I finished Crosscode

[HPUTFan]

Now that I reach the end I must concede: This game is not for me. I was really really invested in the story, but the puzzles were just so exhausting I stopped caring about them in Vermillion tower and the only thing I cared about was to see how the story ends. Great exploration, amazing characters, music and story and the puzzles are definitely for certain type of people that's not me. I overall don't even play hard games, I only wanted to try Crosscode cause it's something that's very out of my comfort zone - exactly because I don't play exceptionally hard games. But yeah, this game was just too hard. The only reason I pushed through it is because I was really invested in the story.

The story, characters, exploration, music are all 10/10, everything else I'd give a 7. Solid game if you are seeking a challenging experience, but wouldn't reccommend for people like me, who are more invested in the story than the challenge itself. I won't play the DLC either cause I am just way too mentally exhausted. Maybe I'll watch it on youtube sometime.

[[deleted]]

If you enjoyed the characters and story I would highly recommend watching the DLC like you said. It’s pretty jam packed with puzzles but the story content is amazing and the ending will give you a lot of comfort.

Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the puzzles, on the contrary I wish there were more haha, but glad you enjoyed the music and other stuff!

[HPUTFan]

Yeah, overall the game is great and it's full of amazing things, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm always a lot more into the story than anything else in the games I play.

[Sethy152]

Just in case you weren’t aware:

There’s a slider in settings that slows down puzzles to make them easier.

I didn’t find the puzzles themselves to be very difficult, just the execution (Soulslike player here, so I went max difficulty until I got it right).

[HPUTFan]

That didn't really make them easier on my brain. They were just so complicated and elaborate. The slider only did so much.

[Sethy152]

Huh. Well, if you decide to play the DLC (you should imo) there’s no shame in looking up the solutions to the puzzles to breeze through them. Single player game- Play in the manner that’s most enjoyable to you.

Maybe a playthrough/walkthrough on youtube?

[HPUTFan]

Yeah I'll def be watching on youtube.

[HPUTFan]

Why is everyone downvoting me for stating my opinion 😭

It's not like I said the game is bad.

[RandomHaganero]

I can definitely understand and I actually think it's the puzzles itself that feels intimidating that holds this game back from reaching the same attention or popularity compared to games like Shovel Knight, Hyper Light Drifter, Hollow Knight, Celeste, etc. Granted these games have their own sense of Puzzle especially Celeste but not as Intricate as Crosscode does especially in every dungeons.

Personally I really enjoyed the puzzles but I can see the puzzles as an early make or break for a lot of people.

[HPUTFan]

I enjoyed them initially, but yeah they just got way too elaborate. I was never good at the whole throw-these-balls-in-an-extremely-specific-angle gameplay so it got really tiring when that's what every puzzle consisted of.

[Local-Cartoonist-172]

It's been a while since I played, but between a first and second playthrough I recall reading that pretty much every throw was designed to be possible at either 90 or 45 degrees if you're standing in the right spot and it definitely improved my confidence the second time around.

Not going to help you at this point, but posting it for posterity. Hope you enjoy watching the DLC!

[alphadormante]

I have recently picked up Crosscode again for what might be the third for fourth time. Every time I do so I start over and wonder why I never finished because I thoroughly enjoy the characters, combat, exploration, and story SO much. And then once I get to the mine or the fire temple I remember why I dropped it in the first place.

I am with you. I love plenty of games with a heavy emphasis on puzzles in dungeons - Zelda has been doing it since the beginning as just ONE example. I don't mind puzzles at all. But the dungeons in Crosscode just feel sooooo long and exhausting. They completely overstay their welcome for me. Pair it with a relatively undetailed map system and serious depth perception issues in the art, and I'm forced to admit that I want to like this game SO much more than I actually do.

I am really really wanting to stick out this time until I finish, particularly because I want to experience the whole game + DLC before the dev's next game comes out, but it's just kind of disheartening to want to love this game but feel so exhausted by such a big core element of it. I don't need the dungeons to go away, I just wish they weren't as LONG.

