Info about ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™:

Official game description:
Digital Deluxe Edition
======================
The Deluxe Edition includes the full game and Exclusive Digital Artbook & Original Soundtrack.
About the Game
==============
Combining FromSoftware’s longstanding expertise in mech games with their signature action gameplay, ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON brings a brand-new action experience to the series.  
**Dynamic, Omni-directional Battles**  
Players will pilot their mech in fast-paced, omni-directional battles, taking advantage of massive stages and their mech’s mobility on land and in the air to ensure victory.  
**Customized Parts for Individual Battle Styles**  
Customize Armored Core parts to suit a large variety of playstyles. Selecting different parts not only changes the mech’s attacks, but also directly affects its movement and battle style, so each mission can be approached with a unique mech strategy.  
**Thrilling Boss Battles**  
Deploy a wide variety of offensive and defensive tactics at close and long range to take down powerful enemy bosses.

Release date: 24 Aug, 2023

Categories: Real-time Combat, Vehicle Customization, Single-player Story, Competitive Multiplayer, Multiple Endings, Endgame Content, Build Crafting


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Exceptional Mech Game Experience (weight 1): Players overwhelmingly praise the game as an exceptional, high-quality title, often calling it a masterpiece and one of the best mech games ever. It delivers a highly enjoyable and immersive experience, fulfilling long-held fantasies for mech enthusiasts and even converting newcomers to the genre.
- Exhilarating & Satisfying Combat (weight 0.66): Combat is consistently described as fast-paced, fluid, and incredibly satisfying, with weighty impacts and dynamic movement. Boss battles are epic, challenging, and rewarding, demanding strategic thinking and build adaptation, contributing to an exhilarating action experience.
- Deep Mech Customization (weight 0.54): The game's deep and extensive mech customization system is a major highlight, allowing for endless experimentation with parts, weapons, and aesthetics. This customization significantly impacts gameplay, encourages diverse playstyles, and adds immense replayability, making each mech feel uniquely personal.
- Rewarding Challenge & Skill Mastery (weight 0.32): The game's difficulty is challenging but fair, rewarding player skill and experimentation with builds. Mastering its mechanics and overcoming tough boss fights provides a strong sense of accomplishment, making the learning curve enjoyable and accessible for newcomers.
- High Replayability & NG+ Content (weight 0.27): The game offers significant replayability through its New Game+ and New Game++ cycles, which introduce new missions, bosses, and impactful story choices. These branching paths and additional content encourage multiple playthroughs to fully experience the narrative and unlock all endings.
- Engaging & Deep Story (weight 0.25): The story is surprisingly gripping, well-developed, and emotionally impactful, despite being presented subtly through dialogue and lore. Its narrative depth and compelling characters keep players engaged, with multiple endings adding intrigue and replay value.
- FromSoftware's Masterful Design (weight 0.24): The game is widely regarded as one of FromSoftware's best, showcasing their signature challenging yet rewarding design philosophy. It's noted for being more approachable than their Souls-like titles while still delivering a high-quality, unique action experience.
- Great Entry for AC Series (weight 0.18): The game is highly recommended as an excellent entry point for newcomers to the Armored Core series, while also satisfying long-time fans by staying true to the franchise's core identity. It successfully modernizes classic elements and blends them with new mechanics.
- Stunning Visuals & Sound Design (weight 0.15): Players consistently praise the game's stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and excellent voice acting. These elements combine to create a highly cinematic and aesthetically pleasing experience, enhancing immersion and the overall impact of the game.
- Memorable & Well-Voiced Characters (weight 0.14): Despite characters primarily communicating through voice, they are consistently described as charming, memorable, and well-developed. Their distinct personalities and excellent voice acting contribute significantly to the game's immersive narrative and emotional depth.
- Enjoyable PvP Experience (weight 0.1): The PvP mode is generally considered fun and chaotic, offering an entertaining proving ground for custom mech builds. While some meta builds exist, the overall player etiquette is high, and the mode provides a competitive and engaging multiplayer experience.

