Recore: Hit or Miss?
ReCore is one of the most frustrating games I’ve played in a long time, and not because it’s overly difficult. ReCore offers a lighthearted, fun first few hours, but all that promise is quickly buried in a torrent of a myriad of bugs and oversights, poor storytelling, and disjointed pacing that all make the game a pale shadow of what it could have been.
Joule is one of a handful of maintenance workers on a desert world called Far Eden, cryosleeping away the decades while an army of “corebots” terraforms the planet into a lush garden world suitable for the remnants of a plague-riddled humanity to settle on. The rest of the people are also in stasis aboard ships in orbit, as far as Joule knows, but she wakes up way past the terraforming deadline to find Far Eden is still an arid waste and most of the corebots have been up to no good. Joule and her trio of friendly robotic helpers set out to try to get the planet-building gear back up and running, and figure out what’s going on with all those bad bots. Joule’s robot buddies are endearing as all heck, and even with no discernible dialog they show a ton of personality just through their body language. But there aren’t really any other meaningful players in the story, nor any significant story development at all. Along the way there are a couple of intriguing revelations about the terraforming effort and the state of affairs back on Earth, and the idea of robots rebelling against their creators and dooming humanity’s last hope in the process is interesting on its face, but the game so profoundly fails to reach a satisfying conclusion about any of this that, having finished ReCore, looking back on the game’s initial premise just makes me feel sad.
Setting aside the quality of the game, ReCore at least serves as an encouraging start for Microsoft’s “Play Anywhere” initiative that will get you access to both Xbox One and Windows 10 versions of all first-party games from now on. In contrast to the much-maligned Games for Windows Live, it was a cinch to download ReCore and launch it from the Start menu, no extra login or overlay nonsense required. The game ran beautifully on PC, detected my Xbox One controller, unlocked the same achievements (although I never got any notifications for them), automatically switched to headphones when I plugged them into the controller’s headphone jack; it pretty much delivered the seamless convenience of a console once I was in-game. The game’s incredibly long loading times and shoddy frame rate on Xbox One make the PC version your best bet if you have a decent system, actually. It’s too bad Microsoft couldn’t manage to launch this effort with a more complete game than ReCore, although this positive first experience bodes exceedingly well for Forza Horizon 3 and Gears of War 4.
It would be so much easier to dismiss ReCore if it were just a bad game in every respect, but the sad reality is that taken individually, every one of the game’s design elements shows thoughtfulness and craft. The combat, platforming, crafting and customization, even the parts of the story that work were clearly built with care and seem like they’ll amount to a really engaging game with a lovable cast of characters and an intriguing world, but the game’s rampant problems are just impossible to look past. This game deserved to be so much more.
About the Author
Luis Acosta Everyone wants to know more about me. Okay so here it goes! I worked in the tech industry for more than 20 years. After losing my job, I decided to change careers. Currently I am attending school and working towards my new career. In the meantime I am providing Notary services to all who need it. Never leaving my passion for video games, movies and everything with a chip behind. I enjoy playing video games and spending a good evening at home with my hubby Kris. Movie weekends are great, and spending time with friends and family. I am able to enjoy and relax while writing reviews on my favorite games and movies. But who keeps me company while I write these wonderful items? Well, we have three dogs, a Boxer, Chihuahua and a beautiful Saint Bernard who are all very ready to share with me their feelings on the subject. If you want to learn more about me, simply visit www.arceeprime.com. Until then, I hope you enjoy my reviews and I look forward to hearing from you all!
Related Posts
Ironsight: Open beta phase starts on February 1, 2018 →
Next Generation Esports to Present Overwatch® Winter Premiere →
