➤ CrossCode, the review 🎮

Everything went well, you can finally read it CrossCode review for PlayStation 4. The delay does not depend on us: initially the Radical Fish Games production was supposed to debut on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and other consoles in 2019, then there were some hitches. And so, a year and a half after her first PC debut, she's ready to ask (heck, she should expect it!) For her fair share of attention. CrossCode is one of those unknown games, which pass away in the shadows barely noticed by a handful of admirers, and which instead should be placed in a display case, polished every day. We explain why.

The plot: in an MMO

Sword Art Online's influence on CrossCode is clear. The game world is nothing more than a gigantic MMO, a virtual universe where any person can enter to have fun inside the dungeons, in the company of others present. But the plot immediately catches the attention despite the not exactly original premises, thus discovering the cards on the table: something deeply wrong is happening in the CrossWorlds. Strange figures have even come to openly threaten human beings.

The protagonist of the production is Lea, an avatar who remembers absolutely nothing of his original human and why he entered theMMO in question: but immediately the various supporting actors are very keen to emphasize that this is a very special newcomer. And so a curious crew of an equally curious cargo ship trains her, instructs her on how to fight, provides her with all the necessary information.

Il Lea's path it will lead her to regain lost memories, to repair the speech synthesizer (she can no longer speak due to a malfunction, and this favors the identification with the real player) finally to reveal the mystery that lies behind the virtual game world . All in a main adventure that runs around 12 hours, but which we recommend instead to enjoy little by little, also dedicating yourself to the myriad of secondary missions, useful both to reveal the background of the game world and to increase the level. by Lea. This will make it easy to at least triple the initial hours of play.

The gameplay: an RPG

If from the point of view of the game setting CrossCode is an MMO, its structure is instead that of the old-fashioned RPG. A strictly 2D RPG, with 16-bit graphics reminiscent of SNES productions; and at the same time with gameplay, accessibility and styles that come (thankfully) from modern times.

The soul of the production is basically that of the action: Lea wanders around the game world, dungeon or not, beating the enemies present with a set of moves only vaguely inspired by the RPG classics. No turn-based combat, no stats to keep in mind: one button for melee, some combination for ranged, one for warning; all strictly in real time. Different does not mean shallow, on the contrary: adequately mastering Lea's entire moveset (which expands, strengthens, refines from chapter to chapter) will take time. Add to this the fact that the developers have tried to offer new stimuli as often as possible, new possibilities in the course of work: and therefore the feeling is that of a continuous discovery. Progressive, procedural, but continuous.

From console the aiming and attack system distance of the protagonist is clearly less intuitive than the PC version, but no less efficient: a simple matter of habit. Continuing in the main adventure, of course, Lea will meet new friends and enter a party: it should be noted, however, that most of the details are already pre-established by the developers. You cannot, for example, choose a precise game class, favor certain paths over others: the RPG soul is evident, but much less pervasive than you might think. More than a supporting and binding structure of the gameplay, we could instead define it, like the MMO setting, a CrossCode context. But the final mix is valid and original.

PlayStation 4 Trophies

CrossCode brings a glittering Platinum Trophy with it to PlayStation 4. Obtaining all the trophies shouldn't really take away more than one "run" of the game: they are almost exclusively related to the completion of the main chapters of the narrative, and to the battle with the bosses.

Progression and style

We have already said that in CrossCode there is a lot of fighting: a fluid action in 2D that never shows hesitation, and that also leads the player to contend with more than twenty mammoth bosses (some less inspired than others). The other soul of the progression is the one related to dungeons. Lots of dungeons. Too many dungeons. Dungeons overrun with environmental puzzles, puzzles, puzzles everywhere.

Some dungeons will even take you an entire hour away puzzle: it is okay to vary the adventure, everything is fine, but the temptation to let go of everything on the most beautiful from time to time comes. Fortunately, it is never really definitive: we are talking, in fact, of a production that has invested practically all its flagships in the care and depth of every smallest aspect of the game.

That of style, eg. Each CrossCode environment deserves to hang around for a few hours, enjoying the small finishing touches, the immense talent of Radical Fish Games in filing and filing and filing their pixel art. CrossCode is also this, a work of artisans. Which is offered, among other things, at an affordable and honest price. Even considering the many hours of play offered, it is difficult to find real defects in the production, such that they can penalize it. And in fact we do not find them.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Digital Delivery Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Price 19,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

8.2

Readers (8)

8.7

Your vote

That in the last two years CrossCode has practically made sparks on PC, does not surprise us one bit. The 2D RPG from Radical Fish Games, full of action and with a sublime pixel art style, now also arrives on consoles: the PlayStation 4 version has practically no defects, and the mapping of the commands has been carried out in an intelligent and functional way. The adventure itself offers many hours of gameplay, a living and believable world, never banal riddles and puzzles, and many battles (even against giant bosses). Not everything is perfect, of course, especially as regards the RPG soul, much more contaminated and blurred than one might believe; after all, everything works, almost every aspect convinces. Convince yourself too, then: try it. It is also offered at a fair price!