It’s been a long time coming, and now fans finally have confirmation that theArmored Corefranchise is returning. Announced at the Game Awards,Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconis the next mainline entry in FromSoftware’s mech series, and it’s set for release at some point in 2023. It’s been quite a while sincethe lastArmored Coreentry, and during its hiatus, FromSoftware has become known for changing the third-person action landscape with itsDark Soulsseries and its successors.
Though it took a little while,FromSoftware’sDark Soulsserieshas marked a significant turning point for the gaming world as a whole, with its unconventional approach to storytelling, its tough-as-nails boss fights, and its methodical combat all going on to inspire a whole new genre of video games, just asDoomandWolfensteindid back in the day with the FPS genre. Over the years, FromSoftware has gained more and more fans, some who only know the developer for itsSoulsandSouls-adjacent series, so naturally, the announcement of a newArmored Coregame has left some new fans a little confused.
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How Armored Core Differs From Dark Souls
Armored Corefeatures very different gameplay to FromSoftware’sDark Soulsseries and any of its successors. Players won’t be locking on to a target, slowly strafing around it and looking for an opening to attack; instead they’ll be piloting a giant mech, blasting away opposing mechs with powerful ranged weapons.Armored Core’s gameplayis generally a lot faster thanDark Souls', and while combat does require some strategic thought, the emphasis is on destroying enemy mechs as fast as possible, before they destroy the player.
TheArmored Corefranchise also takes a different approach to general game structure.Dark SoulsandSekirohave an open-ended approach to level design, with players being able to choose which order they tackle some objectives and areas, andElden Ringexpands on this formula even more, providing a fully open-world. Meanwhile,Armored Corehas always stuck to a strict mission-based structure, where players progress from mission to mission in a linear order. According to a recent IGN interview with FromSoftware, the same mission-based structure will be present inArmored Core 6.
Dark Soulsfans should also be aware thatArmored Coredoesn’t have any invasion-like mechanics. Instead of allowing players to invade each other during general gameplay,Armored Core 6will have a dedicated multiplayer versus modefor players who want to duke it out in their mech suits. Apparently,Armored Core 6is really focusing on the single-player aspect of the series, and part of that includes an emphasis on boss battles. While FromSoft fans know about boss fights all too well,Armored Core 6’s boss battles might be a little different from those they’re used to, with the gameplay mechanics requiring different strategies thanDark Souls' bosses.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconis set to introduce a brand new gameplay mechanic that newer FromSoftware fans might be familiar with, though. According to the same IGN interview,Armored Core 6will have a new posture systemthat feeds into combat. This will apparently function pretty similarly to the one inSekiro, with players being able to build up an enemy’s posture bar by repeatedly hitting them, leaving them open to a critical attack.
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Armored Core’s Story Is Just as Bleak as Dark Souls
One thing that might surpriseDark Soulsfansis that theArmored Corefranchise is just as bleak as FromSoftware’s other series, if not even more so in some ways. WhileArmored Corehas gone through several continuities, all share one glaring common theme: humanity is doomed to war with itself to the point of extinction, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.
In theoriginalArmored Corecontinuity, started in the 1997 game and continued up untilArmored Core 2: Another Age, humanity has been forced to live underground following a cataclysm known as the “Great Destruction.” As humanity starts to rebuild the surface world, gigantic corporations start to stake their claim, and a war breaks out between them. These corporations hire mercenaries who pilot mech suits known as Armored Cores. Humanity eventually flees to Mars and colonizes the planet, though the war between corporations continues there.
The second continuity, beginning inArmored Core 3, starts off with humanity retreating underground due to a nuclear war. Underground, humanity has been ruled for centuries by an AI named The Controller, and when it starts to die, humanity begins repopulating the surface of Earth. Corporations pop up in this continuity too, though the Armored Core pilots fight for freedom here.Armored Core 4is much of the same, but is technically another reboot, with the corporations' war leading to extreme pollution that causes the extinction of humanity.
No matter what continuity, the same message is present throughouttheArmored Coreseries: humanity is doomed to obliterate itself. While FromSoftware’s other games, particularlyDark Souls, often have similar themes of repeating inevitable, hopeless cycles, it hits a little harder inArmored Core, as there’s no fantasy backdrop to mask the bleakness of the subject matter.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconis going to be yet another soft rebootof the franchise, albeit with some pretty similar-sounding themes. Rather than fighting on Earth, players will be dropped on the planet Rubicon 3, where they assume the role of a mercenary Armored Core pilot that’s trapped in the middle of a widespread conflict between local harvesters and big corporations. It seems as thoughArmored Core 6might tell a bit more of an uplifting tale of resistance, but it’ll surely have some pretty bleak moments too.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconlaunches in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
