I’m going to be completely honest with you right now. I like Crosscode. I do. This is a really interesting game & I have enjoyed the story a lot. Lea is an amazing protagonist. She’s so endearing & full of charm despite the fact she can’t speak & her personality shines through majorly through her interactions with the other characters. And the concept of this game is really cool too with it taking place in an MMORPG called Crossworlds even if the game itself is more of a 2D old school action RPG. And to me unravelling the mystery behind Lea & how she ends up in the game is by far the most intriguing aspect of the narrative. I think that Crosscode has a lot going in its favour.

However I’m about 15 hours in right now. And I’ve been struggling to go back to the game. And there’s a couple of reasons for this. For one, I’m not that keen on the puzzles. The first major dungeon I did felt like it went on way longer than it should’ve. That’s not even to mention having to redo a large portion of it because for some reason my game didn’t save correctly after I closed the application at the start of chapter 5. And also the gameplay imo just isn’t enough to keep me going though it. And having to do multiple side quests which are all mainly just fetch quests or go to this place or that place…it’s just not very interesting to me personally.

This game is one I do want to return to though. I’m just not sure when about that will be. It’s solid enough that I don’t plan to abandon it completely, I just feel like it’s something I’d enjoy more when I take a breather from it.

Second waited is an attack wasted. Perfektní symbióza nostalgického ohlédnutí za "starými dobrými 16-bitovými RPGéčky" a moderního indie přístupu, který nestaví pouze na tehdy osvědčených postupech. Popsat to na první dobrou, tak by se o neslo v duchu "taková jakože Zelda... jakože hodně Zelda".

Petrobarevný svět plný soubojů s typy nepřátel vyžadujícími různé taktiky a prostorových puzzlů "kudy se tam jen dostat", dungeony založené na zisku "udělátka", kolem kterého se pak tématicky točí veškeré puzzly, stylizace... Prostě Zelda. Není to tak inovativní a nápadité jako Zeldy bývají, to ne, ale má to svůj vlastní charakter, nejde pouze o lacinou kopírku.

Zasazeno je to do "jakože MMORPG" světa, jste avatar, nikoli postava a tvůrci si s tím vědomě pohrávají (různé "nasbírej a přines" questy, raidy apod.). Horší je to s příběhem, který je čirá z nouze ctnost, aby se snad neřeklo, že dějová linie není, pouze si to hraje na LitRPG subžánr. Což by nevadilo. Co vadí je, že to tvůrci okecávají horem spodem čili je tu hodně dialogů, ale nikam moc nevedou, je to žvatlání pro žvatlání. V tomto se to Zeldě nepřibližuje. Škoda je to o to větší, že (nejen) duo Lea/Emilie jsou sympatické postavy/avatarky.

Největší nezvyk, který je lehké zpočátku považovat za chybu, je zvolení specifického "zkosení náhledu", kdy to není ani izometrický ani tradiční pohled na mapu z výšky. Což v titulu, který stojí na vertikalitě několika úrovní přináší nemalé problémy typu "sakra, je to stejně vysoko, níže, výše či o dva stupně výše?". Ovšem jde o zvyk, jakmile si to na několika obrazovkách "ošaháte", tak pak víte, jak s tím autoři pracují čili toto po čase odpadá. Byť nikdy ne zcela a vždy se najdou pasáže, kdy to nelze poznat. Což platí především o "ještě přeskočitelném" prostoru mezi plošinkami, kdy to nikdy není exaktní a nevyhnete se mnohdy "skoku pokus/omyl".

Herní doba je s výchozí obtížností, pokud se budete snažit vysbírat veškeré poklady a tajemství, lehce nad tři desítky hodin. O třetinu méně pokud půjdete přímočaře rovnou za koncem. Každopádně je to chytlavý mix frenetické akce, kde střídáte elementy/bonusy, s krytím se, střílením a bojem na blízko (a ano, jakmile je vás v partě více a proti mnoha nepřátelům, tak to umí zmást, kde kdo je) a perfektní dávky puzzlů, které se dělí na logické stejně jako navádění v prostoru. Zdá se to málo, ale tvůrci si s těmito aspekty pohráli čili byť papírově děláte celou hru to samé, tak rozhodně nemáte pocit, že byste dělali celou hru to samé.

CrossCode není nic objevného. Ovšem je dělaný s gustem od fanoušků Zeldy nejen pro fanoušky Zeldy, čemuž odpovídá styl i hratelnost. Největší pochvalou pak je, že syndromem "ještě jednu obrazovku/puzzle/souboj a končím" to je prolezlé tak silně, že hned při prvním spuštění "jenom rychle zkusím co a jak" v tom lítáte za pěkných pár hodin a ani nevíte jak.

The first several hours of this game are strong. The programmers have a very good understanding of motion/timing and know how to implement their art assets well.

