Demo for Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon showcases various Demos available for the game, providing a wealth of data on their content and presentation. Typically, a Demo offers a limited experience with a confined area to explore, as well as specific combat and mechanical elements. These Demos are often unveiled at events and subsequently made accessible to the public for a limited period or until the game's official release.
Things We Know So Far About Armored Core 6
- All About Armored Core 6: Learn all the latest information about Armored Core 6.
- Lore: Have a taste of Armored Core 6 world, and learn the key events that drive the narrative and its characters.
- Combat: Deep dive into its intricate combat and learn all the newly added mechanics that makes its combat exhilarating and engaging.
- The Protagonist Augmented Human C4-621: Know Armored Core 6's protagonist and what exactly the pilot's mission.
- Armored Core Parts: A deadly mech being used in mercenary missions to fulfill private company demands. Learn its parts and basic weaponry.
Armored Core 6 Latest Gameplay Demo
Bandai Namco published Armored Core 6 latest gameplay demo on Jun 29, 2023. Showcasing a handful of gameplay footage that briefly provided us with a taste of their latest entry. This demo covers basic level traversal, design, enemy encounters, and a brief boss fight. Along with basic customization options like swapping parts and repainting jobs. One can see the highspeed combat of Armored Core 6 revamped with precise timings and split-second decision makings leading to an exhilarating experience. Although no actual playable demo has been released, the video encapsulates how Armored Core 6 will be rolled out.
Armored Core 6 Demo Information
Armored Core 6 Latest Gameplay Demo
Our Armored Core
Longtime fans of the series will recognize the familiar DNA present in the demo showcased at Summer Game Fest, with its dark industrial megastructures and the prominent focus on energy management. The featured Armored Core in the demo wields a gun in one hand, an energy sword in the other, and boasts shoulder-mounted missiles. The key to achieving success lies in effectively balancing and managing diverse elements, such as heat dissipation and energy generation, in order to construct a formidable mech capable of confronting any adversary. In the mission-based structure of Armored Core 6, completing missions is the pathway to earning currency, which can then be utilized to purchase parts and upgrade your mech. It's through this progression system that players can enhance their mech's capabilities.
Level Design
The maps in Armored Core 6 distinguish themselves significantly from previous games in the series. In previous Armored Core titles, missions would typically last in a short period, immediately throwing you into combat from start to finish. However, in Armored Core 6, the maps are noticeably longer, although they don't reach the scale of the sprawling fortresses and zones found in the Souls games, which can last for hours. In these new missions, checkpoints are now present, and your mech is equipped with a repair item similar to the Estus flask in the Souls games, providing a slightly more forgiving approach to taking damage. As a result, individual battles can serve as skill checks without the missions as a whole becoming grueling tests of endurance. During the Summer Game Fest demo, FromSoftware showcased a factory environment that was packed with trusses, cranes, and billowing smokes. While the verticality of the area is worth praising, the place sprawled out in all directions, raising questions about whether missions in such expansive environments will still follow linear paths or if we can expect the same abundance of hidden and alternate routes seen in typical Souls levels.
Intricate and Improved Combat
Combat in Armored Core 6 revolves around strategic exchanges of attacks and counterattacks. You engage in strafing and evasive maneuvers to dodge incoming projectiles, utilizing an energy shield as a defense against any hits that manage to breach your defenses. In return, you unleash a barrage of missiles and gunfire upon your adversaries. As you engage more formidable enemies, a stagger gauge gradually builds up, eventually rendering them incapacitated. This presents an opportunity to unleash devastating damage using your melee weapon.
Among FromSoftware's modern games, Sekiro serves as the closest comparison to Armored Core 6. The combat in Armored Core 6 maintains a remarkable intensity and speed, exceeding even the swiftness of Sekiro's protagonist. It emphasizes precisely timed dodges, albeit against missiles and lasers rather than swords and spears. Additionally, you possess the ability to stagger enemy mechs by repeatedly striking them, gradually building their "impact gauge." Once staggered, enemies become more susceptible to damage, creating an opening for you to swoop in and dismantle them.
