...However, on Brad's review of ReCore it seems like the end of the world...
I was
quite struck by this as well, when I saw Brad/Jeff's Quick Look.
...I'm quite liking Recore from the 5 or so hours I've spent with it... I don't think you can blame reviewers for not seeing the best in a game's mechanics if they may simply lack the skill required to get the most of it... when played well on some of the more challenging segments the game can appear to look (and even actually play) better than the majority of games in its category... but that's not going to [be] everyone's experience with it, and a reviewer shouldn't be [demanded] to "git gud" in order to have their impression considered valid. Especially in most of the audience they're reviewing for also won't "git gud", and as a result more likely share that reviewer's initial opinion.
This is an interesting discussion to have. I remember
Fdkn's post, in the ReCore review thread, succinctly addressed some related issues (my thoughts
here). In any case, some folks do still feel that ReCore has been unduly penalized for difficulty, without any kind of accounting for (or acknowledgement of) the niche/subset of gamers for whom that level/kind of challenge is in fact an asset (i.e., something to be appreciated, not worthy of penalty, a net positive). Perhaps it's an indication of the extent to which a certain type of challenge has fallen out of favor, at least with an influential class of folks.
...the game's scores and people's general impressions of it are/were harmed by a bunch collision bugs and long loading times, that may have elevated it noticeably had the game received a bit more time to have these ironed out.
Certainly. Though some feel that ReCore was more harshly penalized for bugs than other recent, relatively higher-budget (and higher-priced) games. BudokaiMR2 highlighted one prominent example, above, with which I'd agree.
Also 'it's too punishing... controls like shit' is probably not the sort of commentary you want in a video to make the points you're making.
He made a mistake in that section, and was venting. As he writes
in the comments section of the video:
"Just so you know how difficult this is. Have to do this under 3 mins, shoot all 10 switches, and collect the hidden yellow key. All in a single run. Hard. But good hard. I miss quality platforming. -Brad" I had a few other observations on that particular video
here, and some related thoughts
here.