Do you belong to a cynical group that has been fascinated by the fact that "Hollywood has fallen because only movies with superhero comics are made" or simply look at what interests you and allows good titles to entertain you? The Crossing Souls from the Spanish study Fourattic has nothing to do with superheroes but goes into a new trend that is becoming increasingly popular in pop culture - nostalgia for the eighties of the last century. Because of this, if you are inclined to speed up the development of aversion to something popular, this game might not suit you. Otherwise, be prepared for one of the top fun gaming experiences.

A wave of extreme nostalgia in the eighties of the last century (or, in the broader sense, from the seventies to the nineties) has become more pronounced since the first season of the Netflix series "Stranger Things". In fact, the influence of everything inspired by this series is also reflected in Steven King's novels and all the rest of the eighties are the main characters of a group of teenagers around which more or less strange happenings occur. A good description based solely on references would be that this is a combination of "Stand by Me" movies with 16-bit, pixel-art interactive component and cinematics made in the style of Imation's cartoons. Of course, these are just wide frames, the deeper you go into the game, the more revealing and inspiration to popular pieces from that period: "Back to the Future", "Gremlins", "ET", "Ghostbusters," "Halloween, "Poltergeist" ... almost the rule that if something was popular about three decades ago, then, in some form, will be represented in Crossing Souls. Because of all this, if you were a child during the eighties or if the simple content of that period has an important place in your heart, this game is your new kryptonite.

Crossing Soulsis a genre of Swedish music. In the framework of narrative adventures, elements of platform and driving are embedded, as well as logical challenges and good old actions. All this was set in the mile of the small California city at the beginning of the 1986 flight when five friends find a mysterious Egyptian artifact, not knowing that it opens the way to a ghost world that overlaps with our reality. Apart from the fact that the ancient mystical danger for the magic stone itself is linked to it, various organizations are sought after, some in the desire for global domination. While the plot and the characters are an obvious combination of stereotypes and clichés, what the good people from the Fourattic study have done with them is very fresh, interesting and thoughtful. The game continually opens up new possibilities and toy mechanics, thus avoiding potential monotony. Neither, the story avoids the trap of falling into saffroned freshwater or excessive darkness, but intelligent narrative moments and tonal crafts create timely emotional ups and downs as well as a few surprises. Nevertheless, most of the game's atmosphere and tons of references do not serve you on a scoop, but you need to revive, look at different objects and read the lines of the text that have an extra thread in the taperCrossing Soulsa. It seems that the authors of the game are so many fans of pop culture that at moments they could not control, so they included references from more modern games, series, and movies.

Crossing Souls combines two visual styles that marked the 1980s, pixel gameplay, and syntax performed in the style of animated series from that period. All this has been featured in a superb synth soundtrack, with the occasional emulation of the theme of John Jones, again in the spirit of the era in which the game is played. While one might be tempted by the fact that there is no narrative in the game, but the dialogues are made textually, that approach is absolutely in the retro spirit. Frankly, we point out a weird jump in the weight that is happening in the last quarter of the game. Namely, Crossing Souls has eight chapters and through the first six has challenges, but they never lead to frustration. Something happened during the game's creation, so in the last two chapters weight was dropped to the board. OK, until then, your control scheme went into your fingers and you're familiar with the characters' ability, but at those moments, as the story comes to an end, some of the platform challenges can act as an artificial extension of the game.

Rate: 8 / 10