I just wish the dungeons were just 30-40 percent shorter; they tend to introduce a puzzle mechanic and then just put you through a relentless barrage of increasingly annoying situations using it, until there's no Concept left. Also iirc lot of annoying timing based puzzles around where I gave up.

Still, interested to play their next title.

im known as the crosscode guy now in my friend circles and couldnt be happier. ive sung this games praises enough but why not again on an actual backlog website!!! warning for ranting, it's really a comprehensive-ish list of my thoughts

- absolutely wonderful characters that make the story extremely compelling, lea is my favorite character in anything ever and the way she's written is. So good. So damn good!!!!! she's endearing from the start and the fact she's the most expressive character despite the obvious limitation of her muteness gets you super attached, leading into the reveals and plot twists later on hit that much harder. i will. Hold myself back, but every character is really engaging even besides lea

- to rant more about the story and world in general, i think that the concept of "playing a game inside a game" would've been really silly at first but the way it ties it in naturally through side conversations in the world and even through the main plot itself is wonderful

- specific mention for the dlc story, honestly without it id probably have a lot more gripes but the way it ties everything together is really satisfying and its just reliving to see the characters have a happy ending after like. everything in the base game. i think it goes without saying i primarily play games for their stories with few exceptions, but the dlc dungeon was my favorite in the game and exploring the new area was one of my favorite parts in general

- the gameplay is great! amazing combat that feels satisfying to master and allows for multiple playstyles - i personally didnt bother with going out of my way to grind and get equipment, so the fact there's adjustable difficulty sliders is goddamn
fantastic and i think really Every game should at least follow.

- puzzles are really difficult, i wont lie when i say i used a guide for most of them, but the execution of it still makes it challenging even without the actually Figuring it out aspect. i will say it gets a little over the top, but in addition to combat sliders, there's a setting that lets you set the speed to as low as 50% which is. A real life saver!!!

- personally, the game was pretty exhausting to get through the first time around - this is 100% due to the way i played, but fair warning that this game does have a lot of stuff to do and at base it is really tough

- i'll sing this game's praises all day (obviously), but i do have issue with the depth perception. exploring the overworld is really fun at times, but there's a lot of platforming that feels awkward and wasn't for me entirely. the depth perception mentioned before can make it really disorientating at first, and overall this game gets pretty intense, so it's important to mention

- the ost!!! good lord!!! its so very good, deniz and steel-plus did a fantastic job and there's so many tracks i can highlight. even if you're not interested in the game itself please check out the soundtrack. i think they're all worth a listen, but my personal highlights are "The Path of Justice", "Autumn's Rise", "Raid", "Temple of Thunder", and especially "Shizuka". note that some of these tracks are pretty spoilery, be sure to avoid comments if you're interested in the story!

- i still do have my gripes but the game overall is so good its a crime this game is so unpopular, i suggest anyone who's even read this far (how ??) at least give it a go through the demo or a walkthrough on youtube.

Uno de los juegos en los que menos pensé que me iba a gastar 60+ horas.

Nunca fui muy fanático de los rpgs en general pero este me había llamado la atención por el estilo artístico y la jugabilidad, lo había probado en gamepass y nunca lo terminé porque pensé que sería uno de esos juegos en donde te pasas la vida grindeando y tenés que tener mínimo 20 horas para poder pasar de la 1ra stage, después de verlo de rebaja decidí darle una oportunidad y comprarlo, menos mal que lo hice.

El juego en general es muy bueno, con una historia muy emotiva y que dentro de su extenso tiempo de juego sabe contar para no aburrirte. En cuanto al tema de los niveles, el sistema es bastante sencillo, haciendo que cada vez que el jugador llegué a los 1000 de xp suba un nivel, siempre dependiendo del nivel del enemigo que derrotes, haciendo que los niveles menores den menos xp y viceversa. El árbol de habilidades, aunque en primera instancia se vea muy confuso, es bastante sencillo, todas las habilidades están conectadas así que si quisieras desbloquear una habilidad más avanzada primero tendrías que desbloquear la anterior y así con todas, cada tier tiene un explicación de los stats que te sube y que habilidades brinda. El soundtrack en mi opinión no es nada del otro mundo, aunque si tuviera que destacar algo serían las canciones "ambientales" por así decirlo, está bastante bueno que las canciones que están sonando en loop por prácticamente 10 horas de juego no se te quemen e incluso algunas lleguen a parecerte pegadizas, pero eso queda a criterio de cada persona. Uno de los puntos más fuertes que tiene el juego es su jugabilidad, siendo muy frenética a la hora de pelear con cualquier tipo de enemigos, hay distintos tipos de ataques dependiendo de el elemento que estés usando, creando así una posibilidad de crear combos combinando cada uno de estos ataques y haciendo el juego más divertido. En cuanto al apartado artístico, este es muy agradable a la vista, teniendo personajes muy lindos y una paleta de colores que puede ser o más vivida o más apagada dependiendo de la zona en la que estés.

