CrossCode

Still the only video game to make me ugly cry. Some shows and movies have made me cry but this was the first game and oh my god.
Please play it. Pretty pretty please. You will be so happy with your decision.

I've played a lotta games in my day, starting way back in the 80's, and I can confidently say this is one of my favorites. The characters are fun and endearing, and the gameplay is challenging, rewarding, and fair.

That said...the question here isn't whether or not I personally liked the game, it's about whether or not I recommend You playing it. But then, that depends an awful lot on you, doesn't it?

One of the first few screens this game will show you is one that explains that the combat and puzzles are meant to be challenging. I think a lotta people misunderstand what they mean. "Challenging" tends to be an overused term I think...sorta like "may cause drowsiness" on medicines. They put that on everything from ibuprofen to xanax. Same with games that claim they're challenging. To continue my medicine analogy, on a scale of ibuprofen to xanax, this game rates as a quaalude or phenobarbitol. To drop the metaphor...when they say challenging they don't mean you might have to fight a boss two or three times, they don't mean you'll have to try a puzzle a few times before you get it right. They mean challenging like Ninja Gaiden or Mike Tyson's Punch Out, as two NES examples. The kind of challenging that will make you wanna scream, throw your controller across the room, and punch the game in the face. That's what they mean by challenging.

For instance, as one (allegedly) professional review site said "...even after understanding what we were supposed to do, it still took everyone in the office dozens of tries before even one of us could do some of the puzzles". Which, first of all, is probably the definition of a skill issue. But also, is a fair definition of what "challenging" means in terms of this game.

As combat goes, you have a melee and a ranged attack. You also have a dash and a shield. You are expected to use them All regularly. You will have a bad time if you don't.

As puzzles go...there's a ton of interesting mechanics, which don't have an explicit tutorial. Instead, the first few puzzles after a mechanic is introuced are the tutorial puzzles. These will then become more and more complex, and often include sequences of actions that must be performed in a certain timing.

Dungeons will typically alternate between a fight room and a puzzle room. Increasing in difficulty until the puzzle "boss", followed by the actual boss. You may very well have to retry both bosses dozens of times.

So then, do I recommend this game to You? Do you find the puzzles in most modern games challenging, or even amusing? Is your idea of challenging "I could barely focus on the podcast I was listening to while fighting that boss" or "Man, that puzzle took me three tries and I still barely did it!"? Then no, I do not recommend you playing this game, you'll just turn into another embarassing salt dispenser in the discussions. If you enjoy overcoming challenges that will push you to your limits, then yes, absolutely!! This is a must play gaming experience for you in that case!

this game is fantastic but at the 13 hour mark, it feels like theres too much of it, and i gotta push to continue playing more of more-or-less the same.
inb4 food analogy, but imagine you order a pizza, but instead you get like 8 pizzas. all of its equally high quality, but im not eating 80+ slices bro, im already full by the 10th slice.
so if theres one thing to take away here, its that you should probably pace yourself when playing this, and avoid doing too much of the optional content, as fun and authored as most of it may be.
and it is absolutely worth playing, my thoughts were entirely glowing up until my last play session made me realise why i'd put off playing it for two weeks.
the biggest thing this game does well is how holistic its core gameplay is. a lot of games segregate or downright instance their gameplay elements; so for example in other games, you'll be in the overworld doing a puzzle, then you go into a platforming room, then you get locked into an arena where you fight enemies. this results in a sequence of 1 dimensional gameplay styles, but crosscode integrates all of it into one.
all of your combat tools are also your puzzle solving tools, and the platforming of the vertically layered stages is relevant to both. so you get this wonderful multi-dimensional space of gameplay possibility, where a given challenge can be any fluid combination of combat execution (usually aiming), movement, exploration, puzzle solving and platforming. and it explores all of these possibilities very well.
i bring this up because one of my major pain points with the JRPG genre is the complete lack of this. if you're like me and you enjoy the concept and aesthetics of JRPGs, but are bored by the gameplay of walking down interaction-less dungeon corridors with completely instanced and spatially irrelevant battle scenes, then crosscode will be what you want.
the fact that you can jump especially gives the entire game so much more interaction and the spaces more mechanical meaning. in a lot of RPGs, towns are just glorified menus, where you walk between houses to read text boxes, buy items, or maybe find a secret chest if you're lucky. but in crosscode, even the areas with no enemies have you engaging with the core gameplay through these little parkour puzzles. and thats completely ignoring the sidequests that DO have you fighting stuff in the towns, which more games need to do (especially if combat is their only gameplay)
i think many action rpgs could learn a lot from crosscode, because its the only ARPG i can think of that does this all this so well. the closest game is like kingdom hearts 1, but even in that game the combat was fairly isolated from all the adventure game elements.
to briefly level a complaint at the combat, i feel it could take more cues from shmups in such a projectile focused game. there are plenty of interesting bullet patterns, but the hitboxes are too large and your inertia too high to really dodge them. by that i mean raw touhou dodging, not dodge-roll i-frame dodging, the latter of which is the strategy most of the time. the game does well with the defensive mechanics present (though it really needs an indicator for unblockables), the perfect guard stops it from being too roll-spammy and theres other abilities besides, but i feel like theres untapped potential here with the natural complexity of raw dodging patterns if the game really allowed it. as is, you mainly find yourself right-clicking away from or through various bullet waves and melee bumrushes without too much thought on space or positioning. but it does work and is suitably fun and challenging, not to mention the extra layer of on-the-fly puzzle solving often involved in major encounters.
besides gameplay, its also got good music, detailed art and a good aesthetic (though i wish it leant more into the y2k/sci-fi over the cozy stardew valley kitsch). the story has an intriguing premise and works perfectly as a framing device for all of the mechanics that other games take for granted without bothering to contextualise (there are stats and MMO npcs because it literally takes place in an MMO), and it effortlessly marries the themes and the gameplay as a result. writing and characters are fine, its not anything elaborate or particularly colourful but its pleasant and earnest. lea is the highlight for me, mainly because she can't speak and communicates mostly non-verbally, so you kinda project more depth onto her than the other characters show. theres a lot of pathos to the idea of this character whos so warm and eager to connect with people, but is physically unable to speak, and i expect the story will capitalise on it. any pushing through this game from me will be to learn more about her.
but that kinda gets back to the start of the review. this is a good ass game but im not sure if its a '100 hours' good ass game. by the point im at, youre pretty full, and unlike a zelda game (which is also much shorter), the progression here doesn't change the gameplay and entire map in the way that something like getting the hookshot or bow does. you get new elements, but theyre basically just keys; stuff like ice blocks you need to melt to access a previously inaccessible area. you do unlock cool new combat abilities with the skill tree for each element, but theyre optional and can't have any challenges specifically designed around them, so it seems from beginning to end you're just throwing balls at bruddas in some configuration. this would be perfect for a shorter, more replayable game that explored the permutations at a much faster pace, but not for this.
its like, resident evil 4 is exceptional and you could comfortably get 40 hours between replays and bonus modes, but if the campaign itself was 40 hours it wouldn't work. and i use that as an example because that game ALREADY starts to drag past the halfway mark, despite how tight it is. you either need insane levels of depth and variety in core gameplay, or a fast paced episodic / constantly evolving narrative to maintain attention over that length. by the time you've cleared the first real dungeon and got the first of the act 1 mcguffins in this game, you're 4 hours out of midgar in ff7 and balls deep in the medallions in OoT.
so if theres something i hope the devs learn in their successor to this game, its to trim stuff down. not because any of the content is bad or filler like an open-world game, but because too much of good but somewhat interchangeable content harms the overall experience. did there really need to be 5 sliding block/bomb puzzles in a row before getting the boss key in the ice mines, even if all 5 were thoughtful and challenging? did autumns rise really need so many similar screens and 20 sidequests? all of these things are distinct enough from each other not to feel repetitive in the moment, but in the bigger picture, they're kind of redundant. its in the not-so-sweetspot of being unique and tightly packed enough that you're initially compelled to do all of it, but still so much that it gets tiring.
but ultimately this is an exceptional game in most areas, and an easy recommend if you like action-RPGs or zelda-likes at all, but know that you're mileage may vary and the well-spent hours might not take you to the credits.

