Given how many modern references are in CrossWorlds (like the 4th-wall breaking ninja) it means the "game" has a lot of retro appeal in-universe aswell as out-universe.
I just got this game a couple weeks back, and it has absolutely skyrocketed for me. Probably in my top 10 of all time now. The characters are so fuckin great, it ran like a dream even on my fuckin potato of a laptop, and above all it was fun as hell. Can't wait to play a new home.
@@suchmankhehra5806I got some: Hollow Knight, Celeste, Rain World, all Bioshock games, dead cells, blasphemous, cuphead, ori and the will of the wisps, hades, risk of rain 2 (on lowest settings ofc), Deltarune and undertale. That’s the ones I can think of right now.
I've never seen a game capitalize on every inch and function of a controller that this game does. CrossCode understands what a lot of recent action RPGs don't: speed speed speed. If you're going to have a successful action RPG you HAVE to pace the combat fast enough that the player wants more of it (Ys VIII, Crosscode, Secret of Mana, Early Star Ocean games). Crosscode not only hits that pace but actually tests how fast you can think with it. It is a wonderful exemplar of how game design is supposed to work and a must-play even for fans outside of the genre.
Gonna be a long wait. Hope they've got the funds to stick it out and achieve their vision. And Crosscode is such a comprehensive game in so many aspects, it's a very high bar to meet, much less clear.
I just did my fourth playthrough as I plan on writing a paper on it. It's an incredible and extremely under-appreciated game. It's one of my favorite games of all time. The accessibility features is what helped me get through my first play through. The puzzles are tough, combat is deep and rewarding, and just a diverse and relatable cast of characters. I'm happy to find such a positive and detailed review. Well done. I subscribed and look forward to watching more videos.
Radicalfish is making a new game! They've been working on it for years now and a demo should be out soon! It's separate from Crosscode though. It's called Alabaster Dawn.
It’s actually thanks to the trailer of Alabaster Dawn that I discovered CrossCode. I haven’t finished it yet but it’s become my #1 indie game, and the best game I purchased this year.
@@jmachero5852 i would absolutely reccomend this game even right now also i think overwhelmingly positive is like 95% positive reviews and crosscode is 94% as of right now so yeah
@@jmachero5852 thats the one i play, yeah its super good i can't reccomend it enough. Originally i bought it on a whim went it was early access like 4 years before its full release and it extremely quickly became one of my favorite games of all time.
Every time i come back to this game, i get hard addicted to it for months. Every time Lea tears up, i tear up. The main story final battle always gets me hyped no matter how many times i experience it. The pacing and ability to set the exact mood it wants at all times is godly. My personal favorite game ever made. Also i main a full-shooter build because i am a coward who is afraid of this game's melee combat XD
I love the concept of this game, how it's based in an MMO. And combine that with Lea's inability to speak due to a "speech module malfunction" or something like that, can lead to some humorous situations. Like an NPC (and by NPC, I mean like an actual NPC inside of the MMO) asking Lea a question, and she just goes ".....hi..." and the NPC responds as if she just told them every specific detail that they require so they can continue their dialogue, since they are programmed to do that. It all just works. Only other "players" catch on to her inability to speak.
Well, everyone except Emily. This bitch did not even noticed that Lea had speech problems (because Emily selfish and egocentric). The only character in the game I really, really hate. Not even close to Sidwell.
Yep. Which interestingly lets you tell who's an NPC and who's a player based on how they respond to Lea. ...Even if *certain players* straight up don't notice that she doesn't speak in anything other than monosyllables for entire days lmao.
I'm glad that CrossCode is getting more recognition. It's such an underrated game. To this day I use it as the gold standard for puzzles to compare other games to.
This review is fire. When I played CrossCode, it pretty much immediately shot up to one of my top 5 games of all time, if not my favorite (it's such a nebulous concept that I don't know the order of those games). Like, as I played it my entire being was overwhelmed with the sensation that "this is one of the best games I have ever played." I bought and played it last summer on a complete whim after hearing somebody mention it (was it Razbuten?) and even now I can't get the experience out of my head. It's simply so polished, so engaging, so fundamentally sound. Movement feels fantastic and has a lot of depth to it, combat is rich, challenging, and fast paced, and the puzzles are ACTUAL puzzles that require both mechanical skill and good problem solving. The gameplay integrates seamlessly with the setting of the world, and lends a lot of believability to the narrative which, while nothing mindblowing, is filled with endearing characters and is a really fun story with some strong emotional beats. Also, the music slaps, and the OST is definitely worth buying. Not to mention that the game has tons of content, and yet still manages to maintain its quality throughout the entire run time. Honestly, I just can't say enough good things about CrossCode. In fact, the only bad thing I can say about it is that because it looks like some strange indie thing that most folks haven't heard of it's really hard to get people to actually give it a chance. But there's a reason why so many people, myself included, love it to bits. It's just pure, beautiful, fun. Also, I'd forgotten that A New Home was DLC and not a patch. One one hand it's 100% worth the asking price and honestly I'm more than thrilled to give Radical Fish my money, but on the other hand it's such a MASSIVE addition in terms of what it adds to the game and especially its narrative that I feel bad for anybody who didn't get to experience it, like you initially (I get that it wasn't out yet but the experience is the same), and to that end I wish it was free DLC just to make sure people play it. Well, hopefully most of the people who enjoy the game enough to play it through will pick it up. Can't wait for Project Terra. And to eventually replay CrossCode! I'm sure it'll be just as fun next time, but I like to give these things time to breathe. This game would be sick to learn to speedrun, though. Awesome video. Really brought all my love for this game bubbling back up to the surface. It was like you were stealing the words from my mouth, because I want to shout and cry out from the rooftops all the same things you gushed over here. I goddamn love CrossCode. Subscribed, looking forward to checking out your other stuff!
