@@conaldeugenepeterson2147 right, but he was heavily involved and is credited with the creation of the combat system, arguably the most revolutionary and special thing about the game.
Completely agree about the story. I felt more invested the longer I played, even after reaching the credits multiple times. More and more context being given and more characters showing up
Bruh did you get to NG+ or NG++ different story bruh.. I was giggling like a little kid. You will be fighting a certain pilot and suddenly another one pops out... And when you get to NG++ you suddenly learn that every mission you pick will change a lot of stuff.. 11/10
What made this different from other hard games is the short levels and parts based combat system. This makes it casual friendly while keeping its hard-core fans happy
This game definitely made me confident that if/when Miyazaki truly steps back and stops being the lead director on Fromsoft games, we won’t experience a drop in quality of the games.
Yeah miyazaki has mastered and made a formula that has been reinvented but these are fresh ideas that are done with care and thought although the revolution in gameplay for AC did come from Miyazaki it still show that from soft can pull off other games and it’s so nice to see this completely different game get attention as it should
@@heliusahmadian2711 yeah he helped with the early development to get what the base of the game would be, there was still a lot that he didn’t have part in.
@@kphamcao yes but in hindsight it shouldn’t have been a dark souls game it could be something else and it would’ve given the devs more creative freedom for all of the ideas it had
Im with you about the story. I was fascinated by it. I find it odd so many people didnt like it. I even went all over the levels trying to find ac wrecks to get extra lore.
@@Quoisboy I love the idea of coral being somewhat alive how can anyone not be interested in that there are SO MANY things to think about it as a concept.
@@Vross_MKII exactly. For some reason the mystery in their games grab me so much more. it really makes me think about what could be going on and what characters motivations are especially when I find things out in the world to read that can give the context I was looking for. just solid badass writing with masterful VA.
Crazy how I had the exact same feelings about it all. The combat was so instantly satisfying it felt like I'm playing in an action movie, but unlike those cinematic games that focus on set pieces, I'm fully in control here, it's not in some cutscene or a pseudo cutscene with illusion of control where I can't die. All of it is in my hands and rewarding my trained muscle memory to pull of those impressive looking shots and combos.
remember when the community thought that the gameplay trailer showing an AC dodging Balteus' missiles was scripted and undoable in-game? well boy were we wrong. Assault Boost really does look that badass
I’m legitimately so in love with this game its hard to explain. I hadn’t even heard of the Armored Core series before this game, yet its utterly ensorcelled me!
I really wasn’t prepared for how hype the story was going to be going in. I mean I was expecting something decent but I was not ready for how emotionally invested I ended up being with more or less the entire cast. Not only is everyone great but there were a ton of cool and impactful character moments that honestly blew me away for what I was expecting. The best part about it all is that NG+ layers the story in a way that kept me on my toes to see what else changed and make me go “oh shit, it wasn’t like this last time”. All this apart from the new missions which straight up give you more story.
I absolutely adored the surprises in NG++ My favorite one was when you're attacking the watchpoint. I went into it, business as usual. Got to Sulla, said "Alright Sulla, time to put you down again, sorry." and then Walter cut in with the "Wait, 621, behind you!" and it caught me so off guard.
And also, Balteus and specially SEASPIDER (for me atleast) really serve to remind you of the amount of tools you have at your disposal. If you're having difficulty with a boss, change up your build, its like making a car for a race if you really think about it. Depending on the length of the race, the type of tracks, if it will be rainy or not you will have to change and spice things up with your car, or in AC6's case, your mech.
My mind was BLOWN when I found out how many people were stuck on bosses…. Like the whole game is about making a mech to beat the boss. I don’t think I died to the same boss more than 5 times….
@@diegeticfridge9167 Same, but thats because i learned really quickly that just hitting your head against a brick wall until you break it does not work. You need to build the tool for the job, .
I have a hard time with those bosses. Just beat the Seaspider tonight. But every fight I was learning something new. What does and doesn’t work. The attack patterns. When to push and when to back off. I’m still a newb but I’m having a great time with this game!
The story script is not revolutionary by any means. But the atmosphere of this game, the art direction, the scale, the presentation are all insane. The game never loses that story tension. The factions were interesting, i genuinely cared about the characters in the game, they might be cringe sometimes but they feel alive. One of the best parts about this game for me were the mission briefings/notifications. The "story" is incredible!
I did the "bad" ending first and I feel that was the best choice. You get the most cash for their missions so you can build without grinding too much and you’re not really attached to the characters yet. Then the good ending to better focus on story more. Then might as well do the true ending. It’s only gonna take a few more hours any way lol
That one battle at the end of my first play through and the dialog plus after you beat them made Like that character a lot more so can’t wait to see the rest.
Honestly I don't think the game has any truly bad endings, at least with the first two. I don't like the RLF, and I don't like the Corps. I do like Ayre, but I consider Coral to be too dangerous to be put in the hands of humanity. The freedom ending feels good, and Ayre lives, but coral is still gonna be hanging around, waiting for the Corps to come back and steal it. New game++ might change my thoughts on that, about halfway through rn.
I did the ‘good’ ending first and I honestly think it was the best choice to do first. It all depends what you yourself chose first tbh, but I personally loved murdering Snail, the only character who never gave 621 respect
Shout out to the voice acting, tho! When I first found out that you don't really see anybody's faces, I was worried that I wouldn't get involved in this story as much. But the personalities portrayed by the voice actors are just perfect, and more than make up for it.
