Fires of Rubicon Review — Welcome to Mechanised Hell

Editor’s Be aware: Bandai Namco Europe offered a Steam key of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon to IGN India for this overview.

Armored Core 6 is the most recent recreation from the famend Armored Core sequence by FromSoftware. On this sequence of video games, you normally pilot a large robotic swimsuit, known as a mecha. Mecha is a phrase anime followers know, however even if you’re not into anime, you probably have seen mechas like these in Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ultraman, or Energy Rangers. Anyway, these colossal robots are normally used for preventing towards different colossal robots.

The Armored Core sequence is understood for letting gamers customise their mechas in a complete method. This customisation permits players to equip their mechas with totally different capabilities. The return of Armored Core sequence was broadly celebrated throughout the gaming neighborhood. For context, the final Armored Core title, Armored Core V launched again in 2012 with its enlargement, Armored Core: Verdict Day, launching in 2013. The newest within the sequence, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, launched about ten years in a while August 25, 2023.

Does Armored Core 6 handle to strike a steadiness between nostalgia, innovation, and enjoyable? Let’s learn how the sport explores this world of mechanised fits, and why it deserves your consideration and cash on this overview.

Gameplay mechanics of Armored Core 6

The essential gameplay of Armored Core 6 is simple: you management a giant mecha known as an Armored Core, and your job is to defeat different mechas and machines. It’d sound simple, however Armored Core 6 provides a wealthy and complicated gameplay expertise throughout fight. The sport additionally offers a deep customisation system that performs a big position in your development. Throughout numerous ranges and towards numerous forms of enemies, your selection of weapons and mobility upgrades turns into very important to your success.

Every mecha within the recreation is supplied with two weapons, one on the left hand and one on the correct hand. Moreover, there are two slots on the mecha’s again designed for missile launchers. That is the core of your fight capabilities. Now, let’s discuss how your mecha strikes, which is equally vital. You may select totally different units of legs to your mecha, every providing distinct benefits, similar to elevated velocity or the power to hover steadily mid-air.

Armored Core 6 offers you the liberty to combine and match numerous components to create totally different mecha configurations suited to numerous duties. For instance, if the mission consists of close-quarter fight, it is good to equip a melee weapon in your left hand and an assault rifle in your proper. Nevertheless, if you’re going up towards flying adversaries, a bazooka, or different long-range weapons can successfully care for them. It’s all about tweaking your mecha till you reach reaching the following stage of the story.

Armored Core 6: Story and setting

The story of Armored Core 6 doesn’t look like the first focus at first. However, it does have a story that will get surprisingly deep and attention-grabbing the extra you progress within the recreation. You play as a mercenary who simply awakened on the planet “Rubicon 3”, not understanding how you bought there.

You might be working for Handler Walter, finishing jobs for various teams on the planet. The businesses and locals on Rubicon 3 interact in a number of politically-motivated actions for his or her profit. Walter instructs you to stay to your duties and never get entangled in these actions.

Your journey begins while you receive the mercenary licence of a fallen pilot, Rb23 “Raven” and assume their id. Your important purpose is to discover a helpful bounty named Coral. Coral is a mysterious and extremely sought-after useful resource with totally different makes use of. For area firms, it is an vitality supply to realize a technological edge. The Rubiconians think about it a divine blessing for his or her planet and religion. Principally, Coral is so essential that it’s price killing for.

As you discover the cruel, gray panorama, you’ll shortly discover that a good portion of the planet is abandoned. This vacancy is a results of a earlier catastrophic occasion generally known as the “Fires of Ibis.” Throughout this incident, an enormous expanse of Coral erupted in flames, inflicting irreversible injury to the planet’s terrain whereas spreading lethal contamination throughout the floor of the planet.

Now we have restricted details about our character within the recreation, and curiously, we do not see another characters. As a substitute, we solely encounter different mechas within the recreation. The protagonist is working for Walter in trade for details about their life previous to awakening above Rubicon. The missions comply with a sample: you obtain directions by means of voiceovers from numerous characters, after which you possibly can select to customize your mecha or use pre-made configurations earlier than heading into the mission.

One factor we do learn about our character is that they had been concerned in “human augmentation.” In easy phrases, this surgical process boosts your skills as a mecha pilot, however not all pilots have the identical degree of augmentation. A few of them have extra superior modifications executed, however human augmentation comes with its personal dangers, typically psychological in nature.

