ReCore: First Impressions

So I played around 4 hours of ReCore last night, here are my impressions so far.

I understand where some of the bad reviews come from, but in my opinion they are reviewing the game rather than enjoying what is a clearly enjoyable game. The story is straightforward, but the game provides ways to go into more depth via audio logs, journal entries, and translating the robot language. Here are some of the things I did and didn't like so far.

Good

Simple combat

Match colors for more damage (mismatch does less and white does normal)
Robotic companions used at appropriate moments to finish enemies off, stun them, etc

Stuff to find

Additional power cores
Loot from fallen enemies
Good loot from chests
If you wonder about jumping somewhere you usually can and there is usually something special if you do

Plenty to come back and do later

Some areas are inaccessible until you obtain the appropriate corebot

Challenging but accessible platforming

Boss fights

Bad

Simple Combat

Boss fights are not that much different than regular fights

Loading Screens

Devs have acknowledged that loading screens can be very long and they are working on a fix. Supposedly this is better on PC.

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For what it's worth, everyone is also saying it's a bug-filled mess, too, which is no good.

I still think it looks interesting, and I'll look into it sometime next year when I can get it for $15.

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So I played around 4 hours of ReCore last night, here are my impressions so far.

I understand where some of the bad reviews come from, but in my opinion they are reviewing the game rather than enjoying what is a clearly enjoyable game. The story is straightforward, but the game provides ways to go into more depth via audio logs, journal entries, and translating the robot language. Here are some of the things I did and didn't like so far.

I think audio logs, and to a lesser extent journal entries, are a pretty lazy way of giving depth to your world. It's a trope that I think needs to be replaced.

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So I played around 4 hours of ReCore last night, here are my impressions so far.

I understand where some of the bad reviews come from, but in my opinion they are reviewing the game rather than enjoying what is a clearly enjoyable game. The story is straightforward, but the game provides ways to go into more depth via audio logs, journal entries, and translating the robot language. Here are some of the things I did and didn't like so far.

I think audio logs, and to a lesser extent journal entries, are a pretty lazy way of giving depth to your world. It's a trope that I think needs to be replaced.

Personally, I think the audio logs are a good fit for this game because there is a pretty significant focus on exploring the world already. By hiding some depth in the logs, it allows the player to focus on the main story if they don't care for the extra information and don't like the exploration aspects.

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So I played around 4 hours of ReCore last night, here are my impressions so far.

I understand where some of the bad reviews come from, but in my opinion they are reviewing the game rather than enjoying what is a clearly enjoyable game. The story is straightforward, but the game provides ways to go into more depth via audio logs, journal entries, and translating the robot language. Here are some of the things I did and didn't like so far.

I think audio logs, and to a lesser extent journal entries, are a pretty lazy way of giving depth to your world. It's a trope that I think needs to be replaced.

The Last of Us excelled in this regard, where most of these things were believable and immersive. The only times that you found "Audio Logs" was when it made sense (recorded medical research, and a recorder found in a hospital, where they are often used), every other time, it was notes, lists, stuff like that. And heck, you could hand one of the notes that you found to a character, and have a unique interaction that way... Makes me wonder why Naughty Dog went back to mostly-trinket collectables for Uncharted 4, but considering everything else that the game has going for it (plus Nate's always-awesome Journal), I'm not gonna use that as a knock against them...

Other than that, it does really seem to be a crutch these days when devs are too busy/lazy to craft some solid environmental storytelling or worldbuilding dialogue...

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

In this case it's probably because Joseph Staten worked on ODST.

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

Audio Logs have been around for a good long while (Bioshock cause a huge resurgence back in 07, I think). I'm not sure what you're saying...

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Making a gag, mostly. Failing, it appears. Excelsior!

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

Audio Logs have been around for a good long while (Bioshock cause a huge resurgence back in 07, I think). I'm not sure what you're saying...

It's really easy to see why they suck after you play a great story baed series that introduced them later. Compare MGS V to any of the older games.

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

Audio Logs have been around for a good long while (Bioshock cause a huge resurgence back in 07, I think). I'm not sure what you're saying...

It's really easy to see why they suck after you play a great story baed series that introduced them later. Compare MGS V to any of the older games.

I dunno. MGS has always essentially had its audio logs front and center with the random Codec conversations. Hours upon hours of audio-based dialogue that didn't pertain to the immediate plot, but served as world-building? sounds like audio logs to me (props go to the B&B backstories that you had to listen to after you already offed the enemies, reducing the impact that it would have had on you had you known it beforehand)...

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

Audio Logs have been around for a good long while (Bioshock cause a huge resurgence back in 07, I think). I'm not sure what you're saying...

It's really easy to see why they suck after you play a great story baed series that introduced them later. Compare MGS V to any of the older games.

I dunno. MGS has always essentially had its audio logs front and center with the random Codec conversations. Hours upon hours of audio-based dialogue that didn't pertain to the immediate plot, but served as world-building? sounds like audio logs to me

They are nothing alike. Codec conversations happen between characters in real time right in front of you. It makes sense in terms of the narrative. You call the Colonel while you are being peed on, and he offers his sympathies and you talk about that for a bit about how that feels and smells. They are talking to each other, as if there is nobody listening because they are real characters. It doesn't matter that it isn't about the plot at hand directly.

