To the Core

About

To the Core is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences and was released on July 23, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

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

Skip User Reviews

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 133 reviews

graphics16 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game features a visually appealing art style and graphics that are reminiscent of popular titles, making it aesthetically pleasing.
Gameplay is fun and easy to understand, providing a casual experience that can be enjoyable for players looking for a light gaming session.
The game has potential for speedrunning, with interesting mechanics that encourage players to improve their times and explore different abilities.

Controls feel unresponsive and floaty, making movement and combat frustrating, which detracts from the overall experience.
The game suffers from frequent crashes and technical issues, making it difficult for players to enjoy the gameplay without interruptions.
Lack of a compelling story and repetitive procedural generation can lead to a monotonous experience, reducing long-term engagement.

graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
32%
11%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning visuals and unique art style reminiscent of Borderlands, enhanced by the use of cel-shading. However, some players feel that while the graphics are appealing, they do not compensate for gameplay issues and lack of polish, suggesting that the visuals alone are not enough to elevate the overall experience. Overall, the game is considered visually impressive for a free title, but improvements in gameplay and stability are needed to match the quality of its graphics.
- “The visuals are stunning, breathtaking, and ready to pop.”
- “Great game with a truly nice art style.”
- “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
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
62%
14%
Gameplay reviews highlight significant issues such as input lag, disconnection between player actions and game responses, and frustrating mechanics that can lead to frequent restarts. While some players appreciate the charm and potential of the game, they note that it lacks the refinement needed for a satisfying experience, especially for those seeking challenging gameplay. Overall, the game offers interesting mechanics and visuals but suffers from execution flaws that detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “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 (which by the way - is very smooth and intuitive, in itself - 'the glove', being a very nice touch and laying the foundation for more - in terms of story).”
- “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.”
- “A bit laggy gameplay, feels like there is significant input lag, like 200ms.”
- “If you're looking for a challenging game, this game could be for you if you can put up with the god-awful mechanics.”
- “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.”
story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The game's story is often criticized for being shallow and poorly integrated, with many players feeling it is overshadowed by repetitive gameplay and a lack of meaningful progression. While some appreciate the potential for a richer narrative, the overall consensus is that the story feels tacked on and fails to engage players, especially when combined with frustrating mechanics like having to restart missions. Despite its appealing graphics and gameplay style, the absence of a compelling story detracts 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!”
- “The only change that it needs is more levels and story.”
- “You can't tell a story with repetitive procedural generation (at least not yet, and I dread the approaching day when developers try anyway).”
- “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.”
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 game, 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 inconsistency in tone leaves some players wanting more.
- “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
50%
75%
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 expected from the trailer is lacking, particularly noting the absence of sound effects, such as landing noises, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “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.”
- “I love the music and the atmosphere; it makes me feel like I'm in 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.'”
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 glitches. 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 runs at 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. While the initial ten hours can feel repetitive, some users eventually appreciate the game after investing time into it.
- “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%
Players noted that the game's audio lacked emotional depth, which detracted from the overall experience. Additionally, the clunky controls of the player character hindered emotional engagement, making it difficult for players to connect with the game on a deeper level.