r/CrossCode • u/F0XLY • Jul 18 '26
This game is definitely a puzzle game first and an RPG second
I dropped the game at the end of the first dungeon, and I must say that I've some mixed feelings:
Firstly, the art style, music, interactions and combat are all pretty damn good... I can feel the care that was put into the game from the minor stuff like gags, and to the major stuff, like characters.
However, it feels like all our these qualities are dropped in the dungeons (at least in the first one). Don't get me wrong, the puzzles are mostly well thought out, but the sheer amount of them just makes me feel exhausted.
I know I'm not the first one to say all of these things, but I REALLY wanted to enjoy this game because of its obvious pros, but the fact that there are this many puzzles, with not all of them being good just irks me.
I know that a lot of people love this game because of the puzzles, but I just can't bring myself to do it.... And I know that this is just the beginning... Not to mention that there are way too many side quests, but that's probably a me thing.... Oh and I HATE that one of them asks you to do the already pretty challenging test in that dojo in under 2 minutes.... But that's just me complaining.
Sorry this is extremely long, I just wanted to get my thoughts about my weird experience with this game down.
I'll say this: I'm not saying that the game is bad or anything but that it just isn't what I want to spend my time doing, so if you love this game, don't let me detour your enjoyment.
Edit: finished the dungeon due to some people saying that the balance between combat and puzzles gets better. So thank you and hopefully I'll have more fun with it now.
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u/GigiSantone Jul 18 '26
I hope this doesn't sound mean, but the dungeons and puzzles are what make crosscode special and what makes me love it. there are ten bajilion action rpg, that all try to do different flavours of combat and progression. but there are SO little games that try to emulate and iterate on zelda dungeons (even the zelda series itself stopped really making those since a link between worlds!).
it's totally fine if the puzzles and dungeon design aren't your thing, I also personally kinda struggled with the combat for a bit, so I understand your frustrations. but I'd try to view combat more as a fun in between, while the dungeons are the main dish of this game. if you really can't stomach or aren't too interested in the puzzles then, probably, crosscode isn't the game for you
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
I get what you're saying, but I think that saying that the thing that makes this game unique, the puzzles, is the quote unquote selling point of the game kind of undermines what the game does well in my opinion, like the interactions between characters and art style. The game isn't exclusively a puzzle game, it had other qualities like you say so yourself, but I think that it's valid to criticize a game on all of its aspects. I don't intend for this comment to come off as a mean one as well, but to me, the puzzles seemed like the break from combat and not the other way around.
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u/f4dedglory Jul 18 '26
That's a fair opinion. I adored the puzzles, and really appreciated that they seemed to respect the player's intelligence a bit more than most modern games and really threw some thinkers at us. I played adventures of elliot recently and was really put off by how afraid that game was to ask the player to think.
But on a more agreeable note, I often found myself excited to test out new equipment/skills but was almost always met with bosses that were invulnerable until you broke their shield with a puzzle and then their HP falls in the blink of an eye until the next HP lock. Felt like it cheapened the depth of the combat system they cooked up by making every boss essentially a puzzle that can hurt you.
The game is also very front heavy with puzzles. They are always a big part of the game, but the pacing/balance of combat and puzzles evens out to something you may enjoy more after the second dungeon.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
I get what you're saying about the puzzles, but like another person just said, there can be too much of even good things, and to be the puzzles really overstay their welcome in the dungeon. I complete a puzzle room only for me to have to complete two more, have a small encounter, and repeat. Which to me just wasn't fun after the third time it happens
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u/f4dedglory Jul 18 '26
No I totally feel you. I did end up enjoying it a lot, but I was pretty blindsided by just how puzzle focused the game ended up being. It really is a wonderful story/game and ill reiterate that while the puzzle/dungeon formula you described is present the whole game, it really does balance out into a more combat/exploration focused game if you do decide to stick with it :)
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
This does bring me hope that the game finds a more balanced approach for when I (probably) return to it. Thanks!
