Honestly the story was one of the standout surprises to me. Does anyone else feel the same? I never played the older AC's but I was not expecting how hype the story was.
I should have talked more about the story. Its a cool story, armored core has always been behind when it comes to story and this is an improvement. I simply didnt understand it and wanted to see more of a mercenary type story that didnt get all supernatural. Edit: I lie. for answer and last raven had an excellent story.
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 I loved the story, and I think there's quite a bit left ambiguous which is arguably another influence Souls has had on it. I was surprised by how endearing some of the characters are and how much harder it makes some of the decision missions.
@@vacuumsleeve Rusty and Michigan are two of the best characters i think any FromSoft games have had. They really felt alive and Rusty's "I wont miss" was just so bad ass.
I am honestly torn on it on the one hand the everything is one ending is neat enough as is with its ambiguity but a bit more explanation would also be nice and on the other hand dystopian mech military industrial complex and the horrors of AI and its potential effect on humanity are simple yet interesting enough concepts that would have been more then interesting enough to explore
I feel like the worldbuilding and characters have been very good so far and I'm at end of chapter 4 on my first playthrough so idk if things go completely off the rails but I'm sensing some Eva style things potentially going on. Also this is for sure an AC game and feels like one, but it does have the issue of getting rid of a few of the limitations from previous games (which 4a basically did too). I do miss having the camera be tied to where your AC is facing. I miss the ability to cut your boosters off mid air in order to execute a 180 when you land and slide like you could in V (which it seemed like nobody even knew you could do but was super useful), and I miss the ability to jump off walls and buildings like in V which I think was satisfying when you ran out of momentum.
Good review, one thing I like that they added was the mini-videos you can watch for weapons while in the part shop. So you can see what it does before you buy it. Such a good QoL for new players to learn about the weapons.
One thing that is not mentioned enough is character development. This is the first and only AC game to feature any character development of any kind. Characters actually change over the course of the story. Many gaining a true fear of Raven. Have to say though, V.III Pater having an outright panic attack while trying to come to terms with everything that happened was insanely well done.
i love that you can replay missions right away. i am trying to S rank all missions as i go. if i can’t S rank it, i try to A rank it at leat, and return later when i get more different weapons and parts. absolutely amazing experience.
I don't know why they don't just give you a rank the first time you play a mission. you already have to replay them all for the 3 playthroughs so why require a 4th+ time for S rank
@@codesymphony yeah, would be better to get ranks right away. i think it’s done to not to upset everyone with C and D ranks as they go through the game and explore levels.
It more so says something abt the modern consoomers. If people stop paying for unfinished, gamepass/lootcrate paid dlc type games studios would change since money is the only thing they care about
And a bunch of free cosmetics in the form of paints and decals that come with the game at no extra cost, are unlocked from the beginning and no grind to get them. Lets hope AC6s' success changes the standards of gaming in a significant way regarding nice little things that were free in games before now costing money {usually lots} to get access to nowadays,
WHat I have been impressed with is that 4 decade eras later, they really stayed true to the ac being about the mechs, and not trying to involve primary human characters or involving a more involved story line than you are hired to take down other machines, and other ACs. And also the realism and defined backgrounds. Master of Arena is one of my faves for giving a sense of atmosphere, and they just seem to have built and stayed true to that.
@siberian4097 did we play the same game is an appropriate question for what you're trying to say. the easiest and probably most common ending everyone would get is the one where we are the villain. in ng1, we are the villain no matter what choice we take. we are framed that way. the funniest thing is that the better ending is where you support a lifeform that is nonhuman. other humans that do things that further humanity's goals are the bad guys. oops. this stays true to the ideology that's existed ever since the first armored core: corporate greed and the consequences of the arms race. corporations are a staple, and they build walking flying tanks to destroy the other. nineball is one of the most arms raced mf. wouldn't you say ac4 is not an ac game too? just because we pilot nexts and not acs? have you really played the game at all?
Yeah I think the game is incredible. In my opinion I actually do think it still feels like an Armored Core game, mostly because it felt like my knowledge and experience from playing the series in anticipation of this game was actually a benefit to me. I found myself making a lot of decisions both in the garage and out on missions that I would have made in other AC games. It required the same mindset and a similar set of skills. I actually think the bosses with wind up attacks that can be reacted too fit quite well, and some of them are really fun to fight. It was the one "Souls like" element I had no qualms with them adding to the game because I kinda knew it'd be a fun addition. As for the difficulty, I actually don't think the game is as hard as people are acting like it is. Last Raven is definitely still a harder game than this. I didn't really get hard stuck on anything for more than maybe an hour tops, which I don't consider to be that big of a roadblock. I kinda just tend to think if I can beat a game it must not be *that* hard, but I have had a few people tell me that I probably am better at Armored Core than I think I am lol. It's just such a viscerally satisfying game to play. As for how anime the game feels, I dunno man, I always got anime vibes from the old games too, especially For Answer. Mechs are just bound to feel anime. Talking to a dead lady in the FF7 life stream was a bit jarring, but I think that's justified by the game saying Coral can act as a data conduit, so I can kinda excuse it. I enjoyed the story, it kept me engaged and I liked the characters a lot. I think it says something that when I fought a few of the characters it was less of a "Get dunked on loser" feeling and more of an "It's been an honor fellow pilot" feeling, if that makes sense. But yeah, strong GotY contender for me. From Software's putting out great stuff like they usually do.
Nah this games a masterpiece y’all buggin. big terminator futuristic vibes the music the gameplay the straight to action no bs heart pumping well made bosses with lasers lol I love it man I don’t care what anyone says goty. ALLMIMD👁
@@mallow2902 I will say I am getting a bit tired of From Software's need to be like "look at this completely overpowered boss that kills you in 2 hits, good luck loser" Like you dont need to prove how big your balls are you MADE the game, we get it. Seriously some bosses abilities hit for 8k without stagger and thats just fucking dumb. And the dodge system has to be near perfect because the computer literally auto predicts where you'll be and hits you EVERY time unless your dodge is completely on point. Subsequent playthroughs yes, I get the 'nice fight my guy' feeling but the first one its just a giant F-you every time. Except the Arena it was pretty balanced, getting S-Rank wasnt all that frustrating.
Armored core is in thier votoms phase with this one's story. And about the, let's say secret dungeon mission series, it kind of makes sense ludonarratively in the sense the corps aren't fighting at the time and the other faction is busy so you and the people operating there are kind of like forward scouts during those missions so it makes sense that you would be able to go back to base camp during that time in the narrative
I think he was refering to the underground section that has 3 sections and each are a misson and then the fourth is going under the underground base. Which as i was playing i thought do they just have AC mecanics stations or are we just leaving for a day then coming back 3 seperate times.
Yeah that's how I saw that sequence of missions. You take out the big laser at the bottom of the elevator shaft and presumably any remaining enemy forces just abandon post after that point so 621 is free to climb and ascend at leisure to go back to the garage.
Finally. A lot of stuff I agree, I felt the parts were a bit lacking, I'm disappointed there are no radar on the back or on the head of the AC. It was a small but really immersive touch for me. Machine guns are not that powerful (especially on online pvp), and from what I've unlocked so far, I don't see any energy machine guns. I miss Vanguard Overboost and the insane japanese mecha feel that FA brought. It feels like this AC was an actual test run and it was too safe. This was what the discussions should be about. Not about "If AC is souls-like" but "Is AC being an action game and super casual friendly is a good move for the future of the series". Tons of nuanced discussions to be talked about, tons of legacy and new features to be combed through. Let it happen.
Yeah I fucking love this game, but it does sortve feel like a little side project. I mean if you look at the effort put into elden ring compared to the effort put into AC6, it's almost laughable.
honestly From Soft played it too safe as people are expecting it is what it is "souls-like" but everyone in the community outside of the souls games knows it shouldnt be and then having more eyes glued to it really shows that they played safe for the sake of placating a lot of those eyes but otherwise for me its a good stepping stone tone down the complexity and then re-acquaint them to the said complexity also by using 5th gen as the base which is infact one of the easiest AC generation to pick up and play does show a lot of potential it isnt as jarring as say going from AC3-Nexus where they implemented the right analog stick controls. or putting obtuse elements like 2nd staging in 4th gen likewise it is my take on DxM do not go in all hard with the numbers put a baseline and then complicate it later there are general things I didnt like in AC6 but most of them involve UIX, like I almost wanted to have a customizable HUD which all ACs had, and the low energy sound is too muffled in the chaos
I agree that this game was a safe entry. But I also think this was a good move on FromSoftware. People already complain about the game's difficult spikes, so I think if they stuck to the traditional formula, it would have left a bad tastes in newcomer experience. That said, i think with all the positives this entry does have, we can safely assume DLC, and maybe, future entry. Honestly, this game is 10 out of 10 in my book. You can really feel the experience of all of FromSoftware's knowledge from previous games really shine in this game. All in all, well done FromSoftware, well done.
My two cents to this discussion: yes, it is a good move that ACVI is so casual friendly, because if Fromsoft decides to make more AC games in the future ACVI will be the entrypoint for 99% of people. Look, I like the older games as much as the next guy, but let's face it, Armored Core games as they were wouldn't be financially viable at all nowadays. Making games costs more than ever before, and the relatively small AC community wouldn't be enough to financially sustain an entire franchise without some major compromises. ACVI feels like Fromsoft asking the world, "Do y'all still want Armored Core?". It's important that we answer "Yes" right now, so down the line Fromsoft will be able to develop new takes on old aspects like the debt system, and DLC for ACVI. So yes, this direction they are taking is not only good, but necessary for the survival of the franchise.
Some thoughts on the story: It's less supernatural than it seems. Coral is frequently called a 'data conduit', so Ayre and the voices are a form of sentience that emerged from within the Coral. Whether it assimilated the consciousness of the humans burned in the fires or is a naturally occurring sentience/AI is the question. ALLMIND remarks that Ayre's siblings would 'welcome' them, possibly hinting that Ayre and the voices are, like ALLMIND, artificial. But that seems to spark the questions about humanity; Ayre has shown you human emotion and a will to live, whereas ALLMIND only seeks to perfect itself and assimilate everyone into a perfect being, losing their humanity in the process. Rusty asks frequently in his duel what 'drives' 621, and finally remarks "There's no graver threat than power without purpose", seemingly indicating that seeking power without a will or purpose is dangerous, possibly leading to one losing their 'humanity'. Iguazu represents that best, shedding his humanity by assimilating with ALLMIND with a vague hope of defeating 621 (lacking a true 'purpose'); while Ayre's purpose, liberating her siblings, gives her 'humanity', despite possibly not being truly 'human'.
Now that i read your take on coral and allmind. It makes me think if iguazu maybe was the wrong choice of allmind because his burning purpose(what is defined as Human)to kill us counteracted allmind‘s actual idea of perfection. The whole banter between them in this fight makes even more sense this way.
The trailers made it seem like Walter was gonna be more villainous then he actually ended up being, same with the whole barely alive corpse thing the traialers had. Zone of the enders 2 kinda had a similar premise of the protag only being kept alive by the mech they pilot
@derek96720 tbf, they remastered both of them a couple years ago. I could never find the 2nd game when I was young so finding the remastered versions was a nice treat
I LOVE the game, as a veteran raven this game is amazing but at the same time, it’s clear ALOT have been omitted, which is a shame, but somthing dlc or a patch could easily add. I miss the overed weapons, I feel the os system could’ve been way more. The arena felt empty I won’t lie and NO refenece to nine ball. And mannn only two quad legs? Like why, but overall I LOVED this game and it feels like they loved making it, hopfully we get more before the shadows of the erdtree dlc
I will say I feel like that erdtree dlc is what’s coming out next then we are going to get new armored core stuff. I do hope for some good mission picks to play through with some new weapons. As a very big, I wish to happen but it likely won’t. The ability to set up custom arena matches would be great.
@@gammakay521I hope they do a spinoff with a bunch of new parts and the ability to transfer my save again. Shit would be hype af, and every fromsoft fan would know the days before soulsborne
Ive though about this a lot, part of me wonders if this was intentional so there is something to add for future games since this is a true reboot. They had plenty of time to implement things - hiring AI alies - we have allies, they could have easily implemented a chose system pre-mission. We truly are missing a lot - namely many parts that are standard in old games. Wheres the radiator???
