What to expect from Armored Core VI, the new game from Elden Ring Devs

Elden ring the FromSoftware studio is going from demigods to giant mechs Armored core VIand warning fans not to expect the cult classic sci-fi franchise to go away all “Soulsborne” on them. Instead, a new ign interview with FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki and game director Masaru Yamamura indicate that the latest sequel will stay true to what players love about the series, including a heavy emphasis on mech customization.

Armored core VI had by far the Best Trailer at The Game Awards 2022. While news about FromSoftware’s latest game had leaked a while agofans lost my head to crunchy metal, apocalyptic vibes, and an eerie synthesizer soundtrack when the game was finally properly revealed. The trailer looked like an anime from hell and the mechs, explosions and world all looked amazing compared to the last game in the series ten years ago.

But it wasn’t a gameplay trailer, and it didn’t give a clear idea of ​​what to expect from the first new one Armored core game from the PS3 era. Want Armored core VI go the Elden ring open world route? It will contain a Dark souls RPG progression system, or Transmitted by bloodnarrative style? Not really. “We didn’t make a conscious effort to try to steer it towards more Soulsborne-like gameplay,” Miyazaki said. “First of all, let me just clarify.”

Instead, Armored core VI will focus on the bread and butter series: assembling mechs. Players can swap everything from legs to rocket launchers, prioritizing one type of speed boost over another, to design their own personal death machine. In battle, meanwhile, players will be rewarded for aggressive playstyles that seek to keep enemies on the defensive. “Hard and intense battles are still the focus,” but customization and mech movement are still a staple.

Here’s what else we learned Armored core VI from ignthe interview of:

• The story is segmented into missions
• You customize your equipment between missions
• Earn cash from missions to buy better gear for your mech
• There will be a versus mode but multiplayer is not the focus
• Brand new environment and story that does not connect to previous games
• Boss battles with violent machines are the “highlight of the game”

The interview acknowledges that some aspects of the Soulsborne games are really just the general style of the house of FromSoftware, including stories told through mysteries and lore and apocalyptic worlds full of challenging enemies. Then while Armored core VI is indeed a mech fighter, the studio also isn’t pretending that its next incarnation will feel like a dramatic change in direction from its more recent successes.

Part of why fans of the series are so excited Armored core to go back, beyond mech mech tinkering, is to see how FromSoftware, which has expanded and matured since Dark souls has effectively become a genre unto itself, using its new resources and experience to take on a long dormant series.

Debuting in 1997 on the original PlayStation, released in Armored core the series slowed to a trickle in the PS3 era. 2006 Armored Core IV was a hodgepodge held back by sterile graphics, while that of 2012 Armored Core V it was better but still too esoteric for the mainstream audience of the time. In the years since, FromSoftware’s capabilities have grown, but so has what’s possible on gaming consoles, with the series now skipping an entire console generation. Gamers’ tastes have also changed, perhaps laying the groundwork for Armored core‘s return in big, big style.