FromSoftware has become well known for the style of gameplay now commonly referred to as Soulsborne, but with the upcomingArmored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, the developer has stressed that it’s not trying to make another Soulsborne game. This will be good news for hardcore fans of the long-dormant series who may have been afraid the eventualArmored Core 6would just beDark Soulswith mechs.
Although it’s been nearly a decade since its last entry,Armored Coreremains FromSoftware’s most prolific franchise by a large margin, with 15 separate releases between 1997 and 2013. The years since, however, have seen the developer become primarily known for the gameplay it introduced inDemon’s Soulsand refined with acclaimed titles likeBloodborne,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, andElden Ring. Naturally, then, whenArmored Core 6was revealed at The Game Awardslast week, there was the question whether the new game will skew closer to the popular Soulsborne formula than that of its predecessors.
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During an interview with IGN, that question was directed to FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki, to which he stated clearly that the developers have “not been making a conscious effort” to make the game more Souls-like. Rather, he said, the “essential direction” forFires of Rubiconis to reexamine thecore concepts that makeArmored Corespecialfor the modern day, those being the process of assembling and customizing the titular mechs and the “high level of control” over the finished creation.
Customization has long been a key element of FromSoftware’s games, and remains so as the wide range of possible character builds inElden Ringcan attest. It can be argued, though, thatArmored Coretakes this further than thestudio’s Soulsborne games. More than simply swapping out weapons or armor, players are given the freedom to adjust individual parts of their mechs, right down to their limbs, generators, and targeting systems. This can give rise to a huge variety of unique mechs ranging from hard-hitting melee machines to agile flyers that rely on missiles to lumbering weapon platforms on large tank treads.
This high level of freedom, and the way it can radically change the gameplay, is the “real impetus” forArmored Core 6, according to Miyazaki. What’s more, it was confirmed thatFires of Rubiconwon’t be open-worldand will instead feature a mission-based structure like past games. From the sound of this, players will likely be given plenty of incentive to experiment with different builds to better tackle the specific challenges each mission may bring.
WhileFromSoftwaremay be focusing on going back to what madeArmored Coreunique, Miyazaki did acknowledge that the developers will be applying the “know-how and experiences” from creating their recent games as well. It’ll be interesting to see how FromSoftware’s current gamemaking philosophies mesh with the old ones.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubiconlaunches in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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