Como conclusión, este juego me sorprendió para bien, haciendo que mi gusto por los rpgs aumente y brindándome unas 67 horas de juego en la cuales me divertí mucho, espero que si están dudando en comprárselo le den una oportunidad y disfruten tanto como lo hice yo, mi puntaje final es un 10/10.

CrossCode is one of the most consistently excellent experience's I've ever had playing a game. The combat is fast, frenetic and nuanced, with plenty of build variety. The exploration is both incredibly fun and rewarding. The dungeons and puzzles are so intricately designed and satisfying to plow through. But most of all, the writing gives birth to so many extremely likeable and interesting characters. Lea is an incredible protagonist, who's journey towards self discovery is realized so beautifully, and all her companions are written with a similar level of care. The game as a whole feels so alive and inviting, it's such a comfy experience that isn't afraid to go to some dark places to develop its characters and bring them to greater heights.

10/10.

I wish I knew what made it tick with people. I do know what made it work at points, but then why does the game bury it under the fetid mud that is the "Game game" story. The banter is amazing but is it really good to have so much time spent in solitary dungeons with hundreds of reflex puzzles rather than doing stuff with your buds in any other context? Most of the humor from nameless npcs are also misses, the concept just doesn't have enough meat.

Chapter 7 is the true look into what this game could have been and I weep, it's so many missed opportunities that it baffles me when looking at the rest of the game and how it even taunts you. "Oh the actual ending of this game is due later as an expac" Then Crosscode does actually have a true ending DLC...uggggh

[This is one of the best games ever made. I truly believe this. I can't remember a single game making me feel a fuller spectrum of emotions than this. Joy, anxiety, pride, dejection, astonishment, fury. CrossCode is a triumph of it's medium and something more people need to experience.]

I remember playing a web demo for this game randomly thanks to StumbleUpon and thinking it was pretty fun. Fast forward a handful of years and I was surprised to see it on Steam and at a big discount too. I picked it up without any real expectations outside of just looking for something new to play and I hope this is how most people experience this because the memory of having my mind blown by this game over and over and over again is not something I will ever forget.

I just the WHOLE package. The spritework and especially the animations are absolutely gorgeous. In particular are the boss battles. Every single boss is not only insane to look at but insane to fight. Some of these fights but From Software to shame and they are HARD. But they're not just a hard fight, they all seem to incorporate some element of the puzzles from elsewhere in the game to add an extra layer of engagement to the encounters.

Speaking of puzzles, this game has some of the best, longest and most intricate puzzles I've seen from a non-puzzle game. From bounce puzzles to zelda-esq logic puzzles to jumping puzzles where you have to find a way to navigate to an inaccessible part of the map, half the time starting from an entirely different area to get there. These areas themselves are also a joy to explore, offering heaps of secrets, pathways and rewards for people happy to venture off the beaten path.

All of this doesn't even take the narrative into consideration, which is one of the most heartfelt and enjoyable stories I've played in recent memory. Every character is so entertaining to engage with and hang around that when they eventually log off the simulated MMO the game is set in it's almost lonely while you wait for them to return. They feel like real friends, and so when they get caught up int he central conflict you're instantly motivated to fight for them.

I haven't even mentioned the razor sharp combat, the in depth RPG style skill system and itemization, the huge variety of side quests and activities and just the sheer amount of content available to the player, as well as the game having one of the greatest NG+ mechanics I've ever seen making replaying this HUGE game so much more entertaining that it may have even been to begin with.

I hope more people play this game. It's criminally unheard of by the majority and deserved more recognition. If you like old school Zelda, twin stick shooters, Dark Souls, JRPGs or even just visual novels, this game will have something for you and if you give it a chance I promise you will find something about it to love.

Definitely not for me. Played for over 3 hours and there just wasn't really anything here to justify continuing. The intro was decent, fighting mechanics are okay, pixel art looks nice, music is great, the world does feel pretty alive, but that's where my praises end. I got up to completing chapter 3 when I realized my level and gear were really weak (I was getting bodied by bunny rabbits), so I decided to do a few side quests to get some better gear and level up. I did about 10 or so quests and they were all incredibly boring and monotonous, while also barely rewarding me with anything. To buy items at shops you don't just use money, you have to go out and gather the materials yourself which is incredibly annoying. That's pretty much when I realized this wasn't for me. I'm sure it gets better once you level up more and get better gear, but I'm just not interested. The UI feels really clunky with too many menus and you can't rebind buttons to your mouse for some reason so I can't play how I would want to anyway.