Fight and technique

Armored Core 6 is onerous. You probably have performed different FromSoftware video games like Elden Ring, you can find some acquainted rules at play. The important thing idea is to watch the behaviour and sample of your enemy after which modify your technique accordingly. The sport is structured round missions, and your exploration is confined to the mission space, the place every degree unfolds. So, your focus can be on finishing the missions as an alternative of exploration.

Having fast reflexes is, after all, wanted in Armored Core 6, however equipping an appropriate construct is equally essential. With out the correct mixture of weapons and frames to your Armored Core, victory might be extraordinarily difficult, if not not possible. The sport doesn’t have a standard levelling-up system. As a substitute, the extra you play, the more cash you earn, the extra you possibly can put money into shopping for higher components. FromSoftware has executed this technique admirably. At occasions, you’ll need to prioritise elements apart from weapons, similar to body and inside components, to reinforce your mobility. This issue may decide victory extra than simply counting on excessive injury output.

Graphics, visuals, and sound

Armored Core 6 presents a sombre, desolate, and predominantly boring visible ambiance that brings out emotions of isolation. The sport will immerse you in a world the place human connection is scarce. In reality, this connection is changed by an abundance of battling robots. The metallic exoskeletons surrounding the human pilots distance us from their presence, making it tough to kind any emotional attachment.

Whereas it might not rank as probably the most visually beautiful recreation, Armored Core 6 efficiently captures the suitable aesthetic and ambiance wanted for this mechanised world. On the identical time, the degrees themselves can begin feeling a bit repetitive, with recurring themes of desolation and brutalist landscapes.

The Armored Core mechas are impressively detailed and the graphics spotlight all of the totally different mechanical components of the machine. Armored Core 6 builders showcase their consideration to particulars within the recreation by making certain that your allies and enemies have distinctive mecha configurations. Nevertheless, an in depth examination is commonly not doable due to the space between you and them.

The restricted variety of cutscenes additionally restricts alternatives to totally admire the variety in mecha designs throughout gameplay. This degree of element isn’t just restricted to mechas, and it extends to ships and different robotic entities within the recreation. Nevertheless, one can use the built-in picture mode of Armored Core 6 to seize the small print of the mechas and different robotic entities.

Past graphics and visuals, FromSoftware has additionally used the soundtrack to successfully plunge you into the unfriendly and unfamiliar world of the sport. Whether or not it’s the theme of the primary menu or the catchy storage music that welcomes you again after intense battles, Armored Core 6’s music is on level.

Mecha customisation

As we outlined earlier than, customisation is essential in Armored Core 6. The number of components you possibly can choose to your Armored Core mecha not solely influence injury and velocity but in addition defines your whole playstyle and technique. Whenever you encounter difficult ranges, the answer is not nearly enhancing your reflexes. As a substitute, it’s about experimenting with totally different components to seek out the correct match for every scenario.

It’s extremely satisfying to have a robotic and tweak its look to provide it that gritty, weathered look with chipped paint and rust. You need to use numerous weathering choices for this. There are additionally color units out there that help you give a theme to the look of your mecha. This characteristic helps you save effort and time in fine-tuning each single half. You may even make one arm look extra battered than the opposite. As an example, in my setup, the left arm is extra worn as a result of it’s used for melee assaults.

Armored Core 6 encourages you to remain conscious of your enemies and the circumstances you face. This pushes you to strategise on the best way to overcome obstacles. The sport provides a number of flexibility within the fight, as you need to use all 4 weapons concurrently. This mixture of customisation and tactical considering makes Armored Core 6 an satisfying journey as you be taught the sport and steadily enhance your expertise.

Is Armored Core 6 price your cash?

In case you’re a fan of fast-paced, difficult video games with intensive customisation choices, and you’re keen on large robots, Armored Core 6 is certainly price contemplating. Nevertheless, be ready for a excessive degree of issue, and a standard mecha recreation with out main improvements. Unlocking alternate endings after finishing the marketing campaign additionally requires a number of playthroughs.

Armored Core 6 is at the moment priced at ₹3,599 on Steam in India (although it might see worth reductions sooner or later, because it was out there for ₹2,499 at launch). Console variations can be found for ₹3,999. For extra data on system necessities and totally different editions, you possibly can take a look at this text.