Common complaints:
- Inconsistent & Frustrating Difficulty (weight 0.46): Players report extreme and inconsistent difficulty, particularly with boss fights. This often leads to frustration, repeated attempts, and a feeling that success is due to luck rather than skill. The game's lack of difficulty settings and poor checkpointing exacerbate these issues.
- Limited Content & Replayability (weight 0.36): Many players feel the game is too short for its price, with insufficient content. The reliance on multiple New Game+ playthroughs to unlock all endings and missions is seen as artificial padding rather than genuine replayability, leading to repetitive gameplay.
- Clunky Combat Mechanics (weight 0.23): Combat mechanics are frequently criticized for issues such as unclear hitboxes, unintuitive timings, and a problematic lock-on system. Players also report difficulties with camera control, inconsistent melee tracking, and a lack of effective tutorials, making combat feel chaotic and unrewarding.
- Poor PvP Balance & Netcode (weight 0.19): The PvP mode is heavily criticized for severe balance issues, with a dominant meta of 'cookie-cutter' builds. Players also report significant problems with netcode, lag, and a broken ranking system, leading to an unrewarding and often humiliating experience.
- Excessive Souls-like Influence (weight 0.11): A significant number of players feel the game has too much 'Souls-like' influence, particularly in boss design and the stagger mechanic, which deviates from traditional Armored Core gameplay. This alienates some long-time fans who expected a different mech experience.
- Unsatisfying Story & Endings (weight 0.08): The game's story and endings are largely viewed as unsatisfying, with many players finding them confusing, rushed, or lacking emotional impact. The requirement to complete multiple playthroughs for all endings is also seen as a tedious way to extend game time.
- Poor Performance & Optimization (weight 0.06): Players report significant technical issues, including poor optimization, frequent stuttering, and high crash rates. These performance problems, especially on AMD hardware, severely detract from the overall gameplay experience.
- Limited Build Diversity (weight 0.06): The game struggles with build diversity, often forcing players into specific 'meta' loadouts for certain missions or bosses. The inability to change builds mid-mission and the perceived ineffectiveness of many weapon types limit player choice and enjoyment of customization.
- Problematic Anti-Cheat Software (weight 0.05): The Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) software is a major point of contention, causing frequent crashes, performance stutters, and preventing some players from launching the game. Its perceived ineffectiveness against actual cheaters further frustrates the community.
- Deviates from Core AC Identity (weight 0.05): Some long-time fans feel the game deviates from core Armored Core principles, such as the feeling of piloting a heavy mech, customization depth, and the viability of certain playstyles (e.g., lightweight ACs). This leads to a sense that the game doesn't fully capture the essence of the series.
- Steep Learning Curve (weight 0.04): New players face a steep and inconsistent learning curve, particularly at the beginning of the game. The lack of clear tutorials and the sudden difficulty spikes make the game unfriendly for newcomers.

Gameplay feedback:
- Deep Mech Customization & Adaptation (weight 0.42): The game's core loop revolves around extensive mech customization, allowing players to assemble unique builds from a vast array of parts and weapons. This customization is crucial for adapting to diverse mission challenges and boss encounters, with players frequently needing to retool their mechs for optimal performance. The game encourages experimentation and offers significant flexibility in playstyles, from agile to tanky builds.
- Challenging but Fair Difficulty (weight 0.39): The game is challenging, particularly its boss fights, which often require players to learn attack patterns, manage resources, and adapt their mech builds. While difficult, the game is generally considered fair, with success often depending on a combination of player skill and strategic mech configuration. The difficulty is characteristic of FromSoftware titles but is often described as less punishing than their Souls-like games.
- Multiple Endings & NG+ Content (weight 0.23): The game features a branching narrative with three distinct endings, requiring multiple playthroughs (New Game+, New Game++) to experience the full story and unlock all missions, parts, and lore. Each subsequent playthrough introduces new content, choices, and perspectives, significantly enhancing replayability.
- Mission-Based PVE & PvP (weight 0.17): The game primarily features a mission-based PVE campaign, complemented by an Arena mode for AI combat and a dedicated PvP mode. While the campaign is the main focus, PvP offers 1v1 and 3v3 battles, providing an additional layer of challenge and replayability for dedicated players.
