itch.io

Thank you! I listened to hundreds of songs (over a thousand, actually), pre-selected about 150, then narrowed it down to the final 18 songs featured on the game. It was difficult, but I found the whole process very enjoyable.

The music was licensed from Soundstripe and is available for streaming here: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/528658

(the in-game songs have vocals removed and other small adjustments, but are otherwise the same)

These artists are incredible. You could never get this level of quality and variety with AI. Aaron Sprinkle (Midnight Daydream / JMPSCR) is especially worthy of mention, he can produce beautiful music across several different styles.

Thank you, that was precisely the kind of feeling I was aiming for! 😉

Thanks!!

Hello! The easiest way would be to claim your free Steam key and play the game through Steam, which features automatic cloud saves.

The only other way is to copy the save file between the two platforms. It is located in these paths:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\crossing-chains\progress.dat
• Linux: ~/.local/share/crossing-chains/progress.dat
• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/crossing-chains/progress.dat

Thanks a lot, enjoy it!!

Obrigado irmão/irmã! Um grande abraço desde aqui de Portugal!

Thank you so much fellow puzzle maker! I spent a great deal of time refining these mechanics, so the recognition is much appreciated!

It's out, with a 10% discount until December 26!

The demo has also been extended with 2 additional levels (now 18 in total).

Hi all!

I'm Daniel Nora, developer of the puzzle game Cardinal Chains. 

Last year, I decided to start developing a new game dedicated to the thousands of people who have enjoyed Cardinal Chains since 2018. Finally, the time has come for me to share it with you...

Crossing Chains is the spiritual successor to Cardinal Chains. Once again you must fill the whole grid by forming chains starting from root cells.

This time, the chains can cross each other... but only  if their lengths match at the crossing point. The challenge is that the crossing points are not revealed beforehand! Other mechanics coexist and are gently introduced over several levels.

The full game features:

• 75 handmade levels, from easy to fiendish
• Daily & Random puzzles for endless play
• Unlimited hint system that reveals one move at a time, so you can tune the challenge to your liking
• Smooth chillhop soundtrack by professional artists

You can play the 16 level demo right now on your browser!

The full version of Crossing Chains becomes available on December 12, 2025. It will be released on both itch.io and Steam. Purchasing the itch.io version will grant access to a free Steam key.

Have fun! 

Thank you kindly!

Yes, this is the spiritual successor to Cardinal Chains. But it's a much bigger game, with more depth, more mechanics and a harder difficulty overall (don't worry about the difficulty though - in the full game the rules are slowly introduced, and you can use as many hints as you want!)

By the way, your games look absolutely gorgeous - you're a veritable one man army!

Really neat and professional! Thanks for covering my game.

Saludos desde Portugal!

Have a look at this!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jf0anodq6dgJOMp5WpuypDZx3AyrWOoj/view?usp=shari...

You mean a link to listen to the soundtrack? Yeah, sort of! All songs were licensed from Soundstripe, which lets you listen online for free (downloading is pay-only). Here's the playlist: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/318541

Some songs may sound slightly different because I removed some stems (vocals mostly) but overall it's pretty much the same.

Fixed!

Sort of! All songs were licensed from Soundstripe, which lets you listen online for free. Here's the playlist: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/318541

Some songs may sound slightly different because I removed some stems (vocals mostly) but overall it's pretty much the same.

I don't want to take your time, but I really feel like I owe you a special thanks for this.

itch.io has always been an amazing place for me, both as a player and a creator.

I'm really happy to be part of this bundle, and very thankful for all the effort you have put into this site over the years. I'm sure it means a lot for other people too. What a wonderful community you guys have built!

All the best to you and the rest of the "staff"!

Thank you so much for making these videos! It's always great for us game developers to watch other people enjoying our creations. Take your time playing and have fun!

P.S.: There's a quicker way to go to the next level when you finish a puzzle, just click anywhere on the screen (no need to find the arrow)!

Thanks for playing! As you can see, it's a completely different game. I agree that the difficulty curve is an issue, as it was for some of the early infinite runners.

People who stick to it eventually find Survival mode very relaxing, kind of like a racing game where you just let go of your thoughts and enjoy the ride. That was the main objective when I began to make the game, to get that kind of zen-like feeling from games like Wipeout or Boson X, both of which are also quite hard to master but eventually become a relaxing experience.

Still, I think I will stick to making games that don't require reflexes, like Cardinal Chains!

P.S.: in case you're using the mouse for playing, know that you can also use the keyboard for playing (and navigating menus), which I think is easier! You can use the space bar for jumping.

Simply by checking each puzzle with a solving program I created!

Hahaha I understand! Thank you so much for the kind words, have fun!

Hello! If you played the downloadable version of the demo, you will be able to pick up right where you left off. If you played the browser version, it's impossible to access the browser's save data. No worries though, just send me an email to support@danijmn.com and I will provide a save file straight to level 101!

As the developer, knowing that you like the soundtrack well enough to listen to it while working is a really great compliment, thanks a lot!

By the way, you can listen to the soundtrack directly on the browser if you prefer (some tracks are not exactly the same because I did some remastering, but they're very similar): https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/318541

Here's the full guide!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jf0anodq6dgJOMp5WpuypDZx3AyrWOoj/view

Many thanks for both buying the bundle and supporting me! Enjoy!

Thank you so much for the kind words, enjoy it!

https://danijmn.itch.io/cardinalchains

Hello Harvey, thank you for the kind words!

Yes, I licensed the tracks from Soundstripe, which I highly recommend! In fact, you can listen to the whole soundtrack on their website through this link: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/318541

Best of luck to you!

Thanks! By the way, you can always check the solution book!

Thanks for reporting! It's not about the save data actually (which takes only a few bytes), it's about the build itself which is around 50 MB due to the size of the music files. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it since it depends on the user's local configurations, which in most cases allow for plenty more. But you can easily work around the issue by downloading the demo, which will provide a better experience anyway (better performance, better music quality, etc). Have fun!

Check out this guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jf0anodq6dgJOMp5WpuypDZx3AyrWOoj/view?usp=shari...

Can only handle that type of request by email, sorry!

That was a great video, thank you so much for playing! And yes, it's on mobile too (both on Android and iOS), with all features.

Thank you! You can listen to the soundtrack here: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/318541

And about the puzzles... I just made them one by one!

Sure! Here's the link: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/318541

I love this comment. As the developer, I think you really nailed the points that I put the most effort on. Thank you so much, it really warms my heart!

By the way, if you love the soundtrack, you can listen online for free on the website of the company that it was licensed from (Soundstripe). Here's the full playlist: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/318541

I'm almost running out of those, but if you quickly email me your proof of purchase I might still have one for you!

Thank you so much, that's one of the best comments I've ever had!

Check your email!

https://danijmn.itch.io/cardinalchains

Yes, it's a well known fact that puzzle 145 has two solutions and puzzle 383 has four solutions. This was done on purpose to create two achievements, which are unlocked when you find all possible solutions to each puzzle (obviously the itch version can't support achievements but the puzzles remain the same).