Agreed with every single thing you said here. I first played the game back in Summer 2019 and loved it already then, but playing on my shitty laptop setup was kind of a pain so I ended up stopping in Gaia's Garden. I eventually bought it again on Switch earlier this year in January and even having to replay the game was an absolute joy. I enjoyed it and appreciated it even more than the first time I played it. From running around exploring its beautiful and vibrant world solving puzzles within it, to running around combating with its buttery smooth controls and well designed enemies that have unique methods of defeating them and movesets, to the side-quests that are actually good and have tons of unique bosses to defeat, mini-dungeons to get through, and combat challenges, to the major dungeons that have fun and satisfying and intricate puzzles to solve, and to the fun and lovable cast which are expressive and feels real, I can confidently say this is the best indie game of all time. It gets soooo many things done right that appeal to my specific niche of tastes in video games. This game is easily in my top 2 favorite games of all time with DQ11 being at the top (because that game also appeals to my niche of tastes in JRPGs). Also, this game is the first time I ever bought a collector's edition for a game ever. I usually ignore collector's editions but this game was way too special to me. My favorite piece from the collectors edition was the art book that shows off tons of art of the characters and the various artwork used in the streams of the game's development that RadicalFish holds every once in a while. There's a lot good stuff there that have references to tons of other games.
really glad to have gotten the collector's edition as well! that art book is hefty, but worth the price of admission alone. and having a physical copy of the soundtrack is, of course, a nice bonus as well!
Crosscode really is so crazy good. I very rarely buy DLC for games, and whenever I do it's only after a long and careful consideration, but when I got to the end of Crosscode I grabbed my wallet with zero hesitation
I really love this game. Everything really just feels so great: story, characters, gameplay, puzzles, exploration, music and don't forget our beloved blue haired protagonist Lea! I think she is the only silent protagonist I really cared for. Your review was awesome, thank you to bring excitement on this marvelous game!
I played CrossCode pretty shortly after release and have always heralded it as an absolute masterpiece. This game deserves way more love. It's truly special.
CrossCode is 100% the number one most under appreciated game of all time. Whether you think it's a masterpiece or just okay, you can not deny the sheer lack of people talking about this game. I am so incredibly surprised how much I ended up enjoying it. I could write a paper on why this game is so fantastic. It does too many things at a very high level which is super rare for games now. It's also a fantastic example of simple concept addicting gameplay. I've played modern AAA titles that are less engaging than fighting trash mobs in Autumn's Rise. The concepts are so simple but they build on each other and interact in ways that never get stale. Every once in a while you get to play a game as good as CrossCode and it reminds you of the glass ceiling in gaming. That ceiling gets shattered and all other modern games start to seem disappointing. I hope masterpieces like CrossCode will still continue to release in a future of microtransactions, battle passes, and $70 works in progress.
Same thing happened to me. FFIX used to be my favorite game ever and I was disappointed for a long time not having anything come close. But then this game came by and I couldn't put it down. I actually teared up at that particular reconciliation scene, no game has ever made me do that ಥ_ಥ
I did a run of CrossCode new game + with 4x damage, no mercy, diet, zero healing (only effects regen, not flat healing), and 4x drop rate. Some of the most fun I've had in a video game, all the difficulty makes you utilize mechanics you didn't even know existed.
it really is a wonderful game. and my biggest nitpick is the same as yours (the depth perception), it would be nice if there were a button that when you pressed, maybe darkened or blurred slightly the platforms on the other levels, just so you can sorta see if for a moment.
Crosscode is such a great game, and the final puzzle of the main story is the definition of "omg that felt so good" plus i love the dlc final puzzle, that ball thing, and the dlc boss! such a great game.
The final dungeon puzzle, while it looks overwhelming, was actually not hard in my opinion. You just had to take it step by step, and each step was relatively straightforward. So it was just a matter of learning each step, retrying, getting to the next step and then just finally putting it all together. There was no 'bigger picture' that you had to keep in mind. It was quite linear. I was personally a bit relieved by that, honestly. lol
@@maynardburger I totally agree, I get it like 2-3 attempt in my first playthrough, it's super linear, no 'puzzle' part at all, just execution. Kulero temple had more unforgiving puzzles than tower one
yeah this game is so so ridiculously amazing, it's unreal. i never miss an opportunity to talk someones ears off to make them go on this amazingly heartfelt journey with leah
I love how this game both reward players (such as me) that like going straight for the story their first time around and then do exploring on a new file/NG+, and players that like doing everything and enjoying every aspect the game offers
if you say that this game sucks, you are wrong, there is no way this game is considered as bad, of course opinions exists but you have to find it charming in SOME way
My favorite part (besides the characters) has to be the S-rank killsprees. Getting to S-rank in the first place requires planning out your route, and once the adrenaline-pumping music hits, you have to keep that momentum up by managing your (and your party's) HP and Elemental Overload. Yes, this game got me to care about grinding.
I'm currently 100 hours into my first run through the game, about to fight Apollo in the dlc. I'm kinda dragging my feet though, cos I know there's not much left to do, so I'm savoring every moment and trying to mop up every sidequest and task, running around with different characters and maxing out my stats as much as possible (level 69 as I type, nice!). I'm being really slow, cos I don't want it to end guys. Lea wait!
Man, I want more like this, like even my very first glance of it, I can already tell it would be an amazingly polished and fleshed out action rpg game. (I love that genre)
When I first played through this the characters stayed on my mind for weeks. It really felt like you'd play an MMO and be on adventure with your friends. Normally I am not a fan of stories that boil down to being about friendship, because they usually end up being written in a very cheesy way. But CC managed to make it all just so wholesome and endearing. I think that banner for the DLC with Lea treasuring her friends really encompassed this. The devs definitely earned my support for their future games.
Crosscode made me want to do a level 1 playthrough just for the hell of it. The balance between challenging but fair combat was just so masterfully done that I wanted to test my skills. I equipped the modifiers that would encourage me to eat more food and reduce my grinding, and threw in witch time for the hell of it and had a frustrating blast every Apollo fight.
If humanity went exctint, i'd like this masterpiece of a game to be our last vestige of civilization, yes, thats how good it is for me. 10/10 is an understatement.
Crosscode is so damn phenomenal, it's so lovingly crafted from the characters to the story. I love it to death, and just like you I fell in love with it even more on the second playthrough, one I originally started to add information to a Game Design assignment.
I'm a simple man, I see crosscode, I like. The level design is amazing, the characters are amazing, the music is amazing, the world is amazing, the gameplay is amazing, crosscode is amazing. I understand why it may not be for everybody, namely the puzzles including how the level design can feel like you need 500 iq to get a club sandwich chest. But I really wish it would one day be played in mainstream instead of being a deserved underground cult.