- Story Delivery & Moral Ambiguity (weight 0.08): The story is primarily delivered through mission briefings, radio conversations, and environmental lore, with a silent protagonist. While the plot is substantial and unfolds across multiple playthroughs, it often takes a backseat to gameplay, focusing on morally grey choices and character interactions through audio.
- Fast-Paced & Engaging Combat (weight 0.07): Combat is fast-paced, aggressive, and requires high focus, emphasizing quick reflexes, strategic movement, and effective weapon management. The core combat system is satisfying and deep, allowing for various approaches like running and gunning, tanking hits, or parrying.
- Distinct Armored Core Identity (weight 0.06): While developed by FromSoftware, the game is distinctly an Armored Core title, not a Souls-like game with mechs. It incorporates some familiar elements like stagger mechanics and challenging boss fights but maintains its unique identity with a focus on mech assembly and high-speed combat.
- Nuanced Targeting System (weight 0.06): The game features a nuanced targeting system with soft and hard lock-on options, influenced by FCS module stats. While auto-aim assists, effective combat often requires precise timing, understanding weapon ranges, and managing target tracking, allowing for both assisted and manual aiming styles.
- Mercenary Protagonist & Factions (weight 0.05): Players assume the role of an augmented human mercenary, C4-621 (Raven), who takes on contracts from various warring corporations on the planet Rubicon. The narrative unfolds as the player navigates morally ambiguous choices and becomes embroiled in the conflict.

Performance notes:
- Excellent Overall Performance (weight 0.13): Many players report excellent overall performance, even on older or less powerful hardware. The game generally runs smoothly with high frame rates and minimal issues.
- Stunning Visuals (weight 0.03): Players consistently praise the game's graphics, describing them as gorgeous, stunning, and a technical marvel. The visual quality is a significant positive.
- Server and Netcode Issues (weight 0.03): Multiple players highlight issues with server stability and netcode, especially in PvP. This suggests a need for improvements to ensure a smoother online experience.
- Good Steam Deck Performance (weight 0.02): The game performs well on Steam Deck, maintaining playable frame rates, though some drops can occur during hectic combat scenarios. It also supports high refresh rates on PC.
- Limited Ray Tracing Impact (weight 0.01): Ray tracing is present but its implementation is limited, primarily confined to the hangar area, making its impact on overall visuals minimal.
- Native PC Feature Support (weight 0.01): The game natively supports ultrawide resolutions and unlocked frame rates, providing a better experience for PC players with such setups.
- Anti-Cheat Performance Impact (weight 0.01): Some users report that the anti-cheat system can negatively affect performance, particularly on newer machines. Workarounds are sometimes found in community discussions.
- Offline Mode Available (weight 0.01): The game offers an offline mode, which is a positive, but online features like Nest mode are inaccessible without a stable server connection.
- Hardware Requirements (weight 0.01): While optimized, the game still requires a reasonably capable PC to run optimally, especially for higher settings.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended Game (weight 0.62): The game is overwhelmingly recommended by players, especially for fans of mech combat, customization, and fast-paced action. Many consider it a must-play and a strong revival for the Armored Core series, often rating it highly.
- Consider Buying on Sale (weight 0.07): While many believe the game is worth its full price, a significant number of players suggest purchasing it during a sale. This indicates that while the quality is high, some feel the price point could be a barrier for certain players.
- Desire for Future Content (weight 0.06): Players express strong desire for future content, including sequels and DLC, and hope for older Armored Core titles to be ported or remade for PC. There's also a call for FromSoftware to continue making skill-based games and improve UI/UX.
- Challenging Boss Fights (weight 0.04): The game features challenging boss fights, particularly the first one, which can be a significant hurdle. Players are encouraged to persevere, seek tips, or watch videos if stuck, as overcoming these challenges is key to enjoying the game.
- Not for Competitive PvP (weight 0.03): The game is generally recommended for its single-player experience, but many players advise against it if the primary interest is competitive PvP. This suggests that the PvP mode may not be as polished or engaging as the campaign.
- Great for Newcomers (weight 0.02): This game is considered an excellent starting point for newcomers to the Armored Core series. Players are advised to take their time, engage with the story, and experiment with mech parts to fully appreciate the experience.
