When news of ReCore’s £29.99 price tag broke during E3, we warned that you may want to curb your enthusiasm for Microsoft’s robot rampage.
Not wanting to gloat, but all signs point to us being bang on the money – reviews went live today, and aside praise from a couple of outlets (literally a couple – God is a Geek and Windows Central) the reception has been lukewarm at best, with more than few sites opting for below average scores.
Many reviewers agree that the concept had potential and some good ideas are on display, but they’re buried under a tonne of technical faults. Crash bugs, framerate stuttering and lengthy loading times appear to be the biggest offenders. Also: enemies running through walls. Hopefully a patch is already on its way.
A lot of critics – even those who dished out poor scores – hope Microsoft will still commit to a sequel that builds on the foundation here. As Windows Central noted, though, it’s likely to be a one shot dealio like Sunset Overdrive, Ryse and Quantum Break before it.
Let’s take a look at what’ s being said:
8.0 – God is a Geek: “While the core mechanics will be familiar to any gamer with enough experience, there’s enough here to ensure that ReCore feels like something fresh and fun”
4/5 – Windows Central: “ReCore leans on some beloved gameplay conventions while injecting injected some of its own, gloriously unique and fulfilling elements”
75/100 – Gaming Trend: “ReCore is the framework of an incredible game with some truly unforgivable technical issues, which greatly deter from the overall experience”
7/10 – The Jimquisition: “New Eden isn’t as big as No Man’s Sky‘s universe or even Far Cry 4‘s mountainous terrain, but it’s got far more compelling reasons to stick around”
6.5 – Polygon: “When it’s working, Recore is a game that feels evocative of a different era of action games. But in its final half, Comcept and Armature let collect-a-thon structure and a poorly realized open world drag the whole thing back down to earth”
6/10 – GameSpot: “I wanted to like it more, and had it not overstayed its welcome, I would have. But in the end, like its robots, ReCore is a game with a bright soul encased in parts that are used well past their prime”
3/5 – Hardcore Gamer: “While not lackluster enough to be considered a bad game, there are enough stumbles and hiccups here to prevent this effort from Armature and Comcept from living up to its potential”
2/5 – GamesRadar: “The game’s core (apologies for using a pun I’d avoided this whole review) is solid. It’s just too bad that the frame supporting it isn’t”
2/5 – We Got This Covered: “While I originally had high hopes for ReCore‘s unique take on platforming and shooting, I quickly grew disappointed at how stale and tedious the minute-to-minute action became”
4/10 – Destructoid: “It’s easy to envision a way in which all those ideas could manifest into something great. They don’t, though. Instead, it’s just a jumble of mechanics that never jell, gameplay that grows stale far too quick, and insulting design. System failure”