CrossCode is a 2D Adventure Action RPG. To describe it in few words, CrossCode is a mix between Zelda and Secret of Mana. It takes the puzzley dungeon-centric progression of Zelda and mashes it with the wide-open exploration and combat of Secret of Mana.

Story: The story in the game is pretty good. You are a player of a far-future MMORPG who has lost her memory. You play the MMORPG (CrossWorlds in universe) to try and jog your memory and find out who you are (with plot threads stemming from that). The 'plot' wasn't completely fleshed out in parts however it's still pretty good.

Characters: The main cast interactions were one of my favorite parts. The relationship between Lea and Emilie hit me HARD. The game hits its 'making you tear up' quota at points. Most of the guild members/side characters are pretty good too. The NPCs who AREN'T the main cast are mostly generic and have no animations (probably the worst part).

Gameplay: It does the ARPG moniker justice. It takes full advantage of all the actions you can do in combat (Melee, Ranged, Shield, Dash). Later in the game once you have a handle on the mechanics, there are late-game bosses (in the DLC too) that demand that mastery from you. I wouldn't say it gets as hard as "Dark Souls", but the final boss and DLC final boss were really fun and engaging.

The puzzles were great too. If you are tearing through this game, at some point I got "Puzzle-fatigue" simply because there were so many in a short span of time. The puzzles are kinda like Zelda where you're introduced to concepts in their own dungeon/area, mostly moving on from it when you're done. Some of the puzzles (if you've played you know which ones I'm talking about) require tight timing and if you make a mistake, you have to start over. You could have the puzzle figured out by walking through the room but would take you a handful of tries to actually do it. I was playing on Gamepad which made have made the aiming less consistent for the puzzles.

^ There are difficulty sliders if the combat or puzzle timing is too difficult ^

I think this game is fantastic and worth the money. With the DLC, I think I reached something like 70 hours doing most of the side content. If you're a Zelda or ARPG fan, I recommend CrossCode. (Also the music is fantastic)