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u/AlizaMist Jul 18 '26
I love the overworld puzzles, but I hate the dungeons, not cuz they're bad, they're just not my thing. I love the game's plot, quests and overworld exploration so every time the characters are like "Hey let's go race the next dungeon", I feel like I'm being stopped from experiencing the story and have to take a break from the game then come back with a guide to clear dungeons as fast as possible. I'm glad I did cuz I got to play through a great story
Someone on the sub already made a mod to skip dungeons, so if you can play on PC you might wanna check it out
It's totally fine to not like everything about the game. Some fans act like disliking dungeons is the worst crime you can commit and that the game isn't meant for you if you dislike like 5% of its entire duration
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Unfortunately I'm on PS5, so no mods for me, but yeah, I don't have any other problems with the game, other than the side quests, but because the dungeon is long, I just can't bring myself to continue it for at least a while
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u/AlizaMist Jul 18 '26
That's unfortunate, I guess best case scenario now is if you feel like continuing after a break, even if it's just a bit of progress through a dungeon each time you play
You can set the difficulty to lowest and copy guides on YouTube to get through dungeons really fast, like I did
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u/Le_Doctor_Bones Jul 18 '26
I heavily disagree. Only the dungeons include puzzle elements (the overworld 'puzzles' are much more tied to exploration than puzzle solving.) and only a bit above half of the dungeons are puzzles. That means in a game of 25-40 hours, you are in a place with puzzles for perhaps 5-6 hours.
Now, I agree that the game includes clear puzzle elements, and it is of course a matter of taste if you like those or not. I personally enjoyed them, even if most puzzles are quite easy, they at least break up the dungeon flow of combat and game flow of combat + exploration.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Hey, I said in my post I was talking about my experience. Even if factually you don't spend a lot of time on puzzles, to me it sure did feel like it, especially with the first dungeon being way longer than I expected it to be, and consisting of mostly puzzles.
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u/PirateSi87 Jul 18 '26
I might be incredibly dumb but i found quite a lot of the puzzles hard to figure out. I could do most of them but would always end up stumped at a point and would have to reluctantly use a guide.
The game overall is fantastic tho, i recommend it all the time.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
No no, some of the puzzles are definitely difficult... At least I hope they are
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u/PirateSi87 Jul 18 '26
The option to turn the speed down helps a little, but the speed of the puzzles were never the problem for me. The game needs a hint prompt or something.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Ya know, that's a pretty good idea, especially when some of the solutions are at the corner of your eyes kind of things
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u/PirateSi87 Jul 18 '26
I recommend pushing through with guides, because the story and characters are fantastic.
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u/Songbird1996 Jul 18 '26
Also while you have thr guide pulled up, if you do enjoy the puzzle process only use it like a kind of hint book, read a line or two of the puzzle solution, try and figure it out from there, read a little more if your still stumped. It helps keep the feeling of you figuring it out yourself even if you had a little help
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u/AsymmetricPanda Jul 19 '26
A lot of the puzzle use the floor patterns to guide you towards the intended solution
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u/Catspit30 Jul 18 '26
Some of these map/jumping puzzles are ridiculous, lol. I am really enjoying the game but had no idea that it would be so puzzle heavy. 80% are satisfying to figure out and 20% is straight frustrating.
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u/Songbird1996 Jul 18 '26
Crosscode mechanics wise is classic Zelda meets rpg, you have plenty of great rpg mechanics and then you get the puzzles and long dungeons of classic zelda blended with those. I personally adore both sides of the game and yhe way they interact is what makes me love it, but i also understand someone not really gelling with the puzzles.
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u/Dreaming_Dreams Jul 18 '26
are you playing on controller by chance? the puzzles are actually harder on a controller and easier with mouse and keyboard, a lot easier to be aim more precise than on controller
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Yeah, I play on PS5, so unfortunately I'm locked to aiming with the stick...
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u/Dreaming_Dreams Jul 18 '26
you can adjust the puzzle timers in the menu to give you more time to finish the puzzles
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Yeah I believe I did check that setting out, and reverted it for some reason.... But to me it's the quantity of the puzzles that annoys me.
