Recompile Reviews

Recompile is ranked in the 23rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
4 / 10.0
Aug 19, 2021

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 design is uninteresting, the imprecise jump makes the platform parts irritating, the combat is truncated and dull, and the hacking mechanics are basically irrelevant. As such, Recompile is a difficult adventure to recommend.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

45 / 100
Aug 31, 2021

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'd have to wade through the immensely frustrating gameplay to get there.

Read full review

2.5 / 5.0
Aug 21, 2021

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 or more forgiving platforms would go a long way as well. As is, far too much progress in Recompile feels like it comes down to luck and repetition rather than skill. Game Pass subscribers who love the look may want to give this one a chance, but most players will quickly want to eject from this drive.

Read full review

50 / 100
Aug 19, 2021

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 the dreaded repetitiveness.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

2.5 / 5.0
Sep 6, 2021

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

Read full review

5 / 10.0
Sep 2, 2021

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 those folks that are forever chasing those achievements can rack up some score here, and its on Game Pass which makes the cost of admission even better. If you enjoy ‘metroidvania’ type games and you don’t mind the issues then there is fun to be had here, and you don’t even have to go digging in the dark web to find it.

Read full review

55 / 100
Sep 12, 2021

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 potential.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

Wccftech
Top Critic
5.5 / 10.0
Aug 26, 2021

Recompile is stylish and well-written, but its messy Metroidvania structure and clumsy platforming corrupt what fun it might have offered. Maybe this game would have been easier to recommend a decade ago, but in a world where Hollow Knight and Axiom Verge exist, and an actual Metroid game is coming out in around a month, Recompile just isn't up to code.

Read full review

6 / 10.0
Aug 29, 2021

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 game itself, it suffers from a myriad of issues that ended up hampering my enjoyment with it.

Read full review

Aug 19, 2021

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.

Read full review

6 / 10
Aug 20, 2021

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 a shame that some of the gameplay doesn't measure up, because there are some good ideas here. Sadly, there's an inconsistent level of quality that makes Recompile hard to recommend.

Read full review

6 / 10
Sep 2, 2021

Recompile definitely isn't a perfect game – its combat and platforming have issues and it's easy to miss important things – but if you put the effort in, it's a rewarding and enjoyable experience with stunning visual and audio design and an interesting storyline.

Read full review

Travis Northup
Top Critic
6 / 10.0
Aug 19, 2021

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

Read full review

Noisy Pixel
Semy Rahman
6.5 / 10.0
Aug 19, 2021

Looks aren’t everything. And unfortunately, Recompile is a prime example of that sentiment. The potential was there to make a joyful experience, one where you would look forward to trying out the various biomes and tackling the challenges in each of them. The narrative and design lured me in, as the plot choices and stylish flair of the Mainframe was engrossing. But, unfortunately, most of the actual gameplay took me right out of the experience and made it a disappointing endeavor.

Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Aug 19, 2021

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 of the genre. Recompile is an interesting concept, but one that feels more like an incomplete idea. I loved the concepts, but there are some core gameplay things that would need to be fixed in order for me to truly feel like the idea made it’s way onto my computer the way the developers intended.

Read full review

TrueGaming
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Aug 29, 2021

Recompile is an unfortunate example of success in applying side tasks while failing the basic task it has provided interesting storytelling through texts but with a flawed play experience full of strange design decisions.

Review in Arabic | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Aug 26, 2021

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't provide any clear direction and leads to regular backtracking and second guessing. There are also missed opportunities where the gameplay could have been more interesting and balanced. Still, the game should scratch that itch for those always looking for something new to experience.

Read full review

3.5 / 5.0
Aug 19, 2021

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.

Read full review

XboxEra
Harm0nica
7 / 10.0
Aug 19, 2021

This game is not a simple proposition, although it may look like a typical 3D platforming game at heart it is a technically complex and at times very challenging addition to the Metroidvania genre. If you are a fan of these types of games it is well worth checking out but be wary if you are not a fan of Metroidvania games. Advertised as featuring intense combat, tight 3D platforming, super-powered abilities, and an environmental logic-based hacking mechanic it certainly lives up to those claims. I would recommend being aware of this before you take the game on.

Read full review

JVL
Top Critic
14 / 20
Sep 5, 2021

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 is revealed in small doses.

Review in French | Read full review