Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is not a Soulslike. From the moment the game was announced there’s been, depending on your perspective, a concern, a hope or even an expectation, that the first new AC title in a decade would seek to emulate its critically and commercially acclaimed From Software stablemate. That’s absolutely not the case. There’s no intricately-designed interconnected levels here, no bonfire equivalents, no enemies that respawn when you rest.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon reviewDeveloper: FromSoftwarePublisher: Bandai NamcoPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out 24th August on PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
In fact, AC6 is remarkably traditional in structure. While there are some branches in the narrative (three in my first play through, I believe) it’s a largely linear mission structure spread across five chapters. Sometimes there will be more than one mission on offer but, unless it’s one of the clearly marked decision points, they all need to be completed before progressing, it’s just a case of which one to tackle first. With the exception of the separate PvP multiplayer modes, which weren’t available at the time of review, the only distractions from the campaign are a 1v1 AI arena mode and the option to replay already completed missions.
The missions themselves tend to be quite short, with many of them lasting less than ten minutes, even for a cautious player. Checkpoints are generously positioned before bosses and tough encounters and it’s very rare that you’ll find yourself having to redo a tricky section multiple times.
Compared to the sort of multi-layered, twisty labyrinth of systems and storylines that has become From Software’s stock in trade, it almost feels barebones. While I wasn’t expecting a Mass Effect/Dragon Age or Fallout/Elder Scrolls situation, I was thinking that a little more Soulslike influence would have crept in and a small part of me was disappointed that it hadn’t. Reader, that part of me was foolish and wrong. AC6 doesn’t need Soulslike influences, because AC6 is hands down the best mech game I’ve ever played.