@LtSarge Yeah, I figured the dungeons would be least efficient; it was more in terms of are there actually enough in the overworld or are you forced to do the dungeons, but I guess your comment suggests there are more than enough in the overworld.
@LeanerFasterStronger I think I agree with you on CTR! It knocked MK Wii off the top spot for me just because it was harder and more addictive but they are two of the best karting games in my opinion. The thing they have in common though is that there is tons of stuff to unlock which keeps you coming back for more.
I kept up with CTR and unlocked all the time limited stuff but I haven't gone back to 100% the final update because I no longer had to grind for wumpas/nitro. I still plan to do it one day but I just don't have to do it within the month time limit like the previous 6 or so updates.
WRC 8 is another GwG actually. I played through most of the tracks on WRC5 when I was trying to tick off ps plus games a few months ago. 5 was trash on PS3, really bad frame rate. I am curious about trying 8 on Xbox one though!
I think you summarised ace combat exactly to be honest! Better than I could have described it! I finished it up on Saturday, it was decent and had a cool vibe but I'll be damned if I knew what the hell was going on most of the time 😅
@LtSarge that's good to know regarding the game progression, sounds like it's better to just plough through the story before going off to do any exploration, if at all then. I'll make a point to play it like that when I get started on it this week!
@trev666 heya and welcome, do you want to be added to the tag list so you get notifications of the monthly games we are playing? Or are you just popping by for some ReCore discussion? Either is fine!
I just started the game and am about 1.5 hours into it. Finished the first dungeon and called it quits for the day. Enjoy the game from what I've experienced so far and got a bunch of achievements in that initial play. Read some comments about making sure I'm leveling up and collecting the prisms in the open world vs dungeons so I'll keep that in mind.
@trev666 no worries 👍 it's an open forum! Let us know if you want to join in in future and I'll add you to the tag list! I think we are likely to be playing psychonauts next month
Went back to the area next to Joule's crawler to collect some of the prism cores to continue the story and frustration has got the better of me. Still a couple in that first area I can't get - I guess there's a companion you acquire later on that makes use of steam vents as it looks like it's the only way to get high enough to collect one and the other is possibly me just being dumb. There's a lvl 15 bot that I just can't beat; it's health gets low enough then just recharges itself before I can extract - although as I type this I'm remembering the charge shot that I haven't needed to use since the tutorial; probably need to use that!
The next area there's another of those corebots that I'm too dumb to defeat, but a couple more that are easy enough to find, so I grab those. I'm still a few short at this point, so on to the next area (the one with the big excavator in the middle). There's quite few on the map, so thought it should be fairly easy to get more than I need here. First one I come across is only accessible via steam vent so that's out. Make my way to the next, and after a bit of platforming I realise...also a steam vent. Then a couple with some ridiculously convoluted platforming that needs to be done without error or you have to start over. After far too many tries I decided to call it a day; realising that even if I just skipped to the next area to pick up the prisms I needed, I'd probably have to come back and get these ones later and have to endure the frustration all over again.
I suppose if I'd done a couple of the optional dungeons along the way (and figured out how to defeat those corebots I was struggling with!) I might've had enough prisms to progress, but given some of the comments above it seems like that might've just delayed the grind until later in the game. It's a bit of a shame really, as I was thoroughly enjoying the game up until that point.
@dmcc0 Sorry to hear that mate but maybe it's for the best. The final part of the game definitely isn't for everyone and as we've already heard from other users, some quit because of the final dungeon. If I didn't have the mind of a completionist, then I too would've just given up because what's the point of playing a game if you're not enjoying it. But at least you gave it a try since now you've experienced what the game is about.
I genuinely feel like some of us should do some research when choosing future Game Club titles. Even if ReCore is an Xbox One exclusive and thus it aligns with our focus on Xbox titles, if it turns out to be a frustrating experience that most people won't finish then it feels like we should avoid it. We should probably look up some info about Psychonauts before choosing to play that game next month. Considering it's an old title, there's a risk it could also be a frustrating experience like ReCore.
@ralphdibny Also, if I may suggest something, wouldn't it be useful to make a list of all the games we've played in Game Club so far and update it with every month's new title? It would make it easier to keep track of what we've played so that newer people don't suggest games we've already played. Not to mention it would feel like we've accomplished a lot by having a list of completed games.
January: Ryse: Son of Rome
February: Ori and the Blind Forest
March: Titanfall 2
April: Alan Wake
May: Dishonored
June: ReCore
I think we can skip last year's games since we were so inconsistent back then.
@LtSarge I'm not sure what more research we could have done on ReCore tbh, it's an Xbox exclusive that got average reviews on launch but was better received after updates. Not every game is going to be amazing or even necessarily decent and we may forego some amazing titles if we read too many negative reviews ahead of time because our tastes are different.
I think psychonauts will be tough because of its age but I think it will be worth giving a go, especially as psychonauts 2 is dropping in late August.