Audio logs frequently are talking to the audience, and thus make it hard to suspend disbelief. Ask yourself in universe if anyone would record such a message, with the contents it has, and often the answer is no. Then to find it where you do often breaks immersion, because even if such a record exists it wouldn't be found strewn about. The only purpose is to convey information to the player. It doesn't make sense naturally.

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

Audio Logs have been around for a good long while (Bioshock cause a huge resurgence back in 07, I think). I'm not sure what you're saying...

It's really easy to see why they suck after you play a great story baed series that introduced them later. Compare MGS V to any of the older games.

I dunno. MGS has always essentially had its audio logs front and center with the random Codec conversations. Hours upon hours of audio-based dialogue that didn't pertain to the immediate plot, but served as world-building? sounds like audio logs to me

They are nothing alike. Codec conversations happen between characters in real time right in front of you.

No, not in real-time. The game stops completely so you can have your conversation. You could be standing inches from an enemy, call to Save, then listen to a five minute discussion on how Godzilla is an effective metaphor for the atomic age and the disasters therein, only to go back to the game, and the enemy continues the animation that you interrupted in order to hold an entire conversation with someone, and one that had nothing to do with what you're doing.

It makes sense in terms of the narrative. You call the Colonel while you are being peed on, and he offers his sympathies and you talk about that for a bit about how that feels and smells. They are talking to each other, as if there is nobody listening because they are real characters. It doesn't matter that it isn't about the plot at hand directly.

But the vast majority of these conversations can be missed/skipped if players don't stop what they're doing to listen to them. They're not really believable, because of the way that the game is set up. If you're infiltrating a bunker that's going to explode in five minutes, and you call your girlfriend to have a ten minute conversation about the color of your room, it kills the immersion, no matter that the characters are talking to each other instead of the audience.

it wouldn't be found strewn about.

Gameplay purposes. You'd be surprised how unrealistic video games can be, man. They're not documentaries meant to emulate real life. Shocking, I know...

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it wouldn't be found strewn about.

Gameplay purposes. You'd be surprised how unrealistic video games can be, man. They're not documentaries meant to emulate real life. Shocking, I know...

No, games don't strive to be realistic, but if you ever have something that feels very contrived, you lose the audience. It is not about realism, but about whether or not it belongs in the world. The human behavior of a game should make sense to us.

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it wouldn't be found strewn about.

Gameplay purposes. You'd be surprised how unrealistic video games can be, man. They're not documentaries meant to emulate real life. Shocking, I know...

No, games don't strive to be realistic, but if you ever have something that feels very contrived, you lose the audience. It is not about realism, but about whether or not it belongs in the world. The human behavior of a game should make sense to us.

Cody, you have to stop making sense. Everyone is used to arguing with you, so now that you're saying reasonable things the world is going to go all topsy-turvy!

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it wouldn't be found strewn about.

Gameplay purposes. You'd be surprised how unrealistic video games can be, man. They're not documentaries meant to emulate real life. Shocking, I know...

No, games don't strive to be realistic, but if you ever have something that feels very contrived, you lose the audience. It is not about realism, but about whether or not it belongs in the world. The human behavior of a game should make sense to us.

Indeed, and long conversations that halt space/time in order to happen are not any better than written notes or recorded messages, they're just different. I prefer notes and graffiti if I can't have strong environmental storytelling.

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it wouldn't be found strewn about.

Gameplay purposes. You'd be surprised how unrealistic video games can be, man. They're not documentaries meant to emulate real life. Shocking, I know...

No, games don't strive to be realistic, but if you ever have something that feels very contrived, you lose the audience. It is not about realism, but about whether or not it belongs in the world. The human behavior of a game should make sense to us.

Indeed, and long conversations that halt space/time in order to happen are not any better than written notes or recorded messages, they're just different. I prefer notes and graffiti if I can't have strong environmental storytelling.

Environmental storytelling is made even better seeing characters react to it. Finding the Dawn of the Wolf poster in Last of Us doesn't mean much, until Ellie asks Joel about it.

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How much "Hey! Let's do audio logs! Naughty Dog does it and they're awesome so hey!" is going on?

Audio Logs have been around for a good long while (Bioshock cause a huge resurgence back in 07, I think). I'm not sure what you're saying...

It's really easy to see why they suck after you play a great story baed series that introduced them later. Compare MGS V to any of the older games.

I dunno. MGS has always essentially had its audio logs front and center with the random Codec conversations. Hours upon hours of audio-based dialogue that didn't pertain to the immediate plot, but served as world-building? sounds like audio logs to me

They are nothing alike. Codec conversations happen between characters in real time right in front of you. It makes sense in terms of the narrative. You call the Colonel while you are being peed on, and he offers his sympathies and you talk about that for a bit about how that feels and smells. They are talking to each other, as if there is nobody listening because they are real characters. It doesn't matter that it isn't about the plot at hand directly.

No One Lives Forever... this was the icing on the cake, hearing the henchmen's conversations, hilarious.

http://kotaku.com/5890111/no-one-lives-forever-had-the-smartest-bad-guys

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ReCore: First Impressions (Gaming)