It's worth noting that the customization options in Armored Core 6 are extensive, much like in previous entries of the series. You can equip various weapons, and swap out arms, legs, cores, and other modules, tailoring your mech to your preferences. If you enjoy tinkering with your loadout, you'll be pleased to know that if you happen to die mid-mission, you can modify your parts before restarting at a checkpoint. This flexibility allows you to adapt to the challenges ahead without having to restart the entire mission should the need for a different build arise. Experimenting with a lot of builds results in different combat experiences. Since your loadout can be changed on the fly now. So expect this much freedom in Armored Core's latest entry.
Stagger Opponents in Armored Core 6
Armored Core 6 introduces the recently added Stagger Mechanic, which adds a fresh element to the gameplay. According to available information, both player-controlled Armored Cores and enemy units will have their own Stagger Gauges. These gauges gradually decrease as a target takes damage, and when fully depleted, the affected Armored Core becomes immobilized, making it susceptible to devastating attacks. Although the exact impact of weapons on the Stagger Gauge is yet to be confirmed, our experience with the series suggests that continuous damage or powerful weapons like Laser Blades or solid rounds from cannons can rapidly deplete the gauge, effectively staggering enemies. By depleting an enemy's Stagger Gauge and taking advantage of their vulnerable state, this strategy becomes a viable approach. In previous games, certain weapons had the ability to cause Armored Cores to overheat, making their boosters unusable. In Armored Core 6, it's plausible to expect the introduction of a specialized weapon type that focuses on depleting the Stagger Gauge. This addition would offer players a unique way to control and disrupt their opponents during combat.
Why Not Stealth?
There is at least an opportunity now to choose your angle of attack. In the old games, enemies would immediately know where you were and start firing when you came into range, but Armored Core 6 is bringing in a bit of stealth. I do not want to oversell how sneaky you can be in 10 tons of steel with rockets attached to it: there is no crouching in tall grass, but you can jet up to a high perch, survey a half dozen enemy mechs puttering around beneath you, and launch a surprise missile volley before you dive in for a finishing blow with your energy blade. But at least from my end, this will be utilized minimally as I prefer dodging bullets and missiles that come my way.
A Taste of a Boss Fight
Concluding the demo is an enticing glimpse into one of the intense boss battles that await in Armored Core 6. This particular encounter showcases the "Smart Cleaner," a colossal mech armed with devastating weaponry that pulverizes other Armored Cores. With its menacing heated grinder arms and torrents of spewed lava, the Smart Cleaner poses a formidable challenge. While the demo only offers a fleeting preview of this fight, FromSoftware has assured players that boss battles will be a standout aspect of the game. Whether any influences from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, helmed by Armored Core VI director Masaru Yamamura, will be evident in these encounters remains to be seen.
However, even if there are resemblances, it's doubtful that Armored Core 6 will fully captivate the Soulsborne genre's newly-minted fans who were enthralled by Elden Ring. This game is explicitly tailored for dedicated Armored Core enthusiasts—those who relish the process of meticulously customizing their fantasy mechs, tirelessly striving to find the perfect build for every situation. FromSoftware seems to be crafting a game that resonates with their own enjoyment, a commendable approach in an industry where everything is often excessively subjected to the general market. This is the company's identity all along.
My Thoughts About Armored Core 6
Having a significant history with the series myself, I eagerly anticipate immersing myself in Armored Core 6's customization options and exploring the creative possibilities for different builds. Additionally, I am intrigued to witness how the multiplayer battles, often considered the essence of the series, unfold in the game. Armored Core offers much to appreciate beyond its peripheral connections to Dark Souls and Elden Ring, which has undoubtedly contributed to its enduring and devoted fanbase. It is reassuring to see that FromSoftware acknowledges this fact.
However, while I appreciate the progress made, I also harbor concerns about the potential streamlining of the overall customization. Delving into intricate details and manipulating numerous stats was a source of enjoyment in the past and has become a defining aspect of the series. I sincerely hope that any unnecessary simplification of statistics does not diminish the core identity of the franchise.
