CrossCode
A silent protagonist navigates a fictional MMORPG to recover her lost memories.
CrossCode is an action role-playing game released in 2018, created by Radical Fish Games and published by Deck13. You play as Lea, a character inside a fictional MMORPG called CrossWorlds who wakes up without any memories and cannot speak. The game mixes ranged and melee attacks for both solving puzzles and fighting enemies, with different elemental forms that change your abilities in combat and exploration.
Development started in 2011, and the project was crowdfunded on Indiegogo. After a three-year early access beta, it launched for Linux, macOS, and Windows in September 2018. Later ports arrived for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in July 2020, Xbox Series X/S and Amazon Luna in November 2020, and PlayStation 5 in June 2021. An expansion called A New Home came out in February 2021. Critics gave CrossCode generally favorable reviews, praising the story, combat, and art style, though opinions on the puzzles were mixed.
The gameplay is seen from a two-dimensional top-down perspective. You explore an overworld, fighting enemies or solving puzzles to progress. During combat and puzzles, you can instantly switch between elements, each giving Lea different attack and puzzle-solving tools. New elements are unlocked by completing dungeons, each ending with a boss fight. The options menu lets you adjust the difficulty for both combat and puzzles separately.
Combat happens in real time. You can use a melee strike or launch a ranged ball to deal damage, and you can dodge or block enemy attacks. Earning experience points raises your stats, while circuit points are spent on a circuit board to choose ability bonuses. A rank system increases as you keep fighting without stopping, rewarding you with rare items and faster healing at higher ranks.
Puzzles use the same ball-launching mechanic, sometimes requiring you to hit objects in a specific order or within a time limit. Puzzle elements include switches, boxes, ice pellets, barriers, water bubbles, and fans. How they react depends on which element you have equipped.
You can buy items with in-game money or through a bartering system, and hidden chests across the overworld also contain items. Food grants temporary buffs, and clothing can be equipped. Side quests—like collecting items, treasure hunting, or racing—give extra bonuses.
Quick Facts
- Title
- CrossCode
- Developer
- Radical Fish Games
- Publisher
- Deck13
- Director
- Felix Klein
- Programmer
- Felix Klein · Stefan Lange
- Writer
- Felix Klein · Stefan Lange · Henning Hartmann
- Artist
- Thomas Fröse · Felix Klein · Fabrice Magdanz · Dillon Martin
- Composer
- Deniz Akbulut · Steel Plus (A New Home)
- Platforms
- Linux · macOS · Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Xbox Series X/S · PlayStation 5
- Released
- Linux, macOS, Windows · September 20, 2018 · Switch, PS4, Xbox One · July 9, 2020 · Xbox Series X/S · November 10, 2020 · Amazon Luna · November 12, 2020 · PlayStation 5 · June 29, 2021
- Genre
- Action role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
CrossCode is set within a fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game called CrossWorlds, which takes place in a physical environment on the moon Shadoon. Players control artificial 'Avatars' that can regenerate at will and interact with in-game attacks and items. The player character, Lea, awakens inside a cargo ship with no memories and is informed by a man named Sergey Asimov that she must play CrossWorlds to regain them. She is later revealed to be an artificial intelligence called an 'Evotar,' based on the memories of a woman named Shizuka Sakai. The story involves a black market financer, Benedict Sidwell, who funded the Evotar Project to extract information from CrossWorlds' players. The game offers two endings: a normal ending where Instatainment confiscates all Evotar data, and a true ending where Lea's befriending of an Instatainment stockholder allows the Evotars to eventually return to the game. The expansion A New Home, released in February 2021, continues the story seven months later, focusing on Lea's new life in a residential area for Evotars and a confrontation with a spy named C'tron.
Reader's Guide
CrossCode is notable for its integration of puzzle-solving and combat through a unified ball-launching mechanic, with elemental modes that affect both enemy interactions and environmental puzzles. The game's development began in 2011 and was crowdfunded on Indiegogo in February 2015, followed by a three-year early access beta phase on Steam. This early access model allowed the developers to incorporate player feedback and maintain a continuous income stream. The game's story, which explores themes of memory, identity, and artificial intelligence within a fictional MMORPG, was a central focus of development. Critics generally praised the narrative, combat, and art style, while opinions on the puzzles were mixed. The game was released for multiple platforms over several years, with an expansion adding a new chapter. Its legacy includes being a crowdfunded indie title that successfully transitioned from early access to a full release with a dedicated following.
Did You Know?
- CrossCode was crowdfunded on Indiegogo in February 2015 with a goal of €80,000.
- The expansion A New Home was released in February 2021.
- The player character Lea is an artificial intelligence called an 'Evotar' based on the memories of Shizuka Sakai.
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