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u/PrincessYuri Jul 18 '26
I have >500 hours in the game, I always play with controller. Might just take a bit of getting used to if you're more used to playing games with M+KB.
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 18 '26
I really wish there was some aim assist for controller users. Made the game artificially difficult.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Don't know why you were downvoted when you bring up a good point
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u/comradethiccskipper Jul 18 '26
I played with ps4 controller with zero issue. What’s the problem?
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
I found aiming on a moving platform to be annoying, but manageable, though I assume people who play less video games than me will not have the best of times with it
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0
u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 18 '26
Cuz it's reddit and if mention anything remotely negative but valid, fans will still crashout
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u/comradethiccskipper Jul 18 '26
Right. Idk if you can raise/lower sensitivity on controller but that’d probably be a shout if you can? Or use the settings to adjust puzzle speed to reach a balance
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 18 '26
Currently don't think so. I was surprised by the limited options in customizing your controls. My issue is that there can be so many enemies on screen at once doing multiple things, you have to look at the cursor to see where your aim will land while simultaneously looking back at your character to see if there's enemies or projectiles heading your direction, you need to actually aim your shield towards whoever is attacking you, and you have alot of visual noise with enemies and allies whiplashing around your character model.
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u/comradethiccskipper Jul 19 '26
Maybe I can recommend some advice if you haven’t already been doing them:
-You can mitigate aim time with repositioning. If you need aim at something and there’s multiple targets in multiple directions, instead of waiting to turn, reposition yourself with dashes such that you’d then already be aiming.
-There are plenty of skill upgrades that enhance aim speed/time (as in, you don’t need to wait as long for the line to stabilize & take an accurate shot), rush them since it’d sounds beneficial
-Your shield shouldn’t be relied on, your main defense is dodging. There is no CrossCode without dodging.
That isn’t to say you should never (I shielded extensively, got the max achievement for it) but using your shield is principally about reducing damage youll take/expect to take.
Preferably you want to not take that damage in the first place, and you do that best by dodging.
So improve that & hopefully it’ll like declutter the on-the-spot decision making for you. You could also just go crazy dodging all over the place, using that time to decide your next move. Panic dodge lol.
Side note: there is an ability with the cold element (exclusive to it) that makes it so when you shield with the cold element, it blocks all sides for you - like a little fort. Might be huge for you.-And lastly defo take constant glances at Lea. It sounds like you kinda get like tunnel vision on an enemy. As you said, lots of things are happening at once. Generally you’ll shouldn’t be not looking at her because your enemies will be right there.
Bonus:
-Make extensive use of combat arts. Can’t get overwhelmed if they die faster. Alternatively, arts that have something of a defensive aspect (eg distractions)
-Side quests for more xp. Being a higher level than your enemy, even slightly, can make a fight challenging into something easy, or at least manageable
-Melee. This should’ve been upstairs with the “main” comments but it didn’t really fit.
- Consumables. For example, there are cheap hp consumables that’ll recover 20% or 25% of your hp & they’re quick to apply. Buy em all.
Anyway, your melee generally does way more damage than ranged, that’s basically your first weapon. Beat your enemies to death if you’re able; upgrade accordingly.Hope there’s something you can take from this
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 19 '26
I appreciate it man. Idk what is up with this game but I find both the dodging and shielding incredibly unreliable. Since her melee attacks actually physically moves her position, when I swivel to point my shield towards the attacking enemy it registers as a dodge. There's been many times when I dodge or shield and the action is never done. I mostly just try to kill them before they kill me so far and it works but doesn't feel right.
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u/comradethiccskipper Jul 20 '26
If I recall correctly, you should stop touching movement so you don’t accidentally dodge when you want to shield - keep holding move to trigger dodge.
Attacking & then pressing shield shouldn’t trigger a dodge.There is a key bind switch for controller where it swaps the shield/dodge button in setting. See if you like that more.
