I'm now a long-time fan of From Software's work, but a newcomer to the Armored Core series. Nonetheless, when I finally saw the 6th installment being announced after just as many years of rumors as Bloodborne's remasters, I could not wait to jump into it. Knowing that I am not generally a fan of any big mechs media and especially videogames - besides Evangelion - I still embarked on it regardless solely because of From Software's pedigree.
Not an old engine, just slow adoption.
Armored Core VI, just like Sekiro and Elden Ring runs on the in-house engine of From Software, not Pyre as many still think to this date. An engine that wasn't failing the test of time yet, unlike Bethesda's Creation Engine; with Elden Ring, though, debates and doubts did spark. The biggest offender was the forced lock at 60fps on an engine modders have been unlocking days after release, consistently. This is a hindrance only to the longevity and futureproofing of the title, especially when hardware becomes more powerful and inevitably newer heavier games become lighter and more performant.
At the time, the promise and consequent addition of ray tracing to the game had kindled hope in me that it was not a problem with the engine at all, but Armored Core took those cinders and made them burn, removing that doubt completely.
The game has 120fps lock and ray-tracing - the latter just in the garage - at lunch.
Sadly, the anti-aliasing remains not necessarily the strongest option on the market and I strongly hope soon they'll start implementing FSR and DLAA in their titles, but, it's not unserviceable.
The options I was perplexed about and removed immediately were the Depth of Field and Motion Blur combo, which added this weird blurry effect at the edges of the camera and on distant objects. Still, it is possible to turn it off, so no complaints there.
Graphically the game is stunning, performance are great, solid, and stable which is what such a fast-paced game needs.
I was happy to finally see a photo mode that could make the inner photographer in me rejoice in being able to take stunning, planned, HUD-less screenshots in these games, and that made me even more hopeful that with Shadow of the Erdtree we might also hopefully - please, please, please - get it in Elden Ring alongside the 120fps lock option!
Raven's wings of freedom.
The game's story follows your character, 621, call name Raven. You're a fourth-generation augmented human - of which currently there are ten generations in total to my understanding - capable of controlling the giant mechs known as Armored Core.
The augmentation is performed using Coral; think of it as a very flammable fuel capable of reproducing itself that can apparently be used as a drug, gas, and it can also control wave properties, digital and electronic equipment, etc. but deadly during extended contact with humans.
Coral is very important to the various corporations who fight for it, but at the same time need to control it to avoid a rendition of the Fires of Ibis. The Fires of Ibis was a previous cataclysm where the coral, again, very flammable, took fire starting from Rubicon 3 and killed countless people and burned away the majority of life in this solar system, as well as destroying technology and infrastructure, wiping out all of the system's civilization. A fire so hot it would burn the very stars.
Back to 621, we work under Handler Walker, who'll guide us through the basics and provide us with missions for us to complete as a freelancer.
Honestly, the mobility of the mech, the inertia, the weight of your actions, and the amazing scale of the world around you are enough of a reason for you to purchase this game alone because they did a wonderful job!
Missions are not too long, often being just the right length around 20-30m, if not shorter, besides some selected story missions. Each mission will then have a payment reward, from which costs are reduced, and with the rewarded credits, you can buy more parts to change your mech up.
It's possible to pause the game at any time, and on death, there's the option to restart from checkpoints that are automatically made during missions. It is even possible to change which parts your mech has equipped - but not buy new ones - without ever leaving the mission and losing your progress.
The game, like Nier: Automata, features multiple endings achievable through multiple playthroughs and different choices in New Game +, which - another big shocker - does not increase difficulty. So playing the game over and over is a playground for you to use more and more stuff and builds to face your threats.
This is on top of mission replayability to get better scores in them, secret caches with new parts around the maps, enemies hidden with logs, lore documents, etc. There is a lot to do!