My only problem with the game is that you cant continue paying past the expansion ending. If you want to continue that save file, you cant do the final bit of story. Super annoying. That being said tho, i agree that the game is unbelievable awesome!
TBH after watching Project Terra latest demo, I am bit concerned it is too focused on combat (and even more, you need to kill everything everywhere). They showed couple simple puzzles like shoot the switch and that's it. (CrossCode demo was heavily puzzle focused at the time)
I've been hooked on this game ever since it was in early access, lots of fond memories for that one. (But god, the wait for the final release was hell back then - the story ended just at the end of chapter 6 and then only continued for the final release - one hell of an absolutely evil cliffhanger.) Just one of the most pleasant surprises for me ever, especially since I just got the game on a whim. Plays extremely smoothly, the soundtrack is great, the characters are great fun to have around, Lea's a very fun take on the silent protagonist (well, she's not 100% silent, but you get the idea), and just... god, experiencing that game for the first time just feels special. Put way too many hours into the game, and would gladly do it again, easily in my top 10 (probably even top 5) of all games I've ever played.
I'm just about at the part of the final dungeon boss, and man I can agree to everything that you have said here. I never even knew this was what I wanted. But I can agree that crosscode is definitely one of my top games personally as well. And yeah, the depth perception is just a shame but its an easily forgivable gripe when you take into account everything else the game offers. The music, the fluid combat, easy but hard to master systems, the variety of different playstyles even, the gear options provided, it's great. You put exactly into words what I can't verbalize myself on why I love this game so much, so thank you.
Vesperia as first, twewy as 2nd and crosscode as 3rd, you my guy have an incredibly amazing taste! How do i know? Because TWEWY is my all time fav, Crosscode 2nd and vesperia/berseria 3rd 4th
I got this on a whim a couple months ago but I haven’t gotten a chance to really take my time with it. I just cleared a large chunk out of my backlog, so it may be about time to really dive into this. Really didn’t expect to see you cover it!
The intro is everything I wanted to get off my chest about this game! It's a masterpiece and it's a crime that so few people is talking about it, especially when I've noticed how everone that *have* talked about it has showered it with praise! (Though I haven't beaten the game yet, I'm stuck at the last boss in gias garden temple dungeon thing, if you have any tips, feel free to write them below)
I never really played a twin stick shooter before, so I decided to really focus on the ranged aspect of the combat early on. I chose mostly ranged damage skills and chose my gear for it. The damage never got good and I ended up struggling at the start of every new area until the jungle, with me at best doing 20% of the damage in a 3 man party. I tried to keep up with equipment without doing too much grinding and did nearly every side quest too. I don't know, maybe i'm just awful at the game, but I only started having fun with non boss combat, once I was forced to spec into melee and defensive skills.
Really loved this game. Some said they didnt like the puzzles, but those was my favourite! The fighting, story etc was also really fun! Havent been able to find such a fun game since :/
If you read this there are a few mods that CrossCode haves that worth checking out Autumn's Genesis mod - Refights of the main dungeon bosses with new attacks/gimmicks for a even harder challenge Triblader mod - with 86 new abilities and your spheres being triangles. You can replay through the whole game as a Triblader Had a great time with both of them. Hope you see this
There are only 3 problems I have with this game and they are: 1. Depth Perception. 2. The DLC's ending. 3. The dungeons. Depth perception is self explanatory so I won't elaborate any further on that, so first I'll talk about why I dislike the dungeons. It's not that I think they're bad or poorly designed or anything. In fact it's quite the opposite. I think they are excellently crafted. However, there are 2 reasons I dislike them. First one being the most obvious and that is I don't like puzzle solving. The second reason being that I felt like they were too long. I often found myself spending at least 3 - 5 hours in each dungeon. It took me multiple days to complete a single one. I'm sure if I liked puzzle solving, this wouldn't be a problem for me. Around the halfway point of the game, I started to dread playing through the next dungeon, because I was honestly beginning to get burnt out. I feel like if they were shorter I would have liked them more. But that's all just a personal thing. Next problem is the DLC's ending. Not much to say, except it felt rushed. Just as things were starting to get interesting, the credits started rolling. I was like... "is that it..?" And yeah, it was. I was really hoping for an epic finale, but I was left underwhelmed. Other than those 3 problems/nitpicks, I honestly think this game is amazing and I'm glad I played it.
"I often found myself spending at least 3 - 5 hours in each dungeon". that's strange, I remember outrunning Emily in the race on my first playthrough in 1 and 2 dungeons (1:20 and 0:50 minutes for them is race win condition). " I don't like puzzle solving" - well CC is puzzle-focused game, It's strange you continued to play it after tutorial. "I'm sure if I liked puzzle solving, this wouldn't be a problem for me." yeah... totally. I like puzzles, so I don't remember any hard one (including DLC). I feel that for each puzzle I like solve it in 20 seconds in my head, and then I need just try execute it, that's most time consuming part. For the battles - for me quite the opposite. I feel like 30% time of all dungeons I've spent on boss battles or final gauntlets. I've spent whole day trying to beat DLC final dungeon boss. Speaking of battles, I can say any word but 'underwhelmed'.
15:18 It is possible to get CP from quests, although mostly from the more advanced side quests. They don't really make a big deal out of it, so it can be hard to notice, but when you get to accept (or finish) a quest, you can see CP in the rewards section. Another reason that this game is so amazing! Also Emilie is best girl.
i found that this was only the case with a few late game and dlc quests, so not really enough to engage as much with the skill system besides just leveling up. all good though, it's really a nitpick at the end of the day, but rewarding me more outside of just level ups would've been cool to see
I stopped at 7 hours when I first played it...I think something else came out that I'd been waiting on, so, yaknow how that can go sometimes. I think I was also specifically looking for a particular type of story at the time and was annoyed when I needed to do side quests for experience, which normally wouldn't bother me. So, I've almost been LOOKING for something to convince me to jump back in (cause I'd start again, it's been a minute) so this video really helped dude. I'll fire it up tomorrow and take my time. I got nothing game wise till XC3 so this is good timing. Grear video mate. I was looking for something more than a 6 minute review, something to twist my arm to give it another (proper) crack. Cheers mate, subbed.
