Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Review | MMORPG.com

System · August 2023

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Review | MMORPG.com

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is everything you should want in a mech game. Nick explains why in his review.

Valdheim · August 2023

I'm am so hyped for this title that I'm seriously considering pausing Baldur's Gate 3 for it, which I really shouldn't do! Need... to... stay... strong!

riningear · August 2023

Valdheim said:

I'm am so hyped for this title that I'm seriously considering pausing Baldur's Gate 3 for it, which I really shouldn't do! Need... to... stay... strong!

BG3 broke my streak of "no AAA games on launch," and this might continue that. Both games look exceptional at what they do and From has rarely really disappointed.

ValdemarJ · August 2023

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed they shoved "Dark Souls" boss fights in this. It's coming off my wishlist, but I'll keep an eye on it check it out if it comes to GamePass.

Sovrath · August 2023

ValdemarJ said:

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed they shoved "Dark Souls" boss fights in this. It's coming off my wishlist, but I'll keep an eye on it check it out if it comes to GamePass.

How do you mean? Just looked like Boss fights.

ValdemarJ · August 2023

Sovrath said:

ValdemarJ said:

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed they shoved "Dark Souls" boss fights in this. It's coming off my wishlist, but I'll keep an eye on it check it out if it comes to GamePass.

How do you mean? Just looked like Boss fights.

From the article.

finefluff · August 2023

Can’t wait!

OG_Solareus · August 2023

tencent. shame.

Sovrath · August 2023

ValdemarJ said:

Sovrath said:

ValdemarJ said:

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed they shoved "Dark Souls" boss fights in this. It's coming off my wishlist, but I'll keep an eye on it check it out if it comes to GamePass.

How do you mean? Just looked like Boss fights.

From the article.

Oh ... and that's bad?

ValdemarJ · August 2023

Sovrath said:

ValdemarJ said:

Sovrath said:

ValdemarJ said:

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed they shoved "Dark Souls" boss fights in this. It's coming off my wishlist, but I'll keep an eye on it check it out if it comes to GamePass.

How do you mean? Just looked like Boss fights.

From the article.

Oh ... and that's bad?

I don't like it because much like "end game dungeon and raiding", it doesn't fit well with the rest of the game.

In a game like Elden Ring, the combat style, narrative, and character building are all built around each other. Everything is built with the combat style and challenge. That's great and it feels cohesive.

If a game isn't built around that, then jamming that in will feel weird and out of place with what the player has been doing the entire game.

It's my primary criticism of Hogwarts Legacy, which otherwise is a complete gem. In one part of the game you're a wizard or witch at Hogwarts learning spells and using them to solve problems. In another part of the game, with a completely separate magic system, you're battling bosses in souls-like combat to complete a trial. The point of the trial is to prove your magic ability. It's well woven into the narrative, but mechanically it feels horrible because it plays completely differently than everything you've been practicing everywhere else.

Maybe the rest of the combat in AC6 will support that, but it isn't the impression I got from reading the article. I was looking forward to a more agile mecha game because most are real time with sluggish movement and others are turn-based. Sounds like the game may not be for me, but I will try it if it comes to GamePass.

Nick_Shively · August 2023

The bosses don't have a different combat style from normal encounters. They're simply much more difficult and require thinking, planning, and learning their mechanics. In the most symmetrical boss fights (AC vs AC), you can rely on brute force and skill but for a lot of the boss fights you can't simply smash into them and hope to win. Regardless, the combat system flows fine between normal missions and boss fights.

angerbeaver · August 2023

I dunno, definitely not my genre, but seems like this would get boring fast. Probably just seems that way to me because I've never been into these games though

ValdemarJ · August 2023

Nick_Shively said:

The bosses don't have a different combat style from normal encounters. They're simply much more difficult and require thinking, planning, and learning their mechanics. In the most symmetrical boss fights (AC vs AC), you can rely on brute force and skill but for a lot of the boss fights you can't simply smash into them and hope to win. Regardless, the combat system flows fine between normal missions and boss fights.

That isn't the impression I got from the first paragraph of the section titled mechanized dark souls.

"While most of the standard combat boils down to ‘act first, think later’, the bosses are a completely different story."

Then you went on to say how the boss thrashed you a few times.

Going from "act first think later" to "must learn boss mechanics and planning" are two different things whether they flow back and forth or not. The non-souls combat in Hogwarts Legacy flows well with and into the souls-like Trials, but they are still two different types and approaches to combat. If you don't really have to plan and think for world content, but do for bosses, then it isn't the same.

I'm just not interested in that. Souls-like isn't a kind of challenge I find interesting, so it's good to know, but disappointing for me.

Scot · August 2023

ValdemarJ said:

Sovrath said:

ValdemarJ said:

Sovrath said:

ValdemarJ said:

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed they shoved "Dark Souls" boss fights in this. It's coming off my wishlist, but I'll keep an eye on it check it out if it comes to GamePass.

How do you mean? Just looked like Boss fights.