When it comes to Arenas, there are PVP rooms available where you can fight other players - up to 6v6 I think - and there is also an offline virtual ranked Arena where you can fight ACs of other pilots you meet in the game, which will unlock some more weapons, and customization options. Speaking of which.
Exploration is customization.
One thing that I did wrong in this game was entering with the idea exploration was key, or so I thought. Exploration is key, but whereas in a Souls/RPG you'll be exploring your surroundings, the world, and what you find in it, here, you need to explore different builds, from the get-go. This took me so out of my element, especially with the steep learning curve, that I am thankful I had purchased the game and made a commitment to it because it gave me the strive to keep hitting my head against the wall until making new builds and trying new approaches became the default. It brought back memories of my early days playing Dark Souls 1, teaching me to focus on the lessons learned from challenges rather than dwelling on setbacks. Each failed try against a boss here it's just another opportunity to learn it better or try something else.
While later mech and weapons parts might be stronger, the game overall is very balanced around making every option viable to the player and any option performs just as well. Difficulty, while the game might become more complex going forward, won't stop you from using the shotgun you bought at the start of the game. Other options you'll be given will be different, instead of better. You can't improve these parts and for everything they offer more than the one you currently use, it takes away somewhere else.
Customization doesn't stop at being able to change parts or simply color them but goes in depth from sheene, to wear, to being able to make your own custom decals and such. I've seen people making YouTube tutorials on how to make a paint job feel more realistic, i.e. adding small white dots on bolts, or wear lines of the primary color on top of accent lines to add to the wear the fact that the top layer has pealed off but not the main paint job. With more than 40 slots available for customization for each mech part, this is seriously the Disney Land of mech fanatics. This is the level of attention to detail I put into Skyrim through modding, but it's a default. Amazing!
Last but not least, builds including looks can be shared with everyone, who, with a build code and the right parts can import it with a few clicks!
Conclusion.
Overall, although it's not my next Elden Ring, I enjoyed my time on the title sometimes making me wish I would have been playing this on some evenings over Baldur's Gate 3. It was fun, like with Sekiro, to see another facet of From Software, and familiar mechanic concepts applied in new innovative ways and I think I will be looking out for what's next for this series, hopefully in less than 10 years!
7.9/10
Not an old engine, just slow adoption.
Armored Core VI, just like Sekiro and Elden Ring runs on the in-house engine of From Software, not Pyre as many still think to this date. An engine that wasn't failing the test of time yet, unlike Bethesda's Creation Engine; with Elden Ring, though, debates and doubts did spark. The biggest offender was the forced lock at 60fps on an engine modders have been unlocking days after release, consistently. This is a hindrance only to the longevity and futureproofing of the title, especially when hardware becomes more powerful and inevitably newer heavier games become lighter and more performant.
At the time, the promise and consequent addition of ray tracing to the game had kindled hope in me that it was not a problem with the engine at all, but Armored Core took those cinders and made them burn, removing that doubt completely.
The game has 120fps lock and ray-tracing - the latter just in the garage - at lunch.
Sadly, the anti-aliasing remains not necessarily the strongest option on the market and I strongly hope soon they'll start implementing FSR and DLAA in their titles, but, it's not unserviceable.
The options I was perplexed about and removed immediately were the Depth of Field and Motion Blur combo, which added this weird blurry effect at the edges of the camera and on distant objects. Still, it is possible to turn it off, so no complaints there.
Graphically the game is stunning, performance are great, solid, and stable which is what such a fast-paced game needs.
I was happy to finally see a photo mode that could make the inner photographer in me rejoice in being able to take stunning, planned, HUD-less screenshots in these games, and that made me even more hopeful that with Shadow of the Erdtree we might also hopefully - please, please, please - get it in Elden Ring alongside the 120fps lock option!
Raven's wings of freedom.
The game's story follows your character, 621, call name Raven. You're a fourth-generation augmented human - of which currently there are ten generations in total to my understanding - capable of controlling the giant mechs known as Armored Core.
