Review - The Art of ReCore HC (@DarkHorseComics)

ReCore is a brand new title that just hit gamers' hands on September 13. And when gamers are able to pull themselves away from that world, Dark Horse wants them to get sucked back in via The Art of ReCore.

From the legendary makers of Metroid Prime comes ReCore, an action-adventure game that pits the player against devious robotic foes while forging friendships with a courageous group of uniquely powerful robot companions! Now, Dark Horse Books presents this comprehensive volume, examining the art and inspiration behind this mysterious and dynamic world with The Art of ReCore.

The Art of ReCore HC is an interesting, behind-the-scenes look at the creative process drawn upon for crafting the game itself. In it, the artwork is fascinating because readers can see the thought process behind some pretty inventive characters and robots to flesh out the game. Joule is the main character and seeing her illustrated as someone who's capable of surviving without being clad in an immense amount of armor is exciting. And it's pretty cool to see how she was essentially modeled after anime-styled renderings of Mega Man. Rendering Victor proved to be the most difficult for the designers and the insight into creating such a fierce-looking characters is welcome.

In addition to the hundreds of pieces of never-before-seen art, the aforementioned commentary provided alongside the illustrations is refreshing. There are plenty of very interesting characters in the ReCore universe and it looks like the design team went to great effort to diversify the world. It's pretty clear the group had a lot of fun rendering the more robotic aspects of the world, as the robots blend together characteristics that are both organic and inorganic. There are plenty of robots that fill out the world and really serve as fodder for the gamer, but the design team gave them very weathered looks to make them feel as if they were part of the world of ReCore.

The Art of ReCore HC is just that--an art book. Despite the seemingly simple ambitions the book does offer a very insightful. The game is viewed as something of indie title, but the fact that the designers still put so much effort into giving the world a fuller feel is appreciated. Fans of the game will definitely appreciate looking behind the curtain for the artwork inspirations, but fans of solid gaming art in general will also find something to like in the book. The Art of ReCore HC is in stores now.