I played this some years ago and I still absolutely love it. Really cool game and what I also love about it, is that it's German. As a German myself I love seeing a good Game from my country while people love to talk trash about our games industry (which is true for many games tbf). But this game is just great. It's even better with the original texting because you just know it hasn't been translated, the jokes work well, it feels natural. It's also funny how they included traditional germen food in the game as consumables, I love these little details. But the main point why I love this game is just the gameplay. It's so good and so fun, so fast and the effects just give you the feeling of being strong, it's just great
You are quite the salesman. Okay yeah I won't miss out on this experience,just let me clear up my backlog a bit. Keeping my attention is no easy task but you always do.
I love this game with all my heart. So much charm, and love put it into it and that long development cycle paid off. This game is honestly one of my favorite Action RPG's next to Ys 8 and the like. I pester my friends to get this game when I can, also Lea is just the greatest lil' bean, I love her.
16:52 Agreed! I'm not much of a gamer considering im limited to using my sad earl 2015 MacBook air (big oof right here) but I still managed to finish the game without adjusting the sliders (i didn't even know they existed lol) and it's such a great feeling. Some of those final puzzles and some bosses made me want to bang my head against the wall but when you finally finish them it's AMAZING Also yes, usually i couldn't care less for collecting achievements, but collecting all the chests and completing quests was just so much fun! (also totally agree with the depth perception thing)
I played this game when it was early access on Steam. I still remember the announcements of the updates, when Rombus Square was added, and all that. When the game reached 1.0 I did the ending and I remember feeling so sad that I would have to wait for the DLC. But the truth is, this game was very hard to develop, and they excell in every single part of it, it's just too good. And it annoys me that this game didn't explode like other indie games so far because, man, just look at how detailed the animations are. When I saw Shizuka doing her thing at the early game I was like: Wait, I'll get this strong, right? And holy hell that's a smart way to show you how you can be if you keep playing. Such an awesome game. And I always feels amazed at how good LEa's expressions are. I can clearly understand who she is and what she feels by the expressions she's giving me and it's insane. The best part so far is Emily freaking out aboug bugs, but she's okay with Spiders. Lea clearly gets annoyed at it xD
To expand upon the point regarding the fact that silent protagonists need to still have some personality, allow me to provide a singular example of how to give a silent protagonist an incredible amount of personality: Doomguy.
Just got the game but yeah, portraits with Personality is something I first experienced with Lunar 2 on Sega CD and have always like them since, when done right and not just lame visual Novel quality.
The silent protagonist with the most character I've seen is Hat Kid from A Hat in Time, though I haven't played Cross Code. Lea may not even count as a silent protagonist, given that she communicates her opinions and feelings as much as possible nonverbally (from what it looks like in this video). She seems more like a nonverbal main character rather than an archetypical blank slate "silent protagonist" type. She's a deconstruction of that trope.
Whats weird is I could never get into this game, I found it too hard, but I wasnt paying attention, now i'm like 40 hours into my first playthrough and i'm addicted, when you actually pay attention to this game and know what you're doing, then you start to see why people say this game is so damn good!!
I discovered this game on a whim when it was in early access back in 2016, I didn't play till like 3 years later but holy shit I love this game so much that my friends were sick of me talking about it shortly after I finished it
I love the aesthetics of retro games but without any of the limitations.
Yes
Pixelart is just beautiful if done right.
Given how many modern references are in CrossWorlds (like the 4th-wall breaking ninja) it means the "game" has a lot of retro appeal in-universe aswell as out-universe.
I just got this game a couple weeks back, and it has absolutely skyrocketed for me. Probably in my top 10 of all time now. The characters are so fuckin great, it ran like a dream even on my fuckin potato of a laptop, and above all it was fun as hell. Can't wait to play a new home.
i was the same when i first played it, and it just kept climbing until it ended up where it is now. such a great, complete game
I got a potato laptop too, got any game recomendations?
Would you care to list your top 10 list? I’m always looking out for hidden gems on the Switch
@@suchmankhehra5806I got some: Hollow Knight, Celeste, Rain World, all Bioshock games, dead cells, blasphemous, cuphead, ori and the will of the wisps, hades, risk of rain 2 (on lowest settings ofc), Deltarune and undertale. That’s the ones I can think of right now.
@@LudgerProdbangin list 💪
I've never seen a game capitalize on every inch and function of a controller that this game does. CrossCode understands what a lot of recent action RPGs don't: speed speed speed. If you're going to have a successful action RPG you HAVE to pace the combat fast enough that the player wants more of it (Ys VIII, Crosscode, Secret of Mana, Early Star Ocean games). Crosscode not only hits that pace but actually tests how fast you can think with it. It is a wonderful exemplar of how game design is supposed to work and a must-play even for fans outside of the genre.
You should try Unsighted :)
can't wait to see what comes out of what radicalfish is cooking up next. that project terra thing from them seems nutty in the best way possible
yeah the streams have been looking so clean. such a talented group
I'm not waiting, I'm going to time travel, anyone wanna come to the future?
Gonna be a long wait. Hope they've got the funds to stick it out and achieve their vision. And Crosscode is such a comprehensive game in so many aspects, it's a very high bar to meet, much less clear.
19:47 Peak comedy.
I just did my fourth playthrough as I plan on writing a paper on it. It's an incredible and extremely under-appreciated game. It's one of my favorite games of all time. The accessibility features is what helped me get through my first play through. The puzzles are tough, combat is deep and rewarding, and just a diverse and relatable cast of characters. I'm happy to find such a positive and detailed review. Well done. I subscribed and look forward to watching more videos.
did you ever write that paper?
Literally the best game ever made imo
valid af
True
"Best" is subjective, but I am 100% with you on it being my favorite game ever made.
Radicalfish is making a new game! They've been working on it for years now and a demo should be out soon! It's separate from Crosscode though. It's called Alabaster Dawn.
It’s actually thanks to the trailer of Alabaster Dawn that I discovered CrossCode. I haven’t finished it yet but it’s become my #1 indie game, and the best game I purchased this year.
