Thanks to an invitation from Bandai Namco Latin Americawe had the opportunity to attend a ‘preview’ event of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubiconthe new FromSoftware game coming out in August.
Although Armored Core is a cult franchise from FromSoftware with multiple previous entries, it took 10 years to get this sequel. In these ‘break’ years, FromSoftware was quite busy. It pretty much defined his genre, the “soulslike”. They also took another direction towards fantasy with some characteristic elements that evolved from Demon’s Souls y Dark Souls to proposals like An axe and the game of the year 2022: Elder Ring.
W ith this background, the real curiosity that surrounded us was: how does a game of locks
A bath of freshness for a cult franchise
Between the lines this game breathes the basics of gaming souls, the FromSoftware seal. In our test we could see it more in the spirit of the game than in the gameplay as such. It is not that it is not difficult, in fact there were a couple of levels that were quite a challenge for the media attending the test, but it invites you to try and experiment with different approaches to face different types of enemies.
The narrative structure does not start from a map to follow and explore. It’s more of a hub where we will be sent to do different activities: missions such as destroying objectives, exploring, weapons training and game modes, testing our mecha, customization, weapon shop, etc. To this hub we can always return and it is the space where we can train, improve and prepare our mecha and understand the details of the story mode.
For the test we had access to the first 11 missions of the campaign. The first mission called ‘Illegal Entry’ put us face to face with the mecha in a wide area, where we will find all kinds of enemies that we had to destroy with our arsenal. From the beginning, the handling of the weapons and the freedom of movement make it feel satisfying to defeat enemies with the set of weapons equipped to our vehicle.
Weapons, strategy and lots of action
In the missions that we had access to, we could see from rifles, rocket launchers to lightsabers, a wide variety of weapons to equip our robot. Simultaneously you can equip four weapons at the same time in four possible ‘slots’ and each one is assigned to a trigger of the controller. This control mapping is one of the pillars of the game. Weapon selection in each mission had a direct impact on our performance on the battlefield and several times led us to rethink how to approach a mission. This selection is also transferred to the moving parts of the mecha. For example, for a specific mission, the best option was to use “rabbit feet” in our vehicle that provided greater jumping capacity.
The entire mechanic of equipping parts and testing is critical in the game. For this there will be a parts store available with all kinds of accessories that can also be sold. Additionally, completing some missions will unlock additional accessories.
When it comes to launching into action, the game stands out for its fluidity of movement, the locks
In our Armored Core VI test we could see final enemies varied in design and difficulty
As for the difficulty, it is FromSoftware and we already know that it will not be easy. Its level of difficulty lies in learning to use the weapons available and knowing the attack patterns of our enemies. In the scenarios we will not find a large number of enemies, these are really easy, at least in the test. Those considered “bosses” are really the “coconut” of the game and we highlight the variety of these in the scenarios played. From huge almost impenetrable tanks to walking fortresses that we will have to gradually destroy, each one has its own method to defeat and it will be quite difficult to defeat one without dying a few times in the attempt.
It may also interest you: this is how the story of Armored Core 6
In a conversation with the director and producer of the game, they told us that for an average ‘gamer’ the game would have a duration of 20 to 30 hours in its main campaign. It is necessary to review all the replayability that it will have and what the multiplayer elements will be like, which on this occasion we did not have the opportunity to test. We were also able to learn that this game has a production of more than five years that started with a small team, but grew as development increased. Perhaps a difference with respect to the way this team develops games is the flexibility to adapt in the different stages of development, according to what its director told us.
Our proof of Armored Core VI It left us wanting to continue playing and delving into everything that this title offers, because although it took more than 5 hours of play, we believe that we barely touched the surface of everything it has to offer.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon it will have multiplayer modes, a long campaign with extensive replayability and probably DLCs. To fully understand everything this game has to offer, we will have to wait for August 25, the release date for PS5, PC and Xbox Series X | S.
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