this is the first armored core that i've played to completion, and it's the first time in a while i've played a game and felt compelled to squeeze every last drop out of it that i could
50 hours and 100% completion and i still want more
what i hoped for amidst the hype of this release was for it to capture what made armored core as a franchise compelling while testing what fromsoft has learned during their years of making the same great game over and over
the end result is what most people are going to consider the best entry in the franchise, but it's likely not gonna replace anybody's fervor for games like 4A
in many ways it is exactly what the franchise probably needed if it were to exist within the current gaming landscape
it is very accessible in more ways than just difficulty
the control scheme is intuitive and doesn't really recquire any commitment to mastery, but you can fully rebind it if it doesn't suit your needs
there's a great balance between speed and weight while making even the heaviest of ACs feel smooth to control
there are auto saves, missions have checkpoints, there's allotted repair kits
the majority of missions that warrant it have resupply points
dying and not immediately using the pause menu to restart from checkpoint lets you change your assembly mid mission
there are explanations for what stats mean what (which are generally reliable) and videos that show how a part that does a thing is gonna function
the only thing failure costs is score, and even so it's very hard to not profit enough to buy something after a success
it's impossible to go into debt even if you manage that
this game isn't the first to do some shit i mentioned here, but the general approach to just being as accessible as possible is great
because, while i did not have a particularly difficult time with a lot of this game, a lot of people have and i can see why
this is still armored core, it has everything that makes the series appealing while having very little of what could keep people away from it
there's a lot of build variety and the visual customization is fucking amazing (especially with things like uploaded emblems, paint jobs and build presets)
and you'll need to customize in order to figure out what works, especially for late game and getting s ranks
there's mutliple story paths and each are worth playing through, which isn't a massive investment since missions are universally under ten minutes and overwhelmingly under five
but the game is demanding in the exact ways it should be
while mastery is not required for completion you'll need to know how to fuck around proper so you don't find out when chasing s ranks
and there's enough of a skill ceiling that the pvp is a LOT of fun
the story is also pretty fucking great
like classic fromsoftware, the potency of this narrative comes from the details that the game never really throws in your face
it's derivative, i don't think this does anything i haven't seen before
nor do i think it's elevated pastiche in the same way as something like Bloodborne is
but it's just really fucking good, and it shows that the writers at fromsoft are still at the top of their game
this is an overall fantastic experience that never felt like a chore or that it was bullshit
frustration is very minimal, only a couple missions i can actively think of (and it was really only when s ranking lol)
and i feel exactly how a great game should make me feel
i want MORE, i want more of THIS specifically
but this is not the pinnacle, not yet
a 6A or 7 could be that, and i hope it is because this series deserves to flourish
but while i think it brought everything from the older games that made them appealing, this isn't the greatest example of what makes an armored core fan foam at the mouth for these games
the build variety is pretty damn expansive but you'll mainly excperience how much you can do in pvp
which is to be expected, but even in pvp there is a dominant strategy
stagger and punish
there are a bunch of ways to get there but your success, especially when you're going for s ranks, is to embrace this strategy and act accordingly
if you need to be fast: dual zimmermans, songbirds and some kind of high punishment melee weapon (pilebunker or double trouble, probably) and a lightweight ac build otherwise
if you need to tank hits: dual gatlin guns, dual stun needles (if you don't have them songbirds work fine) and the heaviest motherfucker you can muster
i've made a bunch of custom builds with custom color themes in this game because it was fun to do that, but nearly all of them revolved around this
and when they weren't that, there are clearly parts that are better than others
what this game has is an unfortunate amount of redundancy
there are a lot of missile parts, a lot of plasma/laser rifles, etc but there are few that you probably wanna use outside of testing pvp stuff
and while i do think there's a pretty high skill cieling, it doesn't hold a candle to something like the movement or part selection of 4A
which is partly a good thing, i'm the cunt AC6 was designed for because i feel like on all levels it appeals specifically to me
my tastes and my sensibilities
but it doesn't fulfill all of my wants with this series
i not only want more because i loved this game as much as i did, but i want more of the potential of what the next game(s) in this franchise could be
i'm in love with this game, but it's tempered
i know what fromsoft is capable of, i think the people who make games there are extremely talented
and while i think they need a fucking break (Elden Ring came out last year dude)
i have high hopes that whatever comes next for this franchise has the potential to be THE Armored Core
the one that everyone can certifiably, without any doubts, call the best one
but for the time being, it's my favorite one