Been recommending this game to everyone since 2015, it's insanely good
Fucking same my brother
What about right now? For some reason, the reviews aren’t “overwhelmingly positive” on Steam.
@@jmachero5852 i would absolutely reccomend this game even right now
also i think overwhelmingly positive is like 95% positive reviews and crosscode is 94% as of right now so yeah
@@grantnorris1714 What about the PC version?
@@jmachero5852 thats the one i play, yeah its super good i can't reccomend it enough. Originally i bought it on a whim went it was early access like 4 years before its full release and it extremely quickly became one of my favorite games of all time.
Every time i come back to this game, i get hard addicted to it for months. Every time Lea tears up, i tear up. The main story final battle always gets me hyped no matter how many times i experience it. The pacing and ability to set the exact mood it wants at all times is godly. My personal favorite game ever made.
Also i main a full-shooter build because i am a coward who is afraid of this game's melee combat XD
Top 3 games i have ever played for me. I miss playing this game and I want more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the concept of this game, how it's based in an MMO. And combine that with Lea's inability to speak due to a "speech module malfunction" or something like that, can lead to some humorous situations. Like an NPC (and by NPC, I mean like an actual NPC inside of the MMO) asking Lea a question, and she just goes ".....hi..." and the NPC responds as if she just told them every specific detail that they require so they can continue their dialogue, since they are programmed to do that. It all just works.
Only other "players" catch on to her inability to speak.
Well, everyone except Emily. This bitch did not even noticed that Lea had speech problems (because Emily selfish and egocentric). The only character in the game I really, really hate. Not even close to Sidwell.
Yep. Which interestingly lets you tell who's an NPC and who's a player based on how they respond to Lea.
...Even if *certain players* straight up don't notice that she doesn't speak in anything other than monosyllables for entire days lmao.
I'm glad that CrossCode is getting more recognition. It's such an underrated game. To this day I use it as the gold standard for puzzles to compare other games to.
This review is fire.
When I played CrossCode, it pretty much immediately shot up to one of my top 5 games of all time, if not my favorite (it's such a nebulous concept that I don't know the order of those games). Like, as I played it my entire being was overwhelmed with the sensation that "this is one of the best games I have ever played." I bought and played it last summer on a complete whim after hearing somebody mention it (was it Razbuten?) and even now I can't get the experience out of my head. It's simply so polished, so engaging, so fundamentally sound. Movement feels fantastic and has a lot of depth to it, combat is rich, challenging, and fast paced, and the puzzles are ACTUAL puzzles that require both mechanical skill and good problem solving. The gameplay integrates seamlessly with the setting of the world, and lends a lot of believability to the narrative which, while nothing mindblowing, is filled with endearing characters and is a really fun story with some strong emotional beats. Also, the music slaps, and the OST is definitely worth buying. Not to mention that the game has tons of content, and yet still manages to maintain its quality throughout the entire run time.
Honestly, I just can't say enough good things about CrossCode. In fact, the only bad thing I can say about it is that because it looks like some strange indie thing that most folks haven't heard of it's really hard to get people to actually give it a chance. But there's a reason why so many people, myself included, love it to bits. It's just pure, beautiful, fun.
Also, I'd forgotten that A New Home was DLC and not a patch. One one hand it's 100% worth the asking price and honestly I'm more than thrilled to give Radical Fish my money, but on the other hand it's such a MASSIVE addition in terms of what it adds to the game and especially its narrative that I feel bad for anybody who didn't get to experience it, like you initially (I get that it wasn't out yet but the experience is the same), and to that end I wish it was free DLC just to make sure people play it. Well, hopefully most of the people who enjoy the game enough to play it through will pick it up.
Can't wait for Project Terra. And to eventually replay CrossCode! I'm sure it'll be just as fun next time, but I like to give these things time to breathe. This game would be sick to learn to speedrun, though. Awesome video. Really brought all my love for this game bubbling back up to the surface. It was like you were stealing the words from my mouth, because I want to shout and cry out from the rooftops all the same things you gushed over here. I goddamn love CrossCode.
Subscribed, looking forward to checking out your other stuff!
Agreed with every single thing you said here. I first played the game back in Summer 2019 and loved it already then, but playing on my shitty laptop setup was kind of a pain so I ended up stopping in Gaia's Garden. I eventually bought it again on Switch earlier this year in January and even having to replay the game was an absolute joy. I enjoyed it and appreciated it even more than the first time I played it.
From running around exploring its beautiful and vibrant world solving puzzles within it, to running around combating with its buttery smooth controls and well designed enemies that have unique methods of defeating them and movesets, to the side-quests that are actually good and have tons of unique bosses to defeat, mini-dungeons to get through, and combat challenges, to the major dungeons that have fun and satisfying and intricate puzzles to solve, and to the fun and lovable cast which are expressive and feels real, I can confidently say this is the best indie game of all time. It gets soooo many things done right that appeal to my specific niche of tastes in video games. This game is easily in my top 2 favorite games of all time with DQ11 being at the top (because that game also appeals to my niche of tastes in JRPGs).
Also, this game is the first time I ever bought a collector's edition for a game ever. I usually ignore collector's editions but this game was way too special to me. My favorite piece from the collectors edition was the art book that shows off tons of art of the characters and the various artwork used in the streams of the game's development that RadicalFish holds every once in a while. There's a lot good stuff there that have references to tons of other games.
really glad to have gotten the collector's edition as well! that art book is hefty, but worth the price of admission alone. and having a physical copy of the soundtrack is, of course, a nice bonus as well!
yooo always love to see Crosscode getting more intention. Thank you for making this video!!
Crosscode really is so crazy good. I very rarely buy DLC for games, and whenever I do it's only after a long and careful consideration, but when I got to the end of Crosscode I grabbed my wallet with zero hesitation
I really love this game.
Everything really just feels so great: story, characters, gameplay, puzzles, exploration, music and don't forget our beloved blue haired protagonist Lea! I think she is the only silent protagonist I really cared for.
Your review was awesome, thank you to bring excitement on this marvelous game!
If only they added the fishing back, it’d be 10/10.
Jokes aside, this game fucking slaps.
How did this video not appear in my recommendations sooner, I love Crosscode!