10:00 I think the reason they locked features behind arena fights is to make the game more accessible. You unlock new features gradually. First you have garage, ok, then shop, more depth, then loghunt, then you get to OS tuning and start unlocking new features/buttons to push one by one. It makes very easy to follow all the new things seamlessly, unlike a lot of games where you get feature dump at the beginning and feel overwhelmed.
Idk if it's just me but I hate the sekiro style stagger system in Armored Core 6. It's makes the boss fights favor specific builds and not a level of freedom you had in all previous titles where you could win with any build, if you were skilled enough. As for the repair kits I wouldn't mind them if I could use them while firing and boosting. They seem to unreliably activate unless I'm at a complete standstill. The only other thing I dislike about the new Armored core is the less variety of parts. Still an amazing game, but as a Armored core life fan I personally feel this games a 6 out of 10 because of these major issues. I do love the game play and the story though. Easily one of the better story drive AC games.
imo the customization in this game felt the lamest in the series. no inside slots, no extension slots, no optional part slots, no core functions (anti missile system, hangar units, OV/EO function), no head functions (radar, com voice, com detail), arms dont have energy supply stat now thats on the generator you dont need to swap your arms depending on the weapon, most of the leg parts are bipedal, being able to fire back weapons while using your primary weapon turns the back slots into something you have to fill to maintain good dps instead of something you'd want to fill to complement your build. really the customization feels too focused on the weapons. making your frame really just boils down to picking your preference in a health to weight ratio
im also gonna say that i really wanted the pvp to be more than just the arena with other players. i kind of wanted this game to be fromsoft halo and have big maps with big teams and objectives to pursue and maybe some powerups on the map but whatever
Some of these should stay in the past ngl. If they continue the series they should add more things yes but within reason. If they add back all the shit the games had back in the day the series will just get droped again due to the audience refusing to bother with all that
07:30 In all fairness, that was also present in Armored Core V. The story had sizable time jumps up until the latter half, where they pretty much took place after each other immediately.
Dragons dogma ost playing over this review is quite a pleasant surprise. I loved your take, including the draw backs, hope they release more in a dlc or something to add more or fix some things. I was waiting for your review specifically and I'm happy to see it from an AC vet.
They should make a co-op PVE game mode that everyone starts fresh and new vote to pick a mission in the further you go, the harder the missions get and they can add the debt and everyone gets three lives and you can buy more lives but it gets more expensive 🤓
I actually really like the changes to the bosses. I always felt like the majority of big boss fights in AC games were let downs, either jank as hell or too easily killable. It gave me the feeling of the big bosses being a step down from the AC duels. The changes to the bosses in 6 really brings the fun factor of big boss fights up to that of the AC duels.
@@siberian4097 What loadouts were you using that had you feeling that way? Not every build needs to be stagger focused with a Pilebunker for big chunky damage. You gotta admit that it's at the very least an improvement from bosses like Stigro, Cabracan, Project Phantasma, or Leviathan.
Yeah that’s a dumb complaint to me - the boss fights in previous games were usually pretty mediocre. The idea of the fight would be cool - but then you get there and you’re basically just solving a puzzle or passing a build check.
@@ArchOfficial Game is selling very well according to reports, I would not be surprised if it gets DLC. It will definitely not take 10 years for a sequel.
@@Krystalmyth Probably. It's also been in development for probably about ten years, with 5+ of active. If it didn't make enough of a profit then JP publishers might do the JP publisher thing. Although I don't think so, it'd be a bit silly.
@@pablogonzalezhermosilla4210 I doubt it, because there has been talk of an AC game earlier than that, and the first time freelancers worked on it was in 2019 or so. Games typically have at least two years of pre-production, so...
As a lifelong AC fan since Project Phantasma, I think I agree with basically everything you've said. It feels incredibly different from any other AC game. It's been over a decade since the last game and I understand a lot of the changes that were made but I also wish that some of the old mechanics were more present and some other stuff from my wishlist. The total removal of heat for everything except select weapons was silly to me. The progression of the parts and the number of parts were very strange to me as well. There's (I think?) no hover legs, and we sadly didn't get anything particularly revolutionary for leg parts (like the 4 wheel parts I've been asking for since Ninebreaker). The story had some cool points but I was also let down by the lack of shades of gray, with the nature of the augments only really explored in short text blurbs and combat logs. OS Tuning is very meh to me, and I think that we'll probably find out that a lot of cut content was left on the shop floor. No part unlocks for arena, no hidden parts in chapter 1, loads of places that look like they should have secrets but don't, "secret" parts sometimes plopped right in front of you like they had nowhere to put it, and no weapon arms or double back weapons. Despite that, there's still a lot to love and I do think that after 10 years I'm glad our first new Armored Core wasn't a stinker. I agree mostly with the scenery but wish that there was even more detailed destruction related to the mech's weight (like buildings buckling under you after a hard landing). I also LOVED the sandstorm on the Strider mission and wish there were more crazy weather events like snowstorms or ash storms or earthquakes. All the sounds do absolutely sound pretty awesome. The FCS changes were also a very interesting change and with the changes in targeting it made perfect sense. Generators as well are much cooler and actually feel different now. Literally the ONLY gripe I have with painting is that you can't put decals on weapons and a few of the patterns suck. I really do think that From has made a great game, and even as a grumpy old-timer I smile knowing that Armored Core is back. I hope and pray that From supports this game post-launch and I'd love to see mission packs (because the most fun I had in missions was the huge battles with allies present and the cool depth exploration underground), part packs, new patterns, emblem packs from classic games (even if it's just to complete my Evangel build lol), and multiplayer content.
What would be the difference between tank legs and four wheel legs besides the optics? Edit: I totally agree with the change of weather part, would've been awesome to have more of it like thunderstorms, earthquakes as you mentioned, and maybe some crazy shit like a meteor rain but it's something they'll probably expand upon in future games
I understand that the tetrapod legs have a hover mechanic now but old hoverlegs were their own category. They had medium-light load limits and were incredibly fast in side to side movement and above average in forward/backward but felt "slippery" and drifted a bit.@@F3z07
i would have been way more down with the stagger mechanic if it wasn't the only option for basically all fights. when they initially announced it, i thought it was going to be something like heat damage, etc., in other games.
Yeah I tried using laser weaponry only to realize it felt like I was doing a lot less damage despite the fact they deal a lot more. Then I realized I had been aiming for that stagger mechanic as a primary defense AND offense, the whole game revolved around it. It absolutely is mecha sekiro. I didn't want to admit to it playing through it, but looking back on it after having 100%'ed it, it is.
Ya I’ve had mixed feeling back and forth both ways with the stagger throughout this first playthrough I’m on. At first I felt it shoulda only been for the big end of chapter bosses, but then I started engaging with it more deliberately and was having fun with it and aiming for stagger also became a defensive strat when I could just regroup while the enemy i’m fighting is staggered and let my EN fully recharge in peace, etc. but now I’m starting to realize ya exactly, my build just always has to have heavy reliance on explosives if I’m aiming to stagger. I’ve barely used pulse weapons cept maybe every once in a while a pulse riffle in my off hand or a laser cannon on my back to do big damage while they’re staggered. I mean I still think it’s a fun idea, but in terms of the overall game design it really just makes certain builds and weapons the correct ones if you wanna do big damage. Honestly would be cool if they just removed all the stagger stats and mechanic in a DLC in an option to play “no stagger mode” or something. Will never happen lol but would be really cool. Or if they rebalanced the game where it wasn’t just that one weapon type is thee stagger weapon type and the other is not. Very bizarre design decisions, I’m realizing more and more as I play.
@@JackWilkos i didn't use the flamethrowers too much, but from what i remember, they do build stagger on bigger foes and ACs, even if it's not as fast as something like chainguns or zimmermans.
@@stop88729 I didn't say that they don't build stagger, I said that you can more or less cook anything without staggering them once. Those are two different things.
i agree with pretty much everything AAG says in this vid. my biggest criticisms about this game are: 1) not enough parts, the list needs to be atleast twice as big. 2) the booster not just being on 100% by default AND you cant cut it off mid flight to drop fast. 3) the game's story doesnt let you feel like a real mercenary. theres no real agency in your choices as youre being forced down walter's path. 4) some times you hit tab, some times you click, some times you have to lift your hand off the keyboard or mouse and push enter in the middle of your keyboard, not the one on the right, instead of all of those working as a way to advance the screens/ dialogue ect. 5) some of these bosses arent armored core bosses, theyre literally souls bosses, with souls mechanics AND you dont get any I frames when you quick boost, it feels really bad. to me, this game is an 8 out of 10. 4Answer being a 9/10 and last raven being 8.5/10
I appreciate your more critical analysis even though I don’t fully agree, it does feel different than previous AC games but I really enjoy the changes to the games feel. It feels exactly how I was hoping it would, it only took what made sense from the souls games so it still feels like an AC game.
the whole game also doesn't feature any human at all, in any capacity (except for drawings in logs i guess), because it plays well with the context that, whatever is happening on rubicon, humanity (as in being humane, being morally good) has already been far removed. especially when certain characters operate human-like despite them not being humans, i think they wanted you to question whether the decisions and actions of all these "people", and while i definitely felt good in my power trips, they always end up with the sense of dread, as in every end of chapter, you'd think "what have i done". a moment where i thought was excellently done was when you encounter a boss, but the framing and composition puts your character at the faaaar back, and the boss at the fore front. usually, drama, movies, etc., especially video games, frame the good guy closer to the audience because they would be more relatable, but in the scene i mentioned, the boss is placed closer to the players. i felt like the game was definitely telling me power trip all i want, i am the bad guy
"the checkpoints did feel like an excuse to make is souls style difficult" Ironically this is a complaint I can level at the souls games themselves. I liked the levels and bosses in demons souls more than any other game in the series because they're one complete level that you're expected to be able to do before a boss, no bonfires outside the fog gate. As a result you don't have some of the hilarious difficulty gate bosses like in the later series that just knowledge check you until you learn the exact right time miyazaki wants you to press the dodge button, because the level itself leading to the boss is part of the bosses difficulty.
Greatly appreciate this review! THIS is how reviews should be, actually critical, pointing out both negatives and positives. Neither outright shitting on the game nor praising it as if its the best thing ever. Very balanced take.
I'm glad you ended up liking it and had fun. I agree with the points about the OST since it was more ambient. I don't necessarily agree with these telegraphed setpiece bosses being something "Souls" style any moreso than anything else like Nier Automata or something and rather it was modernized. I felt like if they had a redo today on stuff like Phantasma ,2 final boss ,Pulverizer, 2AA NB it would've looked something more like the stuff you see later in the game (in AC6) even if Souls games didn't exist just based on the stuff they'd take from other none FS-games in general to be an evolution of stuff you see in the previous couple gens. The AC fights definitely felt AC as heck to me. The checkpoints and healing are pretty ehhhh, I would've preferred no heals with higher AP to compensate so build defense matters more for factoring but I guess since the missions were longer they didn't want to roadblock anyone having trouble making it up to that point with a certain build that would be advantageous in the second half. I'm not a fan of the radar either and would've preffered an older style one.
@@siberian4097 I don't link video game heals to estus either anymore than I do for the people months ago who thought checkpoints were going to be literal souls bonfires and not classic video game checkpoints (and in this case classic video game health potions) but yeah I think the healing mechanics are lame and thought the original video point about it just being there as a stress "Oh shit I gotta heal or I'll die!" excuse instead of having 2x the health but no heals and the checkpoints too pervasive (But I too also saw this as just officiating the random times you'd get full healed/full resupplied randomly in earlier games). Agree to disagree for the bosses. I plain think this is the route they were always going to go going off stuff like how Exusia or Pulverizer moved and attacked for the scale of what you're piloting right now even without Souls hypothetically not existing. While this is probably this gimmick of the generation/director influence, I'm not a fan of the importance of the stagger mechanic to have these larger damage windows instead of it being averaged out over fire.
Visually AC6 very much so borrows from Nier Automata. It's the first thing I thought of when I saw footage. I wonder if some of the same FX and environment artists who worked on Automata worked on AC6, with how freelancer-oriented the industry is nowadays.
This game is the transitional game to Armored Core like Armored Core V was. Different controls, looks, and features. Yet it still remains fun and vertical movement became really important. Tank legs then became Intial D.
My biggest issue in this game is the stagger bar, and what having it did to the enemies. The only effective way to win is the cheese the stagger mechanic. You don't even have to remove it entirely. Just lower enemies health across the board, or remove whatever damage resist they gave them, and take away the damage boost of the stagger. You get enough damage in just from stunning them and getting free hits. This way you can win even without a stagger-heavy build, and not feel like you're pulling teeth.