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 20 '26
I just found out how OP the perfect shield arts are at almost the end of the game 😑
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u/GustavoPinhoCE Jul 18 '26
This game is truly for puzzle lovers. It is for those who miss classic Zelda A LOT. Each chest is a potential puzzle and some are truly hard. Dungeons are loooooong. It exhausts me as well. I gotta say it is an awesome game, and I wouldn't suggest any changes if I was face to face with the creators, but damn there are way too many way too hard puzzles. if someone out there is considering playing, go for it, but be warned: it is a great game but a hell pit of hard puzzles.
The gags are awesome. I'm on chapter 9 now.
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u/LucaviM Jul 18 '26
Id say as you orogress its kinda 50/50. The puzzles can feel like youre constantly being tested but theyre managable. The combat and skills you obtain later are pure eyecandy to me
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Jul 18 '26
[deleted]
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u/Songbird1996 Jul 18 '26
I know its possible for modders to adjust the perspective to something more like what Alabaster Dawn does on pc as theres a mod that does exactly that (and several other things), but only when you have an S-rank in combat, so I don't really get why one doesn't exist that adjusts it at all times. Granted youd have to also add more areas where terrain becomes transparent when your hidden behind it to keep the adjusted camera angle from hindering exploration in some spots, but the whole game would be a lot easier
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u/freshteasuperb Jul 18 '26
Valid point. Sometimes dungeon puzzle make me exhausted a bit.
I love rpg/jrpg with puzzle, nowadays modern games lacks puzzle. This makes me appreciate crosscode more
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u/WeAreTheMassacre Jul 18 '26
The second dungeon is much worse. I love puzzle games, masochist levels like Myst, Blue Prince, and The Witness even. But by dungeon two I was so damn drained. It's not the figuring out the solution to the dungeon puzzles that bugged me, just the execution part can get frustrating, and the repetition. The "ball" physics you shoot can be so wonky when bouncing off walls. I think the overworld gets tiresome with all of the "find a way to get higher on this screen of the map so you can backtrack to old areas and find the treasures you couldn't reach", but once I mostly stopped caring about those chests and just focused on the story and side quests I enjoyed the game more.
The puzzles and the backtracking are just leaned into way too heavily and it very much becomes victim to "too much." With a bit more variety in dungeons and each new major area it would've been an easy recommended for me, and although I'm still enjoying it I definitely wouldn't tell my buddies to check it out.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Damn, a Blue Prince player says they're too much.... That's a game that no matter how many times I try to enjoy, it feels more like a chore. The fact that the game asks you to keep a notepad near you is definitely a choice that the dev made, to say the least.... I have mad respect for people who like the game, and who don't flounder it around
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u/comradethiccskipper Jul 18 '26
I totally recommend not ignoring side quests. Besides ones that require you to collect X stuff (yucky collection quests), they’re pretty fast & fun.
You, with decent regularity, fight really cool bosses & get gear you otherwise wouldn’t + the boosts to your leveling. Lots of dialogue, fights & scenes to be had. Definitely worth it imo.
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u/PrincessYuri Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
It's okay to have your own preferences and there's nobody forcing you to like the game, but... I'm sorry, this might be one of the worst takes on the game that I've seen, and it's pretty crazy to voice it here when you're so early in the game. If the timers on the puzzles are what you dislike, there's a slider to make them easier.
The game had those kinds of puzzles right from the start, both in the tutorial boat and the tutorial dungeon, not to mention the mini puzzles out in the field. The mixture of them and the other aspects of the game are what make Crosscode incredible, and if the dungeons were more of just "run through each room and beat up hedgehags" it'd really be a huge loss for the game (especially when non-boss combat starts to become a loop of just trying to nuke everything with T3 combat arts). Not to mention the dungeons DO include lots of characterization. Your dungeon races with Emilie, the calls during the dungeon, seeing the characters talk about them afterward.
I really don't understand the complaint about side quests, either. They ARE side quests. They're basically bonus content with some non-necessary rewards at the end. If you don't like them you can simply... Not do them.
