To put this in a format that will be most useful, I will address some of the more prominent criticisms I've seen, from a survey of other reviews:
[1] I have been playing this game on PC (overclocked AMD 7970, overclocked i7-3770K, Solid State Drive) since its launch on 9/13/16, and all load times have been 15 seconds or less. After more than 15 hours, I've unexpectedly crashed to the desktop perhaps 4 times in total, and I was always able to quickly boot right back up and pick up very close to where I left off.
[2] I have not personally had any problems with buggy respawn points, but others report having run into bugs that force them to restart dungeons (in order to meet a timed challenge), due to respawning in a location where they instantly fall to their death multiple times. I don't have an Xbox One, so I can't make a comparison, but it was good to hear that Armature/Microsoft did in fact release an Xbox-specific patch on 9/21/16, to address the long load times: http://www.recoregame.com/update-recore-load-times/
[3] Apparently, there's a more wide-ranging patch ("decreased loading times... audio and visual improvements... [fixed] waypoints, achievement tracking, collision locations, checkpoints and respawn points...") still to come on 10/05/16, and this particular update will target both the Xbox and PC versions: http://www.recoregame.com/oct-5th-recore-update/
[4] You do in fact have fast travel options in this game. At any time, you can press the menu button (then press 'Y' on the Xbox controller) to travel to Joule’s homebase. From her homebase, you can warp to any of the fast travel points you have unlocked in the game's world. All of the dungeons have fast travel points, for example, and you unlock them simply by entering the dungeons. In addition, all of the 'open world' overworld hub areas have a reasonable amount of fast travel points. So in my view, considerable measures have been taken in this regard (fast travel), to honor the player's time.
[5] I would nonetheless agree that some method of faster transport (like a vehicle) to speed up navigation of the overworld in the late, end-game/exploration phase of the game, would be helpful. But this is really not a significant source of irritation for me: the gameplay mechanics and exploration of the world are still enjoyable enough for me, even when navigating the more sparse regions of the overworld.
[6] It would actually be great if the 'Tank' Corebot frame -- which didn't make it into the release version -- turns out to be a faster method of travel (i.e., faster than moving across the overworld with Joule). Though it did not make it into the release version of the game, Joe Staten & @ReCoreGame have indicated that this frame will be part of a future update: https://twitter.com/joestaten/status/778643190228193280
[7] After spending over 15 highly enjoyable hours with the game since its release (well-worth the $40, and I'm still putting games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided & Rise of the Tomb Raider on hold), after getting 28 cores (apparently 45 are needed to finish the game, 75 to access the last optional dungeon), and now immediately after getting the 4th (out of 4) Corebot frame/ability: only now have I actually come up against my first significant source of irritation with the game. Namely, the inability to switch frames outside of the Crawler (Joule's homebase).
[8] This was an unfortunate (and completely unnecessary) design decision, which I hope Armature/Microsoft will fix in the announced October 5th update patch. In Metroidvania-style games (2D or 3D), it's important for the player to feel appropriately powerful after gaining new abilities (e.g., by consolidating the upgrades into Samus's immediately accessible arsenal, as in Metroid).
[9] In ReCore, this 'gift' to the player (sense of greater power from new abilities) is partly squandered, in that only 2 out of 4 of the newly gained abilities/frames are immediately accessible at any given time (3 out of 4, if you go to a fast travel point and make a switch of Corebots). To switch a Core into your empty 4th frame, you will have to travel back to Joule's Crawler. This can indeed be irritating, when you're exploring the world in the later part of the game with the intention of finding all of the hidden stuff, as I've just now found (just got the 4th frame).
[10] You do still have that pleasant Metroid-like sense of being more powerful when backtracking to older environs, by virtue of the fact that you've got at least 2 of these newly gained Metroid-like abilities (in the form of your Corbot/Frame Companions) immediately usable at any given time: but really, all 4 of them should be immediately usable, without requiring a trip back to the Crawler. This was a definite mistake on the developer's part, IMO. Could easily be fixed in a patch. Hopefully this will be part of the 10/05/16 patch.
[11] Still, although this particular irritation does rise to the level of 'significance' for me: it is absolutely still a relatively minor irritation. It doesn't come anywhere near to breaking the remainder of the game for me, let alone the 15 hours I've already enjoyed. And up to this point (when I finally encountered an irritation of some significance), I've consistently been enjoying the game more and more as I've played farther into the game, not less and less. That includes the challenging final dungeon, which I think is quite awesome so far (finished the first two 'levels' of it) in terms of both platforming and even combat challenge. The process of extracting cores from enemies during combat is fun, reminds me a bit of the 'Zandatsu' mechanic in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (though extraction is not quite as cool as Zandatsu).
[12] To address some of Jeff/Brad's points specifically, at 34min34sec in the Giant Bomb Quick Look, Brad says: “All this zipping around [in order to increase your core count in the later part of the game] is... you know on PC, my load times off an SSD were so short that [in order to fast travel] I would just go back to the Crawler and fast travel from there... on the Xbox that is NOT an option, because the load times were so crazy...”
[13] So by Brad's account (although he never puts it this way), it's reasonable to infer: one of his major irritations (with the later part of ReCore) is considerably mitigated, if you're able to play on a PC with an SSD. A bit later, Brad agrees with Jeff: “...[Yes] it needs waypoints, and an onscreen minimap, desperately...”
[14] I really don't share Jeff/Brad's desperate hunger for waypoints or a minimap. Hitting the dedicated map button, pulling up a full-screen map instantly (a map that has marked the general vicinity of every key object in the open/overworld), has always been enough for me. While I can understand their preference for waypoints/mini-map (even if I don't share it), their tone of exasperation in conveying this relatively minor issue – as if this is yet another item in a long list of incomprehensibly bad, completely game-breaking design choices – I continue to find very puzzling.
[15] At 39min01sec in the Giant Bomb Quick Look, Brad says: “On the surface, I don't mind like a Mario 64-style, like, 'you need this many stars to get in', it can be fun when it's managed well, but like the game does not dole that stuff out in a way that you will consistently have enough to do even the story stuff as you're moving through it...”
[16] One thing immediately comes to mind here. It has been pointed out many times in many places (see the NeoGAF OT), and it's VERY clearly marked on the map from the very first moment, when you start the game: there is a dungeon right next to your starting point that requires 75 cores to unlock. I don't know how anyone who's ever looked at the game's map can miss this, or fail to understand the implications (you will need to collect as many cores as possible).
[17] The fact that I have 28 cores and will need 45 cores to finish the game does not frustrate me in the least: on the contrary, I'm quite glad: I know I have much still to do, I have not even entered many of the dungeons (the dungeons are almost always good for at least 2 cores each, with a focused/skilled playthrough), and I've been having fun getting the cores that I have.
[18] For me, ReCore has provided many of the most fun moments I've had with a game in a long time, and after more than 15 hours, the biggest source of irritation is still a minor issue. As such, it is entirely worthy of $40 (and 5 stars), from my perspective. All those samey 'AAA' titles in my Steam library will just have to continue waiting, at least until I've gotten to 45 cores (maybe more).