wanna unlock this item? puzzle. wanna go here? puzzle. talk to his npc? puzzle. wanna unlock ur power? puzzle. wanna attack the enemy? puzzle. need to do this puzzle? here's another PUZZLE. you think these puzzles can be relaxing? guess again. it's also a RACE tied to an ACHIEVEMENT. because fuck you that's why. after the temple mine dungeon, if you think to yourself "wow that was really bad. i hope all the other dungeons are way shorter and easier from now on!" turn back. if you hate puzzles this game is not for you. heck, even if you love puzzles this will test the patience of a saint. other than that its good. like, really good. this game is so frustrating to recommend because i love it so much and i hate the puzzles so much. if their next game has the same amount of puzzles then that's one more reason to hate the french.

Peak. So peak. Like literally, it is my favorite game of all time, and if you have not tried it out yet, you should. The characters are great and the music is amazing. The puzzles range from easy to challenging, and the fighting is really good.
One tip for the puzzles is that if it seems too complicated to solve, you are probably overthinking it. I know I felt dumb after figuring out that a solution to a puzzle I was stuck at was so simple.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☑ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long (took me 90 hours to complete main game + dlc(without 100% side quests))
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

I have heard a lot about Crosscode over the years and truth be told I never paid it too much attention despite hearing so much praise.
Now that I have had the chance to beat the game and it's dlc I have to say I wish I got around to playing it sooner!
The game is a journey worth experiencing with really fun puzzles and combat and phenomenal sound design that just makes the act of playing the game super fun, heck just hitting enemies and bushes just feels great to do!
My only two issues with the game is that depth perception is a common issue while exploring and solving jumping puzzles which comes from the nature of it being isometric and it is very difficult to properly convey what is a different elevation from the player from that perspective.
Also the actual in-game... game I suppose you would call it?
Crossworld the in-universe MMO they are playing.
That story is not as inherently interesting and creates a disconnect from the actual story in my opinion just by always having that knowledge that everything is make belief and it sometimes is a bit hard to differentiate what is the actual story of the game and what is the story of the in-game MMO.
The story of Lea and the rest of the supporting cast is just brilliant and I really learnt to love pretty much each and every character.
I think it is a really touching story and I got pretty emotional at times while playing.
From a gameplay perspective the game is fairly simple and never really goes too in-depth in terms of forcing you to grind or engage with the RPG mechanics outside a surface level build.
Which I think is good as it is not really supposed to be as grindy and just by doing side quests I was always more then prepared to face the next dungeon and side bosses.
Where the game does go very in-depth however is the puzzles.
In terms of the three big pillars of gameplay.
That being combat, exploration and puzzles; then puzzles are by and large probably over 50% of the entire games content.
Now reading online this does seem to be the biggest point of contention in the community.
Personally?
I really enjoyed the puzzles!
They where not always perfect and I am pretty sure I accidentally sequence broke a handful of them by overcomplicating it haha.
But they where really well made and I always felt very accomplished after beating them!
Overall as a whole package Crosscode is without a shadow of a doubt one of the better indie games I have ever played and I can recommend it to pretty much everyone!
Also how the heck did you guys manage to create this whole game in HTML5!?!?!?!