Indie games are a big part of my gaming experience these days. Yes, there are a lot of lackluster games out there, but there are also some really great gems. CrossCode is one of the few Indie “darlings” that I’ve missed out on for a while. It released on PC in 2018 and I had been meaning to pick it up for a while. Now that it has released on PS4, I can entirely see why people love it so much.

All of the promotional material for CrossCode brands it as a retro-inspired Action-RPG. I wouldn’t say that description entirely does it justice though. CrossCode is what you get if you combine The Legend of Zelda style dungeons, with Action-RPG combat, and add in a bit of Phantasy Star-esque Sci-Fi visuals and design.

CrossCode puts you in the shoes of Lea, an Avatar, or rather a human put into a realistic simulated MMO world. Think VR, but you can alter how much you are immersed in the game. Some players can feel the cold of snowy areas, while others play on a less immersive basis. Lea has lost her memories and must play through the MMO from scratch with the help of someone who knew her before she lost her memory.

Along the way, Lea meets other players and begins to unravel a bigger mystery at hand. How did she lose her memories? Who are the mysterious beings that are after her? What is the mystery behind the game itself? All of these are questions you will answer as you play.

CrossCode plays similarly to the Mana franchise of RPGs or other Action RPGs in the genre. You move Lea with the left stick, the right stick aims your ranged attack (which is also used in puzzles), and on the PS4 your R1 button attacks either in melee or range. R2 uses combat arts, which are basically skills that you execute depending on the actions you are taking. If you are dashing with L1 and hit R2, you’ll use your unlocked Dash Art. If you are guarding by standing still and pressing L1, then R2 will let you use a Guard Art.

I should back up a little and mention that you have two ways of avoiding damage. You can dodge with the dash function, which you can do up to three times in quick succession before you’ll have to wait a moment for it to recharge. Alternately, you can guard by holding down the L1 button while standing still. Then you can rotate Lea to defend against attacks from all angles. Other party members play independently from Lea. You can issue behavioral commands to them, but your overall control over them is very limited. They’re useful though since they do decent damage and kill enemies.

Another main focus of the game is puzzles, which can also include platforming. By running to the edge of a platform (like in Zelda) Lea will jump automatically. There are a variety of platforming puzzles too, which enhance the experience. You’ll need to do more than just traverse the beaten path if you want to succeed. Many quests and side quests will require you to explore each part of an area, finding chests, items, and different types of enemies.

As you kill enemies, your combat rank goes up. If you kill enemies in quick succession, without losing your streak, you can get rare items from enemies. If you go too long without killing anything or engaging in a fight period, your rank can lower. There are also elemental abilities you get access to over the course of the game, which change the way you take on combat encounters and puzzles.

Some enemies are weak to certain elements, while others might be more susceptible to your neutral attacks. If you use your elemental attacks too much, you’ll go into elemental overload. In this state, you will need to fight without your elemental powers for a short period to let them recharge.

There are quests and sidequests everywhere. Some of them you won’t be able to reach at first and may require you to backtrack once you have new abilities. Some areas may even be locked until you progress further into the game in general. There is also a sprawling skill tree, that you put points into every time you level. The tree offers stat boosts, new abilities, and enhancements to your attacks and elemental attacks.

You also have to keep up with making sure you have plenty of curative items, buff items, and gear as you level. Shops can sell you gear and items or you can trade materials you get from enemies for specific weapons, armor, and items. Often the things you trade for can be better than what you can buy, so it is worth your time to relax and grind a bit.

Dungeons are probably my favorite part of CrossCode though. They are long, puzzle-filled endeavors that require you to collect keys, solve a variety of puzzles, and fight challenging bosses. The best part about CrossCode is that the developers have approached accessibility (and difficulty) in a unique way. By default the difficulty is set on three specific values: The amount of damage you take, the amount of times enemies attack/the frequency with which they attack, and the duration of the timer for timed puzzles.

If you are having trouble due to physical limitations or any other reason that makes the difficulty less than fun, the game allows you to adjust and alter those values to suit your needs. I personally think that this is a great option. It doesn’t penalize you for adjusting the difficulty and it doesn’t impact anyone else’s experience. Additionally, you can adjust the values of these variables to different degrees, so you aren’t limited to three or fewer difficulty options.

Boss battles are always interesting too. They are puzzles within themselves usually, much like Zelda bosses. Each one requires you to learn the boss’ patterns and behavior. They often have multiple phases too, so if you’re not careful, a new attack can catch you off guard.

I should also mention that every environment in CrossCode is visually striking. The world is built with care, there is a lot of attention to detail, and every section is unique. Even the dungeons are vastly different from one another. This attention to detail is likely a major reason the game is regarded so highly.

My only major complaint with CrossCode involves the map. The map doesn’t show any identifying icons on it other than places you can trade and fast-travel points. It allows you to place stamps on the map to mark chests and other things, but it doesn’t give you a precise way to tell where exactly you’re standing, so marking where a chest or point of interest is can be difficult.

Other than that, I have to say that CrossCode impressed me greatly. I can understand why it is regarded so highly in terms of indie RPGs. The puzzles are most definitely on par with even the Zelda franchise, and you can tell that a lot of love and care went into it. CrossCode is a love letter to Action-RPGs and I can honestly say that it deserves all the accolades it has received.

A PS4 review copy of CrossCode was provided by Deck13 Interactive for this review.

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CrossCode

$19.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Fantastic Puzzles
• Unique World and Premise
• Great Characters
• Immense Progression Systems
• Accessibility Options for Difficulty

Cons

• Map isn't Great
• Party Instructions are Limited

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