Recompile

"You could say, then, that Recompile might have benefited from running a final pass on itself, to correct its unbalanced difficulty so that it’s not nearly as hard at first nor as disappointingly easy and anticlimactic in the end."

"I love the way Recompile looks, and a Metroidvania with this much freedom could definitely work. To do so however, it would need to clean the world design up enough that you can tell where you’re going. A tighter jump …"

"As I sit here now, wrapping up this review in an attempt to shut myself up before I accidentally spoil something I would rather people experience for themselves, I am wearing a stupid smile. I am, at this moment, thinking …"

"As a metroidvania, Recompile succeeds in bringing the genre typical hallmarks into a marvellous minimalistic world, full of curiosity and poignancy. Where it fails is in its core gameplay. Between a lacklustre implementation of core mechanics, and some glaring oversights, …"

"Recompile brings a lot of great ideas to the table, but none of them work well together in their implementation. While it presents an interesting story, you&s;d have to wade through the immensely frustrating gameplay to get there."

"Recompile is a frustrating game. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad game because I still had a lot of fun with it and definitely recommend playing it, as I knocked out the entire thing in a single session."

"Recompile presents a unique concept, but the clumsy execution of its ideas completely compromises the game. The world inside the mainframe captivates with its interesting setting, especially the interpretation of programs and devices. However, other aspects have problems: the level …"

"Recompile definitely isn&s;t a perfect game – its combat and platforming have issues and it&s;s easy to miss important things – but if you put the effort in, it&s;s a rewarding and enjoyable experience with stunning visual and audio design …"

"Overall, Recompile is a mixed bag that struggles to balance each aspect of its design."

"On the surface, Recompile might look and sound like an interesting, potentially unique, proposal."

"The exploration, narrative elements, art style, and audio are all excellent in Recompile, but the platforming begins to feel redundant after a while. Especially since the level design doesn&s;t provide any clear direction and leads to regular backtracking and second …"

"Recompile is not a bad game by any means, I just would not say it is a great one. I enjoyed myself at times, but ultimately feel like it did not do remotely enough to stand apart from the rest …"

"Recompile is a great idea in concept. It surely is unique when it comes to its setting, visuals, and its “blink and you’ll miss it” story (in more ways than one when it comes to the latter), but as a …"

"Challenge enthusiasts will be delighted by some platform-based passages, as well as by some fights, especially against bosses. At least before you become overpowered. The adventure will have in any case convinced us, while telling us an interesting story that …"

"Conceptually captivating, Recompile offers a solid narrative, with a unique and aesthetically well-presented setting. However, the gameplay fails in almost every aspect, with problems in combat mechanics, puzzle solving and platform progression, which undermine all qualities and overshadow the project&s;s …"

"With plenty of gameplay elements and areas to keep things interesting it was also nice that the adventure was kept short enough as to not fall into the repetitive trap that many others fall into once the elements keep getting …"

"Recompile is a title that leaves us with a bittersweet taste. It stands out in the handling of the character and its improvement, but it has some elements that cloud the result such as empty stages, lack of enemies and …"

"Although the Tron inspired visuals are very unique, the way lighting works makes finding your way around a little problematic and coupled with a pretty confusing map, finding where you should go next becomes more time-consuming than it should be. …"

"Puzzles which consist of navigating logic gates by pushing buttons are fine, but not particularly taxing. The hacking mechanic has its uses, though, and a surprisingly engaging story will pull you through the game despite its flaws. It&s;s a shame …"

"Its almost as if for every step forward Recompile takes, it insists on taking one back. However, the saving grace is that its not a long journey through the motherboard, that is to say it is thankfully pretty short. So …"

"Recompile is the complete adventure package. It has good gameplay, an intriguing minimalist story, striking visuals and music, and developers who respect the player’s ability to explore on their own. Go get it, you won’t be disappointed."

"Recompile is a short-lived metroidvania with a great story but forgettable platforming, puzzles, and combat."