Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is the best action game of 2023

Armored Core 6 is a real action game, and the best in the genre in 2023

I loved Armored Core VI when I first played it. The loop of battling through tough foes and tweaking your build for the best possible performance is just infinitely satisfying, and I could get stuck in that loop all day. Taking down massive mechanical monsters feels great, and you end up feeling like you really are a tactical mech pilot.

But I underestimated its depth a bit. A single playthrough of the campaign feels like a complete story, one I wanted more of, and little did I know that there was so much more waiting in the second and third playthroughs. Subsequent runs of the game pass by much faster than your first playthrough, but they’re packed with some of the toughest challenges in the game.

I even spent multiple days after writing our Armored Core VI review typing up full location lists for Combat Logs and Hidden Parts – and that’s what made me truly appreciate Armored Core VI. If you run through each level shooting down foes as you go, it’s a pretty straightforward experience, honestly. If you dig through each stage for optional extras and hidden battles it’s far more intensive, and each unique encounter will expand the lore and relationships of the pilots you encounter.

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Big mech! / FromSoftware, Bandai Namco Entertainment

Like FromSoftware’s approach to Dark Souls storytelling, in order to fully understand the events and characters of Rubicon, you’ll need to get out a corkboard and start linking things together by affiliations, known relationships, and vague hints. Finding all of the optional in-game extras through repeat runs of stages is a great way to reward players for their dedication.

All of that and I’ve barely even touched on what most people take away from AC6, and what wins it action game of 2023 from me: the gameplay. You control huge machines, but they glide through the air like modern jet fighters. There’s a real sense of momentum and weight to each melee attack, and the ranged weapons pop, bang, and fizz with all of the intensity you’d expect from a sci-fi war machine.

Big fights! / FromSoftware, Bandai Namco Entertainment

The game encourages you to repeat playthroughs of stages to achieve S-ranks, which require using little ammo — forget dual Gatling guns — completing in quick times, and eliminating foes. Each stage requires a unique build and strategy, forcing you to expand your approaches to each mission in the name of perfection. If you don’t experiment and diversify how you play, you’ll never earn S-ranks, and never be a true Armored Core master.

And that’s the exact kind of motivation hardened action game fans want. Like Elden Ring’s legendary player Let Me Solo Her, the ambition is to master each challenge, break it down, and follow that up with some extreme online flexing. When it comes to true action game experiences, there’s none better than Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon in 2023.

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