Armored Core 6: A Breath of Forgiveness Amidst Brutal Combat
Armored Core 6 offers a more forgiving death system compared to FromSoftware's Souls games, making it accessible to a wider audience Players can focus on improving their skills and strategies without the fear of losing all their progress
Players of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon can breathe a sigh of relief as they won't have to endure the same level of punishing difficulty that Souls fans have become accustomed to over the past decade. This marks FromSoftware's return to the Armored Core franchise, presenting a fresh opportunity for the studio to attract new fans while also offering a departure from their signature series.
FromSoftware first made a name for themselves with the Souls games, which have become a defining force in modern action combat. The original Demon's Souls set the foundation in 2009, followed by the release of Dark Souls in 2011, which brought the unforgiving third-person experience to the mainstream with the help of Bandai Namco. FromSoftware has since built on their success with titles such as Bloodborne, Sekiro, and the highly anticipated Elden Ring. However, Armored Core 6 offers a different experience for fans, with a break from the studio's harsh difficulty and a chance to explore a new world.
The Armored Core franchise has always had its own distinct identity compared to FromSoftware's Souls games. It appears that the studio is not interested in completely overhauling the Armored Core DNA to mimic the Souls-style gameplay. While dying repeatedly is a trademark feature of the Souls series, Armored Core 6 will offer more lenient checkpoints and the ability for players to adjust their stats and equipment loadout even after dying to a boss, allowing them to pick up where they left off.
In contrast to the Souls games, Elden Ring's Checkpoints offer a more forgiving experience to players, allowing them to respawn closer to bosses and avoid the long trek back to the boss room after dying. However, the linear story-intensive sections of the game do not offer this luxury. As for Armored Core 6, while it may offer checkpoints and opportunities to tweak one's mech, the combat is sure to be challenging. Despite being more forgiving in terms of dying and respawning, it remains to be seen whether Armored Core 6's difficulty level will be comparable to that of Souls titles.
Armored Core 6: Fire of Rubicon is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on August 25.
Source: Kotaku