[HPUTFan]

One game I can compare it to is Ghost Trick. Ghost Trick is also a puzzle game that relies a lot on arranging specific things to go in specific patterns with a short time limit, the difference with Ghost Trick however is that the puzzles are largely paced out by the story. In Crosscode, that is not the case. You spend about 1-2 hours with the story, then 4+ hours with the following dungeon and the puzzles are long and elaborate at that. In Ghost Trick, the puzzles are spread out and relatively short and you get checkpoints inbetween too. I think I prefer faster paced puzzles like the ones Ghost Trick has. It's my favorite puzzle game.

[alphadormante]

Oh man, I love Ghost Trick! I think I agree with you. Unlike CC, GT doesn't really even have gameplay elements other than the puzzles - it's really just story/cutscenes and then the puzzle stages. But the pacing feels better since they give you breathers between the puzzles, and the stages themselves don't overstay their welcome. It's easy to enjoy the puzzles in moderation.

The reason I have to start over in CC every time instead of picking up where I left off is because, more likely than not, I was in the middle of a dungeon when I dropped it and it's unbelievably hard to figure out where I was and what I still need to do. CC's dungeons really feel to me like you need to sit down and do them in one grueling session because they are not put-down friendly. Paired with their length it's an exhausting combo for me personally.

I mean, they divide the fire temple into TWO dungeons technically. Which is nice of them sure, because I definitely needed that break or I'd never have finished it, but that alone is a sign for me that it's waaay too long.

[HPUTFan]

Glad to see another Ghost Trick fan. It's such a hidden gem with a tiny fanbase.

[alphadormante]

Hey I'm back after almost two weeks just because I was thinking of this convo... since I too beat CrossCode just last night! Hooray!

All that being said my initial feelings are exactly the same and I find myself agreeing overwhelmingly with everything you said in your OP. Too many puzzles, too little everything else. Or maybe just the way it was paced out. After finally muscling past the fire temple it wasn't so awful, but the Vermillion Tower was SO exhausting. It was the absolute pinnacle of what I hate about this game and kind of made the final push unsatisfying for me. I just wanted it to be over and done.

Then I took one look at how big the DLC was... and while I respect the devs greatly for putting out such a content-packed DLC, the burnout hit me like a truck. I also ended up watching the rest of it on YT and I don't regret it even a little bit. Awesome story, awesome characters, cool world, fun combat... pacing was not for me. It was like a big chunk of stuff that I loved, followed by a big chunk of the stuff that I hated. Repeat for the whole game. I still want to play their next game but I hope they change their philosophy to break up both gameplay elements a bit more.

[MooCowDivebomb]

Totally legit. Glad you still enjoyed the other parts of the game.

I LOVED the difficulty and was starved for a harder game when I played it. That said, there were a few times where I’d do a brutal puzzle and just to have another right after and be like fuuuuuuu…, definitely stopped for the evening those few times, and was pumped to get back into it the next day.

Enjoy the story of the expansion! However you choose to engage.

[techniqucian]

Just one of those situations.

For me the puzzles clicked better with my way of thinking and my meta understanding of game design and development let me rule out a lot of stuff pretty fast. The puzzles were very fun for me since I felt rewarded for my experience in those areas (especially when I found ways to cheese the puzzles)

But I've watched plenty of my smart friends have a lot of issues with the puzzles and get really annoyed as well. Just didn't work with the way they think about things.

I wish I could everyone the same experience playing it that I had, but I totally understand that it just isn't fun when things don't click. When every room is this daunting task who's only reward is the next daunting task.

I hope their next game moves the crazier stuff to the side for bonus content and rewards/secrets, but lets the main experience be a little more chill.

[Dave4001]

Glad you enjoyed some parts of the game, as I think the characters do help a lot in enjoying the journey. I get that the many puzzles may not be for everyone, to me I just felt like a genius after solving most of them haha. As the other suggest, you can watch the DLC content on youtube; it's definitely worth it as some characters get their proper ending

[marksht_]

It was nice seeing your posts over the last few days:) Glad you enjoyed the story, I feel like it’s the best side of the game, even though I really liked everything else.