[Indie] CrossCode - Throwing Balls in a 2D Action RPG!

[pakoito]

I played through the second temple and didn't continue. It's good, it's so good. It's just deeeeense and you have to allocate long chunks to it. It's hard to budget time and other stuff catches your attention and it's been 3 years without playing lol

 

[Villagkouras]

I notice it took you over 2 years to get through the first temple. Is the game that long or is it maybe not so great as everyone says?

I keep wanting to want to try the demo but all I see is pew pew, not sure what is special about this.

I find it great. I played when it came out and did it in the worst way possible, doing the sidequests as a checklist because I wanted to become stronger. Turns out most of them are very easy to do once you start exploring naturally.

So, I would had returned, after reading some info, but it is a long game for my standards. But now I'm working from home and play some longer games because I have time.

I didn't even reach the first temple on my first playthrough.

Gameplay is awesome, story progresses slowly but isn't intrusive of offending, difficulty is well balanced, what more can I ask? The game is not a twinstick shooter, I'd say this aspect is 15%of the game.

Now I'm 12 hours in and didn't have fun for like 45 minutes, trying to figure out stuff.

Try the demo, you'll like it.

 

[HansDampf]

CrossCode's biggest problem is the slow yet overwhelming beginning. The main story doesn't really get going until after the first dungeon which can take up to 10 hours to get there. The first region is lame compared to the other regions. And the first couple of quests are just literal fetch quests. Other quests almost always lead to unique combat encounters or mini dungeons with lots of different gimmicks. The combat and puzzles are the main selling point, and it gets better with each new element you unlock.

I played through the game again last year with some NG+ options (2x damage, No Mercy, Diet, and more) and enjoyed it even more than the first time, because now I knew how the game "wants to be played". I'm also an idiot, because during my first playthrough I didn't realize there are actually two endings and I picked the bad one and complained about it being too gut-punchy. The good ending adds a few neat tidbits of story and is also required if you want to continue with the upcoming DLC (any day now...). So make sure to find Albert in Rhombus Square before you pass the point of no return.

 

[pakoito]

Epilogue DLC coming out soon

 

[HansDampf]

Well, that was fast.
The Steam Announcement has more details.

Spoiler

Hello everyball!

As you can see, we finally have news for you regarding the CrossCode post-game DLC!
Not only do we have a trailer for you, there's also a release date!

The post-game DLC CrossCode: A New Home
will release for Mac & PC on February 26, 2021!
The release for consoles will follow this summer!

You can already wishlist the DLC on Steam!

Here a list of things you can expect:

An extended Rhombus Square that even includes a beach now!

The new area "Azure Archipelago" - ready to be explored!

Finally completing the raid!

The new Ku'lero Temple - probably the biggest dungeon of the whole game.

Several new quests all around CrossWorlds - you might even end up on a highway!

An extension to the main plot - learn more about how things continue for Lea and the others.

Of course, this DLC also comes with new, exciting music tracks to make the final chapter of CrossCode a very memorable one. However, our usual composer Deniz Akbulut unfortunately wasn't available anymore at this time to make the last CrossCode tracks. He recently has moved to Japan to learn Japanese and enter a university to study music. He had to put his full focus on preparing for the tough entrance exams; his last exam was today actually!

He recommended a good friend of his, who is also incredibly talented, to take over the burden of finishing CrossCode's soundtrack. So, we are proud to announce that the new DLC will feature new music written by はがね/STEEL_PLUS (Twitter)!

We know it took us a while, but as always we wanted to tune all those little knobs close to perfection. What came out of it is something we're very proud of. Thanks for all the support and allowing us to cramp everything in the DLC that we wanted. We did also try to incorporate feedback regarding the difficulty of puzzles (especially those that required precise timings). Once the DLC hits, please let us know what you think of them and the new puzzle element!

And with all that being said... see you again next week, for the release!

The new Ku'lero Temple - probably the biggest dungeon of the whole game.

With the new puzzle element(?), this could be good. The Vermillion Dungeon was a bit short. And we also didn't get many challenges that utilize all 4 elements and level 60 skills that late in the game.

We did also try to incorporate feedback regarding the difficulty of puzzles (especially those that required precise timings).

I hope they are talking specifically about the infamous end-of-dungeon puzzles and not the overall difficulty. No sense dumbing down everything when they aleady have assist sliders in the game.

 

[4249]

New historical low price for this.

 

[Villagkouras]

I'm finishing it, it's still good as hell.

 

[HansDampf]

Fuck. I don't have any saves other than the NG+ to continue the Epilogue. I'd forgotten that this game is actually challenging. It didn't seem that way last year when NG+ became the new normal over a 50 hour long learning curve. But now my skill is completely gone and I'm dying to Hillkat trashmobs.

This is embarrassing.

 

[Sykar]

Severely underrated puzzle platforming game. Really enjoyed this one and I am looking forward to buy this DLC very soon.

 

[Sykar]

Those speedruns are nuts. Weird save game manipulation so you can play the intro character which is level 1 but with maximized stats instead of Lea.

 

[HansDampf]

Finished it. That dungeon was intimidating. Took me 3 sessions to get through. This is the meat of the DLC. It combines everything CrossCode's gameplay has to offer. Cool boss fights, some of them tough as shit for me (thank Di'orbis for the Highmeister Gloves). Lots of puzzles with different combinations of elements. No dumbing down. And more... You'll see when you enter it.
Most of the rest is also good. The new area was fun to explore, although it's rather short (for good reason as it turned out). And the new duel AI has been improved. I know their lead programmer wanted to "fix" most of the exploits for the duels. I found it harder to perfect guard against melee attacks because he doesn't get that close now before he starts attacking. He also won't fall for Karma Scale anymore. And Ether Snipe gets dodged. I'm sure people will find other strategies to break this fight, but it was fun.
My main complaint is about the amount of pop culture references. They never annoyed me before, most of them are just nice touches. But here, they're getting out of hand. And I don't care for all the pets. Just gimme phat lewt!

Btw, that NG+ mode that was added over a year ago? Look how much effort went into that little update.

I didn't see any dialogue changes with my setup, though. This is mostly for Levels and Sergey Hax.

 

[Siveon]

Bought the DLC on a whim. I respect the game too much to not buy it.

 

[HoboForEternity]

I've put 75 hours into the game and it's a blast so far. excellent (can be hair pulling sometimes but in a good way) level design, quests, dungeon, puzzle, combat, story, and characters. can't believe I missed this game for years.

Ys combat + Zelda dungeon that isn't designed for kids (aka have actual difficulty) + really nice story too