one of the best games I have ever played

The game is amazing :D

must-buy

yes

Hi :D

🔥🤖💥🤓🤯😰👻🚀😳