I think this game could've been the best AC game. The controls feel better than ever, the AC building is just as wonderful as in AC4, but just a smidge clearer, the story is the most defined, best written, and most interesting (both dramatically and plot-wise) out of the games I've played, which has the notable hole of AC3. But it feels just as good as For Answer, and while it's story is a bit less politically complex, it feels clearer, more crystalline, and more focused. If that's all it was, a great sequel to For Answer, this would be a perfect game I think. At least a perfect AC game.
It's not though, at least not by my estimation, and that really comes down to two things about the game. First and most obvious is the addition of traditional video game bosses to the series, in the tradition of Dark Souls. Big Honkin Robots that telegraph their huge attacks, but if they hit you you're toast. It makes sense that FromSoft would put these in here, between For Answer and Rubicon they made 6 soulsy games which completely defined their output for those 15 years, outside of 1 vr game and 2 more AC games. People would expect it, especially people new to this series. I just think they don't fit with the rest of the game at all, thematically or design-wise. They bring out all the clunk in the controls, they make you treat your Big Fuckoff Walking Tank like an agile little fly, and in the case of the worst offending boss, they just don't really feel like they fit in the world of AC, which usually sticks closer to hard-sci fi instead of sci fantasy.
Outside of one or two that feel right out of elden ring or sekiro with their speed and design though, the bosses are pretty doable (though they kinda crowd the missions in chapter 3). What makes them feel extra bad, though, is the ACS system, also known as the posture meter in sekiro. Basically, when you or an enemy has taken enough continuous or semi-continuous damage, you get stunned and take more damage for a sec. This is another thing that I don't really get why it's in here.
On a literal level, these are big tanks, why do they get stunned? On a gameplay level though, I just didn't find it very fun, or that they made the fights more dynamic (which I think was the purpose?). With enemies, the idea is that you keep the fire on with continuous damage until the meter is full, then you blast them when they're stunned and take more damage. But in practice, weapons like machine guns don't really do much to the meter, so you're better off using big guns all the time, in which case the meter just changes how much damage some shots do, but there's no strategy to it. And on weaker enemies the meter either feels like it doesn't do anything or protects them way too much. On yourself though, the meter has this great thing where you either forget about it or it just causes a death spiral. Get hit by the first attack or two in a combo from a boss? Great, you're now stunned and taking increased damage and can't heal up. Getting hit by almost anything else? You will never have to pay attention to this meter.
It's just weird that all of this is in here. It's not like the other AC games felt unfinished or stale? It feels more like they wanted this game to fit better with FromSoft's other output, so they added the 2010s FromSoft special in. It sucks, because literally every other part of the game is some of the best AC has ever been. It feels so much more grounded, like the world is more persistent than ever before. Locations feel more unique, the visual design is more vivid, hell chapter 1 has some really wonderful classic AC style missions to it. But the overall design feels unconsidered, like they couldn't decide if this should be a soulsy version of Armored Core or just a new Armored Core game, so it ended up like a bolted together version of both.
Maybe this won't bother you as much as it bothered me. After all, I think the souls games are good in spite of their difficulty, not because of it. But I think there's a lack of cohesion in the design, while every other part of the game is basically perfect. And that really drags it down. I guess I should be glad it's still mission based.
I also think hiding all the really cool new content behind NG++ is dumb as hell
It's not though, at least not by my estimation, and that really comes down to two things about the game. First and most obvious is the addition of traditional video game bosses to the series, in the tradition of Dark Souls. Big Honkin Robots that telegraph their huge attacks, but if they hit you you're toast. It makes sense that FromSoft would put these in here, between For Answer and Rubicon they made 6 soulsy games which completely defined their output for those 15 years, outside of 1 vr game and 2 more AC games. People would expect it, especially people new to this series. I just think they don't fit with the rest of the game at all, thematically or design-wise. They bring out all the clunk in the controls, they make you treat your Big Fuckoff Walking Tank like an agile little fly, and in the case of the worst offending boss, they just don't really feel like they fit in the world of AC, which usually sticks closer to hard-sci fi instead of sci fantasy.
Outside of one or two that feel right out of elden ring or sekiro with their speed and design though, the bosses are pretty doable (though they kinda crowd the missions in chapter 3). What makes them feel extra bad, though, is the ACS system, also known as the posture meter in sekiro. Basically, when you or an enemy has taken enough continuous or semi-continuous damage, you get stunned and take more damage for a sec. This is another thing that I don't really get why it's in here.
On a literal level, these are big tanks, why do they get stunned? On a gameplay level though, I just didn't find it very fun, or that they made the fights more dynamic (which I think was the purpose?). With enemies, the idea is that you keep the fire on with continuous damage until the meter is full, then you blast them when they're stunned and take more damage. But in practice, weapons like machine guns don't really do much to the meter, so you're better off using big guns all the time, in which case the meter just changes how much damage some shots do, but there's no strategy to it. And on weaker enemies the meter either feels like it doesn't do anything or protects them way too much. On yourself though, the meter has this great thing where you either forget about it or it just causes a death spiral. Get hit by the first attack or two in a combo from a boss? Great, you're now stunned and taking increased damage and can't heal up. Getting hit by almost anything else? You will never have to pay attention to this meter.
It's just weird that all of this is in here. It's not like the other AC games felt unfinished or stale? It feels more like they wanted this game to fit better with FromSoft's other output, so they added the 2010s FromSoft special in. It sucks, because literally every other part of the game is some of the best AC has ever been. It feels so much more grounded, like the world is more persistent than ever before. Locations feel more unique, the visual design is more vivid, hell chapter 1 has some really wonderful classic AC style missions to it. But the overall design feels unconsidered, like they couldn't decide if this should be a soulsy version of Armored Core or just a new Armored Core game, so it ended up like a bolted together version of both.
Maybe this won't bother you as much as it bothered me. After all, I think the souls games are good in spite of their difficulty, not because of it. But I think there's a lack of cohesion in the design, while every other part of the game is basically perfect. And that really drags it down. I guess I should be glad it's still mission based.
I also think hiding all the really cool new content behind NG++ is dumb as hell