Probably the holistically best game, I've ever played.
Great story: The setting is fun, being that you're meant to be playing in a MMORPG and they play with that to it's fullest extent. The worldbuilding is sort of lacklustre, given that you're almost always in the fake world of the MMO, you don't get much info on the outside and the MMO's worldbuilding is more reminiscent of old school MMO's, which is to say barely present. While not mindblowing, the plot is still really good and grounded in the growth of the characters. It has enough twists and hooks to keep you guessing, just wish there weren't hints for some possible twists that never ended up meaning anything. The characters are all great too. The game has one of the best protagonists I've ever seen, and she's still not the best character in the game, that's Emilie.
Great gameplay: The combat is fun even for me and I'm not one to really care much for combat. Something just really clicked with the game for me. Elemental overload could be done away with and that would make it perfect. The puzzles in the game are immaculate. Really making you think about everything you have at your disposal, without ever feeling like there was a nonsense solution. The exploration was done better than all but one other game I know. It was consistently rewarding and you always saw the number of chests in an area to know when you could stop. Hint for anyone confused with the height part of exploring: just aim a shot, the shadows of the aiming line will show you everything you need to know.
Great graphics and music: The pixel art is gorgeous and so is the soundtrack. I found an old version of the main menu theme they used in early access and I wish they used that instead, but otherwise I've no complaints on either.
Overall in every aspect that I think a game can succeed in, Crosscode does and then some. Play it
Great story: The setting is fun, being that you're meant to be playing in a MMORPG and they play with that to it's fullest extent. The worldbuilding is sort of lacklustre, given that you're almost always in the fake world of the MMO, you don't get much info on the outside and the MMO's worldbuilding is more reminiscent of old school MMO's, which is to say barely present. While not mindblowing, the plot is still really good and grounded in the growth of the characters. It has enough twists and hooks to keep you guessing, just wish there weren't hints for some possible twists that never ended up meaning anything. The characters are all great too. The game has one of the best protagonists I've ever seen, and she's still not the best character in the game, that's Emilie.
Great gameplay: The combat is fun even for me and I'm not one to really care much for combat. Something just really clicked with the game for me. Elemental overload could be done away with and that would make it perfect. The puzzles in the game are immaculate. Really making you think about everything you have at your disposal, without ever feeling like there was a nonsense solution. The exploration was done better than all but one other game I know. It was consistently rewarding and you always saw the number of chests in an area to know when you could stop. Hint for anyone confused with the height part of exploring: just aim a shot, the shadows of the aiming line will show you everything you need to know.
Great graphics and music: The pixel art is gorgeous and so is the soundtrack. I found an old version of the main menu theme they used in early access and I wish they used that instead, but otherwise I've no complaints on either.
Overall in every aspect that I think a game can succeed in, Crosscode does and then some. Play it