at least until i stop getting filtered by 4A, that game feels so fucking good but tracking NEXTS is a big bitch lol
50 hours and 100% completion and i still want more
what i hoped for amidst the hype of this release was for it to capture what made armored core as a franchise compelling while testing what fromsoft has learned during their years of making the same great game over and over
the end result is what most people are going to consider the best entry in the franchise, but it's likely not gonna replace anybody's fervor for games like 4A
in many ways it is exactly what the franchise probably needed if it were to exist within the current gaming landscape
it is very accessible in more ways than just difficulty
the control scheme is intuitive and doesn't really recquire any commitment to mastery, but you can fully rebind it if it doesn't suit your needs
there's a great balance between speed and weight while making even the heaviest of ACs feel smooth to control
there are auto saves, missions have checkpoints, there's allotted repair kits
the majority of missions that warrant it have resupply points
dying and not immediately using the pause menu to restart from checkpoint lets you change your assembly mid mission
there are explanations for what stats mean what (which are generally reliable) and videos that show how a part that does a thing is gonna function
the only thing failure costs is score, and even so it's very hard to not profit enough to buy something after a success
it's impossible to go into debt even if you manage that
this game isn't the first to do some shit i mentioned here, but the general approach to just being as accessible as possible is great
because, while i did not have a particularly difficult time with a lot of this game, a lot of people have and i can see why
this is still armored core, it has everything that makes the series appealing while having very little of what could keep people away from it
there's a lot of build variety and the visual customization is fucking amazing (especially with things like uploaded emblems, paint jobs and build presets)
and you'll need to customize in order to figure out what works, especially for late game and getting s ranks
there's mutliple story paths and each are worth playing through, which isn't a massive investment since missions are universally under ten minutes and overwhelmingly under five
but the game is demanding in the exact ways it should be
while mastery is not required for completion you'll need to know how to fuck around proper so you don't find out when chasing s ranks
and there's enough of a skill ceiling that the pvp is a LOT of fun
the story is also pretty fucking great
like classic fromsoftware, the potency of this narrative comes from the details that the game never really throws in your face
it's derivative, i don't think this does anything i haven't seen before
nor do i think it's elevated pastiche in the same way as something like Bloodborne is
but it's just really fucking good, and it shows that the writers at fromsoft are still at the top of their game
this is an overall fantastic experience that never felt like a chore or that it was bullshit
frustration is very minimal, only a couple missions i can actively think of (and it was really only when s ranking lol)
and i feel exactly how a great game should make me feel
i want MORE, i want more of THIS specifically
but this is not the pinnacle, not yet
a 6A or 7 could be that, and i hope it is because this series deserves to flourish
but while i think it brought everything from the older games that made them appealing, this isn't the greatest example of what makes an armored core fan foam at the mouth for these games
the build variety is pretty damn expansive but you'll mainly excperience how much you can do in pvp
which is to be expected, but even in pvp there is a dominant strategy
stagger and punish
there are a bunch of ways to get there but your success, especially when you're going for s ranks, is to embrace this strategy and act accordingly
if you need to be fast: dual zimmermans, songbirds and some kind of high punishment melee weapon (pilebunker or double trouble, probably) and a lightweight ac build otherwise
if you need to tank hits: dual gatlin guns, dual stun needles (if you don't have them songbirds work fine) and the heaviest motherfucker you can muster
i've made a bunch of custom builds with custom color themes in this game because it was fun to do that, but nearly all of them revolved around this
and when they weren't that, there are clearly parts that are better than others
what this game has is an unfortunate amount of redundancy
there are a lot of missile parts, a lot of plasma/laser rifles, etc but there are few that you probably wanna use outside of testing pvp stuff
and while i do think there's a pretty high skill cieling, it doesn't hold a candle to something like the movement or part selection of 4A
which is partly a good thing, i'm the cunt AC6 was designed for because i feel like on all levels it appeals specifically to me
my tastes and my sensibilities
but it doesn't fulfill all of my wants with this series
i not only want more because i loved this game as much as i did, but i want more of the potential of what the next game(s) in this franchise could be
i'm in love with this game, but it's tempered
i know what fromsoft is capable of, i think the people who make games there are extremely talented
and while i think they need a fucking break (Elden Ring came out last year dude)
i have high hopes that whatever comes next for this franchise has the potential to be THE Armored Core
the one that everyone can certifiably, without any doubts, call the best one
but for the time being, it's my favorite one
at least until i stop getting filtered by 4A, that game feels so fucking good but tracking NEXTS is a big bitch lol