While it operates under the guise of an RPG, it’s actually a puzzle-platformer RPG! Dun-dunn! In all seriousness, though, CrossCode doesn’t operate how games like this normally do. But CrossCode? Well, it’s a tricky little bugger. Most of the time, these games-especially ones based on MMOs-try pretty hard to emulate an authentic feel. hack or Sword Art Online, you might be familiar with the whole “game-within-a-game” thing that I’ve been blabbering on about. That’s because they want us to jump around on them, my friend! And, while said meta-narratives can be really hard to pull off, CrossCode does it with finesse to spare.
#Crosscode a promise is a promise 1 walkthrough full
This, in turn, creates a meta-narrative that makes full use of CrossCode‘s double-layered story. A seemingly normal player who has to follow the rules by completing CrossWorld‘s in-game story and familiarizing herself with in-game lore. She can’t hack herself up to level 99, enable God Mode, freely teleport around, or anything like that she’s just a seemingly normal player. Despite the circumstances surrounding Lea (which go from serious to even-more-serious as the game progresses), she’s still bound by the limitations of CrossWorlds. To put things bluntly, CrossCode is an excellent example of why the “game-within-a-game” trope can be so neat if it’s pulled off correctly. Fortunately, it appears as though Lea’s played through CrossWorlds before-thus, with nowhere else to go, and some out-of-game help from a mysterious ally, Lea begins her journey through this wondrous MMO in search of loot, levels, and the answers regarding her own identity. However, while some people would love to be trapped for all eternity within an MMO, this game isn’t all fun and games for Lea. I’m going to assume that none of this follows standard tutorial protocol.ĬrossCode‘s story follows one of my all-time favorite tropes-the “game-within-a-game.” CrossCode‘s story, which is set in the distant future, follows Lea, a player who has not only found herself unable to recall anything about herself but has also become trapped within CrossWorlds-a fictional MMORPG that allows players to not just play as, but become their characters through a neural linking device. Each time I solved a difficult puzzle or finally made it to some far-off treasure chest I felt really good about myself, which pushed me to keep on pursuing this game to its fullest-and, at the end of the day, I think that’s what makes this game so brilliant. I loved it because it forced me to get better at it. Be it through battles, exploration, or puzzle-solving, nothing in this game is very easy. But I’d be remiss if I said that I didn’t feel like CrossCode was consistently testing my worth. Now, maybe “gatekeeping” isn’t the best word to use, as its connotation is entirely negative. And, wouldn’t you know it, that describes CrossCode perfectly. Sounds familiar, right? Well, what if I took that a step further by asking if you’ve ever experienced gatekeeping not from a community surrounding a game, but the game itself? No, no, I don’t mean that it sits there and insults you (although some games do that)-I’m talking about games that expect you to get good at them very, very quickly, or risk never being able to get very far.
We’ve all had expenses where someone’s told you that you’re not worthy of truly enjoying a game because you don’t know enough about it, or, in many cases, because you aren’t good enough to beat it (or were maybe the ones doing said gatekeeping). I’m sure that most of us are familiar with the concept of gatekeeping as it applies to the world of video games.