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Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is exactly the kind of game series fans have waited over a decade for. Anyone worried about FromSoftware losing sight of what made Armored Core great after the past 11 years of Soulslikes can rest easy - from the massive mech battles, extensive garage options, and 1v1 Arena fights all the way down to the searing disrespect for late-stage capitalism, Armored Core 6 delivers.
The first and most obvious upgrade (besides the graphics, which look stellar on PS5) is the control scheme. Armored Core has had a long history of varying degrees of bad mech controls, and thankfully AC6 does away with most of the more unpredictable and uncomfortable button map choices in lieu of ones which feels surprisingly intuitive. L1 and L2 control the left shoulder and left arm, and R1 and R2 do the same for the right side. Players can "lock on" to targets by clicking R3, much like in the Souls games, but this isn't a hard lock that never dissipates - if you move your camera away too much, your lock is gone.
In practice, while sometimes this causes you to curl your fingers around the bumpers and triggers while manipulating both control sticks like a crab attempting heart surgery, it's surprisingly easy to get used to. The biggest issue was accidentally engaging the AC's boost (activated by pressing L3 and R3 at the same time) unintentionally, but this was more a result of a frantic mashing of sticks and buttons to escape danger than it was the setup's fault. For a series that used to make pilots ook up and down by pressing the left and right triggers, Armored Core controls have come a long way.
A Song Of Greed & Refuge
The story of Armored Core 6 follows well in line with what players have come to expect from the series. There are multiple large corporations who are constantly engaging in either battle or backroom deals with each other, with the twist this time being that all of them are focused intently on controlling Rubicon itself. There is also a resistance force attempting to keep Rubicon out of the hands of the corporations, and every mission you take will advance one group's plans at the detriment to the rest.
As a mercenary with no other name at the start other than "621" you're ostensibly just here for the money, but it's up to the player to decide just where their allegiances lie. Each sortie you engage in moves the plot forward, and certain important missions (designated with a branching path icon and the word "Decision" in solemn text) will lock out other paths entirely. Without spoiling anything, the story is absolutely worth playing through more than once to see the results of different choices, but doing so may test moral flexibility.
Confidence In Game Design
One of the best things about Armored Core 6 is how confident the game is, and how it knows pretty much exactly how long a mission should last. All the sorties players send their AC on are usually wrapped up in five or ten minutes if not less, and almost every extremely difficult showdown and boss fight is preceded by a checkpoint and a resupply drone. Crucially, players can now visit their Garage and switch out AC parts from the Restart screen, making it incredibly easy to experiment with different weapons and builds without replaying entire missions.
That being said, replaying missions is a big draw here. Some areas have hidden containers with AC parts inside for you to find, and players can earn money (roughly half the original mission reward) infinitely by replaying them as many times as they want. The game as a whole isn't necessarily short, but it would feel even shorter than it already does if these options weren't available.
It feels important to mention that a fully completed game dumps players directly back into the post-introductory mission dialog after the credits finish rolling, effectively beginning a New Game Plus run in all but name. All purchased AC parts, saved AC builds, and Arena victories remain intact. This isn't just interesting in regard to providing the player more time with the toys they have unlocked, but speaks equally to the cyclical nature of the violence and war being presented.
Extremely Biased Opinions About Robots
These bite-sized sorties are interspersed with trips to the Parts store and Arena (or, later, the multiplayer-focused Nest) to both upgrade and test out new firepower and AC parts. Speaking as a long-time Armored Core fan myself, I found this version of the Arena to be easier than I the 1v1 battles in Armored Core 2 and Armored Core 3 being, and it was fairly trivial to knock out each new rank as they became available. This didn't stop me from wanting to replay the fights over and over again, but besides one late-game boss fight that I won't spoil here I can't really think of any equivalents to White Glint or Nine-ball.
Maybe that's just me. Maybe the Dark Soulsification of my brain has spread too far and now things like telegraphed attacks, sound cues, and dramatic showdowns feel more like a comfort zone than they used to. Maybe this series is just easier when the controls are designed for human hands. That doesn't mean Armored Core 6 isn't challenging, it just means I probably should stop trying to do an Elden Ring no-death run and go play something like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town for a while to reset. I haven't seen Patches yet. I hope he's in here too.
Armored Core 6 is one of the best mech games I've experienced in years, and it's one I expect to play through at least two more times. The story of Rubicon, and how your decisions as a mercenary shape it, is my favorite story in gaming this year, up to and including all the big releases that have come out so far. It's an exceptionally well-made title with few bugs, incredible graphics, great gameplay, and a thought-provoking narrative. I just wish it was a little longer.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon releases for PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on August 25, 2023. A PlayStation 5 code was provided to Screen Rant for the purposes of this review.
