To the Core

About

To the Core is a roguelite action-platforming speedrunner. Run, jump and dash your way through levels filled with obstacles and hazards. Fight through heaps of enemies to save your father and set record times.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 128 reviews

graphics13 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game is fun and easy to understand, making it enjoyable for casual players.
It features a visually appealing art style and decent graphics, especially for a free game.
The movement mechanics can be enjoyable once you get used to them, providing a unique speedrunning experience.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, making it frustrating to play.
Movement feels floaty and unresponsive, which can hinder gameplay and combat.
There is no level saving system, forcing players to restart from the beginning if they quit mid-mission.

graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
36%
12%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising its stunning visuals and unique art style reminiscent of Borderlands, enhanced by cel-shading and a vibrant color palette. However, some users criticize the overall execution, noting inconsistencies and a lack of polish that detracts from the experience. While the graphics are generally considered good for a free indie game, there are calls for further refinement and attention to detail.
- “The visuals are stunning, breathtaking, and ready to pop.”
- “Great visuals and simple mechanics, yet challenging and very rewarding to play.”
- “The graphics are indeed reminiscent of those found in the Borderlands games, which comes through mainly due to the use of cel-shading and partly due to the color scheme.”
- “The story is rich, but the graphics are terrible. It's only worth trying for casual gaming.”
- “I know it's free and aesthetically fine, but at least show some more passion in the graphics.”
- “Graphics and controls are the worst in the world.”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
63%
16%
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players appreciating the charm and addictive nature of the mechanics, while others criticize the disconnection between input and actions, frustrating controls, and the need for more refinement. The game features interesting mechanics and a variety of enemies, but many find the exploration confusing and the overall experience lacking polish. While it may appeal to a niche audience, the gameplay struggles with reliability and can be frustrating, leading to a lack of recommendation from several users.
- “Great visuals and simple mechanics, yet challenging and very rewarding to play.”
- “To the core has very nice controls and a very nice, smooth camera which does not interfere with gameplay in any way and feels very intuitive, both with keyboard/mouse and with gamepad, even during combat.”
- “There are a nice little selection of enemies, nothing too spectacular, but they do show off the developers' talent and eye for game mechanics, such as using a particular enemy to jump upon and thus receive extra height.”
- “The movement and combat mechanics feel very disconnected from my input actions.”
- “If you're looking for a challenging game, this game could be for you if you can put up with the god-awful mechanics.”
- “I've played this game for a while, and I've come to the conclusion that the game certainly needs more refining gameplay-wise.”
story
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
65%
18%
The game's story is often perceived as minimal and poorly integrated, with many players feeling it lacks depth and engagement. While some appreciate the potential for a richer narrative, the overall consensus is that the gameplay mechanics overshadow the story, making it feel secondary or tacked on. Additionally, the absence of a save system frustrates players, as it forces them to restart after any mistake, detracting from the overall experience.
- “I would definitely buy a full game if that was to come one day; of course, I'd be expecting a deeper story.”
- “I love the game style, fun graphics, level layout, and story!”
- “To the core, it has very nice controls and a very nice, smooth camera which does not interfere with gameplay in any way and feels very intuitive, both with keyboard/mouse and with gamepad, even during combat.”
- “I went in hoping for a story-driven game, but the arcade/speedrun design wasn't to my taste.”
- “The story seems to be tacked onto the game and I didn't really care about anything that my 'father' had to say.”
- “Dunno the story, gameplay is pretty simple yet it's frustrating since this game has its own story but one mistake will force you to restart from the beginning.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its fitting atmosphere and quality, while others criticize it for being uninspired and mismatched with the game's fast-paced nature. Many feel that the soundtrack lacks the energy needed for a speedrunning experience, with some suggesting it would be more suitable for a different genre. Overall, the connection between the music and the game's visuals is noted positively, but the effectiveness of the soundtrack in enhancing gameplay is questioned.
- “I love the music and the atmosphere; it makes me feel like I'm in 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.'”
- “The music is another nice part, sounding right at home in an Egyptian desert-style place.”
- “The music and sound effects are all very fitting for the overall theme of the game and show that the developers have a great connection between their visuals and audio.”
- “The soundtrack is also very uninspired and uninteresting; it doesn't feel as energetic as it should be when playing a 'fast-paced' speedrunning game.”
- “For marketing itself as a speedrunner, the music felt rather walking-paced and almost relaxed, like the music would've fit better for a city-building sim instead, not a frantic speedrunner.”
- “The game basically feels too silent, like there's literally not enough audio to carry it, not mentioning the out-of-place music.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, including camera glitches, wall clipping, texture issues, and frequent crashes, making it largely unplayable even after five years. Despite these technical problems, some players still find the game enjoyable.
- “Just a buggy mess.”
- “I also encountered one repetitive camera glitch on the blocks at the base of the core towers (if you get too close, your camera glitches inside of the blocks).”
- “As of right now (5 years later), it does not seem to be really playable with all the wall clipping, texture/model glitches, and constant crashes.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its immersive music and varied environments that require players to adapt to different levels. However, some users feel that the tension suggested by the trailer is lacking, and notable issues, such as the absence of landing sound effects, detract from the overall experience.
- “I love the music and the atmosphere; it makes me feel like I'm in 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.'”
- “Every level is different, so you will need to learn to adapt to the various areas in the atmospheric environment.”
- “The trailer music already concerned me because I suspect that it should have a far more tense atmosphere than it exhibited.”
- “The trailer music already concerned me, because I suspect that it should have a far more tense atmosphere than it exhibited.”
- “Every level is different, so you will need to learn to adapt to the different areas in the atmospheric environment.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with frequent crashes, low frame rates, and numerous gameplay issues such as unchangeable controls and persistent bugs. Players report a frustrating experience with poor performance and a lack of essential features, leading to an overall negative impression of the game's technical execution.
- “Super bad, runs poorly (crashed my PC 3 times) and when it doesn't, it only hits 30 fps. There are no options while playing, I cannot change controls at all, and I cannot turn off vibration. I always get stuck on enemies and get hit while doing secondary ground attacks (this may be a feature). The cell shading turns off sometimes, and procedural generation is only done at the main menu. I assume they had trouble with performance when loading a new sublevel, which would be understandable if they fixed it. Why can I not see how much things cost in the shop?”
- “Badly optimized, bad level design, poor fighting mechanics, and no clear goals. The little voice acting I heard was awful. No wonder it's free; it's not worth anything.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the necessity of completing the tutorial with each playthrough, which can detract from the overall experience. However, some users acknowledge that after significant time spent grinding, they begin to appreciate the game more.
- “My only complaint is that you need to complete the tutorial with every playthrough, which gets tedious.”
- “After ten hours of grinding and figuring this game out, I can say something good.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional impact of the game is diminished by subpar audio quality, which fails to enhance the experience, while the clunky and slow controls of the player character further detract from the overall emotional engagement.