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 features unique graphics and a refreshing departure from the pixel art style, making it visually appealing.
- Gameplay is engaging with a satisfying crafting and automation system, providing a rewarding experience as players progress.
- The concept of monster girls adds an interesting twist to the gameplay, enhancing the overall charm of the game.
- The English translation is poorly executed, often resulting in broken dialogue and cut-off text that detracts from the overall experience.
- Numerous bugs and janky mechanics hinder gameplay, including issues with control responsiveness and quest clarity.
- The game suffers from pacing problems, particularly in the early stages, making it difficult for players to understand objectives and progress.
- story40 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players struggling due to poor translation that obscures plot details and quest instructions, making it difficult to engage with the narrative. While some find the main storyline intriguing and appreciate the inclusion of character relationships, others criticize the pacing and coherence of quests, leading to frustration. Overall, the story has potential but suffers from significant presentation issues that detract from the overall experience.
“The main storyline is intriguing, but the random dialogues with characters often lack cohesion, leaving room for improvement in narrative development.”
“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.”
“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.”
“What's the point of having a story if you can't understand what's happening?”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Return from Core" is generally engaging and features a blend of familiar sandbox crafting and survival mechanics, enhanced by unique elements like partnering with monster girls. However, it suffers from technical issues, including bugs and translation problems, which can detract from the overall experience. While the game shows promise with its creative concepts and visual style, players may find it less polished compared to similar titles like "Core Keeper."
“Although I guess you could say this is a positive since the tutorial blends into the gameplay so seamlessly it was impossible for me to tell that I was actually still doing a tutorial.”
“The concept, visual style, and core gameplay are enough to warrant giving this game a chance in my opinion, especially for the price.”
“It's evident that the game is a labor of love, offering hours of engaging gameplay.”
“The gameplay is more focused on automation than on core mechanics, which feels like a collection of watered-down ideas rather than a cohesive experience.”
“The major update attempted to innovate, but it felt like one step forward and two steps back, losing some of its original charm and introducing a plethora of bugs, including crashes related to object interactions.”
“The excitement of the unique gameplay is often dampened by bugs and inconsistencies, such as unresponsive characters and broken rail carts.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their appealing art style, which many players find enjoyable and subjective. Compared to previous titles, the visuals are noted to be significantly improved, enhancing the overall gameplay experience, particularly in aspects like mining and combat. Overall, players appreciate the combination of cute graphics and engaging mechanics.
“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.”
“Game graphics are not pixel art!”
“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.”
- 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 introduction of new farming methods and plants keeps it engaging, many feel that certain quests, particularly those involving gifting NPCs, can become tedious. The game offers a balance with automation options, but some players feel that the deeper layers of grinding slow down progress significantly. Overall, the farming and crafting elements are appreciated, adding depth to the gameplay.
“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 second layers and beyond, which really slows things down too much.”
“It's grindy.”
- stability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The game's stability is significantly hampered by numerous bugs and poor translation quality, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. While some players find it playable, the overall impression is that it remains a "buggy mess," particularly after recent updates. Despite these issues, it reportedly runs well on specific platforms like the Steam Deck.
“It runs great on the deck! 👍🏻”
“The game maintains a smooth performance without any crashes.”
“I've experienced no bugs or glitches, making for a stable gaming experience.”
“This game looks like it could be fun and I want to enjoy it, but it is very buggy. The translation quality is just plain bad; I have the feeling they ran the game through a machine translator and never adjusted the menus to fit the new text. Your inventory menu has stats listed that show overlapping text.”
“This game also looks like it gets more complex and sophisticated as you progress, but with this poor translation and buggy menu, I simply do not want to spend what little time I have free to figure this game out and hope it works.”
“Long story short: playable but still a buggy mess.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its poor English translation, which some players find amusing while others consider it a significant drawback that detracts from the overall experience. While the humor can be entertaining, the confusing translations may alienate potential players, leading to mixed feelings about this aspect of the game.
“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.”
- music2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some users expressing dissatisfaction, while others find it enjoyable and complementary to the graphics.
“The music is incredibly enjoyable and enhances the overall experience.”
“The soundtrack perfectly complements the gameplay, making every moment more immersive.”
“I love how the music sets the mood and keeps me engaged throughout the game.”
“The music is terrible.”
“The soundtrack is really disappointing.”
“The audio quality of the music is subpar.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviewers generally feel that while the character development is satisfactory, there is room for improvement, suggesting that deeper exploration of characters could enhance the overall experience.
“The character development in this game is incredibly rich and engaging, making each character feel unique and relatable.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, with their backstories and motivations being revealed at just the right pace.”
“The depth of character development adds so much to the overall experience, allowing players to form a genuine connection with the characters.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth.”
“I was hoping for more meaningful growth in the characters throughout the story.”
“The characters don't evolve in a way that feels satisfying or realistic.”
