Your first mission has come and gone and you passed with flying colors. You are promptly told that you have not completed your training session to be considered a full-time Rift Agent, and thus begins your journey through learning about your new equipment. Once your training has been completed you discover something completely wrong has happened. This is our review for Double Cross.
From Developer 13AM Games and Publisher Graffiti Games, comes a platform game that plays like a Mega Man title but has investigations like a crime game, and then you can go into a multiverse like something from DC Universe. You take on the character of Zahra, a Rift Agent. Rift stands for Regulator of Interdimensional Frontiers and Technology. Basically, you are a cop who protects each dimension from the bad guys. Upon completing your training regimen you are thrust into a narrative world of mayhem and deceit. The story follows this young agent as she looks for Suspect X, a mysterious enemy who has seemingly corrupted someone within the Rift Agency. You are assigned to the task of investigating things around Rift HQ and finding clues to who Suspect X really is. This begins your journey through Double Cross.
You are equipped with a Proton Slinger from the beginning. This is a tool that is upgradeable as you level up through your story missions. You can use it primarily to sling yourself from one anchor point to the next as you avoid trouble on the ground. You are able to equip different traits for your character and you also get permanent skills as you continue to play your game. You can customize Zahra as you see fit and play as you want to play. Rift gear will be a big part of your gameplay as you progress through the levels. You can use the proton slinger to not only fly across the area, but you can also catch projectiles that are flung at you and send them back to their attacker to destroy them. You have attacks where you can shoot a bolt of energy at the baddies and you can also have an area explosion come from you as well destroying everything within a short radius of your character. These types of attacks make me feel like Goku from Dragon Ball Z.
The art style of Double Cross is very cool in and of itself. The company opted for a 2D HD Art style and the decision has really paid off. The environments for each dimension are unique to their own areas. The different areas of each dimensional planets vary as well. The first Earth you visit has a swamp full of goo, and a construction type area with mechanical items. All in all the amount of detail that has been added to each level and area is astounding. It is a rich and vibrant art style that is very fun.
The monsters in each of the levels are very different as well. Goo creatures and other types of plant-based launchers that attack you every chance they get. You will have your hands full as you use jump kicks and punches to dominate the bad guys and utilize your proton launcher to get those hard to reach baddies and into the hard to reach areas of the map. Collect purple crystals around the map to level up your character. Attacking the monsters and defeating them awards you with little power points that drop on the ground. As you collect these points your special powers bar will fill allowing you to use all of your special abilities. Be careful though because the powers use up your bar pretty quickly and depending on how far your bar was filled up, that means a different power to use. As you scour the levels you will find items that are clues to Suspect X and his minion’s movements and you will be able to take those back to your headquarters to be analyzed and help you move from one area to the next.
Note: Our copy was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch with a code provided by PR.
