ReCore

58%
Game Brain Score Based on 430 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
ReCore Game Cover
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From legendary creator Keiji Inafune and the makers of Metroid Prime comes the "ReCore Definitive Edition", an action-adventure masterfully crafted for a new generation. As one of the last remaining humans, forge friendships with courageous robotic companions and lead them on an epic adventure through a mysterious dynamic world. Includes the new "Eye of Obsidian" adventure and "T8-NK" Corebot fr…

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • Xbox
  • Xbox Game Pass
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Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

58%
Audience ScoreBased on 430 reviews
story52 positive mentions
stability33 negative mentions
  • The platforming mechanics are fun and reminiscent of classic 3D platformers, providing a satisfying gameplay experience.
  • The game features charming robot companions that add depth to the gameplay and exploration.
  • The visuals and art style are appealing, creating an engaging atmosphere in the game world.
  • The combat can feel repetitive and lacks depth, often relying on color-matching mechanics that become tedious.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustrating experiences.
  • Progression is often gated behind collecting prismatic cores, leading to unnecessary backtracking and grinding.
  • story235 mentions

    The story in the game is generally perceived as weak and generic, lacking depth and engagement, with many players finding it repetitive and uninteresting. While some elements, such as audio logs, provide a richer backstory, the main narrative fails to captivate, often feeling like a mere backdrop to the gameplay. Overall, the story is functional but not compelling, leaving players wanting more in terms of character development and plot resolution.

    • “The story is intriguing and the enemies are cool.”
    • “The characters are endearing, and if you take the time to listen to the collectible audio logs that give the backstory, you will root for them and cheer Joule and her companions on.”
    • “The story and lore is actually complex and beautiful if you pay enough attention to it (it's not in your face about it).”
    • “The story is really lackluster; I would like to be able to switch between all the bots for assistance in missions or have a way to adjust my loadout.”
    • “The main story is short and nearly negligible.”
    • “The story just ends with a shockingly bad cliffhanger and with no resolution or explanation for the events that have happened on the planet.”
  • gameplay181 mentions

    The gameplay of this title is a mixed bag, featuring enjoyable platforming and exploration mechanics alongside a simplistic combat system that lacks depth and variety. While the traversal mechanics and robot companions add some fun, many players find the combat frustrating due to inconsistent mechanics and camera issues. Overall, the game offers a nostalgic collectathon experience, but is marred by bugs and repetitive gameplay that can detract from the overall enjoyment.

    • “This game's strongest point is its gameplay, with a mix of 3D action-adventure, looting, and especially lots of platforming.”
    • “The combat and gameplay loop is simple to understand but takes some time to master.”
    • “Overall, I personally loved the gameplay, the exploration, the combat, the platforming, and the robot companions.”
    • “Terrible game with awfully implemented mechanics; how does using the flying drone in the air suddenly teleport you to the ground? Absolutely awful.”
    • “The weakest part is combat; it never evolves from beginning to end. Every move and mechanic remains the same. If you don’t like it in the first 2 hours, you never will.”
    • “The gameplay is so generic and repetitive.”
  • graphics53 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the appealing art style and vibrant visuals, while others criticize the dated textures, inconsistent lighting, and various graphical glitches. Overall, the aesthetics are described as charming and atmospheric, but the technical execution often falls short, leading to a range of experiences from enjoyable to frustrating. Despite these issues, many players find the graphics satisfactory for a game of its era, particularly noting the engaging environments and character designs.