I played CrossCode pretty shortly after release and have always heralded it as an absolute masterpiece. This game deserves way more love. It's truly special.
CrossCode is 100% the number one most under appreciated game of all time. Whether you think it's a masterpiece or just okay, you can not deny the sheer lack of people talking about this game. I am so incredibly surprised how much I ended up enjoying it. I could write a paper on why this game is so fantastic. It does too many things at a very high level which is super rare for games now. It's also a fantastic example of simple concept addicting gameplay. I've played modern AAA titles that are less engaging than fighting trash mobs in Autumn's Rise. The concepts are so simple but they build on each other and interact in ways that never get stale. Every once in a while you get to play a game as good as CrossCode and it reminds you of the glass ceiling in gaming. That ceiling gets shattered and all other modern games start to seem disappointing. I hope masterpieces like CrossCode will still continue to release in a future of microtransactions, battle passes, and $70 works in progress.
Same thing happened to me. FFIX used to be my favorite game ever and I was disappointed for a long time not having anything come close. But then this game came by and I couldn't put it down. I actually teared up at that particular reconciliation scene, no game has ever made me do that ಥ_ಥ
Oh wow I’m running through that one now. It’s a damn good time, and I’m working on fanfiction to stick it in a kingdom hearts story
If you're in need of more CrossCode, go check out the modding scene, people have made playable triblader and hexacast classes.
Love every aspect of this game, the story, characters, exploration, puzzles, combat and so on, glad to see it receiving recognition
On sale during the Christmas sale for a handful of change. Guess I'll buy it.
I did a run of CrossCode new game + with 4x damage, no mercy, diet, zero healing (only effects regen, not flat healing), and 4x drop rate. Some of the most fun I've had in a video game, all the difficulty makes you utilize mechanics you didn't even know existed.
CrossCode deserves so much love, it is indeed a masterpiece that I have deeply enjoyed..
it really is a wonderful game. and my biggest nitpick is the same as yours (the depth perception), it would be nice if there were a button that when you pressed, maybe darkened or blurred slightly the platforms on the other levels, just so you can sorta see if for a moment.
I love just how expressive lea is considering he vocal limitations the game still always does an excellent job at showing her emotions 💖
Crosscode is such a great game, and the final puzzle of the main story is the definition of "omg that felt so good" plus i love the dlc final puzzle, that ball thing, and the dlc boss! such a great game.
Dlc boss?
Ooooh you mean the space birds
The final dungeon puzzle, while it looks overwhelming, was actually not hard in my opinion. You just had to take it step by step, and each step was relatively straightforward. So it was just a matter of learning each step, retrying, getting to the next step and then just finally putting it all together. There was no 'bigger picture' that you had to keep in mind. It was quite linear. I was personally a bit relieved by that, honestly. lol
@@maynardburgeryeah, honestly it's not the hardest puzzle, but it's really fun and make you feels you're the smartest person in the world😂
@@maynardburger I totally agree, I get it like 2-3 attempt in my first playthrough, it's super linear, no 'puzzle' part at all, just execution. Kulero temple had more unforgiving puzzles than tower one
yeah this game is so so ridiculously amazing, it's unreal.
i never miss an opportunity to talk someones ears off to make them go on this amazingly heartfelt journey with leah
I love how this game both reward players (such as me) that like going straight for the story their first time around and then do exploring on a new file/NG+, and players that like doing everything and enjoying every aspect the game offers
if you say that this game sucks, you are wrong, there is no way this game is considered as bad, of course opinions exists but you have to find it charming in SOME way
I enjoy watching people speak passionately about things they care about
My favorite part (besides the characters) has to be the S-rank killsprees. Getting to S-rank in the first place requires planning out your route, and once the adrenaline-pumping music hits, you have to keep that momentum up by managing your (and your party's) HP and Elemental Overload.
Yes, this game got me to care about grinding.
The dopamine rush of getting the last needed kill to get to S-rank is something I always love no matter the circumstances
I'm currently 100 hours into my first run through the game, about to fight Apollo in the dlc. I'm kinda dragging my feet though, cos I know there's not much left to do, so I'm savoring every moment and trying to mop up every sidequest and task, running around with different characters and maxing out my stats as much as possible (level 69 as I type, nice!). I'm being really slow, cos I don't want it to end guys.
Lea wait!
Man, I want more like this, like even my very first glance of it, I can already tell it would be an amazingly polished and fleshed out action rpg game. (I love that genre)
Thx for relighting my fuse for this game. Appreciated bro.😊
THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF CHEATING!!!
my boy, i love him
Hands down best game I've ever played
When I first played through this the characters stayed on my mind for weeks. It really felt like you'd play an MMO and be on adventure with your friends. Normally I am not a fan of stories that boil down to being about friendship, because they usually end up being written in a very cheesy way. But CC managed to make it all just so wholesome and endearing. I think that banner for the DLC with Lea treasuring her friends really encompassed this.
The devs definitely earned my support for their future games.
A review that does great justice to my favorite indie game
Stop I don't want to hear the word "justice" anymore because of grasshead, it's a voice in my head now.
*GET OFF MY HEAD*
Man i fell your enthusiasm xD I fell the same way, i was amazed by this game
I finished the game including the DLC. Absolutely amazing. I miss the days when I hadn't finished this masterpiece. Sigh.
Crosscode made me want to do a level 1 playthrough just for the hell of it. The balance between challenging but fair combat was just so masterfully done that I wanted to test my skills. I equipped the modifiers that would encourage me to eat more food and reduce my grinding, and threw in witch time for the hell of it and had a frustrating blast every Apollo fight.
If humanity went exctint, i'd like this masterpiece of a game to be our last vestige of civilization, yes, thats how good it is for me.
10/10 is an understatement.
I was getting into Gunvolt and found your videos, now I've been watching for three hours. Very glad I did keep it up
Crosscode is so damn phenomenal, it's so lovingly crafted from the characters to the story. I love it to death, and just like you I fell in love with it even more on the second playthrough, one I originally started to add information to a Game Design assignment.
I'm a simple man, I see crosscode, I like. The level design is amazing, the characters are amazing, the music is amazing, the world is amazing, the gameplay is amazing, crosscode is amazing.
