Highlights
- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is a highly anticipated return for the series, praised for its evolved gameplay and customization options.
- The mission briefings in Armored Core 6 have a simple and concise style, which may divide fans accustomed to FromSoftware's cinematic narratives.
- Regardless of the minimalist storytelling, the game still offers a compelling plot and genre-defining vehicular combat experience.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon was released this week, nearly a decade after the series' most recent entry, Armored Core: Verdict Day. The title was released to critical and commercial acclaim, with many citing that Armored Core 6's evolved gameplay made for an exhilarating return. Armored Core was one of FromSoftware's earliest break-out hits, and the series return has proven especially meaningful to older gamers. However, FromSoftware's fanbase has grown substantially in Armored Core's absence, thanks to the developers' modern titles giving rise to the Soulsborne genre. While fans of both eras will certainly enjoy the modern vehicular-combat of Armored Core 6, one feature may prove divisive among fans.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon takes the fan-favorite series to new heights, evolving the series' already superb gameplay for a modern audience. The series' wide range of customization options returns, allowing fans to tailor their approach to complement their personal play style. Additionally, Armored Core 6 features a way for pilots to heal themselves, called Repair Kits, as well as an Impact mechanic, which allows player and enemy ACs to be staggered. Unlike most FromSoftware games, Armored Core 6 adds a touch of assistance for new players, allowing pilots to use aim-assist in combat and reconfigure their build before reloading a checkpoint.
Armored Core 6's Mission Briefings Cut Straight to the Point
Since its very beginning, Armored Core has been a series where gameplay and customization take a high priority. In Armored Core 6, that priority remains, as the title expands both features to great effect. While the title's gameplay differs from that of previous titles, including Armored Core 6 dropping the debt system, its storytelling is nearly identical. The title's early trailers and developer footage presented degrees of cinematic storytelling, but the bulk of Armored Core 6's narrative beats and choices are made in minimalistic mission briefings.
Each of Armored Core 6's main chapters consists of various missions, which the player undertakes for different corporations and military forces. Because of this, the majority of each chapter's narrative is told through mission briefings, in which the players' handler or employer shares the details of each operation. Rather than provide the player with an overview of the map, cinematic sequence, or animated loading screen, Armored Core 6's briefings consist of an audio visualizer, overlaid on the Sortie Menu background, and silhouette-like images, in rare instances. While this approach may seem outdated, it carries on a tradition from previous Armored Core titles, in which missions begin and end with narrative-progressing mission briefings.
Armored Core 6's Briefings May Prove Divisive
Armored Core 6's first real mission briefing takes place after a rather daunting and spectacular tutorial boss fight. While long-time fans of the Armored Core series will likely go unfazed by this briefing's style, players brought in by FromSoftware's other properties may be caught off-guard by its simple and concise nature. FromSoftware's modern properties are revered for their mixture of cinematic and gameplay cutscenes, which emphasize the properties' narratives and boss encounters. Armored Core 6's frenetic gameplay and amoral narrative allow for neither, as the game's story and boss encounters are introduced as means to a paycheck, before shifting focus toward the highly valuable substance, Coral.
Armored Core 6's mission briefings may prove to be one of the title's more controversial features, dividing FromSoftware's veteran and modern fanbases. The feature has already proven divisive among online reviewers. Some reviewers cite Armored Core 6's briefings as the title's weakest element, while others recognize them as a commitment to the series' identity. Regardless of player opinion, Armored Core 6 has something to offer fans of all kinds. The title's narrative style may be simple, but Armored Core 6 features a compelling, decision-based story and genre-defining vehicular combat that players won't want to miss.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is currently for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
