Tempering expectations for 'Armored Core: Nexus' did not come easy for me. My adoration for how well served I had been by its predecessor 'Silent Line: Armored Core' left me in a position both wanting and not wanting more at the same time. That sounds fucking stupid I know so, please, indulge me.
I didn't get on great with 'Nexus' off the bat. As much as I now understand them to be so obviously superior, I wasn't a fan of the controls and found myself slipping up a lot because of how long it took for me to rewire my muscle memory. I found the missions to be samey and done-before, the UI totally balmy, the heat mechanic overly oppressive—as despite the game having otherwise some of the best customisation and quantity of parts in the whole series, heat can really straddle the selection of certain parts—and the story lacking much in way of a hook. It took me a while to appreciate the detached and unceremonious nature of which the humans had penetrated the Silent Line, the nonchalant emptiness as a feeling is excellently congruent with the aimless ascension-ism they have been characterised with previously. With how much generation 3 built up the location, 3.5 knocking it all down without a flinch is almost nauseating as you are quickly shuttled into the same grove we were just in a game ago. Same systems, same mechanics, same destruction sans ethics and reason, wasn't something supposed to change? Something other than the mission select screen into something for a PC game? There's an understated and yet all consuming nihilism that underpins so much of the first half of 'Armored Core: Nexus', it's not just that the tone is noticeably bleaker, it's the connotation of everything you're doing feeling so similar. I'd whinge about the mission design being hackneyed but that almost feels like the point, culminating in an utterly hopeless ending which some could see from a mile away, because IBIS' remark so clearly means practically nothing now in the face of the systemic issues driving humanity. Of course the corporations dig too far, of course it means an apocalypse, that's not a spoiler, that's me doing your pattern recognition for you.
I respect this bleakness, it's powerful, and I appreciate how the obviousness of the missions aided this feeling in a truly immersive way, but that does not mean some of these missions aren't rushed or just flat out confusing on why they're even in the game. 'Nexus' was made very quickly and you can feel it in a lot of places, like when the same desert mission where you destroy tanks is split into two for some reason? It feels like this is where a normal 'Armored Core' level would just have you resupply, or not even that if we're talking 'Silent Line', and you do them so quickly after the other that it feels the most glaring. Also, on this note, FromSoftware has—for lack of better phrasing—totally fucked up the Arena here. There are maybe 10 encounters with it you have across the story and about four of those fights are memorable, genuinely not sure what they were doing here, it's like the worst interpretation of what 'Master of Arena' was doing in 1999. This sounds harsh, so I'm hasten to remind that 'Nexus' does have its strong sorties that are very much worth playing, particularly its final one which uses the apprehension felt for the impending doom very well alongside a really excellent final encounter with a... potentially familiar face. Top the game off with an excellent final gameplay section which embodies the moment and you have an all time classic here.
The game is helped a fair bit by the fact that certain presentational elements have clearly been mastered by this point. The game looks and sounds great, cutscene animation in particular is much more well done and the music is fantastic. Kota Hoshino is absolutely deserving of his legend status in the fanbase with these thrilling techno and rock tracks. The qualities from the third generation of great sampling and catchy groves are still here but with much richer instrumentation and more impassioned compositions, simply excellent work.
'Nexus' also has a bonus disc which might be worth mentioning, basically containing a selection of remade developer favourite levels from older 'Armored Core' games. It's a fun novelty with some neat B-Sides, but can be a little annoying or bland at points. I would only recommend it if you're a fan but, as that's what I am, I enjoyed it. A sentiment which may be applicable to all of this, but this is still a very strong title which has left the story in a powerful position.
I didn't get on great with 'Nexus' off the bat. As much as I now understand them to be so obviously superior, I wasn't a fan of the controls and found myself slipping up a lot because of how long it took for me to rewire my muscle memory. I found the missions to be samey and done-before, the UI totally balmy, the heat mechanic overly oppressive—as despite the game having otherwise some of the best customisation and quantity of parts in the whole series, heat can really straddle the selection of certain parts—and the story lacking much in way of a hook. It took me a while to appreciate the detached and unceremonious nature of which the humans had penetrated the Silent Line, the nonchalant emptiness as a feeling is excellently congruent with the aimless ascension-ism they have been characterised with previously. With how much generation 3 built up the location, 3.5 knocking it all down without a flinch is almost nauseating as you are quickly shuttled into the same grove we were just in a game ago. Same systems, same mechanics, same destruction sans ethics and reason, wasn't something supposed to change? Something other than the mission select screen into something for a PC game? There's an understated and yet all consuming nihilism that underpins so much of the first half of 'Armored Core: Nexus', it's not just that the tone is noticeably bleaker, it's the connotation of everything you're doing feeling so similar. I'd whinge about the mission design being hackneyed but that almost feels like the point, culminating in an utterly hopeless ending which some could see from a mile away, because IBIS' remark so clearly means practically nothing now in the face of the systemic issues driving humanity. Of course the corporations dig too far, of course it means an apocalypse, that's not a spoiler, that's me doing your pattern recognition for you.
I respect this bleakness, it's powerful, and I appreciate how the obviousness of the missions aided this feeling in a truly immersive way, but that does not mean some of these missions aren't rushed or just flat out confusing on why they're even in the game. 'Nexus' was made very quickly and you can feel it in a lot of places, like when the same desert mission where you destroy tanks is split into two for some reason? It feels like this is where a normal 'Armored Core' level would just have you resupply, or not even that if we're talking 'Silent Line', and you do them so quickly after the other that it feels the most glaring. Also, on this note, FromSoftware has—for lack of better phrasing—totally fucked up the Arena here. There are maybe 10 encounters with it you have across the story and about four of those fights are memorable, genuinely not sure what they were doing here, it's like the worst interpretation of what 'Master of Arena' was doing in 1999. This sounds harsh, so I'm hasten to remind that 'Nexus' does have its strong sorties that are very much worth playing, particularly its final one which uses the apprehension felt for the impending doom very well alongside a really excellent final encounter with a... potentially familiar face. Top the game off with an excellent final gameplay section which embodies the moment and you have an all time classic here.
The game is helped a fair bit by the fact that certain presentational elements have clearly been mastered by this point. The game looks and sounds great, cutscene animation in particular is much more well done and the music is fantastic. Kota Hoshino is absolutely deserving of his legend status in the fanbase with these thrilling techno and rock tracks. The qualities from the third generation of great sampling and catchy groves are still here but with much richer instrumentation and more impassioned compositions, simply excellent work.
'Nexus' also has a bonus disc which might be worth mentioning, basically containing a selection of remade developer favourite levels from older 'Armored Core' games. It's a fun novelty with some neat B-Sides, but can be a little annoying or bland at points. I would only recommend it if you're a fan but, as that's what I am, I enjoyed it. A sentiment which may be applicable to all of this, but this is still a very strong title which has left the story in a powerful position.