Review: CROSSCODE is Fantastic on the Switch

Deck13 and Radical Fish Games recently released the Switch port of CrossCode and they were kind enough to send me a copy to play. Overall, I think fans of 16-bit RPG games are going to love this if they haven’t played it yet on PC. I enjoy the game and am glad that it’s on the Switch to make playing it on the go easy.

First, what’s great about this game? Well, it looks great. Radical Fish Games and Deck13 have created a beautiful 16-bit game. The artwork is fantastic. Second, the sound and music is phenomenal. Third, the gameplay is great. It does take a little bit of work to get used to the combat controls, but the tutorial does a good job of getting you used to it. There’s a good mix of puzzles, action, and adventure. The menus also present things like a bestiary that help you keep track of what creatures or plants drop what items.

The game takes place in a world where people use avatars to create a real-world/virtual MMORPG. One thing I truly appreciate about CrossCode is that it makes you feel like you’re in an MMO. Many NPCs are static, but there are other NPCs running around to simulate being other players. This is a small detail that is truly appreciated.

CrossCode is fun to play and a challenge at times. The developers know that it can be a challenge and they’re up front about it which is nice. They still encourage you to play the game on standard difficulty and only move to easy if you absolutely must. I found this unnecessary although the game can be challenging, it’s been a good challenging and not a frustrating one.

So, what do I dislike about the game? There are a few things. First, the menus are very sluggish and it takes longer than expected to access parts of the menu. In addition, I’ve found a bug that I expect can and will be fixed soon where the game crashes any time I try accessing the Trader Book. This isn’t a big problem, but it is annoying. Hopefully, it can be fixed soon. Also, the story feels kinda slow once you get to the main island.

My biggest problem with CrossCode though is the amount of grinding and farming you have to do. In order to purchase gear, you’ll need money and material. That material is found by cutting down plants, defeating animals, and some you can buy. Because of this, you have to kill just about every creature you come across and cut every plant and hope that you get a good drop. I know some may not mind, but I get annoyed when I have to do a bunch of grinding.

Overall, CrossCode is a fantastic game and I would highly recommend it to most people I know.