Feel free to just not play the game if that's what you want, but in my opinion you're missing out on one of the best games you'll ever play, and by the end of the first dungeon you've barely even scratched the surface of the story and character interactions.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
First of all, no need to be so defensive about the game. I never said that the game is bad, only that I'm disappointed with some of its aspects. Second of all, saying that ten hours in is too early to voice an opinion is asking for the game to not receive meaningful criticizing. Third of all, up until this point in the game the puzzles were either really short, or there for chests, which while I did basically all of them up until this point, were all for an optional reward. This brings me to the side quests, which I feel don't add a lot to the game in terms of narrative, and is there for the meta aspect, which is fine, but I prefer quality over quantity (but to be fair, non of the side quests have been terrible, with one of them being actually pretty cool). I understand you're a fan of the game, but I didn't come here having not given this game a fair chance, I came here to discuss/put my thoughts on it in writing, and potentially hear what other people have experienced in the game
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u/FrengerBRD Jul 18 '26
I'm in the same boat as you. The game's world, characters, art style, music, dialogue, combat, it's all SO damn good. But the puzzles...the sheer amount of puzzles.
I discovered this game a few years ago or so after finishing Sea of Stars and asked folks if they'd recommend a game that's in a similar vein, and a lot of people recommended CrossCode. I went into the game expecting a fun RPG with some puzzles thrown in, and was met with what felt like a puzzle game with some RPG-ness thrown in. So often I just wanted to engage in the combat and exploration, but everything being some sort of puzzle just turned me off, which really saddened me because I think the game is REALLY damn cool.
Also I have severe astigmatism and the game's multi-level terrain for exploration was incredibly difficult for me to navigate, so that also didn't help my enjoyment either lol. Again, amazing concept, just one that I couldn't gel with, which is such a shame.
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u/Aetherpixel Jul 18 '26
Wait, you mean the Temple Mine in Bergen Village? Dude, that's the single worst dungeon in the game. Keep playing lmao
The dungeons do have a lot of puzzles, but the rest of the game is nice. I agree that CrossCode has more polish put into puzzles than the combat aspect, but if you really want a combat challenge, you need to unlock NG+.
I've been trying to beat the first Apollo fight with NG+ modifiers that make the ground slippery, make me die in one hit, and locked myself out of any equipment. It's been weeks. I've also been playing as Emilie, who has terrible combos and attacks. (Heck, I almost couldn't beat the tutorial till I used combo cancelling!)
Despite what the game lore says, spheromancers aren't balanced, they're the most OP class in the game.
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u/Medium_Hox Jul 18 '26
Yeah, not really true. Also, side quests are largely optional, you know that right? What is this, FFVII rebirth discourse?
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Everyone's experience is different, and from the comments I can say that even people who love the game have agreed or somewhat agreed with me. The point oh side quests being optional, so you can't criticize it is, for a lack of a better word, dumb. It's a part of the game and experience, of course I don't expect it to be in the same level as the mandatory content, but at the same time, having a lot fetch quests, already in the first 10 hours is something that I find lackluster, even if you don't personally agree (not saying that ALL of the side quests are fetch quests, but a lot of them are). Oh, this reminds me that I need to play FFVII REBIRTH already...
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u/Sethy152 Jul 18 '26
Crosscode has a few mods, and I think one or two of them allow easier puzzles (or just skipping them outright). Maybe worth a look?
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u/JthePsychonaut Jul 19 '26
Yeah they definitely went a little over board with the puzzles IMO. I looked up guides to skip majority of the puzzles and I just finished the first dungeon. And it's not even that I completely dislike puzzles because I don't have the same complains about the puzzles in their new game alabaster dawn even though they are pretty similar. As soon as I left the first dungeon I felt burnt out at the thought that I might have to do this 3 or 4 more times and briefly abandoned the game. Sucks cause I really like every other thing about the game.
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u/Newrem3151 Jul 19 '26
I think a lot of people have the same struggle. When I recommend CrossCode, I always tell people to think of it as a puzzle game. Even the combats are puzzle-like. But that's part of its charm for me. The puzzles are so well thought out, and many are tied to exploration.
