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Bandai Namco recently held a hands-on preview event for Armored Core 6, which allowed select players to experience the new and improved gameplay for the latest game in the series. Needless to say, it's impressive.
In a recent blog post on the PlayStation Blog, De'Angelo Epps wrote about everything they experience during the hands-on event. According to Epps, those lucky enough to participate in the event had five hours to try out Armored Core 6's updated gameplay. Epps detailed in the blog post everything that they experienced in the game, starting with the customization.
Armored Core 6, much like its predecessors, has a wide variety of missions. This ranges from taking down important enemy structures, surviving against an army of mechs, or taking down that one huge mech. As such, it's important for players to constantly customize their Armored Core (AC) to match the mission. The player can customize their AC via the Armory, where Epps said the player will “spend a significant chunk of time” in.
The Armory lets players create their ideal mech, as everything about your mech can be customized. This includes the AC's “body parts, core, weapons, boosters, defensive mechanisms, and weight class.” AC customization has always been a mainstay in Armored Core games and something that fans really loved about it. As mentioned above, the player will definitely be customizing their AC between each mission. Adding or replacing weapons, switching out their legs for tank treads, and more. The possibilities are endless when it comes to AC customization. Players can even customize their appearance to their liking.
One new upgradeable item that people found during the Armored Core 6 hands-on preview was the OS Upgrades. Players could customize their AC's OS to have various passive abilities. Epps listed a few down, including the ability to turn faster, swap handheld weapons, or even maneuvers like the Assault Boost. They even mention that veterans of the game could equip an OS upgrade that lets them switch to manual targeting. This allows them to play the game similarly to the older games.
As with the older games, players also have a plethora of weapons to try out. This ranges from your usual machine guns and rocket launchers to plasma weapons and swords. There are even some specialized weapons that the player can try out. For example, Epps mentioned a special type of missile that attacks enemies from behind. The player is free to experiment and figure out which weapon combination suits their needs.
Perhaps one of the biggest features in the game is the Armory stations. Some missions allow the player to access Armoy stations mid-mission. This lets them change their loadout at key parts of the map. An example Epps mentioned is missions where the objective or fight changes midway. You could be fighting multiple enemies at the same time during the first half, then a boss the next. Armory stations would allow you to fix your loadout right before the decisive fight.
Other than the customization, the hands-on preview also brought up the importance of movement in Armored Core 6's gameplay. The game puts a huge emphasis on verticality, with launch pads, rockets, and more allowing the player to take to the skies. Unlike the previous games where players were mostly on the ground, Armored Core 6 encourages its players to consider the map's verticality as well. This opens up so many possibilities for the player when it comes to movement, be it for attacking or for dodging enemy attacks. Players can customize their ACs to be very light, which will allow them to stay airborne for longer, or they can forego flying altogether to fight head-on. Either way, the choice is up to the player.
Epps then emphasizes the game's variety in its gameplay and missions. From fighting armies to taking down other ACs in a duel, players will have “hours of missions to complete” in the game. Additionally, each mission happens on various large maps that the player can explore, each with their own little gimmicks and ways for the player to approach. This adds to the game's replayability, allowing players to play and replay the game without easily getting tired of it. Additionally, the game has a variety of different game modes that the player can enjoy, further adding to its replayability.
Epps also brings up the game's story, saying that it is “suffused with FromSoftware's brand of subtle storytelling. From the pre-mission briefings the player receives to the banter they experience from the other characters, players will be able to slowly build their picture of just what exactly is going on in planet Rubicon.
That's everything that Epps talked about in their experience in the Armored Core 6 hands-on gameplay preview. If you are interested in actually seeing the gameplay, YouTuber VaatiVidya uploaded 20 minutes of gameplay to his channel, as well as an analysis of its gameplay.
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