Crosscode was a mighty enjoyable game for me. Challenging gameplay, gorgeous visuals and music, an emotional story, it has it all. This is an opinion that I share with a small, but passionate fan base. Small really is the key word there though. Despite all the acclaim and positive reviews, despite the game's actual qualities, shockingly few people actually manage to beat it. Why?
Today I looked through the player data available through Steam. To see what conclusions we might draw and what other games might learn from Crosscode.
First of all, it's not unusual for people to buy games that then linger in their libraries forever. Never to be played or only tested for a few minutes before their new owner forgot about them. So how do we know how many people actually bothered to play the game for a meaningful amount of time?
The first milestone we can identify is the the battle with the robot crab. Players who made it this far are those that didn't quit during the prologue and made it through the tutorial. That may not sound like much effort, but there's a sizable camp of people who never bother to get that far. So how many persevered? 70%. A nice baseline to start from.
That may not sound like much, but is perfectly normal for Steam. Only 85% of people made it through the intro of Yuppie Psycho and that's literally just reading text. Or Underhero, where only 75% made it to the first enemy. Even in mainstream games this rings true. Only about 72% of players ever light the first bonfire in Dark Souls.
From there we move on to the world of Crossworlds proper, with 66% of people finishing chapter 2. The first big drop off then comes as players reach Rookie Harbor. This is the point where Crosscode acclimates players to its main and optional gameplay loops. I.e. where players first experience its quest structure and are then tasked with exploring the first open-ended map. It's not a long chapter by Crosscode standards, but it does mark a significant 12.5% drop-off in players.
While significant, I feel this is fairly normal too. These are players who gave the game a fair shake, but who now realize it really isn't for them. Perhaps they don't like the simplistic quests or the way exploration works. Maybe they sat through the mandatory lore exposition and realized they just didn't care for this story much. They may also have realized there is an esoteric crafting system or discovered some other dealbreaker. It's a shame, but at least these are people that tried.
Unfortunately, the trend continues from there as we obliterate the 50% milestone. Over the course of chapter 4, an additional 15% of players leave us. bringing the total remaining down to 38.5%. WOW.
In this case though, it's easy to identify a cause. Chapter 4 takes players to Bergen where they experience the first, full-length puzzle dungeon. The tutorial one was linear and quite easy, whereas the Temple Mine is a sprawling, multi-floor labyrinth. It is a daunting trial for sure and many likely realized this was not what they were hoping for. The final big drop then comes over the course of chapter 5, during which players explore an arid desert landscape culminating in the second of these puzzle dungeon. Bringing us to just 29%.
At this point though, the players who are left are those who are really into the game. They've experienced all the facets of its gameplay and persevered. They put hours and hours into Crosscode already and have spent a lot of time with its story and characters. These are people who are far less likely to give up.
Chapter 6 continues along the same trend we have seen so far, taking players and Lea to Autumn's Fall. During which only an additional 3.5% of players quit. Chapter 7 is a jarring break of pace. Players are taken away from the setting and characters they have enjoyed so far. Forced to instead play through an intimidating area with mandatory stealth segments and enemies that are way overpowered. How many players give up there? Only 1%.
It's only in Chapter 8 that we see another major drop. Which makes sense because chapter 8 is insanely long. It covers an entire new area complete with several lengthy, mandatory quest chains and 3 entire dungeons. No, these dungeons aren't cut down in size or anything. These are 3 full-length levels placed back-to-back that are each as long as the Temple Mine or Faj'ro. And even then, the drop-off is only 5.5%. Bringing the total left to a small, but fiercely dedicated 19% of players.
The game's difficulty then skyrockets ahead of the finale. Chapter 9 is absurdly tough, with even regular enemies feeling like a trial to overcome each and every time. Yet the number only drops to just under 17%. And of these die-hards, 15% then goes on to beat the game by finishing up chapter 10.
A part of me wants to make excuses. Indeed we should put these numbers in the proper context. Because that's not 15% of a truly fair 100% pie. It's after already filtering for the fact that 30% of people didn't play past the tutorial or didn't play at all. But we already established that such a starting handicap is not unusual for games. In fact, I drew a parallel between Crosscode and Dark Souls before, yet at least 17% of people finished the latter. With that number climbing up to 30% in its sequels.
The dramatic drops early on in the game can be largely explained by how Crosscode keeps revealing new, major aspects of what the game is even about. Players are first led to expect it's a hack & slash action game, but then arrive at Rookie Harbor to find that it's actually a singleplayer MMORPG. Complete with admittedly-shallow quests, crafting, and grinding. Players are then surprised once more when the Zelda-style puzzle dungeons are tossed into the mix. These are all very different gameplay elements that cater to different audiences. Some may find that blend appealing, while others lose interest.
This trend continues until after Bergen, I suspect, because that's when people realize this will be the routine of Crosscode. Explore area, do simple quests, tackle a puzzle-dungeon. Those skeptical may push past the Temple Mine, but then quit after as they realize they'll have to do it all again several times over.
A solution would be to establish what the game would play like sooner, but this is hardly an option for Crosscode. Its story doesn't really allow for the MMORPG influences to seep in sooner than chapter 3. Even fitting in an additional puzzle dungeon to establish how prevalent these become would be difficult to pull off. Requiring a major restructuring of the game's narrative.
Normal attrition then sets in from chapter 5 onward as the people left are mainly those who are fine with this blend of gameplay. Not to mention, these people already invested considerable time into Crosscode. Quitting an RPG after 10 hours can still be economical in the bigger picture. Once you've sank 40 hours into it though, you're more likely to want to push on for the final stretch. Even when the game kicks you in the nuts (or other relevant genitals) you smile through gritted teeth, ever more determined to beat it after.
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