I understand why it may not be for everybody, namely the puzzles including how the level design can feel like you need 500 iq to get a club sandwich chest. But I really wish it would one day be played in mainstream instead of being a deserved underground cult.
My only problem with the game is that you cant continue paying past the expansion ending. If you want to continue that save file, you cant do the final bit of story. Super annoying. That being said tho, i agree that the game is unbelievable awesome!
bro i wanted to cry when i finished.
There is voice acting. In the bonus code, type in Best-Va for voice acting to be turn on.
I mean “Best-VA”
Yes! Someone said about it!
Crosscode is such a good game fr definitely my top favorite
Hi kinda wanna buy the game but i’m not sure if i shoud get it on PC or switch. Whitch one woud you recomend
I too struggle to comprehend how perfect this game is. Can't wait for Project Terra.
TBH after watching Project Terra latest demo, I am bit concerned it is too focused on combat (and even more, you need to kill everything everywhere). They showed couple simple puzzles like shoot the switch and that's it. (CrossCode demo was heavily puzzle focused at the time)
The story aspect is kinda like twewy as the story starts ramping up at the end of the shiki week
It's a good game. I have a long way to go
I'm so happy this got a physical copy! Such a good game!
I've been hooked on this game ever since it was in early access, lots of fond memories for that one. (But god, the wait for the final release was hell back then - the story ended just at the end of chapter 6 and then only continued for the final release - one hell of an absolutely evil cliffhanger.)
Just one of the most pleasant surprises for me ever, especially since I just got the game on a whim. Plays extremely smoothly, the soundtrack is great, the characters are great fun to have around, Lea's a very fun take on the silent protagonist (well, she's not 100% silent, but you get the idea), and just... god, experiencing that game for the first time just feels special. Put way too many hours into the game, and would gladly do it again, easily in my top 10 (probably even top 5) of all games I've ever played.
I'm just about at the part of the final dungeon boss, and man I can agree to everything that you have said here. I never even knew this was what I wanted. But I can agree that crosscode is definitely one of my top games personally as well. And yeah, the depth perception is just a shame but its an easily forgivable gripe when you take into account everything else the game offers. The music, the fluid combat, easy but hard to master systems, the variety of different playstyles even, the gear options provided, it's great.
You put exactly into words what I can't verbalize myself on why I love this game so much, so thank you.
haven't seen a review I agree with this hard
I’d comment smug Lea if I could
don't worry, the notion was acknowledged and appreciated
Vesperia as first, twewy as 2nd and crosscode as 3rd, you my guy have an incredibly amazing taste!
How do i know? Because TWEWY is my all time fav, Crosscode 2nd and vesperia/berseria 3rd 4th
I got this on a whim a couple months ago but I haven’t gotten a chance to really take my time with it. I just cleared a large chunk out of my backlog, so it may be about time to really dive into this. Really didn’t expect to see you cover it!
Wow i really liked this video and your style an humor. Instant sub from me
I just want to say how lovely the thumbnail art is
Great! Always love more Crosscode!
The intro is everything I wanted to get off my chest about this game! It's a masterpiece and it's a crime that so few people is talking about it, especially when I've noticed how everone that *have* talked about it has showered it with praise!
(Though I haven't beaten the game yet, I'm stuck at the last boss in gias garden temple dungeon thing, if you have any tips, feel free to write them below)
so glad you chose to gush over the music of the game oh my god
I never really played a twin stick shooter before, so I decided to really focus on the ranged aspect of the combat early on. I chose mostly ranged damage skills and chose my gear for it. The damage never got good and I ended up struggling at the start of every new area until the jungle, with me at best doing 20% of the damage in a 3 man party. I tried to keep up with equipment without doing too much grinding and did nearly every side quest too. I don't know, maybe i'm just awful at the game, but I only started having fun with non boss combat, once I was forced to spec into melee and defensive skills.
man you're killing it as of late, wishing you a fat boost in status cuz you deserve it!
Really loved this game. Some said they didnt like the puzzles, but those was my favourite! The fighting, story etc was also really fun! Havent been able to find such a fun game since :/
If you read this there are a few mods that CrossCode haves that worth checking out
Autumn's Genesis mod - Refights of the main dungeon bosses with new attacks/gimmicks for a even harder challenge
Triblader mod - with 86 new abilities and your spheres being triangles. You can replay through the whole game as a Triblader
Had a great time with both of them. Hope you see this
Wow, didn't even know about infinite dodging.
Well, that's another game to add to my steam wishlist. Zaffre you magnificent guy
you won't regret it!
just got into this and my god. this in my opinion is the most underrated game of all time i hadnt even hear of it until last month. now im addicted.
This video convinced me to purchase the game on this Winter Sale
Hoping it'll be worth it
Was it worth the price?
I’m assuming it is
Currently playing the game so not watching the vid till I beat it, but leaving a comment and like for support. Keep up the good work dude!
really appreciate that :)
I used to try and speed run this game. Master piece
8:00 this song reminds me of the melty blood type lumina ost so much
There are only 3 problems I have with this game and they are:
1. Depth Perception.
2. The DLC's ending.
3. The dungeons.
Depth perception is self explanatory so I won't elaborate any further on that, so first I'll talk about why I dislike the dungeons. It's not that I think they're bad or poorly designed or anything. In fact it's quite the opposite. I think they are excellently crafted. However, there are 2 reasons I dislike them. First one being the most obvious and that is I don't like puzzle solving. The second reason being that I felt like they were too long. I often found myself spending at least 3 - 5 hours in each dungeon. It took me multiple days to complete a single one. I'm sure if I liked puzzle solving, this wouldn't be a problem for me. Around the halfway point of the game, I started to dread playing through the next dungeon, because I was honestly beginning to get burnt out. I feel like if they were shorter I would have liked them more. But that's all just a personal thing. Next problem is the DLC's ending. Not much to say, except it felt rushed. Just as things were starting to get interesting, the credits started rolling. I was like... "is that it..?" And yeah, it was. I was really hoping for an epic finale, but I was left underwhelmed.
Other than those 3 problems/nitpicks, I honestly think this game is amazing and I'm glad I played it.
