I really respect and admire indie developers as someone who aspires to make games (aspire only because I don’t even know how to code). The thought of having a vision about a game and make it a reality is an exciting prospect, there are some cases in which an indie developer creates something that is so great and lovable that becomes an important part of videogame history with some notable examples being Shovel Knight and Shantae ( I consider Shantae an indie game and it is one of the best Metroidvania ever). With all this being said and with all the new and upcoming developers and all the games getting to the eshop every week, it is exciting to see the next genre-defining game in the likes of the aforementioned examples, with CrossCode I can safely say that this game is another example of indie greatness.
In CrossCode we play as Lea, a blue-haired girl that has amnesia but that has been in CrossCode before, so in order to get her memories back she logs in again in hopes to find the answers she needs. But there is a catch, her speech module is damaged and she cannot interact with other players very well. Her speech patterns are limited to short phrases like Hi and Lea (as you progress through the game you unlock more, but this is part of the history and it works well). I liked this approach and it gives the game charm. But I don’t want to spoil anything story related so let’s talk about the gameplay aspect of the game; CrossCode is a top-down action RPG with a beautiful 16-bit aesthetic and a well-made combat system. You can use melee attacks and ranged attacks, and I like how smooth it is to transition from a melee attack to a ranged one and the freedom you have to be creative with your combos is what I like the most about CrossCode. In the beginning, you have access to a basic, three-hit melee attack and your ranged attack, which has two variations: you can use a charged attack or you can shoot continuously, but as you progress through and level up you gain access to a plethora of customization options which makes engaging in battles with enemies fun. As you level up you earn CP (Circuit Points), CP is used on the Circuits menu to unlock Lea’s potential like increasing the HP, Defense, Focus, and Attack attributes; however, the most interesting aspect of the customization menu is the skills you unlock, I mean unlocking skills is a given in this type of game but the way the developers made the system is worthy of praise.
In other games, you have several skill branches with their own perks but if you spend your allocation points in a specific branch you are unable to change it unless you reset your character completely (most games do this), in CrossCode you spend your CP on either branch and you can swap them at any time, this helps so much since you have tons of different combinations to match your playstyle and you are welcome to experiment, for example, the branch that unlocks the Spin Dance special move also unlocks a perk that allows you to shoot small projectiles with each melee attack causing more damage with each hit, if you don’t like that branch you can swap the skill to the Sphere Saw in this branch you lose the ability to shoot small projectiles but you earn the Iron Stance which increases the immunity to knockback by 4% depending on MaxHP. As explained this is just an example of the different settings and special moves you can use in the game, there are four types Melee, Dash, Block, and Ranged so you have plenty to choose from. As you progress through the story you unlock elemental attacks greatly increasing your repertoire and options to choose from, fun times indeed.
CrossCode offers tons of things and locations to see and there are several homages to popular culture icons and videogame icons also, as you can see in the pics above right at the beginning of the review the man in the red tank top with shades resembles certain sonic boom master (wink wink), and the lady in white gi resembles the strongest woman with lighting legs or a certain fight with a blue blur that has to go fast, I definitely enjoy finding these type of nods in videogames. I certainly was not expecting anything like that, and it shows the love and passion the developers have for videogames in general. But the passion is not only in the little nods, besides the excellent battle system the level design is top-notch since you have so much to explore in each area you discover in the game, I like the approach taken design-wise ” so you see that item box right above you? Well, you need to work to get it”, it feels so satisfying to traverse a difficult area with no hints whatsoever and get that coveted item box. I definitely spent more time trying to uncover all the secrets each area had for me and that is something to applaud them for.
The enemy ai is well implemented, the enemies have varied attack patterns and pose quite the challenge. So far I have praised the graphics, the battle system, and the level design so the big question is how is the performance? I have to again applaud the developer for providing a smooth and fast-paced experience with CrossCode. I haven’t noticed any hiccups or performance issues so far and it’s impressive even in the areas with so many NPCs running around. (Note: as of the time of writing this review two update patches have been released by the developer to fix bugs and performance issues the game had at launch like the slowdown in areas with many NPCs, or slow menu access like accessing the Circuits or other menus, that is why I praise the developer that managed to fix those issues so far during my replay to test no issues have been encountered. Also, the developer will release DLC and more QOL updates on the console versions little by little, but I really appreciate that they are working hard to give us console gamers an experience equal to PC players.)
Now, do I recommend CrossCode? Definitely. The game has tons of content and charm it is one of those games that you start out of curiosity and when you least expect it your playtime is around 40 hours. The setting, the story, the music and the little nods here and there makes CrossCode an adventure like no other and worthy of being in every Switch owner’s library. I consider it one of the essential titles to own, and at least in my opinion has earned a spot in my all time favorite list of games and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
A review code was kindly provided for this review.
A physical version of the game can be purchased here