CrossCode (Xbox One) Review
Release Date: July 9, 2020
Publisher/Developer: DECK13 Spotlight/Radical Fish Games
Platform: Xbox One (reviewed), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC
Price: $19.99
CrossCode oozes the charm of the 16 bit era of action-style RPG mashup. Take the action of swinging battling through the overworld in a top-down Zelda, mix in some AI teammates and a traditional RPG leveling and weapon/armor system, and sprinkle in some action timing that offers a risk/reward structure that keeps you flying through battle areas, and a well-written story to keep you enthralled during the less chaotic sections.
Playing as Lea, an amnesiac who has been brought back into the world for…reasons…CrossCode evokes a feeling of Sword Art Online. Players are aware of their game status, log in and out regularly, and discuss levels and equipment much like gamers would in real life. Whilst appearing 16-bit, the story is played as if the world is a full-blown Avatar experience, with Lea and company injected full-on into the game.
Lea’s classified as a “Spheromancer”, and battles by throwing high-energy pellets around the battlefield. The risk versus reward system begins here, as you can charge a single powerful shot, or begin pelting immediately at a reduced accuracy. These pellets are used as offense as well as to figure out puzzles in the dungeons. You can choose melee attacks as well, mapped to the same button. There are a few more powerful attacks you can pull off as well. Mixed with an easy access dash/dodge maneuver, Lea is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. I wish there was some mapping I could do on the controls, though, as the Xbox One edition places the constantly used shot and dash on RB and LB, with some of the more direct attacks on the triggers. I would find it more comfortable to have them swapped.
As you take down enemies, a bar appears at the top of the screen and begins timing down. Starting another battle resets the bar, and longer battles translate to better rewards upon defeating enemies. Using items takes precious time in this action based combat, so you have to decide to press on and balance everything or “cash in” by staying out of battle and gaining the experience. I found in the early levels you could almost dash by a good deal of the enemies. Some of the battles felt like they became a repetitive slog, tempting one to sneak by the rest which leads to lost experience. You really have to enjoy the battle design in order to chain several attack combos and get maximum experience, or you risk being underleveled for later mandatory battles.
There is plenty to enjoy in the battles, with a variety of beasts that all have different weaknesses. You’ll come upon a cadre of denizens that all have different battle tactics and attack you in real time. You need to watch out for several different sprites’ attack patterns and plan your dodges accordingly in order to maximize damage. If you have a team member, they’ll pound away too. You don’t have to worry about their health either, as death simply results in a log out. They’ll be back in a few seconds.
CrossCode is made to be difficult. On it’s default setting you may find that enemies can overwhelm you. You might die easier from five low level enemies attacking at once than you will facing a single enemy the game considers “challenging.” Luckily, there’s a myriad of difficulty sliders. Rather than a single option, you can adjust enemy damage and speed as well as the speed the timing-based puzzles move.
There are quests aplenty in CrossCode, and you’ll soon find your quest list skyrocketing. Luckily there’s a handy menu to keep up with it, and many of the fetch quests are easy to follow thanks to merchants that streamline the process. CrossCode does it’s best to add the traditional tropes of an RPG without adding a lot of the grinding and repetitiveness inherent to the genre.
CrossCode does a great job of mixing several awesome genres of classic gaming. A few quality of life choices would be nice (button mapping, a few audio glitches), but the storyline is engaging with lots of cute jokes and references respectfully mixed in. Combat feels like classic Zelda ramped to 11, with enemies constantly after you and leaves you dodging all over the battlefield. Definitely a recommendation for anyone who loves these classic genres, as the developers obviously wrote a love letter to a classic era of gaming.
Pros:
-Fun mix of top-down Zelda, classic RPG tropes, and speed combat
-Smooth sprite graphics and fun storyline
-Challenging gameplay with the ability to tailor the difficulty to your liking
Cons:
-Repetitive combat if you aren’t into it
-A few audio glitches during my run
-Many small enemies can overwhelm
Special thanks to DECK13 Spotlight/Radical Fish Games for providing a code for review!