I'll add your list to post #1 on the first page of this thread. I won't put it in every monthly mass tag post because I think two lists of games (completed and next month potentials) will be a bit confusing for a single post. I'll try and work out the old game club games for the list too anyway. Not sure how often I'll get around to updating post #1 though but I'll see how it goes.
Edit: list has been added to post #1 and I've added the original GC games so the list is comprehensive.
@LtSarge To be honest, it's not even the collectible aspect that was the issue as much as locking the story progression behind it as it totally broke the flow of the game for me. Add to that the fact you can't access some of the collectibles until you progress far enough in the story just adds to the frustration.
Ultimately, I think it was trying to be too many things all at the same time and didn't really work. If I'd played with a different mindset I might've got more out of it - maybe taking each map section and clearing all the dungeons and collectibles as I go would've been better, but that would've increased the playtime by a fair bit and I'm not sure if it would've held my interest for that long unless the dungeons had a bit of variety.
@ralphdibny True but at the same time this is a game we will be playing for an entire month and most people don't even have the motivation to participate in Game Club because they're busy with other stuff or because of many other games that they are also playing. As we get older we value our time more and knowing that we'll be playing a game that will get us frustrated to the point where we give up on it is something we should try to avoid if possible.
The process of choosing the game is simply based on how many people vote for it, but I can absolutely tell you now that with the knowledge I have of ReCore, I would never vote for it as a title for Game Club. I would play it on my own but I don't want other people to suffer lol.
It's not a matter of different tastes, but accessibility. For example, do we want to vote for Dark Souls on Game Club? Probably not, even if some people don't mind the steep difficulty level, others will find it off-putting. That's the issue with ReCore, it forces you to explore the open world in order to progress with the story and it forces you to undergo frustrating final levels in order to beat the game. Not the most accessible title if you ask me.
I do agree that it's difficult to determine these things beforehand. But I wanted to at least bring this up as food for thought.
@LtSarge dark souls has a reputation though, it probably wouldn't get past the voting stage. ReCore is nowhere near as notorious as Dark Souls so we couldn't know how obtuse it might be.
I don't disagree that people can do more research on the titles they vote for but it's up to them really. I don't want to eschew the voting system for the sake of additional non-democratic criteria. I think the only rule we really have is that it needs to be sub 20 hours and even then it's not a hard and fast rule.
I think at the end of the day, you win some and you lose some and if ReCore turned out to be a single bum game out of a year's worth of decent and a few amazing games then it's probably not the end of the world.
It might be a bit demotivating but game club is about discussion and a negative experience is just as valid as a positive experience and is worth discussing both sides of the coin. If a game is trash then say so! There's been a few games I've not been enthused with both here and on Push Square.
It does seem like the dislike for ReCore is universal but we honestly couldn't know that would be the case without all of us playing it. But yeah, if people want to research the games they vote for then they are more than welcome to! I always check HLTB to see if it's a time I'm willing to give, I might not vote for certain genres (that actually put me off voting for Ori because it was a metroidvania, despite the fact that ended up being my favourite game that we've played so far). I dunno, the coin flips both ways sometimes I guess!
@dmcc0 I did enjoy exploring the open world in the beginning but then I realised that most side dungeons are pretty much the same and the rewards weren't even that great. If the things you do in the open world don't feel meaningful, then there's little point in doing them. But because of this, you will not be able to progress through the story. So I agree with you, the game tried to do many things but should've just focused on one aspect and that's creating a good linear experience. Maybe then we could've avoided this issue of not being able to progress.
@ralphdibny You bring up some good points. It's better that we play and share our experiences instead of avoiding them. Maybe I would've never gotten around to playing ReCore if it weren't for Game Club. So at the very least I can say now that I've experienced this game and I can cross it off from my list of Xbox exclusives that I have yet to play. I'm fine with this mentality as long as the poor choices don't happen too often. So let's hope at least that we haven't done two bad choices in a row with Psychonauts, lol.
@LtSarge yeah hopefully not! I know it's frustrating to get burned by something and it's really tricky to not treat any similar experience in future with an overcompensated sense of skepticism. Hindsight is a hell of a thing after all!
But yeah, I do encourage people to do their individual research on things they are thinking of voting for. Or not, it doesn't really matter. Research is good for some people and less so for others! Some people prefer to enter experiences blind. But yeah, either is good!
I just wouldn't want to deprive someone of an option because I personally don't like open world or fetch quests or first person shooters or steep difficulty curves or something. I don't mind some of those things but they're just examples of what individuals might not like. We just decide what we think we might like with our votes and if what we vote for doesn't get chosen then we have a choice of whether to dip out of the month or come out of our comfort zone and join in anyway!
If we don't try it we will never know right? Im liking trying the different games through the club. Not all will be my ideal games but it's still an experience. Im still only a few hours into the game so I'll let you know my thoughts when I'm done it.
