Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco, is out now, and it’s available on PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Players will pilot for an Armored Core, set in a future where humanity has developed an interstellar civilization. On the frontier planet of Rubicon 3, a substance called Coral was discovered that can be used as both an energy source and a data conduit, and it was praised as being the next big advancement, but instead, it caused a cataclysmic event known as the Fires of Ibis. Engulfing the planet in flames, the existence of Coral was thought to of been wiped out with the Fire of Ibis, but 50 years later, signs of Coral were found on Rubicon.

Corporations flocked to exploit the planet and control the Coral, and this is where the player comes in. You’re a mercenary, assigned the ID C4-621 after illegally landing on Rubicon, and your first task is to blend in by finding an active mercenary ID from a destroyed AC unit. Taking on the new name, Raven, you will take on jobs and tasks from the corporations vying for power over the Coral.

The gameplay for Armored Core is fast-paced action, from long-range encounters to close-quarter fights, it will all come down to how the player wants to build their AC unit, fully customising it with different body parts and weapons. These are earned in-game by doing missions and buying them in the store in between missions. The units can also be fully decked out with paint designs and stickers, so if you are a big anime fan that features giant robots such as Gundam or Evangelion, I am happy to say yes, you can make your unit look like trademark designs from those series. Alternatively, if you want to show off an outside-of-the-box design with your friends, there are even some Spongebob-themed units making the rounds on social media. The Squidward unit is a masterpiece.

Players can take on a range of missions, with anything from defending items such as missile sites from a horde of enemy units, to destroying test AC units from other corporations. The only “meh” feeling I had as I kept playing was the length of the missions. Sure, the ones that finished off with an epic boss fight can take ages to finish, but the smaller missions are a bit too short.

The control layout is fairly straightforward and easy to learn, from using the thruster boost to locking on and using secondary weapons like the back launchers. In terms of the core gameplay, it is easy to learn, but again, it will just come down to mastering your style of play. I myself have a set loadout for weapons that have worked wonders for me, with long-range damage being my main weapon, and a plasma sword being my massive damage dealer when I close in the gaps, and it also offers a big swipe to clean up targets that are bunched together.

So difficulty-wise, yes, it is a FromSoftware game, so prepare to get your butt kicked many times by the common enemies, not so much but the boss fights. They are brutal, but are so perfect that I couldn’t bring myself to rage when I died on a boss when I almost killed it after countless attempts. I saw it as a way to reflect on what I was doing and how to improve my build to adjust to what would now be the new level of difficulty as I advanced further into the game. The boss designs and attack patterns are amazing. I am no stranger to FromSoftware – I have learned attack patterns and movements from Dark Souls 1-3 and Elden Ring, but this was just so much harder to get a fix on as there were no gaps in attacks, especially with the faster bosses, so it came down to muscle memory to get out of the way and just pressing on to win. So please be aware, it’s not an easy experience. It offers a challenge.

The planet of Rubicon is stunning to see and experience. The main draw is the units that you will see, both your own and enemy ones, as they do change in style and appearance. It may be subtle changes, but the detail is there. What really impressed me was seeing the reload animations for certain weapons. Taking the cannon for example, after you fire the shot, you can see the gun pull the next shell out from reserve and load it into the chamber. Again, it’s a small detail that you will not notice unless you are looking directly at it, but nonetheless, it’s great attention to detail for adding in the smallest of details for an overall experience.

The audio is mainly radio comms between the corporation contacts that have hired you and your handler, which is delivered by some great voice acting. They will inform you of any objective changes if they happen during a mission, or will give you a warning if an unexpected unit enters the fight. Other AC pilots will also talk to the player, but sadly, it seems we will still be an unvoiced hero. While in combat, audio is also important, as you will be alerted when you are being locked on to, working as a heads up to get ready to evade enemy fire.

Does it have multiplayer? Why yes, it does, but not in the form of co-op, so you can’t have a friend come and help you during a fight. Instead, you are able to put your skills to the test against other players in PVP which supports 1v1 and 3v3 and is locked to only matchmaking with the platform you are playing on. I played a few matches of PVP to be able to cover it in this review, but players will need to advance the story past Chapter 2 to unlock the Nest, the dedicated PVP section. There does not seem to be a level scale, so if you are starting off, you can, and most likely will, come across end-game players that have massive hitting weapons to throw at you. The server stability for the PVP felt great. I had zero lag and no hiccups, just my teammates were not doing so well, so I lost my first 3v3 match. I don’t really see myself doing much PVP as you don’t get anything from it, but it’s a great way to see other people’s builds and what style they have their unit set as. I may revisit PVP when I am end-game.

FromSoftware has hit another home run with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. With how fast and fluid the combat feels to being able to build and make my unit my own, I have loved every second of this game. The boss fights are amazing and offer a real challenge, the world and designs are amazing to behold, and the voice acting was really well delivered. It honestly raised the bar from what my first thoughts would have been as this was my first time playing an Armored Core game. If you are a fan of a challenge and want to put your skills to the test, then definitely pick up a copy of Armored Core VI: Fire of Rubicon. You will not regret it.

Written by: Shane Walsh