FromSoftware has proven to be very busy over the past few years. Not only did it releaseElden Ringa year ago and announce its Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for some time in the future, but it also revealedArmored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconat the 2022 Game Awards. Recently, FromSoftware surprised the gaming community again by revealing thatArmored Core 6is only a few months away. Now equipped with a gameplay trailer and more details, the excitement for this old mecha action franchise is building in earnest.
The gameplay trailer has givenArmored Coreveterans a lot to chew on, and early conclusions are that whileArmored Core 6is definitely anArmored Coregame, it’s also something unfamiliar. What this boils down to isArmored Core 6being another true generational leap for the franchiselikeArmored Core 4andArmored Core 5were, offering a different experience that builds off of and reinterprets whatACused to be. Plenty of familiar machines and weapons litter both available trailers, but new additions emerge upon closer inspection.
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How Armored Core Pilots Will Navigate Rubicon-3
One of the biggest talking points within theArmored Corecommunity right now is whatArmored Core 6is doing with its movement. According to developer descriptions, the game is going for a hybrid ofArmored Core 3,4, and5, with different situations bringing out different levels of mobility. Flight has been advertised, but it’s unclear if this is the limited flight of old games, the unlimited flight ofAC4, or the high jump gliding fromAC5. What looks like a jump pad may suggest the latter, as does what seems like anElden Ringdouble jumpused by a quadrupedal mech.
There won’t be any concern aboutArmored Core 6moving slowly, however. Different leg parts were highlighted to affect movement, the universal melee kick from one of thebestArmored Coregames, and even entire play styles more than they already do. Machines using treads can barrel through enemies with their kick while drifting around the battlefield, while quadrupedal setups can now access an aerial hover that maintains height at the cost of speed. All the usualArmored Coreboost tricks seem intact, including a quick turn, though boosting away from big attacks may be even more prevalent now.
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Armored Core 6 Has Refined The Series' Melee Combat
Then, there are the visibly new features. Shields have become deployable energy fields, and now seem to come out instantly and cause little-to-no recoil when smaller attacks hit them. These compliment the new Assault Boost nicely, advertised as a one-button action that quickly jets the player into melee range. Said ability might be tied to aDark Souls-style gameplayloop featuring a hard lock-on, hinted at during some of the boss fights where the player always appears to face their foe. A repurposed Assault Armor fromArmored Core: For Answerseemingly enables players to unleash an area-of-effect attack that staggers smaller enemies, another mechanic inherited fromElden Ring, enabling a quick melee finisher.
Several of these new features encourage more melee-orientedgameplay inArmored Core 6, and new additions to the player’s arsenal only push it further.Armored Coreonce offered little more than a laser blade for melee strikes, but its options have grown over the years up toArmored Core 6’s impressive arsenal. TypicalGundam-style energy swords are still around, but some can get quite large now, and there are plenty of other options. Massive electrified whips, laser lances, double-sided swords, and other armaments like chainsaws or pulse blades are just some of the things players will be able to equip in their left hand, bringing more personality to each machine.
Huge Bosses Return As Armored Core 6’s Centerpiece
And every machine already has a lot of personality. Besides the player, there are also plenty of enemies to fight. The usual assortment of Muscle Tracers (MTs) and otherArmored Coremechs, vehicles, and turrets have returned, though some new faces will no doubt be among them. A sample of this is a rolling machine that callsStar Wars' Droidekas to mind. The lesser foes were mostly used as punching bags to show off the player’s arsenal in the gameplay trailer, but anything larger stood out as a much more dramatic threat.
Armored Coreis no stranger to truly gargantuan machines, 10-to-1000 times larger than the player’s own mech. Rival pilots will remain one of the biggest threats, but there will also be no shortage of giant enemies and bosses. One of the first scenes in theArmored Core 6trailerdisplays a long, multi-legged structure that may be a reference to the Spirit of Motherwill Arms Fort fromArmored Core: For Answer. If Arms Forts are back on the table, which counts the satellite-esque Answerer among their number, there’s no telling what players could face.
While a standard oversized tank introduces the boss segment in the trailer, other machines include a mechanical worm that’s nothing like anythingArmored Corehas used before, and what could be a repurposed mining machine coated in red-hot grinders. One boss sports a subtle force field, several lines of missile launchers, and an enormous circular rig attached to their mech that still has room for a massive energy weapon. There’s also a spider mech with a wide variety of attacks, demonstrating the enemy expertise FromSoftware has brought in fromthe bestSoulsgames. So much aboutArmored Core 6is still unknown, but teases of new content should keep the hype alive until it’s out.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconwill release on August 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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