Summary
While it took a while to arrive,Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon’s marketing cycle is finally spinning up for the last month before launch. Many fans are still waiting on uncut mission gameplay, and any details on the Arena and multiplayer modes promised for this complete mecha package. Plenty of events are already lining up demo kiosks to showArmored Core 6off, so answers to the community’s questions should pile up faster than they know what to do with them.
In the meantime, San Diego Comic-Con 2023 is featuring anArmored Corebooth with a life-sized machine replica and a new trailer was released to coincide with this. Said trailer offers no additional gameplay, but rather focuses on thestory leading intoArmored Core 6. In particular, it shows off what a mission could look like, and reveals how the player character and their handler Walter meet in what may be the first cutscene. The circumstances are some of the darkest in theArmored Corefranchise, and much of that is thanks to the return of an old concept that already capitalized on the setting’s worst aspects.
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Human Plus Was Old Armored Core’s Dystopian Take On Easy Mode
In the originalArmored Core, Ravens were expected to manage their resources even more than modernSoulsplayers. Everything had a cost, from buying parts to taking damage and even firing most weapons. If players didn’t pay attention, they could spiral deeper and deeper into debt. After a certain point, the Human Plus program is forced on them. This begins a fresh campaign complete with significant tune-ups and abilities that could not be used otherwise. It’s a great easy mode, arguably making the game more fun, andArmored Coregenerations with both Human Plusand save transfers can keep the state across titles.
Armored Core 6 Reinforces Its Tone Through Human Plus
Unfortunately,Fires of Rubiconhas brought something like Human Plus back, and players can’t avoid it this time. Unit 621, the presumed player character, is a wrapped-up body wired to a mech’s head, with several circular lights nearby resembling those in theArmored Core 1Human Plus cutscene. Their only signs of life are brain activity on a nearby surgeon’s tablet, and the machine suspended above them turning on when Walter has them “woken up”. Considering that Walter refers to Unit 621 as “it”, the player character may be little more than organic piloting AI.
This raises a whole host of questions, like how the player got there and whether every numbered pilot in the trailer was similarly dehumanized, but answers will have to wait. For now, it’s clear where Walter got his “infamous” title, and thatArmored Core 6may beFromSoftware’s bleakest game yet. It should be interesting forArmored Core 6to explore just how much control players have in this state, and how feasible a rebellion is when their mech is all they are.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconwill be released on August 25 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
