[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.

[Infra has this magical quality about it. It's like that surreal experience of exploring empty multiplayer maps and never being able to shake the feeling you aren't alone. It's the perfect urbex game, a real adventure with a fascinating, strangely grounded story and endless, varied areas to explore.]

If you've ever opened Gmod and loaded up gm_construct and had this uneasy feeling that the map wasn't as empty as you though, you know the general vibe Infra gives off. Part of me chalks that up to the Source Engine powering the game which is known to give it's games a bit of a "liminal" vibe, but it's also the layers of world building, the intensely detailed levels and the uneasy tension that envelops you in this foreboding sensation.

Set in the fictional country of Finland, you play a civil engineer tasked with documenting the structural failings of Stalburgs infrastructure, and as you rifle around old warehouses and abandoned industrial plants you begin to piece together a conspiracy that stretches back to the cities founding.

You'll find yourself wondering through a huge variety of urban environments, taking photos of damaged buildings and solving puzzles for almost 15 hours as the game slowly ramps the stakes from non-existent to dramatically tense. It's an incredible experience and one packed full of funny surprises and horrifying secrets that makes every second spent poking around memorable.

Just remember t̶͈̓h̶̘̔ä̶̰t̴͙̆ ̸͚̓ǐ̷̝f̴͍͑ y̵̩̯͓̰͋̃̔͂͗͠͝o̷͉̱̭͌ṷ̶̋ ̵̛̫̺̓̌̓͗̚̚ș̴͉̦̖͐̐̒͝͠e̷̪͓̘̺͒̀̉̒͗̕e̷̻͊̐͛̑̀̿͠ M̴̡̢͙̤̺͓͍̣͙̠̱͉̱̱̮͖̤̙̰̜̙̦͖̓́̋̆̐̈́̕͜͜͠ö̶̢̬̭̝̜͒̏̌̄́͛r̴͇͎̣̦̬̜̺̟͎̺͉̲̬̪̘̿͆̿͗͒͋̓̃̾͑͂̈́͒͊̏̊̍͛͌̊̓̅͋̿̊̃̂͛͗͘͘̕ͅk̸̢̛̯̲͙̜̺͖͍̦̜̲̩͙̖͔̩̣̺̼͈̩͔͙̱̦̲͈̆̾͛̆́̔́̐͗̉̎̆͒̏̈͜͝ͅͅö̸̪̠̪̮͍͇̖͓̇ͅ ̶̨̢̛̮̥̬̼̖͕̦̱̫̤̘̺̖͎̞̼͚̥͚͍̲͓̣̦͇̺̲͎͗̎̌̌̇͛͗̉̏̊̊́̽͊͛̈̈́͐́͌͂͘̕͘͜͠͠͝ͅţ̸̦̼̘͈͇̝̻̟̲̀̂̽̏̔̈o̷͇͍͍͇̤̻̿͐͊̃̀̀͐̂͆͝͝ ̸̦͇̰̟̩͒̓͑́͑̌̓͛̆͆̚͝t̵̡̡̖̱͓̥̘̻̘͆͗̌̀̍̔̍̂̂̾͑̓̀͗͝ư̴̡̡̛̱̯̞͓̺̲̇̇̐̏̐̈́̿́̇́͒̀r̵̰̺̅̈́̈́̈́̎́͑́͒͐̅̊n̶̨̛̬̻̦̯̣̺̩͙̜͖̩̠͒̿̉̉̆ ̶̛̪̜̲̱͇͚̞̙̝͉̻͇̠͕̀͒̿͑̅̔̓̏̉̀̊̾͌͋̐̕ͅa̵̧̤̹̞̟̣̲̼̔̆̒͠ņ̷̢̨̤̩͍̜̬͖͍̻̪͔̗̄͗̈́̿̏͗̌̄́̈́̄͑͐d̸̛̺͉̳̫̣̥̑̂̈́͒́̉̀͂̈́̏̕