From Software is best known for the Dark Souls franchise, and many consider the studio’s smash hit, Elden Ring, to be one of the best games of 2022. Does the developer follow up with another Dark Souls-type game? No. Instead, From Software develops a new installment in the Armored Core franchise called Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. It’s the first mainline entry in the franchise since 2012’s Armored Core V and 2013’s Armored Core: Verdict Day.
Armored Core 6 is definitely a change of pace from the typically slower and more methodical Dark Souls formula, yet it feels familiar. It’s incredibly difficult with its challenging boss battles, but the level design is completely different, opting for a menu-based interface. After continually developing so many similar games in the Souls subgenre,? Armored Core 6 seems inevitably influenced by them.
After spending about five hours with Armored Core 6, I found that its gameplay was much more fast-paced than any other game From Software has released in the past few years. The way the mechs smoothly move at fast speeds is such a satisfying experience, and the numerous weapons available all pack punches. While Armored Core may not be From Software’s most popular franchise, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon shouldn’t be skipped.
Armored Core 6 brings this cult-favorite action series to the modern era with fluid mech combat, streamlined mechanics and all the brutal difficulty you’d expect from a From Software game.
Playing both sides
Armored Core 6 takes place on the planet of Rubicon 3, where a new energy source called Coral was found. Humanity tried to harness this new energy source but instead caused an apocalyptic event to occur, called the Fires of Ibis, setting the entire planet on fire. About 50 years later, Coral is rediscovered and various factions around Rubicon 3 try to gain control over it again.
You play as C4-621, a mercenary who takes on assignments from both large corporations and resistance groups as they continue to fight one another. Armored Core 6’s story feels more like a backdrop to justify ?gameplay, which is primarily where its strengths are. The story won’t blow you away with deep character development or anything like that, but the premise is strong enough that it’s at least intriguing.
What also helps sell the story is the well-directed English voice acting. C4-621 works for an interstellar handler named Walter, whose stern voice grabs my attention whenever he goes through a story debrief right before a mission.
The gameplay is where Armored Core 6 really shines. The development team nailed the smooth gliding feeling that comes with driving your mech on the ground. It just feels flawless. Additionally, the amount of verticality the game has is seriously impressive, scaling large walls, buildings and forts effortlessly. Your mech has a boost meter to use in order to either fly straight up or turbo straight forward to close the distance on your opponent, which gives a different sense of adrenaline than what a Dark Souls game provides.
Director Masaru Yamamura told CNN that the development team wanted to make an action game where you’re able to pull off stunts that only a mech could. “That includes this kind of high-paced, dynamic traversal and combat. It involves boosting not only on the lateral plane but also on the vertical plane as well,” he explained. “So that started to shape the overall design of these levels and the design of these situations and areas in a more three-dimensional space.”
Working with machinery
The bosses are nothing to scoff at either. The very first one was a battle copter that kept decimating me with its missiles repeatedly. That was until I switched up my strategy of shooting from a safe distance and instead went up close and personal to slash the copter with my energy sword for huge damage. When I had finally defeated it after numerous attempts, I experienced the same sense of accomplishment I had when finally overcoming a boss battle in a Dark Souls game.
It’s easy to create horrifying monsters in fantasy and horror settings — just take a few human body parts and mesh them together, then add a bunch of eyes. It’s hard to imagine making the machinery look scary, but From Software pulled it off. One particular boss, a gigantic front-plated vehicle called the Juggernaut, kept me on my toes as it repeatedly charged at me at high speeds. The Juggernaut’s weak spot is its exposed back, but every time I’d try to get behind it, it’d just turn around and face me again. Its aggressive nature was also what made it such a threat.
“These are just purely in scale and just much bigger than the player. So we want them to feel imposing in that sense,” Yamamura said. “We also just want their armaments and level of protection to feel fierce and foreboding. That’s how we depict what comes through in the functionality.”
Armored Core 6’s user interface and menu design are very straightforward; it was an intentional choice. “That was a conscious effort to convey the necessary amount of information to the player in the most concise way,” he explained. “So we didn’t need to have elaborate decoration or additional effects on the menus and UI.”
Instead of having an open world like Elden Ring, Armored Core 6 just has a bunch of menu options. Just click on the hangar if you want to customize your mech or click on the sortie to pick out your next mission. As for the missions themselves, they’re inconsistent in length. Some are very long with numerous checkpoints, such as a really impressive one where you have to scale a large weapon and take it down as it and other mechs are simultaneously firing at you. Some other missions are very short, like just defeating a single enemy mech or destroying some objects. Because of the inconsistent quality of missions, this can disrupt the game’s pacing at times.
Tinkering around
Yamamura said that there was a point during development where the team considered going the open-world route and what that could bring to the Armored Core franchise. However, From Software decided on the simple mission structure, as that would allow the game to focus on what makes Armored Core unique: mech customization.
There’s an exhaustive amount of customization options, such as attaching a weapon on your right and left arms, as well as right and left shoulders. You have to account for the weight that your different parts have and be careful as to not overload. It forces you to strategize what aspects you want to prioritize for a particular mission, like having more firepower to take down enemies or being more agile to avoid attacks. You can also purchase new parts and weapons for your mech with credits you’ve earned completing missions.
What’s baffling, however, is that you sometimes have to purchase the same weapon separately for both arms. There are weapons that are exclusive to one side of the mech, but having to pay twice for the same weapon is a bizarre design choice and a waste of credits. Even so, it’s a lot of fun tinkering with your own mech to fit your own play style.
“We felt like having that mission structure allowed some restrictions on that so … we can instead put importance on that level of freedom that players have over customizing their mech,” Yamamura explained. “We could have gone the other way, by limiting the player customization in order to have a more universal traversal standard and allow for more open-world exploration. But this being an Armored Core game, we wanted it to cater to that assembly aspect and that level of freedom.”
The takeaway
After playing the missions in the first chapter of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, I came away very excited. The traversal and movement feel absolutely incredible, which is crucial in making the minute-to-minute gameplay a smooth experience. The story and characters aren’t necessarily the primary focus here, but that didn’t have any negative impact, as I had such a fun time with its frantic combat and challenging bosses.
Aside from the main story missions, there are arena battles you can participate in too, allowing you to earn more credits and unlock even more parts. I can’t wait to see if Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is worthy of following in Elden Ring’s footsteps — and if it can land among the best games of 2023 — when it launches on Aug. 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