- Caution for Console/Price (weight 0.02): Some players explicitly advise against purchasing the game on console, or at its full price, citing potential disappointment or issues. This indicates platform-specific concerns or value perception issues for a subset of players.

Other player notes:
- Strong demand for DLC/Sequel (weight 0.23): Many players who completed the game are eager for more content, specifically DLC or a direct sequel (Armored Core 7). This indicates high satisfaction and a desire for continued engagement with the game's universe and mechanics.
- Attracts new mech players (weight 0.15): A significant portion of the player base consists of newcomers to the Armored Core series or the mech genre in general. The game successfully introduced them to this type of gameplay, often exceeding their expectations and becoming a favorite.
- High replayability with multiple endings (weight 0.08): The game offers significant replayability through its multiple endings and New Game+ content, which provides new missions and story branches. This encourages players to complete multiple playthroughs to fully experience the narrative and achieve all trophies.
- Not a 'Souls-like' game (weight 0.08): Players frequently discuss the game's relationship with FromSoftware's other popular 'Souls-like' titles. Many emphasize that while it shares some FromSoftware traits, it is distinctly an Armored Core game and not a 'mech Souls-like'.
- Subtle, evolving narrative (weight 0.06): The game's narrative is often described as subtle, fragmented, and requiring multiple playthroughs to fully grasp. While initially confusing for some, the story deepens with repeated engagement, revealing character motivations and lore.
- Excellent visuals and sound design (weight 0.05): The game receives praise for its strong art direction, impressive graphics, and immersive sound design. The soundtrack, while sometimes ambient, effectively enhances the feeling of piloting a futuristic war machine.
- Captivating Rubicon-3 setting (weight 0.03): The game's setting on the planet Rubicon-3 is a central and captivating element. The lore surrounding the planet and its resource, Coral, drives the main conflict and provides a mysterious backdrop for the player's actions.
- Niche appeal (weight 0.03): The game is recognized as appealing to a niche audience, particularly fans of the Armored Core series or the mech genre. While it has attracted new players, its unique style means it may not appeal to everyone.
- Mixed PvP experience (weight 0.02): Player experiences with PvP vary. While some avoid it due to reports of strong players or perceived imbalance, others find the community peaceful and the mechanics smooth, keeping the repetitive battles fresh.
- Concise mission structure (weight 0.02): The game is considered relatively short in terms of initial playthrough length and total missions. However, the missions are well-directed and effectively set the atmosphere, even if the overarching plot isn't always central to minor missions.
- Soundtrack lacks memorability (weight 0.02): While some tracks are praised, a common sentiment is that much of the soundtrack is ambient and lacks memorable character. Only a few songs stand out, with many fading into the background during gameplay.
- Differs from older AC titles (weight 0.02): Veteran Armored Core players note differences in gameplay feel and depth compared to older titles like AC2: Another Age. This game is seen as an outlier in some aspects, with past games offering different experiences.
- Blends old and new AC elements (weight 0.02): The game incorporates elements and homages from previous Armored Core titles and even some 'Souls-like' action know-how. It serves as a modern continuation that respects its heritage while introducing new players to the series.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.32): Players felt satisfied by the game's razor-sharp controls, weighty and fluid combat, and deep customization options. Overcoming challenging bosses and the overall high quality of the game, including its story, graphics, and sound design, contributed significantly to this emotion. The game's ability to fulfill mech combat fantasies and provide a rewarding gameplay loop also played a key role.
- Excitement (weight 0.12): Excitement stemmed from the game's intense, fast-paced action, exhilarating battles, and epic boss fights. The high replayability, deep customization allowing for cool mech builds, and the overall quality of the game, often described as a masterpiece, fueled this emotion. The anticipation of future DLC and sequels also contributed to the excitement.
- Frustration (weight 0.11): Frustration was primarily caused by the game's high difficulty, particularly with specific boss designs and unfair mechanics. Technical issues such as frequent crashes, poor optimization, and problems with Easy Anti-Cheat significantly contributed to this negative emotion. PvP balance issues, inconsistent controls, and unclear game mechanics also led to player frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.09): Disappointment arose from perceived shortcomings in game design, such as small arenas and a focus on blade combat in a mech game. Players were also let down by the story's vagueness, limited multiplayer depth, and a perceived lack of new content or DLC. Technical issues preventing gameplay and the game not meeting high expectations also contributed to disappointment.
