As we head to the future, the range of what defines “retro games” expands, opening the way for different retro indie game homages. NES and SNES indie game homages have steadily turned into PS1 homages, such as the horror games by Puppet Combo and Anodyne 2. Now, a new indie game is out, bringing to mind the competitive puzzle games you’d find in arcades and the Dreamcast: CROSSNIQ+.

CROSSNIQ+ is an enhanced version of CROSSINQ, by Max Krieger/Future Memory. The original game is a simple and stylish puzzle game with upbeat music that’s evocative of older, flashy arcade-like games; in particular, it personally reminds me of Super Monkey Ball. Compared to a lot of other puzzle games, it promotes speed and technique over pulling off combos.

The base game, “Endless Mode,” is simple to grasp. You move rows and columns of tiles around to create crosses made up of tiles of the same color. A time meter ticks down on the side that is instantly refilled when you create a cross and making crosses increases your level. As you level up, some new tiles appear. A tile with a star gives you bonus points if they’re in a cross. A tile with a lock on it will prevent you from screen-wrapping a row/column around while a tile with an X prevents you from moving the row/column it’s on at all, limiting your mobility. If you create a cross next to one of these special tiles, you get rid of them, though this includes the bonus point tiles.

CROSSNIQ+ adds onto this experience with a bunch of new things. Besides more flashier visuals that really hone the early 2000’s game aesthetic, it also introduces a bunch of characters to play as that feel reminiscent of Puyo Puyo characters. With these characters, players can go face-to-face in a multiplayer mode, with special abilities and items to give you an edge. There’s a time-attack mode where you’re challenged to make as many crosses as possible in a short amount of time. There is also a simple Chillout mode where you can casually make crosses without pressure.

CROSSNIQ+ is currently out on PC and Nintendo Switch for $7.99. The original CROSSNIQ is free and can be checked out on the creator’s itch.io, and can be considered a demo for the upgraded experience.

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