Armored Core VI Review
Awesome mech destruction!
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Platform: PS4/5 Xbox 1/X|S PC
Reviewed on: PC
Developer: FromSoftware, Inc
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Release: Aug 24, 2023
Time Played: 24 Hours
Genre: Action
ESRB: T
Armored Core is a series that started way back in the late nineties. Full disclosure this was my first Armored Core experience and it was excellent. Fighting through waves of mechs in your very own customized machine is a blast. There was a definite skill curve to the game, that starts right at the beginning, but it’s worth getting through. If you want to see some gameplay check out my livestream from the link in the description, but first let’s talk about what the game has to offer and ultimately rate it and find out where it belongs on my shelves.
Where it begins:
You will play the game from the perspective of a silent protagonist, thrown onto Rubicon by your handler, Walter, you need to steal a mercenary license sneak into the system and start taking jobs for the local Corporations, fighting tooth and nail for control of a mysterious resource known as Coral. Take jobs for money, upgrade your mech with the money, rinse repeat.
Can the kids watch?:
There wasn’t any blood and I didn’t find the language to be inappropriate. It’s a game full of explosions and fighting mechs. I don’t see a problem letting the kids watch this one, especially if they are into giant robots flying around the screen blowing each other up. The only problem that may arise would be your own reactions when the game inevitably smacks you around a bit and you lose your temper.
Gameplay:
Your Armored Core
The only gameplay will be in the form of your AC, customized with your preferred weapons, legs, arms, and so many other pieces. Up to twelve parts make up the AC each with their own strengths and weaknesses, you could spend hours going through everything to make the perfect fighting machine. You can even change the color schemes of every part and slap on your very own emblem.
Energy & Weight
The hardest part about customizing the AC is managing max weight and energy. Some parts are just to heavy for the legs or pull to much energy from the equipped generator. It’s a fine-tuned dance to equip everything you want versus what you have to work with. I usually went for a tanky build with a lot of health, so weight usually wasn’t an issue, but there were only a couple generators I could ever use for the build.
Fighting Mechs
Combat would consist of destroying your enemies before they get you. You can boost your mech around either on the ground or flying through the air, as long as you had energy you could fly, but the most important parts would be the weapons you carry into combat. Four slots total for different weapons consisting of three different types, kinetic being like a machine gun, energy weapons, excellent for taking down shields, and explosive, you know, like rockets. Technically four types if you consider melee weapons their own type, but they can only go on the left arm.
Moving forward
The game only moves forward through missions in chapters. You can play through the current story mission or replay an older mission you’ve already completed. There is no open world exploration aspect to the game, some missions will take you back to somewhere you’ve already been, but different. Some levels do have hidden chests full of unique parts, so it is worth exploring every mission or going back later.
FromSoftware Charm
If you’re familiar with FromSoft’s other titles, then you may have experienced their skill curve they like to throw into their games. Some fights in this game were very difficult depending on the build I was fighting with. I found parts I loved to run with, but I would run into a boss that would rock me over and over again, I would fine tune all my parts and before you know it I’m running a completely new AC to beat a boss. It was fun testing and trying a lot of different playstyles in order to succeed and move forward.
The Garage
In between missions you will be hanging out in the garage where you can alter your equipment, buy or sell new equipment, and learn more about combat. There was a training section that would teach you about the unique benefits to all the different pieces of an AC unit, very helpful if your just starting out, there are some lessons in there that make a huge difference in gameplay.
The Arena
Shortly into the game you’ll unlock the Arena, when I first saw it I thought this was the pvp section of the game, but I was wrong, that comes later. The arena pits you against an imaginary mech, based off a real character. Starting from the bottom working your way up with each fight getting a little more difficult. The rewards for completing arena matches were emblems, money, and OST chips, needed to tune the operating system of your machine, increasing things like damage mitigation or new abilities.
Decisions to make
In the later chapters of Armored Core VI you will be offered different missions with special symbols next to them, meaning they are a defining moment in your story. Pick one and the other goes away, sending you down a branching path. There are a few different outcomes to the game depending on the choices you make throughout the story.
New Game+
If you love the game and want to see what different choices have to offer, then you’re in luck because there is a new game plus after the credits roll. So, if you wanted to see where different choices lead this is your perfect opportunity. Be warned though, new game plus adds even more decisions to the game with more missions and outcomes, new game plus doesn’t really feel like your average rerun. Given the new unlocks I feel like it’s necessary to keep going, not like I’m redoing everything but moving forward still to an actual ending far in the distance.
PVP
In order to play against other players, you’ll need to unlock the Nest. From there you can select one v one or three v three matches to try your skills against the public. As of right now there is no cross play, so you are stuck playing with others on your preferred platform. I’m personally not a big PvP kind of guy, but if you’re into it, Armored Core VI got it.
Outro:
So, it took me around twenty hours to finish one playthrough of Armored Core VI. Some fights I had a very difficult time with, but if you have a better grasp on the game, you shouldn’t have a problem. I honestly felt like I was just looking for the most damaging weapons and dodging in the tougher fights without learning key mechanics. This game can definitely take a lot of your time if you really take to it and spend hours minmaxing every piece of equipment for the perfect fighting machine. So, I think its about time we get these ratings underway and place it on a shelf.
This game looked awesome, who doesn’t love gorgeous machines smashing each other to pieces? The explosions and weapons were spot on, I’m giving it a five
The story on the other hand was kind of tough to follow, it started to get more serious near the end and make some more sense, but for the majority of the game I couldn’t follow, I was just running through missions blowing things up, I’m feeling a two.
Gameplay was great, really testing my thumb’s abilities and drenching my controller in sweat. Worthy of a four
There is a lot of replayability value in the game, between needed to grind up more cash for parts or going through the game for a different story. That’s another four.
Ya know I did have a lot of fun. There were a couple fights that really tested my patience and were just rough experiences, but overall it was good, so I’m giving it a four.
All in all Armored Core VI has earned itself a three point eight out of five. Earning it’s rightful spot right there at the beginning of the top shelf.
I really enjoyed the game, I’ll probably keep playing on the side when there’s time. If you enjoy the challenges FromSoft offers in their games you’ll probably enjoy this, it’s not the same kind of difficulty as a SoulsBorne title, but it is still difficult at times.