Return from Core
- December 15, 2023
- Tanxun Studio
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Return from Core" is a sci-fi FPS game that takes you on a mission to save a dying starship. Battle against alien creatures and repair the ship's systems to survive. With various weapons, abilities, and customization options, players must strategize and adapt to progress through the game's intense challenges.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a fun and engaging gameplay loop, with addictive resource gathering and crafting mechanics.
- Visually appealing graphics and a unique art style that enhances the overall experience.
- The game shows a lot of potential and has a solid foundation for future updates, making it enjoyable despite its current early access state.
- The English translation is poorly done, often resulting in confusing and nonsensical dialogue that detracts from the experience.
- There are significant pacing issues and a heavy reliance on grinding, especially in the later stages of the game.
- The game lacks controller support and has various bugs and UI issues that can hinder gameplay.
- story63 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the poor English translation that renders quest logs and instructions nearly incomprehensible, leading to confusion and frustration. While some find the main storyline and character interactions engaging, others describe the narrative as generic and lacking depth, with pacing issues and poorly explained quests. Overall, the story has potential but suffers from significant presentation and translation problems that detract from the experience.
“Its a great game and there is a lot to do story-wise and side quests.”
“Some noticeable differences are there's an actual story in return from core, there are NPCs you can form relationships with, mining isn't an absolute slog like it is in CK, mining actually feels like mining instead of whacking sponges with a pickaxe, the graphics are way better than the fuzzy CK graphics, and the combat isn't simply finding where to stand to cheese the enemies.”
“While progressing the storyline, you must find a balance between time, food, girls, combat, and mining tools.”
“The translation is 90% nonsense at the moment, like they just ran the whole Chinese script through Google Translate and pasted it straight in, which makes quest logs and instructions almost useless.”
“First and foremost, I want to say to the devs that although many of the reviewers dismiss the English translation as laughable and funny, I think that it's probably the biggest problem with the game in its current state because a lot of potential players will likely be immediately turned off by how confusing it can be early on even before the automation quest starts.”
“Some quests are very poorly explained, which probably is related to the language barrier to some degree, but some just don't have a logical flow.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally enjoyable, featuring familiar mechanics from sandbox crafting and survival genres, with a fun premise and appealing visual style. While combat and movement are deemed satisfactory, some players note issues with translation and suggest that the tutorial integrates well into the gameplay. Overall, the game is considered worth trying, especially given its price, though some recommend alternatives like "Core Keeper" for a more polished experience.
“The concept, visual style, and core gameplay are enough to warrant giving this game a chance, especially for the price.”
“Awesome game! I really like the graphic style and gameplay.”
“The premise is fun, and the mechanics will be familiar to anyone who's played sandbox crafting/survival games before.”
“Gameplay: 6/10”
“Gameplay is pretty alright - the combat is fine and the movement/mining is also just fine.”
“For the meantime go buy Core Keeper instead; it offers very similar, if not identical, gameplay as this one minus the monster girl romance option, and it's way more polished.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics in "Return from Core" are widely praised for their appealing art style and significant improvement over previous titles, particularly in comparison to the "fuzzy" graphics of its predecessor, CK. Players appreciate the visual quality, which enhances the overall gameplay experience, making activities like mining feel more immersive and satisfying. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's fresh mechanics and engaging storytelling.
“Awesome game! I really like the graphic style and gameplay.”
“I like the play style and the graphics, as well as the satisfaction of mining and hoarding everything I get my grubby little hands on :)”
“My initial take is this game (Return from Core) is a fresh and interesting take with great mechanics and art style.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the farming and crafting elements are enjoyable and can be done manually without feeling tedious, the later stages require excessive automation and repetitive tasks that can slow progress significantly. Many users express frustration with grind-heavy quests, particularly those involving gifting items to NPCs.
“However, I got fed up with a lot of the quests, which are very grindy, especially the part where you have to gift NPCs items.”
“There is also a huge amount of automation and grinding needed at the 2nd layers and beyond, which really slows things down too much.”
“Everything else really can be done by hand without it feeling tedious, which is surprising.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its poorly executed English translations, which some players find amusing while others consider them a significant drawback that detracts from the overall experience. While the humor can be entertaining, it often leads to confusion, potentially alienating new players. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some enjoying the comedic elements and others feeling frustrated by the translation issues.
“It's all fun and funny, in my opinion.”
“I had to stop playing it because of the lack of controller support, but the translations are awful (yet funny).”
“I know I've read others cringe at the translation; at times it is funny, while other times it can be annoying.”
- stability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game is playable and runs well on the Steam Deck, but it is still plagued by numerous bugs, indicating a need for further stability improvements.
“It runs great on deck!”
“It runs great on deck!”
“Long story short: playable but still a buggy mess.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the character development is generally appreciated, there is a consensus that it could benefit from further depth and exploration to enhance the overall experience.
“A little more character development would be even better.”
- music2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for being enjoyable, complementing the overall graphics and enhancing the gaming experience.
“The music is incredibly enjoyable and enhances the overall experience.”
“The soundtrack is captivating and perfectly complements the gameplay.”
“The combination of graphics and music creates an immersive atmosphere.”
