Armored Core VI preview: Explosions!

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is a long-awaited sequel made by FromSoftware

It’s always interesting to see what direction a series takes after laying dormant for over a decade, especially when the developers have garnered a reputation for a very specific style in that time. However, Armored Core fans have no reason to worry, as this stays true to what the series has always been.

The movement immediately grabbed me. So many games that let you control massive hulking machines make them slow and heavy, but Armored Core ensures everything feels smooth, responsive, and surprisingly quick. Even if you weigh your mech down with heavy parts it can still glide around the battlefield effortlessly.

It plays directly into combat, which is about using all three dimensions to get the edge on your opponent. The vertical aspect of battles not only expands tactical possibilities, but it ramps up the cool factor like you wouldn’t believe. No matter who you are or what you like, a mid-air battle between sci-fi mechs wielding explosives is always a thrilling experience.

Bandai Namco

That freedom of movement frees up the level and enemy designs to pull off some impressive stuff. Levels can be restrictive with challenging 1v1 encounters, or massive open cities where a whole army is standing against you. Enemies can be walking fortresses armed to the teeth with explosives, or cloaked teleporters that snipe you from hidden lookouts.

Not only does that give you a great sense of variety as you go from mission to mission, but it forces you to engage with the mech-building systems, creating different designs for each scenario.

There is plenty of customization, both from cosmetic and gameplay perspectives. With four weapon slots (two front guns, two back artillery) it’s your choice whether to give your mech different tools for different jobs, or go all-in on specializing in one type of weapon – and yes, I did kit every slot out with massive explosives, and yes, it was glorious.

Bandai Namco

Your mech’s body is important too though, as your weight and power load can determine your movement speed, how much lift you get, and even how you move in the air. A standard two-leg mech flies around normally, but three-legged and tank-based mechs act differently in the air, trading speed and mobility for abilities like hovering.

This is all taught to you through a series of short and sweet tutorials that concisely show you everything you need to know by getting your hands on with different mechs. Given it’s so important you learn this stuff, solid tutorials like this are good to see.

It’s important because you’ll eventually be thrown into a major boss battle, all of which are pretty difficult. I got to fight three major bosses in this preview and they all stumped me for at least half an hour in different ways.

Bandai Namco

The first boss is in the tutorial mission – a big airship with bigger guns – that puts the emphasis on making the most of your movement, especially using verticality to your advantage. The second was a fast-moving armored tank that was invulnerable from all directions but the back. The final one is something worth keeping a surprise, but all I’ll say is that I didn’t beat it before my time with the game was up.

They’re all challenging in the right ways though. Every time I lost, I understood what I did wrong and was able to consider how to do it better. Sometimes that meant changing my mech’s loadout, other times I had to learn attack patterns, and there were several occasions where I just had to be better at video games. Regardless, that “one more go” feeling was always there, which is a sign of great boss design.

Bandai Namco

The only major problem is the pacing. While those boss fights are fun and challenging, they bring the game’s otherwise brisk pace to an absolute standstill. All of the game’s standard missions are action-packed and over in just a few minutes. You go in all-guns-blazing and eventually, everything blows up – even the arena mode fights are usually over in about 90 seconds.

Getting a solid go at both gameplay styles is good, but the way it snaps from one to the other felt like quite the jarring shift.

That doesn’t change the fact that I had a blast playing the opening chapter of Armored Core 6. Despite mech building and combat being rather complex, it never feels it when you’re learning the ropes, and before you know it you’re flying across the landscape destroying literal walking cities with ease.