I think the scaling for the game is accurate. A video from Zulie showed how massive an armored core is so that crane is probably used for the material thats sitting on its left (your right). That's just a normal human sized crane for regular materials. The population is just so large that the buildings end up being even larger than the armored core itself. But the overall scale is actually super accurate. Edit: Good video tho
crossing my fingers for DLC, that would probably solve the parts and pvp maps issues too since more of both would likely get added with a DLC expansion
As someone who just joined the AC club with 6, and only played Daemon X Machina before this- I fucking LOVED it. It's unironically one of my favorite games of all time- its just so fast and action packed, it's so much fun. I really hope we get some DLC and the success of AC6 gets AC7 greenlit in a timespan that isn't a decade+
My only complaint is the gimmicky bosses, as I found way more fun with the dogfights than asymmetrical combat. And no, I don't think they're too difficult or anything, I never got stuck on a boss (and one or twoshot several, including ibis), and didn't look up a guide/build and just used what I wanted to use.
@@greynand8466more likely an ac6 dlc Given it already has a subtitle, what wouldve been the subtitled game of gen 6 armored core will likely be dlc this time
S tier AC game losing only to AC4FA due to music and some story aspects that can still retroactively improve with a sequel. * SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Liberator of Rubicon and Fires of Raven endings were heartretching and amazingly well done. I am pretty sure those endings "happened" as Coral memories. Several character dialogues hint at knowing Raven. Flatwell specifically is convinced Raven will cause all of Rubicon to burn, even on a playthrough unrelated to the Fires of Raven. The Final ending slightly incomplete/wrong. We never learned about Kate or the other Raven, were they both Allmind clones? Why did other Raven have a Handler if part of Allmind? Iguazu rage was hilarious. He should have continued cursing us until the final explosion. Made no sense seeing him attempt one last blade attack while spewing an envy line of regret. Rusty got a line mid fight from Allmind. Did he die off screen in this route or does Allmind need the pilot to be dead to copy it? Allmind kept saying that Raven and Ayre were required for the Coral release and intended to sacrifice us for it to function. Why did Ayre suddenly know how to cause the Coral release? Story is insanely well set for a sequel. Meme complaint regarding size scaling. We spent 30 missions looking for the coral convergence and nobody thought to check the MOON SIZED STRUCTURE IMPALING THE PLANET?!
6:35 you've not played with attention to the story, and, 621 is a human that can walk and make normal things(as in chapter 5 he switches between stay on the ground to enter in the old AC to escape).
My only complaint is weapon balancing, there’s a lot of stats that don’t make sense on weapons and most weapons are outright not a feasible choice, and so long as the shotguns that might aswell be shoulder weapons exist there’s no reason for anything else especially with how some can’t even do the damage if you hit as consistently as possibly to break ac or do damage. And ammo… some guns are literal trash but have a third of the ammo pool of stronger weapons like the burst pistol, the needle gun and the burst weapons all have abysmal ammo pools for less performance in the first place
Just something to add to 16:40 - you can also disable the patterns on each section (main, sub and so on) individually. So if you just want to have the sub sections have a pattern, you can turn it off for all the other sections and have them in their normal set color.
This is my first AC game, I've made it a few missions deep into chapter 5. And as many times ive wanted to smash my contoller, ive never felt the need to look up a "meta build"
I am one to fall into the, „i want to beat it with my actual build“ trap. But i learned pretty early on that if something feels unfair it is exactly this i have to build around. ^^
I think opening with addressing statements from the prior video and then the negatives was the right choice. Much of these complaints you go over, are valid issues, and aren't getting talked about enough. At least from what I've seen. Too many are riding a line, afraid to make any "unpopular" opinions. But many of these issues are issues that people who've played past entries are likely to pick up on. Where they fall on the topics will of course vary. Also, stating outright that inspite of these issues, the game itself, as a package, is still a fun and enjoyable game. Just, kind of missing some notes and flare where it needed it, and adding those bits of extra where it really didn't. TLDR, hat's off for a good topic discussion video, and thank you.
It's definitely not a bad game but it doesn't feel like an armored core game and I honestly couldn't get past that part. I still play 4th gen so that also doesn't help lol
@@XmarcX92I think the problem with “isn’t armored core” in a general sense is that armored core has changed its “feeling” like four times lol. People have a way different view depending on which ones they started with, and was the same point against 4 when it came out and against V when it came out. The amount of doomposting about 4 being “generic high speed mech game” was intense back then lol. Not surprised to see it coming around again.
I feel like PVP needs some more incentives, not major ones, but some. Maybe a ranking system that unlocks unique emblems or even letting you collect other players' AC data and custom decals after each match.
I disagree on the difficulty: From Soft nailed it. It's much better imho having harder, but repeatable fights, than easy/easier non-repeatable ones. Having the ability to come back later to a fight after the arena matches, buying new parts, cooling down, having a glass of water or just sleeping off a bad day, beats not playing because if you mess up a few missions, you lose out on a lot of content/currency, and you're not gonna have a good experience. I quite liked OS tuning and repair kits, giving a sense of progression and customization, making the fights more dynamic, and I quite liked all of the bossess so far (Started Chapter 4): Balteus was a big hurdle at first, but now that I found a good strategy I flexed on it. Also, while watching Ongbal might help fighting a few bossess, it's so much fun finding the right combination for your style of play (Napalm+Stun Baton are lovely). Other than that, it's so nice to hear so many prospectives on the game~ Happy Hunting Ravens!
My only major problem is with the lack of maps We only go to the desert area once, and that’s for a mini boss Also can’t wait for the mods, right now all we have are lighting mods, Ibis AC looks so damn cool The voice actors were extremely good imho, especially Hector, sorry i mean Walter, and Rusty
I thoroughly enjoyed this game start to finish, this was my first ac game The heart pumping action, the sense of scale. I’ve played every from game and I honestly give this a 9/10
Nothing to add about AC6 feels, especially the stuff about "reallistic immersion" and edit: FINALLY someone else mentions the lack of quantity of parts and how the very contrasting aesthetics of gen 3/futuristic/scrap gen 5 looks clash with less combination possibilities. At least with each gen of game almost all the parts work with each other somehow. Anyway, I swear you've always got the best takes and I hope someone at From Soft hears them and takes them into consideration for patches or even a sequel.
I don't know how guys like you can no-life a game as intense as this one. I have to take a lot of breaks when I play and im not even through my first playthrough. 😮💨
Not even finished with the game yet but it's been fantastic so far. Just got done with chapter 4. My early thoughts are, I wish there were more indoor areas and maze like levels to get lost in. AC6 got rid of that type of level design due to the lack of a map and radar I assume. I think stagger is too big of a focus and there's no upside to choosing weapons that don't build up stagger as fast. It limits build variety when almost every weapon category has a clear winner at the moment but the balance can always change. Too little parts, like every AC that is first of its gen. I hope we get an AC6 expansion a year from now 😂 OST fits the game's mood perfectly and is very well made. That said, it's still at the bottom of my AC ost tier list. That's how good AC OSTs are 😅 9/10 game so far There's a lot I can nitpick about it but I'm having fun and that's what matters most.
I don’t think you were off about the Souls comparisons. The healing, multi phased bosses. It was a fun game, I had a blast with it, but it was way different. That’s not bad though! Other than AC 2 and 3, they’ve all been “their own thing” since then. (Ng++ cleared)
Honestly, my ONE big complaint you didn’t touch on, is the hud is not able to be recolored/scaled and reconfigured . Hurts those of us with vision impairment
@@Sudo_NimhI hope that the next ac game (if they make one) adds more customization to the hud. Like how they gave a lot of customization for the controls. Also, I want snipers back, it missed them.
I love it honestly. Only put in 15hrs and in mid chapter 3. And it’s been since 4 answer since I touched a game and it’s refreshing to play again. Had to cheese the first chapter with quad legs but I relied on old faithful double rifle and missile launchers for the rest and arena.
The whole anime boss fight thing started all the way back in Armored Core Verdict Day. That final boss was ridiculous. It literally looked like something out of Gundam Wing.
To be fair, that final boss of Verdict Day was meant to represent the average 4A NEXT, which basically is a gundam in mobility and firepower lol. Meanwhile you were in a total piece of junk mech.
The expectation that some AC fans had about the past 10 years of Fromsoftware game development not influencing AC6 in the slightest is ridiculous. I really love the bog boss encounters, my biggest gripe with the game is that there are not more of them, the AC vs AC fights all felt kind of samey with my first tank build since I was able to just burst them down without much concern for their moveset but now that I play them with different builds they are more interesting. Random other positives: Story was amazing IMO, probably not everyones favorite but I loved it. The world design is sick, I love the massive architecture in the background and the sense of scale you get when you crash through random street signs that barely hit your kneecaps. The performance is amazing as well, never had framedrops with my old ass 1080 powering through the max settings on 1440p 120hz without breaking a sweat. If you look at the details a higher fidelity would be nice but that rarely matters and also helps with visual clarity when a bunch of shit is happening at once.
Hey if anyone gives you crap just point out that Ayre uses an attack that's straight from the Malenia fight in Elden Ring... so they're basically the same game.
Finally! Another AC vet that had a problem with this game's OST. I think mid was probably the best way to put it. It isn't bad and is fitting for the tone they are going for with it being more ambient, but when you compare it to the bangers of the old games it just doesn't stack up. You'd at least think they'd go crazy with the music in the arena since there isn't any story there and yet its still lacks energy there too. Maybe they'll add some nice new songs in some dlc like they did with VD.
Tbf that’s like the one of the few memorable themes, but I agree balteus’s theme was my favorite part of the fight. The main issue is bad sound mixing making the ost too hard to hear. That and the fact that the majority of the music simply didn’t go anywhere it was either atmospheric are a dud like the basic arena theme (which sucks since the part that plays when the ac and its pilot gets announced looked like it was going somewhere).
Finally, a balanced take. Honestly, the room for improvement makes me more excited than anything else. This game is so fun already, imagine if a sequel brings all of it up to 11.
Have not heard anyone say that AC6 voice acting is bad. What would they mean? Its so damn amazing, sometimes even random npc's I feel had too much effort put into them. I even found english VA better at most points, especially at expressing Corps when talking over the radio. For soundtrack imo (tinfoil hat on ) perhaps they did not want to put off newcomers? This whole game screams the same- imo if they had no checkpoints, harder camera controls and etc. not so many people would be getting into the game. Or maybe they just had not enough budget... Is what I wanted to say until I sat though the credits. The music at the credits was a bop funnily enough.
I love this game. As someone who has been playing AC since 2nd gen, the only thing I would add would be cool cloaking parts for shoulders, machine gun shoulders, arm extension parts, and the ability to customize the HUD setup/color.
I agree that AC6 is a combination of all past Souls and AC games. It feels like a culmination of what they learned from both series and combined it into a very fast-paced, and fun action mecha game. I also don’t really mind that it’s so different from past iterations as even back then, the change from gen 3 to gen 4 (and even gen 4 to 5) was so drastic that I’m sure most people thought “this is the least Armored Core Armored Core game”. Bosses I didn’t mind. Tho I do wish the design of some of them was better (cough Cleaner cough) Parts are an issue. This is like AC4 all over again. Also, 15 bipeds out of a total of 24 legs? Lmao And I agree that parts don’t feel totally balanced. Some are just straight up “why should I use this when something is clearly better”. My reaction on the big city stuff used only once or twice: Yeah… it do be like that… I put a lot of time and effort into some aspects of my videos/animations that i would only ever use/do once. While it’s not game dev that’s kind of just how it is sometimes. Customization is great, I agree, but it feels like some obvious things were missing that should've been there (Mirroring decals/images, not being able to place decals on certain spots of parts for some reason, etc.) The story is great. Liked it a lot and was surprised about how good it was. Also, agree that the Emeraude briefer was absent and made the game 0/10. And the ost is… yeah it kinda sucks lmao. If you put on old games ost for missions/boss fights/pvp, it really amplifies the experience. 3v3 pvp fists only is a good fun. you should try that out if you stream the game again. Great breakdown as always Above!
Some of the criticism seemed a bit "This quality of life feature doesn't waste my time, thus bad" yeah I loved accidentally leaving a mission area and needing to restart *sure*. Definitely agree on the mechanical changes, parts shop is horribly paced and honestly I think a NG playthrough is balanced poorly; the game genuinely starts to feel much better after you finish a playthrough but that's just silly, assumes way too much investment from a new player. I thought the corporate war was good as a B plot, and still felt impactful to the A plot; The A plot really wouldn't be possibly without the corporate war of the B plot. I also disagree that the story was hard to follow, if you listen and read what the game tells you, even without finding 'secret notes' or whatever, the game spells out what's happening. If anything the nuanced details of certain aspects of the story are semi-obscured but I really don't think it's necessary to follow all that other than for extra enjoyment. As for the weapon balancing and such, I think that a lot of that was addressed and made better in a recent patch *obviously that's future knowledge so not possible to know for this video. 😅 Just thought worth mentioning for your won enjoyment if you weren't aware already. Otherwise for the most part agree, good video!
Quick addition, I also disagree on the soundtrack. I felt the same at first, but as I listened to it more over the course of the game it grew on me. I think AC fans, myself included, have a bit of bias as we've been listening to the same old AC tracks for the past decade. As you experience the new tracks more over time they just are so badass, just gotten attune to the new. Kinda like how the early soundtracks are different from the later, like AC3 vs For Answer are like totally different soundscapes. Different goals for the atmosphere of each games. AC6's vibe just fucks me up man, oppressive but optimistic. A literal glimmer of hope in this dark world, the supporting characters. God damn man the game is just so badass, no matter what I've been doing the past few weeks, my mind always wanders back to AC6. It's an addiction. 😂 Sorry if the original comment comes off a little mean-spirited, not the intent. I just love the game and love engaging with and talking about it. ❤
The sekiro-like posture system is closer to final fantasy in its function and presentation, and seems more like an example of convergent development (as in something they figured out seperately through experimentation that resembles their old system) not something they had in mind from the get-go. Also, if youve played armored core you know already that its no stranger to a new entry playing entirely differently to the last one (looking at you 4 and 5). Overall though your opinions and position were well-worded and this was interesting to listen to as a more middle-ground perspective. Most of this sounds super subjective though. Edit: had another thought i wanted to add. I think the difficulty is only comparible to souls on a surface level, as the game is much more focused on changing your entire build and playstyle to meet and overcome challenges. It is neither convenient nor recommended to do so in souls. You CAN butt your head against a wall like souls and just "out skill" a fight but skill alone probably wont get you the S rank on replays.
I fell off AC at AC4. It just changed way too much for me. To this day, I still think AC3 and Silent Line were my favorites in every way from gameplay to story to AI and bosses and secret parts and Plus/OP-I. I was an original AC and Project Phantasma player up to AC3 and SL but 4 just tossed everything and they kept with that direction. I really wanna like AC6 but it's really not looking like it's for me.
Same. I really wish controlling the mech feeling like an actual skill. And i miss the obscurity and mercinary vibe, like your an employee, uncovering secrets and mysteries. But nah... its just kinda armored core themed "modern game".. Not a bad game... just.. not quite like armored core...
@@Raphsophomes Yeah, I totally agree with that. I miss the conspiracy and the really vague and eerie kinds of things like the massive MT's and the basically unknown enemy.
Having replayed Nexus a few months prior to get the lead out, it made me really grateful how balanced the part trade-offs feel in AC6 (at least for my particular build proclivities). Nexus offered an enormous amount of customization, but very few reasonable options due to the crushing constraints on weight and cooling -- and none of the NPC ACs had these limitations, just to rub salt on the wound.
Agree with pretty much most of this video, though I feel like a lot of it is obviously very subjective like with the over the top boss fights which I personally love. I could immediately tell this wasn't like the old Armored Core games from the little I have heard and to some that will surely be a huge disappointment, but I think for what it is it's an absolutely superb game that has instantly landed itself a spot in my favorite games of all time list and given me the motivation to go back and try out the older generations to see what might(hopefully) be in store for me in a more traditional future entry into the series should this game be the beginning of the return of Armored Core. It feels like the type of franchise where it has infinite room to innovate and transform itself in any ways it wants and I really hope Fromsoft capitalize on that should they go on to create more AC games.
I'm still a little sour that there isn't just a shoulder mount gauss/railgun nor heavy machinegun or autocannon. I'm curious why I have to put a gatling gun on my shoulder slot to have that availability of item choice. I also feel the "no decent machine gun" pain, especially since (by comparison) the 'heavier' machineguns (now called assault rifles) are H O R R I B L E weapons. They are outdone on almost every single build type by other weapons. There are charge mechanics with the weapons but it feels like the only ones with useful charge attacks burn through ammo quicker than burning pine needles. Example, Nebula has 60 rounds, and a charge attack takes 3 of those rounds each, giving you 20 shots. Honestly, I'm just sad the only real direct damage weapon is the stun needle for the shoulder. It has the highest modifier for direct damage that is. It feels like the game wants to subtly push melee because it's the only way to truly capitalize on direct damage moments. It's basically why so many "boss crusher" builds have dual needles, nothing compares to it's direct damage mod and I checked. There are _VERY_ distinct weapons that rise to the surface almost immediately simply because of _what_ they do and _how_ the game's mechanics work. Oh the Zimmerman shotgun does 800~ points of stagger damage, in a game where stagger is more important than health bar, which is about as strong as most energy weapon and linear rifle charge attacks but it happens instantly and all you have to do is be right next to the enemy? Oh the stun needle has the highest amount of direct damage modifier on a five second CD? Oh, the gatling gun is one of the only actual functioning suppression-based machine guns that not only is good at baiting dodges but is also capable of racking up good levels of stagger? There is a whole pack of extremely strong weapons that I doubt I would see anything else of in most builds. I hope in a future patch there is a massive overhaul of weapon usefulness as some of these lower ranked weapons might as well not exist past a certain point in the game.
Nice video man. Glad you enjoy the game. It's a big change for the franchise for better and worse, but the real win will be if it repopularizes mech games again.
One thing I think is a little off is the balancing of high weight parts. 99% of 'heavy' weapon setups are light enough than you can use mid-weight legs just fine even if you have multiple grenade launchers and the arms weight limit stat is similarly irrelevant. There are like 3 weapons in the entire game that are actually heavy enough that you need high weight limit parts and other than those you might as well just use reverse joints or the fast tank legs on everything. I didn't find the story confusing, but what I did find strange is that there are a certain factions and characters who are presented as being a big deal at certain points in the story who then just don't do anything important and disappear from the plot before the finale. If anything it kinda felt like the endings were planned to be MORE complicated at one point and a bunch of plot points got cut to focus on the people who have a direct influence on the player character
when I got to the defend the old space port mission, and the briefing said I would have to escort an mt squad around, I thought "oh shit we finally get a bad mission" but than it was a fake out and it ended up being my favorite mission in the whole game
Yeah, AC6 could have been better but its SUCH a fresh air despite its obvious downside I personally dislike that theres very few vocal OST's in AC6, instead it follows Last Raven's Ambience theme which i honestly hate LR(Although there ARE a lot of good boss themes) I really dont mind the story, i allways see Armored Core doing fine with whatever it wants, i mean, we got Formula Front and Ninebreaker lmao And i really dont mind if AC has a Power Fantasy in them, its kinda the point Armored Core is supposed to be the bridge between Realism and Power Fantasy, so both side really shouldnt and cant complain on what the series try to achieve
I still havent completed the game but i do feel like there just arent enough AC parts.. the game is great and im just happy to see a new gen armored core, but i would personally prefer the old school style where you are able to fail missions and keep going but they are tryng to tell a story and went VD style.. i also kind of dislike the repair kit.. But overall its nice to see armored core get more attention and hopefully well get some dlc and mods :D
I agree with some of the other comments here, the story definitely pleasantly surprised me. It gives me mgs mixed with terminator vibes which is not a bad thing. As a relative newcomer to the series, its definitely grabbed my attention more than previous entries did. I can understand why more traditional AC fans might find it a bit jarring but I think for new players it gives them a bit more to get invested in.
I've beat the game and As an AC veteran I totally agree with all the your points in the negative section. Instead of it feeling like the old AC games. It feels more like Armored Souls with the Boss, Repair kit, & Checkpoints. It's hard for the sake of let's make it hard. Not because of the mechanics of the game that actually makes it hard. It felt like they just put hard boss and that's it.
Couldn't disagree more. The bosses aren't hard to be hard, they make you actually try. All of their attacks are telegraphed or have cues, and it's all avoidable. You get punished for doing the wrong thing and crushing them finally is such a thrill. It far and away made the game the most enjoyable for me atleast
Man, I'll take getting staggered because I wasn't whipping the camera around fast enough to see what's going on around me over my mech taking three seconds to turn 90 degrees to the right while taking ten shots from offscreen. The changes to controls and camera are smart imo! Also, to the point about realism and turning speed - how is it more realistic that my giant humanoid robot would have a head that can't turn to see what's around it? lol
I agree with pretty much everything except the soundtrack, i really found it incredible, maybe more discrete than older ACs but really good nonetheless ! Great review anyway :D
I will admit the sound track is lacking but maybe is preference. I do remember that every AC generation had at least some very memorable OSTs besides the main theme of the game (except AC2, I think I only liked like 2 or 3 tracks). I would have liked some more weapon variety for sure, but in retrospect I think of only in AC3:SL and AC4FA I felt there was enough variety for different AC designs I enjoyed, stabilizers in the AC4 generation helped a lot in making more unique looking ACs. Maybe if there is some DLC we may get some good new OSTs and parts.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
Honestly the story was one of the standout surprises to me. Does anyone else feel the same? I never played the older AC's but I was not expecting how hype the story was.
I should have talked more about the story. Its a cool story, armored core has always been behind when it comes to story and this is an improvement. I simply didnt understand it and wanted to see more of a mercenary type story that didnt get all supernatural. Edit: I lie. for answer and last raven had an excellent story.
@@aboveaveragegaming6120 I loved the story, and I think there's quite a bit left ambiguous which is arguably another influence Souls has had on it. I was surprised by how endearing some of the characters are and how much harder it makes some of the decision missions.
@@vacuumsleeve Rusty and Michigan are two of the best characters i think any FromSoft games have had. They really felt alive and Rusty's "I wont miss" was just so bad ass.
I am honestly torn on it on the one hand the everything is one ending is neat enough as is with its ambiguity but a bit more explanation would also be nice and on the other hand dystopian mech military industrial complex and the horrors of AI and its potential effect on humanity are simple yet interesting enough concepts that would have been more then interesting enough to explore
I feel like the worldbuilding and characters have been very good so far and I'm at end of chapter 4 on my first playthrough so idk if things go completely off the rails but I'm sensing some Eva style things potentially going on.
Also this is for sure an AC game and feels like one, but it does have the issue of getting rid of a few of the limitations from previous games (which 4a basically did too). I do miss having the camera be tied to where your AC is facing. I miss the ability to cut your boosters off mid air in order to execute a 180 when you land and slide like you could in V (which it seemed like nobody even knew you could do but was super useful), and I miss the ability to jump off walls and buildings like in V which I think was satisfying when you ran out of momentum.
Good review, one thing I like that they added was the mini-videos you can watch for weapons while in the part shop. So you can see what it does before you buy it. Such a good QoL for new players to learn about the weapons.
FYI I think its important to say I did not get to play this game early and had to pay 60$ for it!
as youtube's premier armored core gamer you'd think they'd have offered you the invite for early access smh my head
we all did
... It's still more Armored Core than Armored Core 5/Verdict Day trash. Good video.
Maybe cause u still new tuber
Hope they call u in AC7
Great review, hopefully you'll get ac7 early because we all know that will be amazing. 👍
One thing that is not mentioned enough is character development. This is the first and only AC game to feature any character development of any kind. Characters actually change over the course of the story. Many gaining a true fear of Raven. Have to say though, V.III Pater having an outright panic attack while trying to come to terms with everything that happened was insanely well done.
i love that you can replay missions right away. i am trying to S rank all missions as i go. if i can’t S rank it, i try to A rank it at leat, and return later when i get more different weapons and parts. absolutely amazing experience.
I don't know why they don't just give you a rank the first time you play a mission. you already have to replay them all for the 3 playthroughs so why require a 4th+ time for S rank
@@codesymphony yeah, would be better to get ranks right away. i think it’s done to not to upset everyone with C and D ranks as they go through the game and explore levels.
The fact that "game is complete and runs" is a positive really says something about modern AAA games
It more so says something abt the modern consoomers. If people stop paying for unfinished, gamepass/lootcrate paid dlc type games studios would change since money is the only thing they care about
And a bunch of free cosmetics in the form of paints and decals that come with the game at no extra cost, are unlocked from the beginning and no grind to get them. Lets hope AC6s' success changes the standards of gaming in a significant way regarding nice little things that were free in games before now costing money {usually lots} to get access to nowadays,
WHat I have been impressed with is that 4 decade eras later, they really stayed true to the ac being about the mechs, and not trying to involve primary human characters or involving a more involved story line than you are hired to take down other machines, and other ACs. And also the realism and defined backgrounds. Master of Arena is one of my faves for giving a sense of atmosphere, and they just seem to have built and stayed true to that.
Little known fact. The last AC game was apperently 4 decades ago... In 1983.
@@siberian4097Gundam:
@@scroom1202 90s, 2ks, 2010s, 2020s, hence 4 decade eras moron
@siberian4097 did we play the same game is an appropriate question for what you're trying to say. the easiest and probably most common ending everyone would get is the one where we are the villain. in ng1, we are the villain no matter what choice we take. we are framed that way.
the funniest thing is that the better ending is where you support a lifeform that is nonhuman. other humans that do things that further humanity's goals are the bad guys. oops.
this stays true to the ideology that's existed ever since the first armored core: corporate greed and the consequences of the arms race. corporations are a staple, and they build walking flying tanks to destroy the other. nineball is one of the most arms raced mf.
wouldn't you say ac4 is not an ac game too? just because we pilot nexts and not acs?
have you really played the game at all?
@@siberian4097last raven also hyped you up as the chosen one too also 4 had like what? 2 characters you interact with primarly
Yeah I think the game is incredible. In my opinion I actually do think it still feels like an Armored Core game, mostly because it felt like my knowledge and experience from playing the series in anticipation of this game was actually a benefit to me. I found myself making a lot of decisions both in the garage and out on missions that I would have made in other AC games. It required the same mindset and a similar set of skills. I actually think the bosses with wind up attacks that can be reacted too fit quite well, and some of them are really fun to fight. It was the one "Souls like" element I had no qualms with them adding to the game because I kinda knew it'd be a fun addition. As for the difficulty, I actually don't think the game is as hard as people are acting like it is. Last Raven is definitely still a harder game than this. I didn't really get hard stuck on anything for more than maybe an hour tops, which I don't consider to be that big of a roadblock. I kinda just tend to think if I can beat a game it must not be *that* hard, but I have had a few people tell me that I probably am better at Armored Core than I think I am lol. It's just such a viscerally satisfying game to play. As for how anime the game feels, I dunno man, I always got anime vibes from the old games too, especially For Answer. Mechs are just bound to feel anime. Talking to a dead lady in the FF7 life stream was a bit jarring, but I think that's justified by the game saying Coral can act as a data conduit, so I can kinda excuse it. I enjoyed the story, it kept me engaged and I liked the characters a lot. I think it says something that when I fought a few of the characters it was less of a "Get dunked on loser" feeling and more of an "It's been an honor fellow pilot" feeling, if that makes sense. But yeah, strong GotY contender for me. From Software's putting out great stuff like they usually do.
Nah this games a masterpiece y’all buggin. big terminator futuristic vibes the music the gameplay the straight to action no bs heart pumping well made bosses with lasers lol I love it man I don’t care what anyone says goty. ALLMIMD👁
@@crashMYbandicoot-iv8mw uhh, I think you responded to the wrong comment. I basically agreed that it's a masterpiece.
@@mallow2902 I really think that's his way of saying 'I agree with you' 😂
@@mallow2902 I will say I am getting a bit tired of From Software's need to be like "look at this completely overpowered boss that kills you in 2 hits, good luck loser" Like you dont need to prove how big your balls are you MADE the game, we get it. Seriously some bosses abilities hit for 8k without stagger and thats just fucking dumb. And the dodge system has to be near perfect because the computer literally auto predicts where you'll be and hits you EVERY time unless your dodge is completely on point. Subsequent playthroughs yes, I get the 'nice fight my guy' feeling but the first one its just a giant F-you every time. Except the Arena it was pretty balanced, getting S-Rank wasnt all that frustrating.
@@picallo1 git gud
Armored core is in thier votoms phase with this one's story. And about the, let's say secret dungeon mission series, it kind of makes sense ludonarratively in the sense the corps aren't fighting at the time and the other faction is busy so you and the people operating there are kind of like forward scouts during those missions so it makes sense that you would be able to go back to base camp during that time in the narrative
Shout out to Vottoms one of the best 80s anime out there. Mellowlink is fire too.
I think he was refering to the underground section that has 3 sections and each are a misson and then the fourth is going under the underground base. Which as i was playing i thought do they just have AC mecanics stations or are we just leaving for a day then coming back 3 seperate times.
Votoms mentioned 🎉
Yeah that's how I saw that sequence of missions. You take out the big laser at the bottom of the elevator shaft and presumably any remaining enemy forces just abandon post after that point so 621 is free to climb and ascend at leisure to go back to the garage.
Fellow votoms enjoyer
Finally. A lot of stuff I agree, I felt the parts were a bit lacking, I'm disappointed there are no radar on the back or on the head of the AC. It was a small but really immersive touch for me. Machine guns are not that powerful (especially on online pvp), and from what I've unlocked so far, I don't see any energy machine guns. I miss Vanguard Overboost and the insane japanese mecha feel that FA brought. It feels like this AC was an actual test run and it was too safe. This was what the discussions should be about. Not about "If AC is souls-like" but "Is AC being an action game and super casual friendly is a good move for the future of the series". Tons of nuanced discussions to be talked about, tons of legacy and new features to be combed through. Let it happen.
Yeah I fucking love this game, but it does sortve feel like a little side project. I mean if you look at the effort put into elden ring compared to the effort put into AC6, it's almost laughable.
honestly From Soft played it too safe as people are expecting it is what it is "souls-like" but everyone in the community outside of the souls games knows it shouldnt be and then having more eyes glued to it really shows that they played safe for the sake of placating a lot of those eyes but otherwise for me its a good stepping stone tone down the complexity and then re-acquaint them to the said complexity also by using 5th gen as the base which is infact one of the easiest AC generation to pick up and play does show a lot of potential it isnt as jarring as say going from AC3-Nexus where they implemented the right analog stick controls. or putting obtuse elements like 2nd staging in 4th gen
likewise it is my take on DxM do not go in all hard with the numbers put a baseline and then complicate it later
there are general things I didnt like in AC6 but most of them involve UIX, like I almost wanted to have a customizable HUD which all ACs had, and the low energy sound is too muffled in the chaos
FYI the heads that have more scan capability have radar on their head.
I agree that this game was a safe entry. But I also think this was a good move on FromSoftware. People already complain about the game's difficult spikes, so I think if they stuck to the traditional formula, it would have left a bad tastes in newcomer experience. That said, i think with all the positives this entry does have, we can safely assume DLC, and maybe, future entry. Honestly, this game is 10 out of 10 in my book. You can really feel the experience of all of FromSoftware's knowledge from previous games really shine in this game. All in all, well done FromSoftware, well done.
My two cents to this discussion: yes, it is a good move that ACVI is so casual friendly, because if Fromsoft decides to make more AC games in the future ACVI will be the entrypoint for 99% of people.
Look, I like the older games as much as the next guy, but let's face it, Armored Core games as they were wouldn't be financially viable at all nowadays. Making games costs more than ever before, and the relatively small AC community wouldn't be enough to financially sustain an entire franchise without some major compromises.
ACVI feels like Fromsoft asking the world, "Do y'all still want Armored Core?". It's important that we answer "Yes" right now, so down the line Fromsoft will be able to develop new takes on old aspects like the debt system, and DLC for ACVI.
So yes, this direction they are taking is not only good, but necessary for the survival of the franchise.
With the anime like battles, sometimes it reminded me of playing Zone of the Enders
ZOE was so cool :')
Some thoughts on the story: It's less supernatural than it seems. Coral is frequently called a 'data conduit', so Ayre and the voices are a form of sentience that emerged from within the Coral. Whether it assimilated the consciousness of the humans burned in the fires or is a naturally occurring sentience/AI is the question. ALLMIND remarks that Ayre's siblings would 'welcome' them, possibly hinting that Ayre and the voices are, like ALLMIND, artificial. But that seems to spark the questions about humanity; Ayre has shown you human emotion and a will to live, whereas ALLMIND only seeks to perfect itself and assimilate everyone into a perfect being, losing their humanity in the process. Rusty asks frequently in his duel what 'drives' 621, and finally remarks "There's no graver threat than power without purpose", seemingly indicating that seeking power without a will or purpose is dangerous, possibly leading to one losing their 'humanity'. Iguazu represents that best, shedding his humanity by assimilating with ALLMIND with a vague hope of defeating 621 (lacking a true 'purpose'); while Ayre's purpose, liberating her siblings, gives her 'humanity', despite possibly not being truly 'human'.
Now that i read your take on coral and allmind. It makes me think if iguazu maybe was the wrong choice of allmind because his burning purpose(what is defined as Human)to kill us counteracted allmind‘s actual idea of perfection. The whole banter between them in this fight makes even more sense this way.
so, something like Solaris?
The trailers made it seem like Walter was gonna be more villainous then he actually ended up being, same with the whole barely alive corpse thing the traialers had. Zone of the enders 2 kinda had a similar premise of the protag only being kept alive by the mech they pilot
That in that game doesn't have a literal cockpit
Getting the other endings might change your mind
Oooo we really need a new Zone of Enders with current gen graphics and fight mechanics
the villain of the story really depends on your perspective. walter could be the villain. he got that dog in him. he really could be walter white
@derek96720 tbf, they remastered both of them a couple years ago. I could never find the 2nd game when I was young so finding the remastered versions was a nice treat
I LOVE the game, as a veteran raven this game is amazing but at the same time, it’s clear ALOT have been omitted, which is a shame, but somthing dlc or a patch could easily add. I miss the overed weapons, I feel the os system could’ve been way more. The arena felt empty I won’t lie and NO refenece to nine ball. And mannn only two quad legs? Like why, but overall I LOVED this game and it feels like they loved making it, hopfully we get more before the shadows of the erdtree dlc
I will say I feel like that erdtree dlc is what’s coming out next then we are going to get new armored core stuff. I do hope for some good mission picks to play through with some new weapons.
As a very big, I wish to happen but it likely won’t. The ability to set up custom arena matches would be great.
I really dont think they would make a DLC, I think that they would rather do a spinoff title instead
@@gammakay521I hope they do a spinoff with a bunch of new parts and the ability to transfer my save again. Shit would be hype af, and every fromsoft fan would know the days before soulsborne
Ive though about this a lot, part of me wonders if this was intentional so there is something to add for future games since this is a true reboot. They had plenty of time to implement things - hiring AI alies - we have allies, they could have easily implemented a chose system pre-mission. We truly are missing a lot - namely many parts that are standard in old games. Wheres the radiator???
@@madryden5 they thankfully got rid of them back in 4th gen dude. The heat management wasn’t that fun to be honest.
10:00
I think the reason they locked features behind arena fights is to make the game more accessible. You unlock new features gradually. First you have garage, ok, then shop, more depth, then loghunt, then you get to OS tuning and start unlocking new features/buttons to push one by one. It makes very easy to follow all the new things seamlessly, unlike a lot of games where you get feature dump at the beginning and feel overwhelmed.
Idk if it's just me but I hate the sekiro style stagger system in Armored Core 6. It's makes the boss fights favor specific builds and not a level of freedom you had in all previous titles where you could win with any build, if you were skilled enough.
As for the repair kits I wouldn't mind them if I could use them while firing and boosting. They seem to unreliably activate unless I'm at a complete standstill.
The only other thing I dislike about the new Armored core is the less variety of parts. Still an amazing game, but as a Armored core life fan I personally feel this games a 6 out of 10 because of these major issues. I do love the game play and the story though. Easily one of the better story drive AC games.
imo the customization in this game felt the lamest in the series. no inside slots, no extension slots, no optional part slots, no core functions (anti missile system, hangar units, OV/EO function), no head functions (radar, com voice, com detail), arms dont have energy supply stat now thats on the generator you dont need to swap your arms depending on the weapon, most of the leg parts are bipedal, being able to fire back weapons while using your primary weapon turns the back slots into something you have to fill to maintain good dps instead of something you'd want to fill to complement your build.
really the customization feels too focused on the weapons. making your frame really just boils down to picking your preference in a health to weight ratio
im also gonna say that i really wanted the pvp to be more than just the arena with other players. i kind of wanted this game to be fromsoft halo and have big maps with big teams and objectives to pursue and maybe some powerups on the map but whatever
@@jerlbays7412This game could've been so cool with game modes like KOTH or CTF with powerups or smth
Some of these should stay in the past ngl. If they continue the series they should add more things yes but within reason. If they add back all the shit the games had back in the day the series will just get droped again due to the audience refusing to bother with all that
07:30 In all fairness, that was also present in Armored Core V. The story had sizable time jumps up until the latter half, where they pretty much took place after each other immediately.
Dragons dogma ost playing over this review is quite a pleasant surprise. I loved your take, including the draw backs, hope they release more in a dlc or something to add more or fix some things. I was waiting for your review specifically and I'm happy to see it from an AC vet.
They should make a co-op PVE game mode that everyone starts fresh and new vote to pick a mission in the further you go, the harder the missions get and they can add the debt and everyone gets three lives and you can buy more lives but it gets more expensive 🤓
Isn't modders are already planning on that.... expense money to other player mercenary is reasonable...
Or just co-op where there are lobbies and stuff has more posture and health.
I actually really like the changes to the bosses. I always felt like the majority of big boss fights in AC games were let downs, either jank as hell or too easily killable. It gave me the feeling of the big bosses being a step down from the AC duels. The changes to the bosses in 6 really brings the fun factor of big boss fights up to that of the AC duels.
@@siberian4097
What loadouts were you using that had you feeling that way? Not every build needs to be stagger focused with a Pilebunker for big chunky damage. You gotta admit that it's at the very least an improvement from bosses like Stigro, Cabracan, Project Phantasma, or Leviathan.
Yeah that’s a dumb complaint to me - the boss fights in previous games were usually pretty mediocre. The idea of the fight would be cool - but then you get there and you’re basically just solving a puzzle or passing a build check.
nonsense. they are massive hp pools that can do everything and one shot you . its lazy
Someone hasnt played the game.
Can we expect a second iteration of the generation with vast improvement like all previous gens? Id say yes
Dev costs and time for a game like this are now almost 10x. I wouldn't be so sure. I'd hope so, though.
@@ArchOfficial Game is selling very well according to reports, I would not be surprised if it gets DLC. It will definitely not take 10 years for a sequel.
@@Krystalmyth Probably. It's also been in development for probably about ten years, with 5+ of active. If it didn't make enough of a profit then JP publishers might do the JP publisher thing. Although I don't think so, it'd be a bit silly.
@@ArchOfficial5 years of development if you count from when they had the idea of returning the franchise, says official sources.
@@pablogonzalezhermosilla4210 I doubt it, because there has been talk of an AC game earlier than that, and the first time freelancers worked on it was in 2019 or so. Games typically have at least two years of pre-production, so...
As a lifelong AC fan since Project Phantasma, I think I agree with basically everything you've said. It feels incredibly different from any other AC game. It's been over a decade since the last game and I understand a lot of the changes that were made but I also wish that some of the old mechanics were more present and some other stuff from my wishlist. The total removal of heat for everything except select weapons was silly to me. The progression of the parts and the number of parts were very strange to me as well. There's (I think?) no hover legs, and we sadly didn't get anything particularly revolutionary for leg parts (like the 4 wheel parts I've been asking for since Ninebreaker). The story had some cool points but I was also let down by the lack of shades of gray, with the nature of the augments only really explored in short text blurbs and combat logs. OS Tuning is very meh to me, and I think that we'll probably find out that a lot of cut content was left on the shop floor. No part unlocks for arena, no hidden parts in chapter 1, loads of places that look like they should have secrets but don't, "secret" parts sometimes plopped right in front of you like they had nowhere to put it, and no weapon arms or double back weapons. Despite that, there's still a lot to love and I do think that after 10 years I'm glad our first new Armored Core wasn't a stinker. I agree mostly with the scenery but wish that there was even more detailed destruction related to the mech's weight (like buildings buckling under you after a hard landing). I also LOVED the sandstorm on the Strider mission and wish there were more crazy weather events like snowstorms or ash storms or earthquakes. All the sounds do absolutely sound pretty awesome. The FCS changes were also a very interesting change and with the changes in targeting it made perfect sense. Generators as well are much cooler and actually feel different now. Literally the ONLY gripe I have with painting is that you can't put decals on weapons and a few of the patterns suck.
I really do think that From has made a great game, and even as a grumpy old-timer I smile knowing that Armored Core is back. I hope and pray that From supports this game post-launch and I'd love to see mission packs (because the most fun I had in missions was the huge battles with allies present and the cool depth exploration underground), part packs, new patterns, emblem packs from classic games (even if it's just to complete my Evangel build lol), and multiplayer content.
yow, i read the whole thing 👀
Not a veteran, but you can use quad legs to hover
What would be the difference between tank legs and four wheel legs besides the optics?
Edit: I totally agree with the change of weather part, would've been awesome to have more of it like thunderstorms, earthquakes as you mentioned, and maybe some crazy shit like a meteor rain but it's something they'll probably expand upon in future games
It’s not a hover mechanic he’s talking about but actual legs that never touch the ground as you’re moving around. They are fast.
I understand that the tetrapod legs have a hover mechanic now but old hoverlegs were their own category. They had medium-light load limits and were incredibly fast in side to side movement and above average in forward/backward but felt "slippery" and drifted a bit.@@F3z07
i would have been way more down with the stagger mechanic if it wasn't the only option for basically all fights.
when they initially announced it, i thought it was going to be something like heat damage, etc., in other games.
Yeah I tried using laser weaponry only to realize it felt like I was doing a lot less damage despite the fact they deal a lot more. Then I realized I had been aiming for that stagger mechanic as a primary defense AND offense, the whole game revolved around it. It absolutely is mecha sekiro. I didn't want to admit to it playing through it, but looking back on it after having 100%'ed it, it is.
Ya I’ve had mixed feeling back and forth both ways with the stagger throughout this first playthrough I’m on. At first I felt it shoulda only been for the big end of chapter bosses, but then I started engaging with it more deliberately and was having fun with it and aiming for stagger also became a defensive strat when I could just regroup while the enemy i’m fighting is staggered and let my EN fully recharge in peace, etc. but now I’m starting to realize ya exactly, my build just always has to have heavy reliance on explosives if I’m aiming to stagger. I’ve barely used pulse weapons cept maybe every once in a while a pulse riffle in my off hand or a laser cannon on my back to do big damage while they’re staggered. I mean I still think it’s a fun idea, but in terms of the overall game design it really just makes certain builds and weapons the correct ones if you wanna do big damage. Honestly would be cool if they just removed all the stagger stats and mechanic in a DLC in an option to play “no stagger mode” or something. Will never happen lol but would be really cool. Or if they rebalanced the game where it wasn’t just that one weapon type is thee stagger weapon type and the other is not. Very bizarre design decisions, I’m realizing more and more as I play.
It's not the only option for basically all fights. You can more or less cook anything with dual flamethrowers without even staggering them once.
@@JackWilkos i didn't use the flamethrowers too much, but from what i remember, they do build stagger on bigger foes and ACs, even if it's not as fast as something like chainguns or zimmermans.
@@stop88729 I didn't say that they don't build stagger, I said that you can more or less cook anything without staggering them once. Those are two different things.
i agree with pretty much everything AAG says in this vid.
my biggest criticisms about this game are:
1) not enough parts, the list needs to be atleast twice as big.
2) the booster not just being on 100% by default AND you cant cut it off mid flight to drop fast.
3) the game's story doesnt let you feel like a real mercenary. theres no real agency in your choices as youre being forced down walter's path.
4) some times you hit tab, some times you click, some times you have to lift your hand off the keyboard or mouse and push enter in the middle of your keyboard, not the one on the right, instead of all of those working as a way to advance the screens/ dialogue ect.
5) some of these bosses arent armored core bosses, theyre literally souls bosses, with souls mechanics AND you dont get any I frames when you quick boost, it feels really bad.
to me, this game is an 8 out of 10. 4Answer being a 9/10 and last raven being 8.5/10
My only thoughts are “I want more”
Story was the bomb. I felt for so many characters, never even saw a single face throughout the entire game
I appreciate your more critical analysis even though I don’t fully agree, it does feel different than previous AC games but I really enjoy the changes to the games feel. It feels exactly how I was hoping it would, it only took what made sense from the souls games so it still feels like an AC game.
the whole game also doesn't feature any human at all, in any capacity (except for drawings in logs i guess), because it plays well with the context that, whatever is happening on rubicon, humanity (as in being humane, being morally good) has already been far removed. especially when certain characters operate human-like despite them not being humans, i think they wanted you to question whether the decisions and actions of all these "people", and while i definitely felt good in my power trips, they always end up with the sense of dread, as in every end of chapter, you'd think "what have i done".
a moment where i thought was excellently done was when you encounter a boss, but the framing and composition puts your character at the faaaar back, and the boss at the fore front. usually, drama, movies, etc., especially video games, frame the good guy closer to the audience because they would be more relatable, but in the scene i mentioned, the boss is placed closer to the players. i felt like the game was definitely telling me power trip all i want, i am the bad guy
"the checkpoints did feel like an excuse to make is souls style difficult"
Ironically this is a complaint I can level at the souls games themselves. I liked the levels and bosses in demons souls more than any other game in the series because they're one complete level that you're expected to be able to do before a boss, no bonfires outside the fog gate. As a result you don't have some of the hilarious difficulty gate bosses like in the later series that just knowledge check you until you learn the exact right time miyazaki wants you to press the dodge button, because the level itself leading to the boss is part of the bosses difficulty.
Greatly appreciate this review! THIS is how reviews should be, actually critical, pointing out both negatives and positives. Neither outright shitting on the game nor praising it as if its the best thing ever. Very balanced take.
I'm glad you ended up liking it and had fun. I agree with the points about the OST since it was more ambient. I don't necessarily agree with these telegraphed setpiece bosses being something "Souls" style any moreso than anything else like Nier Automata or something and rather it was modernized. I felt like if they had a redo today on stuff like Phantasma ,2 final boss ,Pulverizer, 2AA NB it would've looked something more like the stuff you see later in the game (in AC6) even if Souls games didn't exist just based on the stuff they'd take from other none FS-games in general to be an evolution of stuff you see in the previous couple gens. The AC fights definitely felt AC as heck to me. The checkpoints and healing are pretty ehhhh, I would've preferred no heals with higher AP to compensate so build defense matters more for factoring but I guess since the missions were longer they didn't want to roadblock anyone having trouble making it up to that point with a certain build that would be advantageous in the second half. I'm not a fan of the radar either and would've preffered an older style one.
@@siberian4097 I don't link video game heals to estus either anymore than I do for the people months ago who thought checkpoints were going to be literal souls bonfires and not classic video game checkpoints (and in this case classic video game health potions) but yeah I think the healing mechanics are lame and thought the original video point about it just being there as a stress "Oh shit I gotta heal or I'll die!" excuse instead of having 2x the health but no heals and the checkpoints too pervasive (But I too also saw this as just officiating the random times you'd get full healed/full resupplied randomly in earlier games). Agree to disagree for the bosses. I plain think this is the route they were always going to go going off stuff like how Exusia or Pulverizer moved and attacked for the scale of what you're piloting right now even without Souls hypothetically not existing. While this is probably this gimmick of the generation/director influence, I'm not a fan of the importance of the stagger mechanic to have these larger damage windows instead of it being averaged out over fire.
Visually AC6 very much so borrows from Nier Automata. It's the first thing I thought of when I saw footage. I wonder if some of the same FX and environment artists who worked on Automata worked on AC6, with how freelancer-oriented the industry is nowadays.
This game is the transitional game to Armored Core like Armored Core V was. Different controls, looks, and features. Yet it still remains fun and vertical movement became really important. Tank legs then became Intial D.
My biggest issue in this game is the stagger bar, and what having it did to the enemies. The only effective way to win is the cheese the stagger mechanic. You don't even have to remove it entirely. Just lower enemies health across the board, or remove whatever damage resist they gave them, and take away the damage boost of the stagger. You get enough damage in just from stunning them and getting free hits. This way you can win even without a stagger-heavy build, and not feel like you're pulling teeth.
I think the scaling for the game is accurate. A video from Zulie showed how massive an armored core is so that crane is probably used for the material thats sitting on its left (your right). That's just a normal human sized crane for regular materials. The population is just so large that the buildings end up being even larger than the armored core itself. But the overall scale is actually super accurate.
Edit: Good video tho
I loved the music. It was like some dark synthwave. Straight out of bladerunner.
The balteus track is godlike
There was music in the baltheus fight? I legitimately couldnt tell.
I hate that i cannot absorb all the chatter and exposition because im too busy avoiding projectiles hurling at my face.
TRUE
Watching you play, I'm honestly super glad that I'm not the only person that bhops like crazy in this game.
crossing my fingers for DLC, that would probably solve the parts and pvp maps issues too since more of both would likely get added with a DLC expansion
As someone who just joined the AC club with 6, and only played Daemon X Machina before this- I fucking LOVED it.
It's unironically one of my favorite games of all time- its just so fast and action packed, it's so much fun.
I really hope we get some DLC and the success of AC6 gets AC7 greenlit in a timespan that isn't a decade+
I'm getting a copy in 3 days, trying to not spoil anything. It's nice alot of people say this is great and difficult, along with just being plain fun.
My only complaint is the gimmicky bosses, as I found way more fun with the dogfights than asymmetrical combat.
And no, I don't think they're too difficult or anything, I never got stuck on a boss (and one or twoshot several, including ibis), and didn't look up a guide/build and just used what I wanted to use.
considering the pattern of past AC games it's more likely we'll get an AC6 2 before we get an AC7
@@greynand8466more likely an ac6 dlc
Given it already has a subtitle, what wouldve been the subtitled game of gen 6 armored core will likely be dlc this time
Here is a From Software fanboy in his natural environment. Oooh look at him go. Climbing the trees and jumping around. Adorable! =)
S tier AC game losing only to AC4FA due to music and some story aspects that can still retroactively improve with a sequel.
* SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Liberator of Rubicon and Fires of Raven endings were heartretching and amazingly well done. I am pretty sure those endings "happened" as Coral memories. Several character dialogues hint at knowing Raven. Flatwell specifically is convinced Raven will cause all of Rubicon to burn, even on a playthrough unrelated to the Fires of Raven.
The Final ending slightly incomplete/wrong. We never learned about Kate or the other Raven, were they both Allmind clones? Why did other Raven have a Handler if part of Allmind? Iguazu rage was hilarious. He should have continued cursing us until the final explosion. Made no sense seeing him attempt one last blade attack while spewing an envy line of regret. Rusty got a line mid fight from Allmind. Did he die off screen in this route or does Allmind need the pilot to be dead to copy it? Allmind kept saying that Raven and Ayre were required for the Coral release and intended to sacrifice us for it to function. Why did Ayre suddenly know how to cause the Coral release? Story is insanely well set for a sequel.
Meme complaint regarding size scaling. We spent 30 missions looking for the coral convergence and nobody thought to check the MOON SIZED STRUCTURE IMPALING THE PLANET?!
"theres always that one guy that says he's the most powerful and you fuck em up" ah yes the final boss of the true ending. Envious bastard
6:35 you've not played with attention to the story, and, 621 is a human that can walk and make normal things(as in chapter 5 he switches between stay on the ground to enter in the old AC to escape).
My only complaint is weapon balancing, there’s a lot of stats that don’t make sense on weapons and most weapons are outright not a feasible choice, and so long as the shotguns that might aswell be shoulder weapons exist there’s no reason for anything else especially with how some can’t even do the damage if you hit as consistently as possibly to break ac or do damage.
And ammo… some guns are literal trash but have a third of the ammo pool of stronger weapons like the burst pistol, the needle gun and the burst weapons all have abysmal ammo pools for less performance in the first place
Never played any of the other games but 6 really sold me on the whole idea anyway so playing them is now on my video game bucket list
Just something to add to 16:40 - you can also disable the patterns on each section (main, sub and so on) individually. So if you just want to have the sub sections have a pattern, you can turn it off for all the other sections and have them in their normal set color.
This is my first AC game, I've made it a few missions deep into chapter 5. And as many times ive wanted to smash my contoller, ive never felt the need to look up a "meta build"
ya, same here. And it's more fun to find out and experiment builds that will eventually beat a boss rather than some dude telling you how to play
I am one to fall into the, „i want to beat it with my actual build“ trap. But i learned pretty early on that if something feels unfair it is exactly this i have to build around. ^^
I’m glad they are going more anime style, I mean these are giant robots after all. I swear the kick melee attack is totally a OG Gundam reference.
I think opening with addressing statements from the prior video and then the negatives was the right choice. Much of these complaints you go over, are valid issues, and aren't getting talked about enough. At least from what I've seen. Too many are riding a line, afraid to make any "unpopular" opinions. But many of these issues are issues that people who've played past entries are likely to pick up on. Where they fall on the topics will of course vary.
Also, stating outright that inspite of these issues, the game itself, as a package, is still a fun and enjoyable game. Just, kind of missing some notes and flare where it needed it, and adding those bits of extra where it really didn't.
TLDR, hat's off for a good topic discussion video, and thank you.
It's definitely not a bad game but it doesn't feel like an armored core game and I honestly couldn't get past that part. I still play 4th gen so that also doesn't help lol
@@XmarcX92I think the problem with “isn’t armored core” in a general sense is that armored core has changed its “feeling” like four times lol. People have a way different view depending on which ones they started with, and was the same point against 4 when it came out and against V when it came out. The amount of doomposting about 4 being “generic high speed mech game” was intense back then lol. Not surprised to see it coming around again.
I feel like PVP needs some more incentives, not major ones, but some. Maybe a ranking system that unlocks unique emblems or even letting you collect other players' AC data and custom decals after each match.
Collecting enemies AC data would be really cool
My beloved Obsidian Mirror 😞
I disagree on the difficulty: From Soft nailed it. It's much better imho having harder, but repeatable fights, than easy/easier non-repeatable ones. Having the ability to come back later to a fight after the arena matches, buying new parts, cooling down, having a glass of water or just sleeping off a bad day, beats not playing because if you mess up a few missions, you lose out on a lot of content/currency, and you're not gonna have a good experience. I quite liked OS tuning and repair kits, giving a sense of progression and customization, making the fights more dynamic, and I quite liked all of the bossess so far (Started Chapter 4): Balteus was a big hurdle at first, but now that I found a good strategy I flexed on it. Also, while watching Ongbal might help fighting a few bossess, it's so much fun finding the right combination for your style of play (Napalm+Stun Baton are lovely).
Other than that, it's so nice to hear so many prospectives on the game~
Happy Hunting Ravens!
My only major problem is with the lack of maps
We only go to the desert area once, and that’s for a mini boss
Also can’t wait for the mods, right now all we have are lighting mods, Ibis AC looks so damn cool
The voice actors were extremely good imho, especially Hector, sorry i mean Walter, and Rusty
Hopefully most of the negatives are ironed out whenever ac6:2 comes out lol, i just want more parts to work with mainly
I played 4 and 4 answer, Kojima particles are just as much "Supernatural" as coral, but you put 4 answer as an S-rank on your tier list.
I thoroughly enjoyed this game start to finish, this was my first ac game
The heart pumping action, the sense of scale. I’ve played every from game and I honestly give this a 9/10
Nothing to add about AC6 feels, especially the stuff about "reallistic immersion" and edit: FINALLY someone else mentions the lack of quantity of parts and how the very contrasting aesthetics of gen 3/futuristic/scrap gen 5 looks clash with less combination possibilities. At least with each gen of game almost all the parts work with each other somehow.
Anyway, I swear you've always got the best takes and I hope someone at From Soft hears them and takes them into consideration for patches or even a sequel.
If they added a co op campaign this game would’ve been insane. Or a horde mode.
The horde mode is limited to „kill G1“ 😂
I don't know how guys like you can no-life a game as intense as this one. I have to take a lot of breaks when I play and im not even through my first playthrough. 😮💨
Same
Tbf this dude is a veteran Raven who probably played all 15 previous AC games 50 times already so that might have helped.
Would be cool if they made pretty much everything destructible (like big buildings) + terraform land.
Yeah I agree. You can chop down a forest without any problems but a small building is just immovable. 😅
Not even finished with the game yet but it's been fantastic so far. Just got done with chapter 4.
My early thoughts are, I wish there were more indoor areas and maze like levels to get lost in. AC6 got rid of that type of level design due to the lack of a map and radar I assume.
I think stagger is too big of a focus and there's no upside to choosing weapons that don't build up stagger as fast. It limits build variety when almost every weapon category has a clear winner at the moment but the balance can always change.
Too little parts, like every AC that is first of its gen. I hope we get an AC6 expansion a year from now 😂
OST fits the game's mood perfectly and is very well made. That said, it's still at the bottom of my AC ost tier list. That's how good AC OSTs are 😅
9/10 game so far
There's a lot I can nitpick about it but I'm having fun and that's what matters most.
Psx era Raven's Nest garage theme will always the best for me
I don’t think you were off about the Souls comparisons. The healing, multi phased bosses. It was a fun game, I had a blast with it, but it was way different. That’s not bad though! Other than AC 2 and 3, they’ve all been “their own thing” since then. (Ng++ cleared)
Honestly, my ONE big complaint you didn’t touch on, is the hud is not able to be recolored/scaled and reconfigured . Hurts those of us with vision impairment
@@Sudo_NimhI hope that the next ac game (if they make one) adds more customization to the hud. Like how they gave a lot of customization for the controls. Also, I want snipers back, it missed them.
I love it honestly. Only put in 15hrs and in mid chapter 3. And it’s been since 4 answer since I touched a game and it’s refreshing to play again. Had to cheese the first chapter with quad legs but I relied on old faithful double rifle and missile launchers for the rest and arena.
The whole anime boss fight thing started all the way back in Armored Core Verdict Day. That final boss was ridiculous. It literally looked like something out of Gundam Wing.
To be fair, that final boss of Verdict Day was meant to represent the average 4A NEXT, which basically is a gundam in mobility and firepower lol. Meanwhile you were in a total piece of junk mech.
The expectation that some AC fans had about the past 10 years of Fromsoftware game development not influencing AC6 in the slightest is ridiculous. I really love the bog boss encounters, my biggest gripe with the game is that there are not more of them, the AC vs AC fights all felt kind of samey with my first tank build since I was able to just burst them down without much concern for their moveset but now that I play them with different builds they are more interesting.
Random other positives:
Story was amazing IMO, probably not everyones favorite but I loved it.
The world design is sick, I love the massive architecture in the background and the sense of scale you get when you crash through random street signs that barely hit your kneecaps.
The performance is amazing as well, never had framedrops with my old ass 1080 powering through the max settings on 1440p 120hz without breaking a sweat. If you look at the details a higher fidelity would be nice but that rarely matters and also helps with visual clarity when a bunch of shit is happening at once.
Hey if anyone gives you crap just point out that Ayre uses an attack that's straight from the Malenia fight in Elden Ring... so they're basically the same game.
Finally! Another AC vet that had a problem with this game's OST. I think mid was probably the best way to put it. It isn't bad and is fitting for the tone they are going for with it being more ambient, but when you compare it to the bangers of the old games it just doesn't stack up. You'd at least think they'd go crazy with the music in the arena since there isn't any story there and yet its still lacks energy there too. Maybe they'll add some nice new songs in some dlc like they did with VD.
You're bugging if the Balteus music didn't move you, dawg
Tbf that’s like the one of the few memorable themes, but I agree balteus’s theme was my favorite part of the fight. The main issue is bad sound mixing making the ost too hard to hear.
That and the fact that the majority of the music simply didn’t go anywhere it was either atmospheric are a dud like the basic arena theme (which sucks since the part that plays when the ac and its pilot gets announced looked like it was going somewhere).
Finally, a balanced take. Honestly, the room for improvement makes me more excited than anything else. This game is so fun already, imagine if a sequel brings all of it up to 11.
As someone who played AC3 and AC4A I liked how it felt kinda like a mix between 4th and third gen. I'm in chapter 4 and solar I'm LOVING the game.
My only complaint about this game is the lack of coop - I wish this game had coop similar to ACFA
Hopefully modders are able to put this in
Have not heard anyone say that AC6 voice acting is bad. What would they mean? Its so damn amazing, sometimes even random npc's I feel had too much effort put into them. I even found english VA better at most points, especially at expressing Corps when talking over the radio.
For soundtrack imo (tinfoil hat on ) perhaps they did not want to put off newcomers? This whole game screams the same- imo if they had no checkpoints, harder camera controls and etc. not so many people would be getting into the game. Or maybe they just had not enough budget... Is what I wanted to say until I sat though the credits. The music at the credits was a bop funnily enough.
