CrossCode

Well, this is it. The first game I played for 84 hours straight. Sorry WoW, your 52 hour spree has been toppled. Sorry subtly 4th wall breaking laboratory display, your reminder to take breaks was in vain. And even though my body is visibly falling apart from the lack of sleep, movement and appetite, I'd still somehow muster the strength to keep going, if I hadn't just finished it along with the DLC. It's a lovely game, but pretty hard and frustrating at times, even when you're an experienced gamer. Less so the fights, you can compensate quite a bit with gear, but the puzzles: Some require very finicky skillshots or precise timing coupled with a high pace, once or twice even all three. Reminded me a bit of FFXIV raiding at times with how you had to learn the steps by heart to be able to execute it in time. Several fights also use light puzzle mechanics to create openings on the bosses. The jumping puzzles sometimes require a lot of searching around to find the entrance, because it's just a tiny little baby ledge somewhere on an adjacent map (or, sometimes, 3 maps away). They are cool once you find it, though. Loved that time a character had a meltdown in party banter because we were 3 checkpoints in and the puzzle still kept going. I found the jumping itself pretty snappy outside of ice floors. A good tip is to use the target line of the ranged attack and its shadow to double check elevation and jump trajectory. Combat is pretty mashy. Watch your ergonomics. Would have loved the ability to just hold down a button to keep spamming basic attacks sometimes. The story, let's say it left an impression and I wish it would continue. As of writing this, I'm still crying that it's over. I found it very engaging and was deeply immersed, but I gotta say, it would feel a little incomplete without the DLC. Even the DLC still leaves some plot threads hanging. But it feels like a much better ending point. That said, stories are all about resonance with the reader and what resonates with one might not with another, so mileage will vary here. Also, the nonsensical, one-sided dialogue in the sidequests wears itself a little thin over time. It has its moments and the character art is doing some heavy lifting, but one does feel inclined to first skim, then skip. Despite this, I appreciate all the passing overhead dialogues by NPC. Some contain crucial tips, some are running gags/minic-arcs, others are just references, but it does bring the world to life. Overall, I'm more than satisfied with the purchase and can recommend it. But I'd advise most people to make use of the accessibility settings. These switch timers are brutal and you'll probably have to grind a little with default settings.