Game:

CrossCode (2018)

Category:

Review

Duration: 25:38

348 views

21

HEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY… it’s New Release Friday, guys. CrossCode is our gameplay and review subject this week and believe me when I say, you’ll wanna be along for this ride. Before we kick off this CrossCode gameplay and review we will want to address exactly what it is CrossCode tries to accomplish.
From the Steam page:
CrossCode combines 16-bit SNES-style graphics with butter-smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story.
CrossCode is all about how it plays! That's why there is a free Steam demo! Go give it a try! Take the best out of two popular genres, find a good balance between them and make a great game. That’s what CrossCode does. You get the puzzles of Zelda-esque dungeons and are rewarded with the great variety of equipment you know and love from RPGs. During the fast-paced battles you will use the tools you find on your journey to reveal and exploit the enemies' weaknesses and at the same time will be able to choose equipment and skills for a more in-depth approach in fighting your enemies.

What's included in the full version:
Dive into a massive adventure with a playtime of around 30-80 hours
Explore a large world with 7 unique areas and hidden secrets all over the place
Fight over 120 enemy types including 30+ boss fights
Enter 7 expansive dungeons, all with unique themes and puzzle mechanics
Master up to 100 combat arts and even more passive skills
Solve over 100 quests with a great variety of tasks and unique challenges
60+ music tracks
https://store.steampowered.com/app/368340/CrossCode/

Additionally, New Release Friday is a series in which (hopefully) every week I will hop over to the “New Releases” section of Steam and pick-up a game to play for a few hours and give a first-thought review on. This series is an attempt to not only keep content fresh and relevant around the channel by covering current games in a concise and genuine fashion, but also to offer exposure to new games via a relaxed review format to inform potential, unsure buyers. Check out the playlist for more!

Let’s kick off this CrossCode gameplay and review right by talking about the things I liked. First off, any game that presents itself as a new SNES game is something I can get excited for. I really love something about that era and progression that it brought to the video game industry. It is also responsible for some of the best video game soundtracks of all time. Now, while CrossCode isn’t a new SNES game, it even describes itself as channeling the graphical style of the era. I think that this appearance is very nuanced and does a lot of favors for the game. Additionally, it holds up to the quality of a lot of soundtracks from that era. The gameplay mechanics in CrossCode are stupendous all around. The controls take a bit to get ahold of, but once you start to learn how things work you can really flow around and make the most of the combat. Characters are all around quite good and the writing is dome charmingly. Perhaps the strongest aspect in this CrossCode review is the world building and atmosphere that is used to accompany the story. You truly feel as though you are in an MMO. You see these NPCs running to and fro as though they are actual people online running fetch quests and partying up with their friends. It makes me wish that CrossWorlds existed as an actual MMO, because it looks like a blast.

Though it is quite difficult to find negatives in this treat of a game, I will do my best to list off some negatives in my CrossCode gameplay and review experience. I feel that I am having a hard time deciding between controller or mouse and keyboard. The controls aren’t bad, but just sort of unique and each interface option seems to have its benefits. The next negative I can find is regarding the jumping mechanic in CrossCode. I think it is neat, simply because in these types of game it is difficult to implement verticality in levels because of the 2.5D nature that most new SNES games exhibit, just as well as their older counterparts. I think that the mechanic is good, but could be better because of the predictive jumping. I almost wish that I could enable a jump button and it would make me not just fall off of ledges but instead allow me to jump for myself. One item I can’t decide on as far as negative or positive is the lack of voicing. On one hand, it would be nice to know what some of the people sound like and would also keep you from having to read so much. On the other hand, CrossCode allows you to discern for yourself what you think people sound like, the tone of the conversation, etc. Part of me considered starting a Let’s Play of this game and voicing it myself, but I think I would wear out my voice severely if I did that.

Bottom line on this New Release Friday and my CrossCode gameplay and review? Just buy it, man. This is an astounding piece of work that has been put out and I think that almost everyone can find something they like.

Other Statistics