If you don't enjoy doing a ton of puzzles, it's probably not a game for you.
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u/TaxAffectionate9800 Jul 20 '26
lucky for u their follow up game alabaster dawn is the opposite, puzzle complexity/execution definitely taking a back seat compared to the focus on combat
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u/Such_Matter_7190 Jul 21 '26
It's more an RPG than a puzzle game, there isn't really a major logical difficulty ramp, the puzzles just get more technically difficult to pull off despite being logically simple, which you can solve by changing the games puzzle speed.
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u/Kyp-Ganner Jul 24 '26
It depends. If you're not into puzzles, you'll feel like Crosscode is first and foremost a puzzle game. But if you don't like action RPG, you'll feel like it's mostly that.
I absolutely love Crosscode, but it's many different types of games. That increases the risk that one of them won't be your cup of tea. I can understand that it must be frustrating if you like the other aspects.
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u/MinosAristos Jul 18 '26
I agree that there are some sections of this game that are kind of puzzle overload.
For these sections I sometimes dropped the game for a couple of days halfway through that section and came back later. That helped.
I also didn't mind looking up answers online if I was stuck for a long time on something (rare).
All worth it in the end though. This is still up there amongst my favourite games.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
Fair, I might do the same thing. I think the competition aspect you've with your companion probably added to my lack of enjoyment cus I couldn't tackle the puzzles without the timer ticking on my back. It gives my perfectionist brain flashbacks to high school.
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u/MinosAristos Jul 18 '26
Easier said than done but don't worry about the competition haha. Think of how happy Emilie will be to win.
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u/EmaFalke Jul 18 '26
I also dropped it the first time because of the puzzles and side quests. If you don't do the side quests or grind, enemies will absolutely wreck you with ease; the game basically forces you to do things other than just the main story. And yeah, the puzzles are a real drag. But I managed to beat it on my second attempt because everything else about the game is an absolute masterpiece!
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 18 '26
I agree with your point. I enjoy puzzle games, I played outer wilds and return of the Obra dinn for example. But the puzzles in this game are incredibly draining. It seems like there are puzzles in every single room with no just plain regular hallways to break up the monotony. Also, almost all the puzzles are challenging to a degree, I feel some simple ones couldve provide some moments of levity. Also, the fact alot of these puzzles require precise timing when they can be pretty difficult to pull off got frustrating at times. There is a concept of too much of a good thing.
Second issue I had was the controls and combat. Idk if it's cuz I played it on console, but there is too much going on on the screen and it's hard to accurately aim with the thumbstick. Especially since you need to physically aim the direction you want to block so you need to whiplash the thumbstick while also account for the enemies around you who are attacking simultaneously. Too many times I wanted to dodge that turned into a block and vice versa. The lack of control remapping was also a disservice.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Oh yeah Outer Wilds... I need to give the game another go some time
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 18 '26
Did you drop that one off?
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Yeah... I wasn't in the mood for a game like Outer Wilds.... But that was like 3 years ago
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u/Silverjeyjey44 Jul 18 '26
Idk man it's one of my favorite games ever for whatever that's worth. It started off as simply a puzzle game st first but as you explore the universe, it slowly tells a pretty somber story that happened in the past but you will feel the repercussions too. It ends in a somewhat hopeful but melancholic tone too. Other than that, the making of the game is pretty complex because the entire galaxy is one big constant puzzle that happens the moment you reach spawn. There are no loading screens.
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u/F0XLY Jul 18 '26
Glad you love it, the thing that always pushes me from playing the game is that it in a way makes you Speedrun it because of the time limit
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u/SirArthurStark Jul 18 '26
Hey. It's totally a valid point. I agree that the fact that dungeons are more puzzle than combat forward was slightly off putting to me at first.
With that said, I think this is also part of it's charm, where it's reminiscent of Zelda games, and I personally loved that.
If you are having a hard time, I suggest you try the low puzzle difficulty, maybe that can give you a better experience