I've just got to the shifting sands part with joule at level 13 and I have the gorilla robot and the tank robot. I decided to just plough through the story/objectives based on others experiences. I guess I am nearing the part where I will be locked out of progression without levelling up.
It's a weird game, I don't know what I make of it, just a mixed bag really.
It's a 3D platformer, I wouldn't really call it open world. The levels/areas are a bit bigger than a usual 3D platformer but not really far off something like Mario odyssey or even some of the larger levels in Mario 64 (they have a lot of verticality which adds a lot of size to a small footprint). (edit: just played a bit more and seen more of the open worldy-ness) I guess I quite like the moves - double jump, boost/dash etc. The mantling removes any platforming challenge tbh.
Combat looks a lot like the PS2 era platformers which I never really played so I can't comment more than to say they look similar visually.
Obviously there are RPG elements, aesthetically the game is a lot like Borderlands too so there is some influence there.
I guess there is some modern tomb raider influence too with the optional dungeons you can take on
There's a lot going on in this game so the advice to initially just progress through the story was good advice. Better to get into the swing of things before having to learn the complicated stuff.
I like collect-a-thons in good games and occasionally I see some stuff and I think I will come back and 100% it but then I change my mind because my enthusiasm for the game itself wanes. Im sure I'll be forced to do some of this stuff anyway in order to level up so I guess I'll see how much of it I'll tick off naturally before I decide how far I'll take it.
The game is OK, nothing special, not exactly terrible either. Worth playing as an Xbox exclusive but not something I'd write home about. That's from the beginning as well, I didn't think it was amazing and then turned rubbish, it's just been a bit mediocre all the way through.
Achievements seem to be popping left, right and centre though, particularly in the opening half hour of the game.
The graphics are weird too. They are sort of PS3/360 era graphics but shiny, less jaggy and generally have that XB1-gen polish that the "remasters" usually have. So not great but not as bad as it could be. I have had a few graphics glitches too, particularly when you get the gorilla to punch a stump thing and then use the spider to crawl up a track. The track was just invisible to me and I wouldn't even have known it was there if I didn't get the button prompt. The tracks and the pillars kept popping in and out, bit weird really!
@ralphdibny the general consensus in the comments seems to be that it's a decent (but flawed) game, but nothing that's going the go down as a classic or anything like that.
I think I was at about lvl 15 when I got to shifting sands and I think most of the bots around there are about that level. Out of interest, how many prism cores to you have at the moment? You need 16 to enter the area at the other side of shifting sands - I only had 8 at that point.
I don't mind a collect-a-thon when it's fun - I've completed Mario Galaxy and numerous LEGO games to 100% and even collected all the feathers in one of the Assassin's Creed games on PS3, but none of those force you backtrack/collect in order to progress the main game.
It would've made more sense to me for the story have you collect just the right amount of cores to progress and make the optional dungeons an additional challenge in the post-game where you can explore the open world with all the companion abilities unlocked and collect more cores to unlock the dungeons.
@dmcc0 I'm just going back to find cores now for that purpose, currently I've got 13. Starting at the first area again now. I'm guessing there is another companion that utilises them steam vents in some way. Will probably just pick up what I can on my way back to shifting sands and hope that sees me through a bit further into the game
Bit confused about my level though, I guess my gun level is joules level as it's the only level visible on her profile on the crew page. Currently level 14 so hopefully will wipe out some lower level enemies on my way back too
I loved Mario galaxy so much! Probably my third favourite Wii game after DKCR and Mario kart Wii. I still haven't played the second one though all the way through and I've got the switch remaster to play at some point too.
ReCore is a bit of a weird one as it's both a moderate collect-a-thon (prismatic cores, crates and audio logs that are shown on the map screen) but it's also a looter shooter with all the other junk and blueprints you can find that upgrade your robot mates. Bit confusing to separate the two different yet similar aspects to it!
Definitely agree with you on the weird progression. I was just skimming over the last few pages to see who said it but I thought it was Mr Fuggles that said this game was a jack of all trades but master of none (not exact words and I can't even verify my source 😅). But yeah, skimming back I see a comment from you that says largely the same as what I've just said in these posts. I guess you packed it in not long after where I am now then! I'll see how I feel when I get to that point. I'm not normally one to pack in a game after I've spent 3 days on it already (only a few hours a day but still).
I guess there will be two lots of compulsory backtracking, one for the prismatic cores and one with the last companion for more primastic cores.
@ralphdibny yeah, if I'd only been a few short I would've probably plodded on, but needing as many as I did then going back to previous areas and still not being able to access some cores tipped me over the edge and I uninstalled it straight away!
I've just been collecting on the overworld today and I'm on 25 cores and my gun is level 18. I just found my way to what i assume is the additional content, The Starving Sea (orange marker). Going to call it a day now and pick it up on Monday
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