An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie RPGs and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores and quotes below are theirs, linked to the source.
Imagine a top-down action RPG with the reflexes of a twin-stick shooter and the brain-teasers of a Zelda dungeon. CrossCode blends fast, throw-and-dodge combat with genuinely clever puzzles — and wraps it all in razor-sharp 16-bit style.
At a Glance
| Developer | Radical Fish Games |
| Released | 2018 |
| Platforms | PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Switch, Xbox One |
| Subgenre | Action RPG with puzzle elements |
| Playtime | ~32 hrs (main) / ~60 hrs (completionist) |
| Metacritic | 82 / 100 |
| Steam | Very Positive (93% of 17,000+) |
| Peak players | 3,368 concurrent (all-time, SteamCharts) |
| Steam Deck | Playable |
| Languages | 5 supported |
About the Game
CrossCode is set inside a fictional sci-fi MMO, where you play Lea, a mute player-character piecing together her own mystery and identity. It’s the debut from Germany’s Radical Fish Games, and it spent years in early access being polished to a mirror shine.
Combat is real-time and demanding, built around dashing, melee strikes, and a chargeable energy ball you ricochet around the arena. That same throwing mechanic powers the puzzles, which escalate into multi-step, room-spanning challenges that genuinely make you stop and think. Difficulty sliders let you tune the action and the puzzles independently.
Underneath the spectacle is a surprisingly heartfelt story and a huge world — most players spend 30+ hours, and completionists can sink double that.
Screenshots
Screenshots: Radical Fish Games (press kit).
Why It Made the List
CrossCode earns its place as one of the most underrated action RPGs around: few games fuse twitch combat and brain-teasing puzzles this confidently, and fewer still sustain it across a 30-hour campaign without running out of ideas. It rewards players who love both reflexes and problem-solving.
What the Critics Say
CrossCode holds an 82 / 100 on Metacritic and a devoted following. A few verdicts:
“A truly great game you could devote 117 hours to.”
“A masterpiece… it’s amazing that they were able to put such detail into such a vast game.”
9.5/10 — IGN Japan
What Players Say
Players rate CrossCode Very Positive on Steam (93% of more than 17,000 reviews), and it peaked at 3,368 concurrent players. The combat and puzzle design draw the strongest praise — along with how much game you get for the price.
Praise & Criticism
What critics and players tend to highlight:
Widely praised
- Fast, weighty, deeply satisfying combat
- Ingenious, frequently brilliant puzzle design
- A meaty 30+ hour campaign with real story payoff
- Gorgeous, detailed SNES-style pixel art
Common criticisms
- Puzzles and late bosses can spike in difficulty
- It’s long, and the start is a slow burn
Games Like This
If CrossCode’s blend of action and puzzles clicks, try these:
- Hyper Light Drifter — sleek, fast action-RPG combat with a wordless, atmospheric world.
- Death’s Door — tight, Zelda-like action-adventure with sharp combat and charm.
- Tunic — an adorable action-adventure that’s secretly a brilliant puzzle box.
Hyper Light Drifter is on our Top 20 Indie RPGs list.
Where to Buy
Available on: Steam, GOG, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Xbox.
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