"I often found myself spending at least 3 - 5 hours in each dungeon". that's strange, I remember outrunning Emily in the race on my first playthrough in 1 and 2 dungeons (1:20 and 0:50 minutes for them is race win condition). " I don't like puzzle solving" - well CC is puzzle-focused game, It's strange you continued to play it after tutorial.
"I'm sure if I liked puzzle solving, this wouldn't be a problem for me." yeah... totally. I like puzzles, so I don't remember any hard one (including DLC). I feel that for each puzzle I like solve it in 20 seconds in my head, and then I need just try execute it, that's most time consuming part.
For the battles - for me quite the opposite. I feel like 30% time of all dungeons I've spent on boss battles or final gauntlets. I've spent whole day trying to beat DLC final dungeon boss. Speaking of battles, I can say any word but 'underwhelmed'.
CrossCode is a very grate game and a big hidden gem.
You should also check out Tunic, also a very special game.
15:18 It is possible to get CP from quests, although mostly from the more advanced side quests. They don't really make a big deal out of it, so it can be hard to notice, but when you get to accept (or finish) a quest, you can see CP in the rewards section. Another reason that this game is so amazing! Also Emilie is best girl.
i found that this was only the case with a few late game and dlc quests, so not really enough to engage as much with the skill system besides just leveling up. all good though, it's really a nitpick at the end of the day, but rewarding me more outside of just level ups would've been cool to see
I stopped at 7 hours when I first played it...I think something else came out that I'd been waiting on, so, yaknow how that can go sometimes.
I think I was also specifically looking for a particular type of story at the time and was annoyed when I needed to do side quests for experience, which normally wouldn't bother me.
So, I've almost been LOOKING for something to convince me to jump back in (cause I'd start again, it's been a minute) so this video really helped dude. I'll fire it up tomorrow and take my time. I got nothing game wise till XC3 so this is good timing.
Grear video mate. I was looking for something more than a 6 minute review, something to twist my arm to give it another (proper) crack.
Cheers mate, subbed.
...I'm currently NG+ing and I made a mod for the game and I learn of longjump from a fucking review? wtf
I played this some years ago and I still absolutely love it. Really cool game and what I also love about it, is that it's German. As a German myself I love seeing a good Game from my country while people love to talk trash about our games industry (which is true for many games tbf). But this game is just great. It's even better with the original texting because you just know it hasn't been translated, the jokes work well, it feels natural. It's also funny how they included traditional germen food in the game as consumables, I love these little details.
But the main point why I love this game is just the gameplay. It's so good and so fun, so fast and the effects just give you the feeling of being strong, it's just great
You are quite the salesman.
Okay yeah I won't miss out on this experience,just let me clear up my backlog a bit.
Keeping my attention is no easy task but you always do.
4-month-old comment on a video that just came out, clearly you're a time traveler.
@@sukamadik5983 haha no, just a patron!
@@ZaffreRevolution Ah so a time traveling patron! member, got it 👍
I love this game with all my heart. So much charm, and love put it into it and that long development cycle paid off. This game is honestly one of my favorite Action RPG's next to Ys 8 and the like. I pester my friends to get this game when I can, also Lea is just the greatest lil' bean, I love her.
I like that you brought up Ys 8 considering Dana from that game ended up dethroning Lea as my 3rd favorite female character lol.
16:52 Agreed! I'm not much of a gamer considering im limited to using my sad earl 2015 MacBook air (big oof right here) but I still managed to finish the game without adjusting the sliders (i didn't even know they existed lol) and it's such a great feeling. Some of those final puzzles and some bosses made me want to bang my head against the wall but when you finally finish them it's AMAZING
Also yes, usually i couldn't care less for collecting achievements, but collecting all the chests and completing quests was just so much fun!
(also totally agree with the depth perception thing)
there actually is voice acting type "Best-VA" into bonus code box
I love this game too and this video was so passionate it’s made me want to replay it all over again too lol great vid thanks!
I love this game! Haven’t played in a while, made it to the last dungeon tho and it’s excellent!
would obviously recommend getting back to it :P but life gets in the way, i getcha!
I especially loved the space bird battle
It really does just transcend everything
I played this game when it was early access on Steam. I still remember the announcements of the updates, when Rombus Square was added, and all that. When the game reached 1.0 I did the ending and I remember feeling so sad that I would have to wait for the DLC. But the truth is, this game was very hard to develop, and they excell in every single part of it, it's just too good. And it annoys me that this game didn't explode like other indie games so far because, man, just look at how detailed the animations are. When I saw Shizuka doing her thing at the early game I was like: Wait, I'll get this strong, right? And holy hell that's a smart way to show you how you can be if you keep playing. Such an awesome game.
And I always feels amazed at how good LEa's expressions are. I can clearly understand who she is and what she feels by the expressions she's giving me and it's insane.
The best part so far is Emily freaking out aboug bugs, but she's okay with Spiders.
Lea clearly gets annoyed at it xD
To expand upon the point regarding the fact that silent protagonists need to still have some personality, allow me to provide a singular example of how to give a silent protagonist an incredible amount of personality:
Doomguy.
Just got the game but yeah, portraits with Personality is something I first experienced with Lunar 2 on Sega CD and have always like them since, when done right and not just lame visual Novel quality.
The silent protagonist with the most character I've seen is Hat Kid from A Hat in Time, though I haven't played Cross Code. Lea may not even count as a silent protagonist, given that she communicates her opinions and feelings as much as possible nonverbally (from what it looks like in this video). She seems more like a nonverbal main character rather than an archetypical blank slate "silent protagonist" type. She's a deconstruction of that trope.
Whats weird is I could never get into this game, I found it too hard, but I wasnt paying attention, now i'm like 40 hours into my first playthrough and i'm addicted, when you actually pay attention to this game and know what you're doing, then you start to see why people say this game is so damn good!!
I picked up the PS4/5 version. Haven't played it yet.
It gives me a Phantasy Star meets Chrono Trigger vibe. Hope to get to give it a go soon.
Me every time i see a video about crosscode:YES YES YES YES YEEEEEESSSSSS!!!
I discovered this game on a whim when it was in early access back in 2016, I didn't play till like 3 years later but holy shit I love this game so much that my friends were sick of me talking about it shortly after I finished it