The augmentation is performed using Coral; think of it as a very flammable fuel capable of reproducing itself that can apparently be used as a drug, gas, and it can also control wave properties, digital and electronic equipment, etc. but deadly during extended contact with humans.
Coral is very important to the various corporations who fight for it, but at the same time need to control it to avoid a rendition of the Fires of Ibis. The Fires of Ibis was a previous cataclysm where the coral, again, very flammable, took fire starting from Rubicon 3 and killed countless people and burned away the majority of life in this solar system, as well as destroying technology and infrastructure, wiping out all of the system's civilization. A fire so hot it would burn the very stars.
Back to 621, we work under Handler Walker, who'll guide us through the basics and provide us with missions for us to complete as a freelancer.
Honestly, the mobility of the mech, the inertia, the weight of your actions, and the amazing scale of the world around you are enough of a reason for you to purchase this game alone because they did a wonderful job!
Missions are not too long, often being just the right length around 20-30m, if not shorter, besides some selected story missions. Each mission will then have a payment reward, from which costs are reduced, and with the rewarded credits, you can buy more parts to change your mech up.
It's possible to pause the game at any time, and on death, there's the option to restart from checkpoints that are automatically made during missions. It is even possible to change which parts your mech has equipped - but not buy new ones - without ever leaving the mission and losing your progress.
The game, like Nier: Automata, features multiple endings achievable through multiple playthroughs and different choices in New Game +, which - another big shocker - does not increase difficulty. So playing the game over and over is a playground for you to use more and more stuff and builds to face your threats.
This is on top of mission replayability to get better scores in them, secret caches with new parts around the maps, enemies hidden with logs, lore documents, etc. There is a lot to do!
When it comes to Arenas, there are PVP rooms available where you can fight other players - up to 6v6 I think - and there is also an offline virtual ranked Arena where you can fight ACs of other pilots you meet in the game, which will unlock some more weapons, and customization options. Speaking of which.
Exploration is customization.
One thing that I did wrong in this game was entering with the idea exploration was key, or so I thought. Exploration is key, but whereas in a Souls/RPG you'll be exploring your surroundings, the world, and what you find in it, here, you need to explore different builds, from the get-go. This took me so out of my element, especially with the steep learning curve, that I am thankful I had purchased the game and made a commitment to it because it gave me the strive to keep hitting my head against the wall until making new builds and trying new approaches became the default. It brought back memories of my early days playing Dark Souls 1, teaching me to focus on the lessons learned from challenges rather than dwelling on setbacks. Each failed try against a boss here it's just another opportunity to learn it better or try something else.
While later mech and weapons parts might be stronger, the game overall is very balanced around making every option viable to the player and any option performs just as well. Difficulty, while the game might become more complex going forward, won't stop you from using the shotgun you bought at the start of the game. Other options you'll be given will be different, instead of better. You can't improve these parts and for everything they offer more than the one you currently use, it takes away somewhere else.
Customization doesn't stop at being able to change parts or simply color them but goes in depth from sheene, to wear, to being able to make your own custom decals and such. I've seen people making YouTube tutorials on how to make a paint job feel more realistic, i.e. adding small white dots on bolts, or wear lines of the primary color on top of accent lines to add to the wear the fact that the top layer has pealed off but not the main paint job. With more than 40 slots available for customization for each mech part, this is seriously the Disney Land of mech fanatics. This is the level of attention to detail I put into Skyrim through modding, but it's a default. Amazing!
Last but not least, builds including looks can be shared with everyone, who, with a build code and the right parts can import it with a few clicks!
Conclusion.
Overall, although it's not my next Elden Ring, I enjoyed my time on the title sometimes making me wish I would have been playing this on some evenings over Baldur's Gate 3. It was fun, like with Sekiro, to see another facet of From Software, and familiar mechanic concepts applied in new innovative ways and I think I will be looking out for what's next for this series, hopefully in less than 10 years!
7.9/10