‘ReCore’ For The Xbox One: The Most Intriguing And Mysterious Title Out Of E3?

The announcement of ReCore for the Xbox One was one of the more interesting yet mysterious announcements from the Xbox E3 media briefing last week. More information about the game has come out since then that clues us in a little more about what to expect from the team up between Keiji Inafune’s Comcept and Armature Studios.

The ReCore debut trailer did not feature any gameplay footage but did introduce us to a young woman named Joule wondering a desert-like wasteland with her pet dog-like robot. A sandstorm kicks up, and the two are forced to take cover. When the storm ends, their shelter is mostly covered and they have to dig themselves out.

The two are attacked by other spider-like robots with red cores. We see Jewel use her gun to shoot the evil robots and a grappling hook to pull the core out of another. Meanwhile, her dog companion fights to defend her and ultimately sacrifices himself, leaving only his blue core behind. Jewel takes this core and puts it in a larger ape-like robot and the two head into a vault for more adventure.

At the end, we see Jewel and different robot companions, all with blue cores.

This was definitely one of the more intriguing announcements out of E3, but it also did not get as much play in the media. That may be because there was no gameplay footage and with so much to cover, attention was bound to turn elsewhere.

However, the fact that this is the Mega Man and Might No. 9 creator teaming up with the developers behind the Metroid Prime series should have gamers perking up their ears. As it stands, the combination of interviews and the trailer does give us a bit of an idea on what to expect.

What type of game is it?

It is a third-person that is not linear, according to a Game Informer interview with Armature’s Mark Pacini. He noted that it is “not necessarily” an open world title, but does focus on exploring both what’s above the sand and what can be found underneath it.

“The idea is that it’s unlocking all these other things that are hidden under the sand from an exploration standpoint. That’s one of the main loops in our game,” he said. “We’re really trying to utilize our game world as a shifting, unstable landscape that players can look forward to exploring and at any time could get shifted underneath them.”

Pacini also told Venture Beat about aspects of other games that are in ReCore as a frame of reference.

“There’s a little bit of Monster Hunter in there somewhere. Or Pokémon, or Animal Crossing, or Zelda, or Metroid,” he said.

Do you control Joule or the robot companion?

Inafune and Armature are being very nebulous about this. When asked by Venture Beat, Inafune would only say “I can’t say yes or no at the moment.” Meanwhile, Pacini told Game Informer that they would have more to share on this soon.

It almost sounds as if this part of the game isn’t locked down yet. Inafune’s comments seem to imply they are waiting to hear what fans are saying.

“I think it’s great that we can hear and see the opinions and ideas and expectations of users when they see this. What do they think? Do they think they can also control the companion character? Is it going to be just the player commanding them? I’m all for hearing out all these ideas,” he told Venture Beat. “The more we hear, maybe we can also acknowledge that this is something we can explore further. Maybe we need to dive in deeper and think about how different mechanics to work.”

How does combat work?

Neither Inafune nor Pacini had much to say about ReCore combat other than it is fast-paced. What we can tell from the trailer though is that Joule will have a gun and other tools at her disposal. The use of the grappling hook to yank out an enemy robot core is an interesting concept. We also saw her rifle get damaged, forcing her to put it away.

The robot companion also sent out a small bark that stunned one of the enemy robots and could charge and perform a melee attack. Of course, there was also the large EMP-like blast at the end of the fight that destroyed his body.

Will there be multiple companions?

That almost sounds like a certainty based on the end of the announcement trailer and Inafune’s comments to Game Informer.

“I won’t deny the fact that you will be able to have multiple friends or companions along the way, but I think the important thing for me is that now that we’ve revealed this title and you’ve seen the trailer that the more imagination that people can have in this in their own minds about, ‘What is it that I can really do in this game?’,” he said. “We’re hoping that we can not only answer those expectations, but hopefully go beyond your expectations. ”

What’s the ReCore story?

Joule discovers that she may be one of the last remaining humans in the world. She meets her robot dog companion, Mack, and the two begin a quest of exploration and survival. Along the way, she tries to discover what happened to the world and find out if humanity will continue beyond just her.

The discovery and exploration of the various vaults in the world appears to be the key to the story. It is there she will discover what happened to humanity and learn if she can fix it.

When will we see more?

ReCore is currently saddled with a spring 2016 launch date. It’s been in development for 14 months, according to an interview with GameSpot.

Inafune and Pacini both say to expect to see more of the game in the coming months. The next major game convention is Gamescom in Germany. That’s the most likely spot we’ll see more as Microsoft will also be showing off Crackdown, Scalebound, and Quantum Break, among other titles for the Xbox One.

[Images via ReCore]