First Armored Core 6 gameplay may be more Souls-like than you’d expect

This Summer Game Fest is when FromSoftware showed extended gameplay of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. Unfortunately, it was all behind closed doors, but the developer released a shorthand of construction footage that the press and media were able to see behind the scenes.

Those images have now made their way into the wild, and it looks like a mix of Armored Core and Souls games.

The images above are courtesy of ratatoskr, who “found it on a Japanese site and claimed it as my own.” It’s only a little over four minutes long, but it’s pretty heavy on the action.

The main thing to note here is that while we can’t see the HUD, it’s clear that Armored Core’s classic soft block has returned. It seems to work as you’d expect, with enemies in the frame gently blocking so that follow-on missiles can hit them all.

But there also seems to be a more Souls-like hard lock that fixes the camera. This can be seen in the boss fight, which itself is very reminiscent of the show and the enemy design from Souls, even if he is indeed a machine.

Melee also plays a big role here, as enemies stagger when they take a certain amount of damage, exposing them to more damage. However, the level design is the most impressive element on display here.

There are several paths the player can take, depending on how agile and flight-specified their robot is. Flight is not free, so if you build a heavier robot, it will be better suited for short jumps and ground level combat.

Speaking of builds, the character menu seems streamlined compared to previous entries, which should make it easier for players to figure out their core stats at a glance.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is out on August 25 for PC, PS4, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.