    • “Aesthetics are really appealing and the art direction feels really nice.”
    • “The visuals in the game are nice to look at; I tend to look around the area once I've defeated the baddies because of how pretty it is to me.”
    • “The game offers some nice graphics and a good aesthetic that really brightens and makes the game stand out and unique.”
    • “Very broken graphics, very short, lacks depth, cool universe/backstory.”
    • “Graphics range from very nice to mediocre, mostly because of weak lighting, low resolution textures, and weak art direction.”
    • “Graphics are a bit dated, specifically the texture work, though it's a Unity-made indie game.”
  • stability34 mentions

    The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous players reporting severe bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay, such as character lock-ups, visual issues, and game-breaking errors. Many users experienced frustrating technical problems that forced them to restart sections or even the entire game, leading to a consensus that the game feels unfinished and poorly optimized. Overall, the stability issues detract from the potential enjoyment of the game, making it a frustrating experience for many players.

    • “Those worried about Windows 10 compatibility don't bother; it's nothing but a complete lie. I can run this on my system with Windows 7 with no problem. It booted up the first time with no glitches.”
    • “The game runs incredibly smoothly, with no crashes or bugs to report. It's refreshing to see such stability in a new release.”
    • “I've played for hours without any issues. The stability of the game is impressive, making for a seamless gaming experience.”
    • “The game is also buggy as hell.”
    • “The glitches prevented me from being able to progress and I had to reset about 5 or 6 times.”
    • “This game is a buggy mess, and it starts in... in the damn menu.”
  • music33 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its catchy and moody qualities that enhance the gameplay experience, particularly during exploration. However, some players find the battle music repetitive and uninspired, often feeling out of place or lacking variety. Overall, while the soundtrack has its highlights, it can become monotonous and is criticized for its limited variation and occasional technical issues.

    • “Music is another very good element; it's moody and never feels out of place or annoying. At very brief moments, it even reminded me of the Star Wars soundtrack.”
    • “The music itself is nice and catchy, especially the theme as you're exploring the overworld. It can become repetitive after a while, though, like most games of this type.”
    • “One of the best surprises I found was the musical score.”
    • “The game music can be repetitive.”
    • “Oh, and I almost forgot... this game has battle music (just one track) that plays when combat is initiated, so you'll hear it again and again... and again, and it sucks. It's your stock battle music that could be found in almost any game out there!”
    • “There is only a small variation of theme, and it can be boring to hear that over and over again. Different areas have similar music themes, and sometimes it feels like it doesn't fit.”
  • grinding32 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly towards the end. While some appreciate the exploration and RPG elements, the combat and progression systems are often criticized for being overly grindy and lacking impact, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game may appeal to those who enjoy grind-heavy gameplay, but it risks alienating players seeking a more engaging and polished experience.

    • “Don't let the good start fool you; after a while, it becomes a repetitive, boring, and tedious game.”
    • “I can't believe that this is a 'definitive edition'... it's an extremely tedious, repetitive, frustrating game with a grind that pads out the gameplay.”
    • “The main quest line is a bit of a letdown, culminating in a super tedious dungeon of unfun back and forth between frustratingly long fights and platforming puzzles.”
  • optimization14 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has seen significant improvements, with many players reporting minimal performance issues and smooth gameplay. However, some users still experience occasional stuttering, freezing, and graphical artifacts, particularly in certain zones. While the game is praised for its solid performance on PC, there are lingering concerns about hardware requirements and specific optimization aspects, such as keybind management and core swapping.

    • “I should also note that I've experienced minimal performance issues in this game.”
    • “Also, I really praise the developer or whoever ported this game because this is the most optimized Unity engine game I've ever played.”
    • “Very good optimization on PC.”
    • “Of course, I also wish some things were optimized or trimmed, like the inability to swap cores on the fly and having to go back to the crawler to change out robot equipment.”
    • “Really, all this game struggles with are hardware requirements, because aside from long loading times and occasional stuttering and graphical bugs, this is a really solid, fun game.”
    • “Most of the time, the game runs smooth, but sometimes the performance can drop and start stuttering, and sometimes a serious drop can freeze the game for a couple of seconds. It happened like maybe four or five times in my total 20 hours of playtime.”
  • emotional10 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is mixed, with some players finding the story boring and the gameplay repetitive, which undermines the intended heartwarming moments. While the customization of robotic companions and engaging platforming provide some emotional engagement, the overall narrative and character development feel lacking, making it difficult for players to form meaningful connections. Despite some standout elements, such as strong voice acting and character interactions, the emotional impact is often overshadowed by gameplay frustrations and a generic storyline.

