clickbliss

CROSSNIQ+ is a snappy puzzler that’s stepped right out the Dreamcast era

by Amr (@siegarettes)

• CROSSNIQ+
• Developer: MaxKriegerVG
• Publisher: MaxKriegerVG
• Switch, PC

Sporting a clean, turn of the century aesthetic, CROSSNIQ+ would feel right at home on the Dreamcast. Every edge is rounded, and bold lines make its geometric accents and flat colors pop against pristine backgrounds. The soundtrack pulses with synths, breakbeats and vocal samples, with a sense of style that almost made me expect to see the words SAMPLING MASTERS preceding each of the composers’ names. 

Playing CROSSNIQ+ gives that same sense of immediacy. Rules are understood in seconds–slide the tiles to create crosses–and the supporting mechanics add wrinkles that complicate that just as fast. CROSSNIQ+ initially appears clunky, lacking the quick setups I was used to from other puzzle games, and requiring a few too many steps before each successful cross. But soon enough I began to dial in sequences that shortened the time between each cross. I began pushing tiles through borders to wrap to the other side, lining up columns rather than single pieces, and learning when to use precision and where speed was preferred. 

As I reached higher levels, suddenly my pace halted, as more troublesome blocks appeared, keeping whole columns and rows from moving, and forcing me to work around them. That’s CROSSNIQ+’s flow: a frantic high score chase that slowly accelerates, then swerves as it introduces a new wrinkle that forces you develop new tactics. 

If I’ve one misgiving about the game it’s the way things can crawl to a near stop at higher levels, at least until you work around those special blocks. What once felt like an ample time limit starts feeling tight, and misjudging the number of colored tiles on the screen can immediately end a long run. Combined with the leisurely loading times of the Switch version, it made me a little antsy. I began wishing I had the option to immediately retry, especially since it’ll only record your score in the leaderboards if you break top 20. 

The drive to retry is telling. CROSSNIQ+ is a puzzle that scales well, lending itself equally to sessions of few minutes or an hour. Loading times aside, it’s easy to jump into another session, and the alternative modes provide let you turn the intensity higher or bring it down to chill. Versus lacks CPU battles or online, so I didn’t get the chance to try it, though plenty of cool character designs and mode exclusive items appear here, so it’s a strong argument for returning to CROSSNIQ+. 

More than anything CROSSNIQ+ is carried by the power of its aesthetic vibes. Watch the trailer once and you’ll know in your bones if you need it. It’s alive with the optimism of retro futurism, conjuring images of space station lounges, needle nosed spaceships and an alternative future where we all trade minidiscs. And for a few minutes at a time, CROSSNIQ+ lets you live in that optimistic future.