Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon: 10 Years Too Late?

The Armored Core sci-fi series currently consists of five main titles, multiple expansions, and several spinoffs across PS1, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, and PS3. The franchise was born in 1997 on PlayStation and was created by FromSoftware, a video game development company based in Japan.

While they tried their hand at various games in the past, FromSoft (as people usually call them) are most famous for their ultra-hardcore titles like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, and of course, Elden Ring.

To make a long story short, Armored Core is a 3rd person shooter where you play with mechs in a post-apocalyptic world. After the catastrophe hit, powerful warmongering companies managed to survive underground. As they conduct their business, they offer missions to the brave and willing players who dare venture into the wasteland.

Upon successful completion, rewards are bestowed upon the mech-warrior, usually money that the player can use to upgrade their mech. From the looks of it, Armored Core VI won't be much different than its predecessors, and here lies its possible make-it-or-break-it type of problem.

During the PS1 and PS2 eras, online gaming was something you mostly heard or read about in magazines. Back then, the internet was less widespread, less powerful, and far less reliable than today's ethernet or land connection.

The best multiplayer experience was locally through split-screen or via the almighty LAN connection, provided you were a tech wizz.

In other words, single-player games were your leading choice back then because you just popped in the CD, and it worked. It might seem crazy if you're a hardcore gamer under 20 now, but games didn't need a 67.8 GB day-one patch as a requirement to function. (Cough, Cough, The Last of Us and Star Wars Jedi Survivor PC ports, Cough, Cough)

This being said, Armored Core is no stranger to online play. The 2001 Armored Core 2: Another Age expansion on the PlayStation 2 was the first time the series featured an online mode through broadband. But it failed for all intents and purposes because people needed to hook up an extra Internet adapter to their PS2 console to make it work.

It wasn't until Armored Core IV (AC4) arrived in 2006 on PS3 that FromSoft decided to give Online functionality another go. This marked to first time where this feature truly worked as intended.

Later, in 2008, the Armored Core: For Answer expansion for AC4 was released with an online-cooperative mode. It wasn't a critical or commercial success, but the concept was there, at least.

In Armored Core V (AC5) from 2012, the single-player component made way for the online mode by having less offline content and more of the multiplayer sort. In AC5, you could have teamed up with 19 other players for some good ol' fashion post-apocalyptic mech-mayhem. A co-op mode was also included.

The following Verdict Day expansion from 2013 was the last Armored Core title to have come out. But things will change on August 25, when Bandai Namco (video game publisher) finally launches the long-awaited sixth iteration on the previous generation of consoles, but also on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and the almighty PC.

So what will the new entry be like, and most importantly, will it be Souls-like? Based on everything we officially know at this point, it's hard to predict, but some telltale signs could point in this direction.

Masaru Yamamura is directing Armored Core VI, and during his time as a FromSoft developer, he wore multiple hats in his previous works. He served as a Lead Game Designer on Sekiro, Level Designer on Dark Souls Remastered, Game Designer on Bloodborne (my favorite), and Gameplay Designer on Dark Souls III.

We also know that players control their mech in a very Souls-like manner. You can approach a fight using a long-rage gunfighting style but switch to a melee stance anytime.

The devs said it has "expansive environments that will deliver an incredible sense of scale," which sounds a whole lot like Elden Ring. This is excellent news for fans because we know exactly what that means.

Another Souls gameplay mechanic you'd usually find on a boss is Stagger, which has also been transferred to AC6. Simply put, hit an enemy enough times in quick succession, and you will temporarily stun them.

Speaking about bosses, they will be enormous. As for the regular enemies, Yamamura said we'll be facing "Huge combat helicopters, heavily armored mobile turrets, and unmanned heavy demolition machinery that's programmed to indiscriminately crush intruders."

According to FromSoft, the difficulty won't be a walk in the park, which is terrific news for Souls fans. At the end of the day, the games' unforgiving difficulty draws players in and pushes them forward.

To keep up the pace, you have to upgrade your mech, which could point toward some RPG-style experience, but the devs didn't mention anything RPG-related, like classes or builds. We might be looking at a regular single-player progression system.

As far as the multiplayer mode is concerned, AC6 will have a dedicated PvP mode like the Dark Souls arena-style of combat, but that doesn't sound apetising when compared to the Modern Warfares and Fortnites of the world.

Now, taking everything FromSoftware shared with us at this point, Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon seems like a grand entry into a niche that faded long ago from the scenery.

Technically speaking, everything about AC6 sounds good, if not great. The graphics could be better, but it's a cross-gen title to maximize sales, so I understand why they chose this route. But at the same time, as a hardcore gamer, I have only one question left to ask.

If it turns out that this $70 old-school 3rd person mech shooter won't have a mainstream-like multiplayer mode, does it have a snowball's chance in Hell to become a commercial success in a world where online free-to-play games like Fortnite reign supreme?

We'll have our answer sometime after it launches on August 25, when Bandai Namco or FromSoftware will most likely tweet about how many copies they sold.

If they remain radio silent, it could be because their title underperformed and didn't meet projections or estimations.

With an untested experience like this, reviews and streamers' impressions will also factor into its success. The only downside is the $70 price tag.