Last year's Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is important for a few key reasons. For one thing, it's the revival of a franchise that many considered to be dead and buried, especially after FromSoftware doubled down on the soulslike formula in the 2010s. But its scope, ambition, and blending of classic design pillars with modern sensibilities says something much greater: that FromSoftware is still open to revisiting its older IP, regardless of market conditions, demand, or other similarly unexciting external factors.

Now that Armored Core is back in action, FromSoftware will need to decide what to do with it. Naturally, fans of the franchise are anticipating additional entries, and while one can only hope that this will be the case, it might be equally gratifying for FromSoftware to dedicate itself to Armored Core 6 for the time being. With a few notable exceptions, FromSoftware has released DLC for all of its major, blockbuster releases from the past decade or so, with Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree marking the pinnacle of the studio's creativity and ambition regarding post-launch content. Put plainly, FromSoftware should not only keep this ball rolling, but kick it out of the field of soulslikes and into the field of Armored Core.

Armored Core 6 pilot Raven with a dramatic scene in the background
One Year Later, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon Proves the Series Still Has Legs

Armored Core made its triumphant return last year with Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, injecting new life into the franchise.

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Armored Core 6 Deserves a Show-Stopping DLC Like Shadow of the Erdtree

Armored Core 6's World Shouldn't Sleep So Soon

Rubicon 3 and its complex political entities, all wielding incomprehensible power through their private AC militias, sets the stage for an entrancing and disturbing science-fiction narrative. It's a premise that is likely unfamiliar to most FromSoftware fans, specifically those following the studio in the years after Demon's Souls, when high fantasy, with some detours into historical fiction and cosmic horror, became its modus operandi. But it's no doubt an alluring alternative.

The sci-fi landscape of Armored Core 6 is fascinating and horrifying, with the same emphasis on environmental storytelling as the Souls games, though with an admittedly different overall structure. Another similarity it shares with the likes of Dark Souls and Elden Ring is the sense of dense history conveyed through small details. The backstories of characters like Carla, Iguazu, and ALLMIND, which comprise this history, could be further detailed through DLC. Such an expansion would also be a great opportunity for Armored Core 6 to take its more nebulous and cerebral science-fiction concepts to the next level, making for a more mind-bending and multilayered narrative experience.

An Armored Core 6 DLC Could Provide Great Gameplay Opportunities

The Armored Core gameplay loop is a decidedly unique one, wherein the process of build-crafting and upgrading is intricately linked to every other element of the game. Indeed, while AC6 is usually considered to be part of the action genre, its granular stat-tweaking makes it feel more like a strategy or hardcore RPG at times, since planning and forethought are often just as important, if not more so, than the moment-to-moment gameplay.

It feels almost unfair to ask for this system to be further fleshed out—it's quite comprehensive already—but it's easy to imagine how it could be. Shadow of the Erdtree added a whopping eight new weapon categories to Elden Ring, each with its own attributes and movesets, so maybe an AC6 DLC could do something similar, introducing new damage types or even mobility options, as these are among the best customization options in the base game; the important thing would be that this new gear meaningfully expand the gameplay of Armored Core 6. Coupled with a new, illuminating narrative and exciting areas to explore, an AC6 expansion with the same effort and panache as Shadow of the Erdtree could be a true home run.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon Tag Page Cover Art
9 /10

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
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Action
Shooter
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
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Released
August 25, 2023
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
From Software
Publisher(s)
Bandai Namco Studios
Engine
Elden Ring engine
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
Franchise
Armored Core
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Combining FromSoftware’s longstanding expertise in mech games with their signature action gameplay, ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON brings a brand-new action experience to the series.

Dynamic, Omni-directional Battles Players will pilot their mech in fast-paced, omni-directional battles, taking advantage of massive stages and their mech’s mobility on land and in the air to ensure victory.

Customized Parts for Individual Battle Styles Customize Armored Core parts to suit a large variety of playstyles. Selecting different parts not only changes the mech’s attacks, but also directly affects its movement and battle style, so each mission can be approached with a unique mech strategy.

Thrilling Boss Battles Deploy a wide variety of offensive and defensive tactics at close and long range to take down powerful enemy bosses.

Genre(s)
Action, Shooter
How Long To Beat
17 Hours
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty