Finally, a mech game that feels like the imaginary battles you had in your head as a kid.

As a lifelong fan of Armored Core, since AC2 and playing every single game since, this really feels amazing to play - my favorite in the series so far. The game is optimized and runs like butter on a standard system here, 980ti gpu and 5800X cpu, not a drop below 60fps on high settings 1080p. Haven't encountered any issues like frame drop in hangar or crashes.

Melee. The melee combat in VI is so vastly improved upon the old and as someone who always tried to play with a focus on melee as much as possible, but many times found it rather difficult, this is a whole new experience on that change alone. The combat feels more fluid than ever, and all kinds of builds have been fun -- not finding myself just building a one trick and sticking with it no matter what like I tended to do in other games of the series.

Attitude. A vast change to the combat flow of the game versus ACs and special threats is the attitude control system. You, as well as all enemies, will suffer a crippling stagger if too much impact damage is taken too fast, overcoming your "ACS" system. During a window that is modified by "Attitude Recovery" you or your enemies will take massively increased damage during this time, making this a very key component to the combat that is new for the armored core series. It's the strongest and generally primary way to deal with special threat bosses in the game, and can be a strong (but not as crucial) part of defeating enemy ACs.

The game is very forgiving, despite people saying otherwise. You get checkpoints before bosses, as well as hp/ammo refills on longer missions leading to bosses, as well as ability to change your build and re-attempt the boss without replaying the mission. (And a reason to buy many different parts so you have options to switch to. Just replay some missions here and there to get some extra credits). No massive setbacks like forcing players to take losses on failing a mission or restricting access to funds in a playthrough (you can repeat missions or arena as much as you want for the funds you need at any time). While a skilled player that already knows the bosses can win any mission in any mech with skill, there are absolutely counters in the game that matter much more than previous titles, as the bosses are much more unique and varied. Don't give up on bosses -- if you are having trouble try changing your weapons and build.

The decal and emblem system is expanded from previous titles, now with more freedom than ever, even with new abilities like using layer masks, and you can easily upload and share/download other emblems and decals with share codes. Only downside here is that PC players cannot use codes from console players, but as time goes on there will definitely be lots of things uploaded to choose from. I already spent 7 hours recreating the White Glint emblem. Code: 1P5EB6FAYEP2

Final massive note -- KEYBOARD AND MOUSE. After 20 years of playing armored core with controller, it seemed strange to consider trying KBM for VI, even though I haven't played console in years, there are certain games I simply prefer controller. After a few hours I gave it a shot and will never look back. The game is completely transformed by the freedom you have using the mouse to look around, not needing to worry about turn rate any longer which was a huge part of every single AC game to date. In addition to freeing you up to have access to all movement commands while firing all four weapons without doing some strange claw grip on your controller, I recommend to everyone to give KBM controls a shot.

Definitely an amazing entry for Armored Core and we welcome it back!

[Also a coincidence that the game is 84% positive and only 84% of players have beaten the tutorial? Hmm.]

I... just... I just wanted a callsign of my own

Rusty is the best bro a man could ask for.

Bring Armored Core on PC
Bring Armored Core: Project Phantasma on PC
Bring Armored Core: Master of Arena on PC
Bring Armored Core 2 on pc
Bring Armored Core 2: Another Age on PC
Bring Armored Core 3 on PC
Bring Silent Line: Armored Core on PC
Bring Armored Core: Nexus on PC
Bring Armored Core: Formula Front on PC
Bring Armored Core: Nine Breaker on PC
Bring Armored Core: Last Raven on PC
Bring Armored Core 4 on PC
Bring Armored Core: For Answer on PC
Bring Armored Core V on PC
Bring Armored Core: Verdict Day on PC
Bring Bloodborne on PC

I am bad at this game. It lets me dual wield shotguns and go fast. I die a lot. I didn't hear no bell.

What Gundam games wish they were.

Don't get filtered, Buddy -Rusty, probably

Armored Core 6 is my game of the year, though voting for it as an AC purist and veteran of past games is somewhat painful for reasons I will discuss later. It took me around 75 hours to 100% the game through three runs. The story is one of the more memorable ones in my gaming career, and the writing is unique. Overall, this is a great game I doubt many will regret buying.

I played AC6 prior to several patches and only had one crash. I also lived through the dual Songbird/Zimmerman meta before those got nerfed. There still are meta choices in multiplayer, so if you are buying AC6 with multiplayer in mind, just understand that your campaign build may not be competitive in multiplayer.

As an AC veteran, I do not find this game worse or better than previous games; it's just different. I get that this game is simplified and meant for a greater mass appeal than previous titles, which is fine. For the casual gamer, this can work. The difficulty curve can be rewarding for the Souls-like fans, but I do not think it is nearly as difficult as other games in that genre once you understand the stagger mechanics. I do wish there was a mode for AC purists who miss all the options and tech that is missing that was present in other games. I used to spend hours getting my build just right.

The verticality of gameplay is well done, and the meshing of mechanics with the story is seamless. Again, this is one of the best games this year, and the gameplay and story set it apart, even with the missing items and options from previous Armored Core games. I wish there was a clear distinction for getting top ranks on each mission. Several missions took me many tries to get a top rank, and I did not know what I was doing wrong. A ranking system that is more granular and informative on where improvement is needed would be appreciated.

Overall, if you are a mech fan, love well-written stories and tight gameplay, or even want to start a sewing club, AC6 will not disappoint you. This game is one of the true highlights of the year, and I hope it wins several awards as it deserves it. I give this game a 9/10; bravo to the development team.

Thank god this is a fully fleshed out, feature-complete, non-early-access, premium-currencyless, pop-culturally-absent FromSoft game.

[Armored Core Experience]
I've played every mainline Armored Core game in the franchise. S-ranked every mission, obtained every part, beaten every hidden boss and played far too many hours of Armored Core 3: Silent Line (one of the only games I had for around 4 years) and Armored Core For Answer. I had been waiting thirteen years for a good Armored Core game to finally come out. Sekiro, Dark Souls 3, and Elden Ring were all great but just don't have the same appeal. This game pulls many of the best elements from previous generations of Armored Core and develops some of the things that were fairly clunky and uninteractive.

[Stagger]
The fact stagger has a functional purpose instead of being a simple case of stunlocking is a gigantic depature from previous titles. In Gen 3 and 4, and even in Gen 5 (until it was nerfed) stunlocking was very easy to do. Many enemy AC's and heavy MT's were basically unable to respond. At the same time the player could end up getting stunlocked to death. So it went both ways, with little interaction or reaction possible. Stagger in AC6 isn't perfect, but it is a large step forward toward refining Armored Core's combat loop as a whole.

[Repair Kits]
Were derided early on for making the game 'too easy' but the reality is the opposite. Previous generations of games offered repairs via supply vehicles, but it wasn't very useful in the midst of combat. It is worth noting that Repair Kits are not a crutch they are simply a guide rail. A player relying on them heavily to beat the game is going to have a fairly poor time of it. Whereas people who learn from their mistakes and seek to master the game are likely to never require it.

[Reduced PvP]
As much as I may be derided for saying this. I disliked PvP in Armored Core V. The excessive focus of ACV and Verdict Day on online co-op heavily damaged the singleplayer experience, and considering the already controversial control scheme switch up, and the complete lack of true aerial combat, it just stuck out like a sore thumb. While I am rather baffled by the lack of features that ACFA had for PvP it doesn't really change my opinion on the game. I began playing Armored Core when PvP was a pipe dream (or split-screen only), and while I had a bit of fun with PvP in AC4 and ACFA, and dabbled in ACV's PvP. Its never been a major focus to me.

[Customization]
I'd be lying if I didn't think they could've had more specific types of parts available, weapon arms, extensions, add-on boosters, ammo boost back parts... The amount of parts available in AC6 is fairly impressive, and if FromSoft builds upon this game with a DLC or sequel in the same vein as AC4 to ACFA. This is the start of a VERY interesting generation of AC. Also the addition of texturing and weathering is an extremely important improvement, as prior your mech either looked pristine or in the case of ACV like it fell out of a scrap-pile.

[Story]
Armored Core 6 has a fairly intriguing story, but obviously for many AC's fans a lot of the story beats will feel familiar. Fortunately its not as 'moustache-twirling evil' as some of the Gen 2 titles. I'd still say ACFA has a leg up story wise, but that was a sequel which had the foundation AC4 laid to work off of. We will have to see how far Gen 6 goes.

[Is It A Souls-Like?]
A lot of people seemed to think Armored Core 6 is just 'mech-souls' but that isn't the case. Even if you try to act like Repair Kits and Stagger are alien to AC, you'd just be displaying your lack of knowledge. Armored Core 6 is a truly refined return to form. A definitive 'Armored Core' game, and I look forward to the next addition.

[Score]
I'm still working through New Game ++, but if I had to put a score on AC6, its a solid 8.0.
I've nearly done with NG++, and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much the story shifts for the 3rd ending. I've raised my score to 8.5. It's not perfect, but it lays the ground work for an all out masterpiece in the future.