FromSoftware’s next game is Armored Core 6. After building a number of different titles in the Soulsborne mould for over a decade, Hidetaka Miyazaki is eager to walk away for a little bit and try something new. Or old I suppose, given it’s a sequel, but after Elden Ring this sort of thing is a refreshing distraction, and one I hope isn’t afraid to shake things up.
Fires of the Rubicon – killer name by the way – is coming our way next year and is the first game in the series for the better part of a decade. Once From’s bread and butter, it sadly fell by the wayside after the success of Dark Souls and a creative incentive to keep building on its formula instead of looking back. We got Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring, and loads of random sequels, but no new Armored Core. After a plethora of rumours, the king is finally back.
Given the massive audience FromSoftware has amassed thanks to all the Souls games and those that followed, many look to Armored Core 6 with anticipation, likely expecting it to be very similar to their favourite masochistic dungeon crawlers with precise combat, a focus on exploration, and plenty of deliberately cryptic lore. Unfortunately for you, I don’t think that will end up being the case. In fact, FromSoftware has already asked fans to cool their jets and prepare for disappointment, because Fires of the Rubicon is going to be Armored Core through and through. That’s the right move, and one I’m so eager to see.
According to developer interviews and the official Steam page, Armored Core 6 is definitely an Armored Core game, right down to its regimented customisation and skill-based mech combat. If you aren’t familiar with the series, it involves you playing as a mech to fight against alien corporations and other evil machines with a core you upgrade with new items, weapons, and components using money earned from each level. You can even tune specific parts of your mech to ensure maximum efficiency against enemies far stronger.
Like Dark Souls, much of the emphasis is on skill and precision, but its structure is more traditional and arcadey than the interwoven open worlds of Soulsborne. It never set out to be anything different, even if Fires of the Rubicon aims to build upon these tried-and-true foundations with a few new ideas. The new posture system sounds cool, and will apparently encourage more action-packed combat encounters, as continuous attacks can stagger much larger foes so long as you take the right approach. Given the huge focus on picking the right upgrades and mech parts, rewarding that with unexpected victories is a brilliant idea, and a far cry from the rather ruthless difficulty curve seen in Souls games.
While I adore the unsettling characters and unrivalled environmental storytelling put forward by the likes of Elden Ring, Armored Core 6 is going to be classic post-apocalyptic sci-fi that leans into potential cliche, since the plot synopsis sounds totally wild. Here it is:
‘A mysterious new substance was discovered on the remote planet, Rubicon 3. As an energy source, this substance was expected to dramatically advance humanity’s technological and communications capabilities. Instead, this substance caused a catastrophe that engulfed the planet and the surrounding stars in flames and storms, forming a Burning Star System.’
Aside from mentioning the word substance three times in a single paragraph to describe the exact same thing, this sounds like the setup to a film like Starship Troopers or Pacific Rim: a thing is bad, we need to do something about it, we have giant robots, let’s get to work. Yes, I know there will be additional nuggets of lore and plenty of background details for fans to dig into, but what Armored Core 6 really wants to focus on is mechs, skill, and looking hella rad.
I just hope this vastly different direction doesn’t result in unjustified backlash, because some will definitely see the FromSoftware logo, pick this game up, and expect an experience akin to Elden Ring or Dark Souls. You aren’t going to get that, and the studio is right to return to a cult favourite and evolve it for the modern era instead of making Dark Souls with mechs and calling it a day. That game would kick total ass, but it doesn’t need to exist. Play Code Vein instead. I’m kidding – definitely don’t do that.
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