It combines some of the best elements of Metroid and Mega Man and blends them together seamlessly. Other than camera problems and occasionally excessive load times, ReCore is an exciting experience and one of the Xbox One’s best action games.

A very interesting start to what could become an amazing franchise, Recore has so many good qualities that it is a great disappointment that it lacks those extra 4-6 months of extra work and polishing which could have made it an instant classic.

An adventure with the flavour of old school, which incorporates some great ideas but suffers from clumsy frame rate and some other technical issues. Give it a chance, though... it might surprise you.

Had they put a little more money, time and attention into ReCore, there could have been an awesome game here. Unfortunately only the gameplay is okay, the rest of it is just meh.

ReCore is breezier, smarter and more accessible than a lot of its moneyed, would-be contemporaries. Traversing its empty open world is a chore, but when the game carries you indoors and places you inside one of its finely tuned dungeon-style levels, it’s unquestionably good, old-fashioned fun.

The first couple of hours of ReCore were almost downright magical. The story had me on its hook, the gameplay was fun, Mack was adorable and so much fun to use in combat, and I admit that the environment initially took my breath away. A few hours later, everything fell stale. The gameplay gave way to typical dungeon-platforming formulas. Even the beauty of the characters and environment appeared to diminish, as though the game was slowly rolling back to the PlayStation 2 era.

It's all a shame because ReCore shows so much promise in its opening hours. 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.