    • “It blends mechanics between many different genres quite seamlessly, has an impeccable presentation with excellent characters, and a bold story that does not shy away from some emotional impact.”
    • “What I loved about the game is not the combat; it's the absolute fun platforming that reminds me of Super Mario 3D games or even the old 2010s Spider-Man games... also swinging with Seth and gliding with Duncan is quite wholesome and I enjoyed it a lot.”
    • “Obviously you can customize your robotic companions by crafting upgrades at the krawler (Joule's own safe haven) and you're also allowed to freely fast travel through places you've previously visited using Violet's special powers (a robotic ninja that you'll meet in the first dungeon you come across; who's got an emotional DLC dedicated entirely to her).”
    • “Lifeless, repetitive, confusing map, boring story, and the most generic looking enemies out of a video game.”
    • “But the boring story and small mistakes everywhere make this game really hard to recommend.”
  • character development6 mentions

    Character development in the game has been widely criticized, with reviewers noting a lack of creativity and depth in both the protagonist and supporting characters. While the main character, Joule, shows some potential, her development is deemed insufficient, leaving players wanting more substance and emotional engagement. Overall, the character design and growth are considered weak points, contributing to a disappointing narrative experience.

    • “I don't notice that many problems that other people are mentioning, except for character development.”
    • “Very poorly designed characters; the protagonist looks like a foolish dwarf playing with a toy car in the sand.”
    • “From the names of the enemies to the world and character design, it lacks creativity and fresh ideas throughout the whole game!”
    • “Without spoilers, I will say the story left me wanting so much more in terms of depth and character development.”
  • humor5 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky platforming mechanics and the protagonist's comically fragile nature, which adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay. Players appreciate the funny robots and chaotic fights, although some feel that the frequent tricky platforming can detract from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the humor is a blend of absurdity and charm, making for an entertaining experience despite some frustrations.

    • “Your gun doesn't appear to do more damage, and even when fighting enemies of your own level, the protagonist is hilariously fragile, even with health upgrades.”
    • “You use funny robots and jump and shoot.”
    • “Funny thing is there is tons of crazy platforming in this game, which I am bad at, but they implemented it in a way that does not cause endless frustration as there are checkpoints on the way.”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highlighted as a strong point, effectively creating a sense of isolation in a desolate wasteland filled with threats, such as mechanical anomalies and hazardous environmental changes. While the visuals are praised for their beauty, some players find the repetitive environments detract from the overall experience. Despite this, the atmospheric elements contribute positively to the game's appeal, particularly for fans of fast-paced exploration and combat.

    • “New Eden is full of threats; from mechanical anomalies that will hunt you down relentlessly, to menacing atmospheric changes and hazards that will impede your progress in this adventure.”
    • “After a dozen of kills, I've decided to uninstall ReCore and play another one, and it's a pity because the game has very good and fresh ideas and a fantastic desert atmosphere.”
    • “Now, if you want to hear something good about the game - while the environments are boring and samey, they do invoke a cool wasteland atmosphere and a feeling of being completely alone.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization of the game is perceived negatively, with users labeling it as a low-budget cash grab reminiscent of classic Microsoft tactics, suggesting a lack of value and effort in its financial model.

    • “The game is a low-budget cash grab.”
    • “The game feels like a classic Microsoft cash grab.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The game has limited replayability due to the absence of branching plots, multiple endings, and a new game+ feature, resulting in minimal incentive for players to revisit it.

    • “There is no branching plot, no different or multiple endings, and no New Game+ option, which severely limits replayability.”
    • “The game offers little to no replay value.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

8hMedian play time
10hAverage play time
8-15hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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