I love this game. As someone who has been playing AC since 2nd gen, the only thing I would add would be cool cloaking parts for shoulders, machine gun shoulders, arm extension parts, and the ability to customize the HUD setup/color.
I like how in every play through something changes
I agree that AC6 is a combination of all past Souls and AC games. It feels like a culmination of what they learned from both series and combined it into a very fast-paced, and fun action mecha game. I also don’t really mind that it’s so different from past iterations as even back then, the change from gen 3 to gen 4 (and even gen 4 to 5) was so drastic that I’m sure most people thought “this is the least Armored Core Armored Core game”.
Bosses I didn’t mind. Tho I do wish the design of some of them was better (cough Cleaner cough)
Parts are an issue. This is like AC4 all over again. Also, 15 bipeds out of a total of 24 legs? Lmao And I agree that parts don’t feel totally balanced. Some are just straight up “why should I use this when something is clearly better”.
My reaction on the big city stuff used only once or twice: Yeah… it do be like that… I put a lot of time and effort into some aspects of my videos/animations that i would only ever use/do once. While it’s not game dev that’s kind of just how it is sometimes.
Customization is great, I agree, but it feels like some obvious things were missing that should've been there (Mirroring decals/images, not being able to place decals on certain spots of parts for some reason, etc.) The story is great. Liked it a lot and was surprised about how good it was. Also, agree that the Emeraude briefer was absent and made the game 0/10. And the ost is… yeah it kinda sucks lmao. If you put on old games ost for missions/boss fights/pvp, it really amplifies the experience. 3v3 pvp fists only is a good fun. you should try that out if you stream the game again. Great breakdown as always Above!
Come back to watch this again. AAG might be the only TH-camr that tell all the cons and pros. Hope that your life will be better.
modders are gonna have fun putting music in this game
i hope they put last raven music that is my jam
All AC games you kill a bunch of innocent people for sake of more credits, AC was never about moral(until the final chapters).
Some of the criticism seemed a bit "This quality of life feature doesn't waste my time, thus bad" yeah I loved accidentally leaving a mission area and needing to restart *sure*. Definitely agree on the mechanical changes, parts shop is horribly paced and honestly I think a NG playthrough is balanced poorly; the game genuinely starts to feel much better after you finish a playthrough but that's just silly, assumes way too much investment from a new player. I thought the corporate war was good as a B plot, and still felt impactful to the A plot; The A plot really wouldn't be possibly without the corporate war of the B plot. I also disagree that the story was hard to follow, if you listen and read what the game tells you, even without finding 'secret notes' or whatever, the game spells out what's happening. If anything the nuanced details of certain aspects of the story are semi-obscured but I really don't think it's necessary to follow all that other than for extra enjoyment. As for the weapon balancing and such, I think that a lot of that was addressed and made better in a recent patch *obviously that's future knowledge so not possible to know for this video. 😅 Just thought worth mentioning for your won enjoyment if you weren't aware already. Otherwise for the most part agree, good video!
Quick addition, I also disagree on the soundtrack. I felt the same at first, but as I listened to it more over the course of the game it grew on me. I think AC fans, myself included, have a bit of bias as we've been listening to the same old AC tracks for the past decade. As you experience the new tracks more over time they just are so badass, just gotten attune to the new. Kinda like how the early soundtracks are different from the later, like AC3 vs For Answer are like totally different soundscapes. Different goals for the atmosphere of each games. AC6's vibe just fucks me up man, oppressive but optimistic. A literal glimmer of hope in this dark world, the supporting characters. God damn man the game is just so badass, no matter what I've been doing the past few weeks, my mind always wanders back to AC6. It's an addiction. 😂 Sorry if the original comment comes off a little mean-spirited, not the intent. I just love the game and love engaging with and talking about it. ❤
The sekiro-like posture system is closer to final fantasy in its function and presentation, and seems more like an example of convergent development (as in something they figured out seperately through experimentation that resembles their old system) not something they had in mind from the get-go. Also, if youve played armored core you know already that its no stranger to a new entry playing entirely differently to the last one (looking at you 4 and 5). Overall though your opinions and position were well-worded and this was interesting to listen to as a more middle-ground perspective. Most of this sounds super subjective though.
Edit: had another thought i wanted to add. I think the difficulty is only comparible to souls on a surface level, as the game is much more focused on changing your entire build and playstyle to meet and overcome challenges. It is neither convenient nor recommended to do so in souls. You CAN butt your head against a wall like souls and just "out skill" a fight but skill alone probably wont get you the S rank on replays.
I fell off AC at AC4. It just changed way too much for me. To this day, I still think AC3 and Silent Line were my favorites in every way from gameplay to story to AI and bosses and secret parts and Plus/OP-I. I was an original AC and Project Phantasma player up to AC3 and SL but 4 just tossed everything and they kept with that direction. I really wanna like AC6 but it's really not looking like it's for me.
Same. I really wish controlling the mech feeling like an actual skill. And i miss the obscurity and mercinary vibe, like your an employee, uncovering secrets and mysteries. But nah... its just kinda armored core themed "modern game".. Not a bad game... just.. not quite like armored core...
@@Raphsophomes Yeah, I totally agree with that. I miss the conspiracy and the really vague and eerie kinds of things like the massive MT's and the basically unknown enemy.
Spot on about the music vs dialogue. Nine-Ball didn’t even say words, but that theme song still makes the hair on my neck stand up.
Having replayed Nexus a few months prior to get the lead out, it made me really grateful how balanced the part trade-offs feel in AC6 (at least for my particular build proclivities). Nexus offered an enormous amount of customization, but very few reasonable options due to the crushing constraints on weight and cooling -- and none of the NPC ACs had these limitations, just to rub salt on the wound.
Agree with pretty much most of this video, though I feel like a lot of it is obviously very subjective like with the over the top boss fights which I personally love. I could immediately tell this wasn't like the old Armored Core games from the little I have heard and to some that will surely be a huge disappointment, but I think for what it is it's an absolutely superb game that has instantly landed itself a spot in my favorite games of all time list and given me the motivation to go back and try out the older generations to see what might(hopefully) be in store for me in a more traditional future entry into the series should this game be the beginning of the return of Armored Core. It feels like the type of franchise where it has infinite room to innovate and transform itself in any ways it wants and I really hope Fromsoft capitalize on that should they go on to create more AC games.
COMPLETELY disagree on the soundtrack though I absolutely adored it
I'm still a little sour that there isn't just a shoulder mount gauss/railgun nor heavy machinegun or autocannon. I'm curious why I have to put a gatling gun on my shoulder slot to have that availability of item choice.
I also feel the "no decent machine gun" pain, especially since (by comparison) the 'heavier' machineguns (now called assault rifles) are H O R R I B L E weapons. They are outdone on almost every single build type by other weapons. There are charge mechanics with the weapons but it feels like the only ones with useful charge attacks burn through ammo quicker than burning pine needles. Example, Nebula has 60 rounds, and a charge attack takes 3 of those rounds each, giving you 20 shots.
Honestly, I'm just sad the only real direct damage weapon is the stun needle for the shoulder. It has the highest modifier for direct damage that is. It feels like the game wants to subtly push melee because it's the only way to truly capitalize on direct damage moments. It's basically why so many "boss crusher" builds have dual needles, nothing compares to it's direct damage mod and I checked.
There are _VERY_ distinct weapons that rise to the surface almost immediately simply because of _what_ they do and _how_ the game's mechanics work. Oh the Zimmerman shotgun does 800~ points of stagger damage, in a game where stagger is more important than health bar, which is about as strong as most energy weapon and linear rifle charge attacks but it happens instantly and all you have to do is be right next to the enemy? Oh the stun needle has the highest amount of direct damage modifier on a five second CD? Oh, the gatling gun is one of the only actual functioning suppression-based machine guns that not only is good at baiting dodges but is also capable of racking up good levels of stagger? There is a whole pack of extremely strong weapons that I doubt I would see anything else of in most builds.
I hope in a future patch there is a massive overhaul of weapon usefulness as some of these lower ranked weapons might as well not exist past a certain point in the game.
Man 100%'d the game in 40 hrs while I'm still only in ng+ after 45 😭
Nice video man. Glad you enjoy the game. It's a big change for the franchise for better and worse, but the real win will be if it repopularizes mech games again.
“There’s a couple things that need to be nerfed.”
As long as the separate PvP balance from the PvE I’m ok with them nerfing some things.
One thing I think is a little off is the balancing of high weight parts. 99% of 'heavy' weapon setups are light enough than you can use mid-weight legs just fine even if you have multiple grenade launchers and the arms weight limit stat is similarly irrelevant. There are like 3 weapons in the entire game that are actually heavy enough that you need high weight limit parts and other than those you might as well just use reverse joints or the fast tank legs on everything.
I didn't find the story confusing, but what I did find strange is that there are a certain factions and characters who are presented as being a big deal at certain points in the story who then just don't do anything important and disappear from the plot before the finale. If anything it kinda felt like the endings were planned to be MORE complicated at one point and a bunch of plot points got cut to focus on the people who have a direct influence on the player character
when I got to the defend the old space port mission, and the briefing said I would have to escort an mt squad around, I thought "oh shit we finally get a bad mission" but than it was a fake out and it ended up being my favorite mission in the whole game
Yeah, AC6 could have been better but its SUCH a fresh air despite its obvious downside
I personally dislike that theres very few vocal OST's in AC6, instead it follows Last Raven's Ambience theme which i honestly hate LR(Although there ARE a lot of good boss themes)
I really dont mind the story, i allways see Armored Core doing fine with whatever it wants, i mean, we got Formula Front and Ninebreaker lmao
And i really dont mind if AC has a Power Fantasy in them, its kinda the point
Armored Core is supposed to be the bridge between Realism and Power Fantasy, so both side really shouldnt and cant complain on what the series try to achieve
You leave my shotguns out of this.
Definitely going to check out 4A after this I finish this game. This has made me a fan.
I still havent completed the game but i do feel like there just arent enough AC parts.. the game is great and im just happy to see a new gen armored core, but i would personally prefer the old school style where you are able to fail missions and keep going but they are tryng to tell a story and went VD style.. i also kind of dislike the repair kit..
But overall its nice to see armored core get more attention and hopefully well get some dlc and mods :D
I agree with some of the other comments here, the story definitely pleasantly surprised me. It gives me mgs mixed with terminator vibes which is not a bad thing. As a relative newcomer to the series, its definitely grabbed my attention more than previous entries did. I can understand why more traditional AC fans might find it a bit jarring but I think for new players it gives them a bit more to get invested in.
I've beat the game and As an AC veteran I totally agree with all the your points in the negative section. Instead of it feeling like the old AC games. It feels more like Armored Souls with the Boss, Repair kit, & Checkpoints. It's hard for the sake of let's make it hard. Not because of the mechanics of the game that actually makes it hard. It felt like they just put hard boss and that's it.
Couldn't disagree more. The bosses aren't hard to be hard, they make you actually try. All of their attacks are telegraphed or have cues, and it's all avoidable. You get punished for doing the wrong thing and crushing them finally is such a thrill. It far and away made the game the most enjoyable for me atleast
Man, I'll take getting staggered because I wasn't whipping the camera around fast enough to see what's going on around me over my mech taking three seconds to turn 90 degrees to the right while taking ten shots from offscreen. The changes to controls and camera are smart imo!
Also, to the point about realism and turning speed - how is it more realistic that my giant humanoid robot would have a head that can't turn to see what's around it? lol
I agree with pretty much everything except the soundtrack, i really found it incredible, maybe more discrete than older ACs but really good nonetheless !
Great review anyway :D
I've played and own every single US-released Armored Core game on release and I can say that Armored Core 6 is exactly what I wanted.
Damn.. all the stuff you're disappointed in due to playing previous entries.. makes me almost glad this is my first one because I freaking love it.
I agree with the lack of parts argument
I was like
"Wait Where is the rest?"
I will admit the sound track is lacking but maybe is preference. I do remember that every AC generation had at least some very memorable OSTs besides the main theme of the game (except AC2, I think I only liked like 2 or 3 tracks). I would have liked some more weapon variety for sure, but in retrospect I think of only in AC3:SL and AC4FA I felt there was enough variety for different AC designs I enjoyed, stabilizers in the AC4 generation helped a lot in making more unique looking ACs. Maybe if there is some DLC we may get some good new OSTs and parts.