I can't imagine giving this game anything other than a 9/10. Easily the #2 most polished game I've ever had the pleasure of playing, behind Factorio. While the game has no single "X-factor" to set itself wildly apart from the rest of the genre, my very critical self can't honestly say any aspect of the game is bad, or even mediocre. Combat, platforming, puzzles, music, dialogue, story, and especially Lea herself: all of it is unequivocally good, and none of my personal gripes can diminish the obvious care that was poured into it. I would write about how the Steam page and associated marketing material do not do the game justice, but this meme is truly worth a thousand words:

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1895560944

Other reviews discuss the good and bad of pretty much all gameplay elements well, so I will refrain. Instead, I'll highlight the dialogue, which was the best part of the experience for me. CrossCode does not fool you into thinking you're playing an MMO (for the better, honestly), but it absolutely delivers on the feeling of gaming with great friends. I highly recommend having party members whenever possible (♥♥♥♥ you, Sergey), as half of the best exchanges in the game come from Emilie and Tronny while exploring and dungeoneering. Not only does Lea meet great companions, every background character and random textbox is full of life and personality. I made sure to listen to every NPC interaction I saw, and was even rewarded with lore entries a few times. And of course, Lachsen and T-Free knocked it out of the park with the character spritework. Lea can say with a single word and a facial expression what would take me two full textboxes, and I went from cringing at her smug face to relishing it very quickly.

The story is written equally as well. Every character has depth and makes sensible decisions, there's an enormous amount of setup and payoff, and the sudden transition at the midpoint from lighthearted romp to "the harder you look, the more ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up it gets" is handled expertly. It's not Star Trek, so don't expect a thorough analysis of the core themes, but a surprising amount of depth is squeezed into the last chapter, and if you pay attention you'll find little hints throughout that the devs very much understand the nuances involved.

If you still have any doubts, check out the artwork tab on the community hub. Most of what you'll see is official art done by Lachsen, the team lead, on regular gamedev streams. Much of it is collabs with other indie titles. Any developer who will do that has earned my money. If your interest is even remotely piqued, please give the game a try. Don't miss out on the pinnacle of retro tributes.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1435266813