CrossCode

After an ungodly amount of hours and several playthroughs on the switch, as well as many more to come on PC, this game is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ gem and one of my favorites of all time. Though I have a strong emotional bias towards this game, I'm trying to be objective when I say the gameplay scratches an itch I didn't know was there. All of the "combat arts" (special attacks) are all very well designed (...for the most part) and are immensely satisfying to use correctly and at just the right moment. This includes both the simple little spin dance AND the giant lightning bolt evisceration attack. You absolutely will have times you get frustrated trying to figure out how to reach a certain spot. You absolutely will miss a level 3 combat art in the stupidest way possible. You absolutely will spend hours grinding for equipment you're going to sell in <5 hours playtime. It's all part of the experience. Moving on... The protagonist, Lea, is somehow a very emotionally complex character despite being almost completely mute, and the way the rest of the cast interacts with her I've always thought was so unique and precious. It was her that sold the experience for me, and somewhere along the line I began seeing her as someone I genuinely cared about, and not just a face on a screen. I'm not going to lie to you and say that CrossCode is 100/10, or that it's perfect in every way, but this one hell of an immersive and fun RPG with a really touching and interesting story about self-expression and individuality. If it's convenient, buy it, and play it. If you love story RPG's, you'll (probably) love this just as much as I did. So... Go fill in the blanks my review left and see for yourself why so many people love this game. PS: If you ever remove Emilie from your party, I'm blocking you