From the article.

Oh ... and that's bad?

I don't like it because much like "end game dungeon and raiding", it doesn't fit well with the rest of the game.

In a game like Elden Ring, the combat style, narrative, and character building are all built around each other. Everything is built with the combat style and challenge. That's great and it feels cohesive.

If a game isn't built around that, then jamming that in will feel weird and out of place with what the player has been doing the entire game.

It's my primary criticism of Hogwarts Legacy, which otherwise is a complete gem. In one part of the game you're a wizard or witch at Hogwarts learning spells and using them to solve problems. In another part of the game, with a completely separate magic system, you're battling bosses in souls-like combat to complete a trial. The point of the trial is to prove your magic ability. It's well woven into the narrative, but mechanically it feels horrible because it plays completely differently than everything you've been practicing everywhere else.

Maybe the rest of the combat in AC6 will support that, but it isn't the impression I got from reading the article. I was looking forward to a more agile mecha game because most are real time with sluggish movement and others are turn-based. Sounds like the game may not be for me, but I will try it if it comes to GamePass.

I don't agree with you only because I think we need videos of play and more reviews to address this. I think before we actually see that the gameplay is not a holistic, it is likely (bearing in mind the good reviews) that it is working. But diverse elements in gameplay can be a boon or bane to a game that's for sure, so you could be right.

ValdemarJ · August 2023

The reviews on Xbox are pretty good. There is a split though between fans of Dark Souls and some fans of the previous entries in the franchise.

Fans of the previous games complain that AC6 feels like a Dark Souls clone with a mecha skin and comparatively lacks the tactical depth and flexibility they offer. For those who don't mind the souls-like direction the game has taken, mention the boss fights are poorly and inconsistently tuned. The first one is very hard, the next couple not so much and then it ramps up rapidly.

finefluff · August 2023

I may have not put enough time into it yet, but I don't get the comparison with souls at all. To me, souls is not about the difficulty. Its about the fantasy, mystery, and exploration. This game isn't about those things, and I certainly don't feel like I'm controlling a medieval knight when I pilot my mech.

Linif · August 2023

Great game, I got my first run-through done today. The bosses are the only accurate comparison to any Souls-like game, and they are difficult. Otherwise, it's nothing like them.

The story was great, the voice acting was great, and the combat was great. There seems to be a much harder drive on mobility on this AC and it works. Super smooth and fluid and high octane blastin'.

Strategy-wise, it's not strategy heavy. Slap on your gear and start blasting. The only real thought involved comes in with AC building where you're looking for your balance and what to bring to a boss fight. Vs other ACs, it's high-speed maneuvering, looking to get into your effective/ideal ranges and avoid taking damage through whatever means necessary.

Overall, great game. If you need a break from strategy-heavy, slower-paced gameplay and story, then slap your mech together and get stuck in. Fast and clean.

ValdemarJ · August 2023

finefluff said:

I may have not put enough time into it yet, but I don't get the comparison with souls at all. To me, souls is not about the difficulty. Its about the fantasy, mystery, and exploration. This game isn't about those things, and I certainly don't feel like I'm controlling a medieval knight when I pilot my mech.

Yes, it means that too from the namesake games it's taken from. But it's also taken on a combat and design style that has some common characteristics.

When games are called souls-like, very often they're comparing combat, save, and build mechanics that mirror those games. Their designs have become very popular. For example, the boss trials in Hogwarts Legacy are described as souls-lites, since they're very similar in mechanical design but more forgiving (you can take stacks of potions and save at intervals).

finefluff · August 2023

Well, I'm not sure I agree with people that are saying that, although I haven't play AC before. I guess I would have to play the old ones to see how much it changed.

But from what I have played, I'm not feeling a similarity to souls. I guess it's similar in the sense that you can equip something in your left hand and something in your right and you use those with the trigger buttons. And also the fact that you control your character in third person. And maybe bosses have some pattern to learn. But at that point, its just "video games" not just souls.

As an aside, I never liked that the marketing and discussion surrounding souls centered on the concept of difficulty. One of the worst things in games journalism imo.

Nick_Shively · August 2023

finefluff said:

I may have not put enough time into it yet, but I don't get the comparison with souls at all. To me, souls is not about the difficulty. Its about the fantasy, mystery, and exploration. This game isn't about those things, and I certainly don't feel like I'm controlling a medieval knight when I pilot my mech.

It definitely seems to differ from person to person, but my 'take' on souls-like games is based around difficulty and combat mechanics. Souls games have incredibly difficult bosses that require you to learn their attack patterns. They also usually have a set number of potions you can bring and require management of multiple other resources. There is rarely a way to 'outgrind' bosses or content and simply require you becoming better at the game to beat them.

To me, "Its about the fantasy, mystery, and exploration" that is just being a fantasy RPG, which came way way before the dark souls franchise. The main difference being that in most standard fantasy RPGs, you can either outlevel or outgear the boss, or just bring a bunch of potions and brute force them.

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