Ravens' world is an absolute, nothing can change nothing can waver in a world of an augmented human. Armored Core Six is one of those games that questions humanity, and subtly reminds the player that there is a choice in everything they do. FromSoftwear likes to keep their games very open-ended and while their stories may be linear in how they are played, the approach of the story is anything but. From the mechanics to making different builds, to the boss battles this game was an absolute joy to go through. Armored Core 6 was the kind of fun that was reminiscent of when I was a kid staying up until 2 am playing video games until my mom would say, “Unless you want to become the zombies you fight against, I suggest you get to
sleep”. Armored Core 6 created core memories with its impactful dialogue and meaningful story.
A philosophical journey: Going through the game there is one theme that keeps popping up, coral. Coral is an energy source on Rubicon 3 that is supposed to advance technology and communications capabilities. As a mercenary in the game, we are fighting amid the war for control over Coral. I find the theme of coral fascinating since it hints/suggests the fact that its also a collective consciousness as well. Ayre kept saying that the coral is her, and her brothers and sisters, which means that this energy source is alive, its sentient. At one point I’m fighting other mercenaries and at another I’m seeing a beautiful story being told, slowly unfolding before me. The coral (at least the way I see it) is the consciousness of a previous existence that is being utilized for energy machinery, and technology. When I got the ending I picked, which was fighting against Ayre, I saw so much narrative build-up that I don’t see in a lot of games. It was a slow powerful build that let the players take their time, and form important questions. Even Handler Walter is so unique in the way his character is approached. By the end of the game, he wants the player character to find their freedom, which makes me think that Ayre was just being manipulative to get what she wanted. The story is vibrant and gives me so much to think about. The boss fight with Ayre was one of the best moments in the game (besides meeting with the mech whose identity we stole). From Software never misses with their boss fights, and each boss I fought I saw a new side of From Software’s Narrative design that I fell in love with. We all know that in Souls games you need to search because the story isn’t just handed to you. The same goes for Armored Core Six. While this game isn’t a Souls or Souls like little bits and pieces of the Souls franchise found their way into this title. Like the philosophical questions asked when confronted with the concept of Coral, humanity and how augmented humans are even human anymore, as well as the concept of freedom. I enjoyed that the game stayed vague for the most part in its narrative design, but was linear in how the story was approached in terms of the delivery to the player going from point A to B and giving critical moments to choose from what affect the ending.
The Mechanics: I played Armored Core Six on PS5, this game ran like a cool Autumn breeze in October the control work, the mechanics, and everything about the way this game ran was fantastic. I honestly have no qualms about it, I had no graphical hiccups or issues with how the game ran. I should probably critique something, so I will say that the lock-on feature is a bit spotty but even then that just depends on how you’re playing, what bosses you’re going up against, and how your build I prepped. The shooting and how the tracking located the enemy up to a certain point was precise and 95% of the time would accurately get the target. Your health, or AP depends on the gear you have not the person driving since this game focuses on the mech, so getting armor with higher AP stats is essential for survivability. This is why depending on the boss you’re fighting you will need to change up your build. It's all about finding what works best with your play style and then adapting it for the boss you’re fighting against.
Quoth the Raven Nevermore: For the first time in a while, I don’t have any critique that could be construed as “negative”. I loved my time with this game, I loved the way it played, I loved the story, and I loved how certain mechs in the arena were named after influential historical figures like Swinburne who was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic, and Sigmund Freud, a neurologist, and founder of psychoanalysis. With endless builds and ways to take this game on Armored Core Six has nailed the replayability as well as the ability to replay missions after the game is done. Something I found helpful was after each important intermission shall we say the game allows you to heal up and restock low ammo. Now let's dive into some of the music and voice acting. The voice acting added this layer of immersion that I wasn’t prepared for. The voice actors did such a good job conveying a feeling of being in distress, overcome with fear, but also this unwavering bullheadedness. I felt attached to the characters and cared especially about Ayre even though (depending on your perception) she could be the “bad guy”.The music and sound design in this game was top-notch. Each area and boss fight had something new for my ears to enjoy, and some parts of the score reminded me of games such as Resident Evil Zero, and Final Fantasy Rebirth. It felt punchy, cinematic, and adventurous. I enjoyed the game so much and can’t wait to go back in to see the other endings there are. So tell me, how far can you fly on borrowed wings?
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