- Joy (weight 0.07): Joy was experienced through the game's genuinely fun and addictive gameplay, particularly the assembly and customization of mechs. The triumphant return of the series, combined with improved graphics and immersive combat, brought immense happiness to players. Overcoming difficulty and the overall high quality of the game solidified this positive emotion.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players found enjoyment in the game's fun mech combat, deep customization, and fluid movement. The engaging story, charming characters, and well-designed boss fights contributed to an overall positive experience. The game's replayability and the ability to experiment with different builds also enhanced player enjoyment.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Admiration was directed towards the developers for their skill in crafting a high-quality mech game, often described as a masterpiece. The game's exceptional graphics, combat design, immersive sound, and profound story were frequently cited as reasons for this emotion. The overall polish and unique mech aesthetics also garnered significant admiration.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation stemmed from the game's unique identity, core qualities, and its standing within the community. Players valued the deep customization, engaging story presentation, and high-quality soundtrack and visuals. The game's accessibility for newcomers and its successful integration of FromSoftware's strengths were also highly appreciated.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger was primarily caused by the anti-cheat software (EAC) leading to severe technical issues and crashes. Players also expressed anger over perceived poor design decisions, overpowered weapons, and developer inaction regarding cheaters. Specific frustrating boss fights and unfair ranked penalties further fueled this emotion.
- Awe (weight 0.01): Awe was inspired by the game's exceptional movement mechanics, stunning visual effects, and impressive scale of environments. The profound story, intricate world-building, and monumental set pieces contributed to a sense of wonder. The game's overall quality and its unique portrayal of beauty in destruction also evoked awe.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game was driven by its extensive customization options, challenging boss fights, and engaging characters. The overall high quality of the game, including its gameplay, story, music, and strategic combat, fostered a deep affection among players. The immersive experience of piloting mechs also contributed to this strong positive emotion.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise arose from the game exceeding expectations, particularly regarding its story depth and intuitive controls. Players were often surprised by their enjoyment of a genre they previously disliked or by the manageable difficulty compared to other FromSoftware titles. Discovering new content in New Game+ also contributed to this emotion.
- Challenge (weight 0.01): The emotion of challenge was directly linked to the game's high difficulty, particularly the steep learning curve and demanding boss fights. Players felt challenged by the need for focus in combat and the hardcore difficulty present from the tutorial onwards, which often served as skill checks.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope was expressed through the strong desire for future content, including sequels (like AC7) and DLC. Players hoped for continued improvements in game mechanisms, piloting realism, and the overall quality of future FromSoftware titles. The potential for the series' future and the desire for remakes of previous titles also fueled this emotion.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia was triggered by the game's similar controls to older Armored Core titles and its ability to evoke childhood memories of mecha anime fights. Long-time fans felt a strong connection to the series' roots and appreciated the game's faithfulness to original elements, even while noting missing features from older entries.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Desire was primarily focused on the wish for more Armored Core games, including sequels, remakes, and additional content or DLC. Players also expressed a desire for specific features like co-op modes, better matchmaking, and more updates to the game.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation was driven by the desire for more content, including sequels and future game installments. Players also felt anticipation for potential DLC and the appearance of specific characters. The long wait for the game's release and the prospect of future difficulty in New Game++ also contributed to this emotion.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement stemmed from the game's intriguing lore, compelling world-building, and narrative elements. Players were drawn in by the challenging gameplay, the continuous process of optimizing their mechs, and the high-speed combat. The immersive story and New Game+ content also contributed to sustained engagement.
- Amusement (weight 0): Amusement was derived from humorous narrative elements, witty NPC interactions, and the comical contrast between mech customization and combat difficulty. Players also found humor in the game's financial mechanics and the iterative process of building and testing mechs.
- Relief (weight 0): Relief was felt when players discovered workarounds for technical issues, such as disabling Easy Anti-Cheat. The game's manageable difficulty, especially compared to typical FromSoftware titles, and the absence of tedious backtracking or lost progress also brought a sense of relief.}