Yeah each character is distinct due to good writing and amazing voice acting. Even characters which only appear briefly, such as the samurai guy from the Liberation Front, are clearly different from other characters.
Beating Balteus made me “get it” the movement, the quick boost, the flying. It really empowered me that the rest of the main bosses were only as difficult as Balteus. It made me feel so badass being in full control of the insane and epic set pieces the game puts you through. It’s not on the rails or a QTE, and it gets such a huge plus for me. Definitely my goty:)
You summarized very well the way i'm feeling toward this game Building something from scratch then tinkering to improve or adjust a bit more to your playstyle. Controlling the mech, the way its moves, the way you blast the weak mobs and the satisfaction of connecting hits to deal the criticals. Its all so fun, genuinely and raw fun
The story for this game was so incredible, I absolutely adored the npc's, and the twists were amazing. My mouth was honestly agape during chapters 3-5 for every single cutscene. FromSoft really added another masterpiece to their roster with ac6.
I think you nailed it with the movement. I'm an old gen simp, and in those games it's more like a puzzle. It's not really fun to move around. You move around as part of solving the puzzle of the mission, but the fun comes in successfully figuring out the best way to build your AC for a given mission and then seeing how well you did (with the old control scheme it was often particularly NOT FUN to move around or aim at ACs flying above you.) It's just fun to move around in AC6, even jumping around fighting MTs. My only complaint is there isn't enough, and non-boss encounters aren't challenging enough. About having to customize your mech, and not to toot my own horn, but that's exactly why I cringed when you started with AC4. It's by far the least necessary of any AC to even touch your build. They start you off with a mid-tier build that can beat the entire game. They never should have messed with the tradition of starting you off with an absolute junker. Even 4A isn't much better in that regard, but at least there are better and longer missions that might actually require you to try something different once in awhile. To be fair the story takes off towards the end. Like most ACs, the beginning is a lot of shallow political squabbling between random entities you're not likely to care about. When you first met Rusty you had no idea what he would become to you. Same for Walter. Same for pretty much anyone and anything in the story. Balam, Arquebus, Ayre, Flatwell, Carla, Chatty, Michigan, they're all just names that mean nothing to you until the story actually develops them into something for you to care about, and that is when the NG+ system actually rockets this story into the stratosphere, because next time around you actually know who everyone is and care about what's happening. No more "This is probably some random person who's going to disappear," no now it's "This guy will betray us later," or "This guy is going to lay down his life for us." I think it's the best AC story so far with some really memorable characters.
"and that is when the NG+ system actually rockets this story into the stratosphere" I'd say that the story launches itself into outer space even before NG+. Get it? Because you pass that Kármán line? Yes, it's a stupid joke. And I'm proud of it.
Spoilers down here: . . . . Fr tho stop here if you dont want spoilers. . . . . Never thought i'd cry over the fruits of my protagonist's schizophrenia and commit a greater warcrime than blowing up the cradles. 10/10 game.
I couldn't agree more. I had no idea what I was walking into - and I actually did play previous games in the series to try and get a taste first. But the moment you pick up the controller and move and shoot as the mech, everything instantly clicked and within 30 minutes of play time, I messaged my friend and said "I was not prepared for how much im about to love this game". Savoring every bit of this. This might even be so good I go back and play the prior games with new appreciation, we'll see...
The best thing is the stat of part really influence your mech behaviour, like speed, the tracking system, stamina consumption,jump power etc it makes refining your build to suit your playstyle is really satisfying.
It's unbelievable for me how much I COMPLETELY agree with you in every single topic in every single one of your videos. It's crazy. Also, thanks for not showing things past chapter 1, I see you always care about that too and it confirms how much you care about others not getting spoiled.
Balteus and the Ice Worm were my favourite bosses not just because they were hard, but because they made me change how I approached the game. Balteus forced me to experiment with the Weapon Bay in order to make a build that could competently strip his shields and deal a lot of burst damage, and the ice worm showed me the virtues of manually aiming my weapons when my FCS couldn't keep up or lock on.
The story becomes surprisingly more compelling during the third ending. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet, but it had me questioning my whole life at one point.
I completely agree with the point made at 3:48, this has been the hardest game that has taken me the least amount of time to get "competent" at. Furthermore, unlike dark souls, bloodborne and elden ring, this game feels super polished from start to finish, not a single mission feels "rushed" or "incomplete".
One thing I find myself not really liking about the game is how strong some loadouts are in general, that they dominate the entire game in PVE. But it's also tuned the way it is so that guns feel good, so not really sure what the solution is. In the back of my mind for every encounter though, I think to myself, "Man, dual zimmermans and stun needles would probably crush this encounter"
I very much agree on there being a big difference between playing it yourself and watching gameplay. It's so odd how you really feel that the mech, or Core has weight to it immediately as you start playing and it's just really satisfying. That took me by surprise. Yet, the movement doesn't feel janky at all but instead very fluid and responsive. I honestly couldn't even begin to try and tell you how they've managed to make it both really fluid and nice but still feel weighty, but that is exactly how it feels and that really makes it feel so satisfying. When you thrust dodge around, it feels almost violent, the hits, impacts... How you can change one part, like a booster and comparing video between those few parts wouldn't really tell you anything of difference, but you FEEL that difference. You feel that little bit of weight you added and it can even throw you off that you're not as light as you were in the previous mission. That in itself to me is a crazy achievement lol. Edit: Oh and what I also quite like is how in my opinion there are no "OP easy mode picks" in this game. A lot of people are saying that gatling guns are it, combined with a heavy hulking build. But I can't make that work for me, my playstyle is just so different. Infact, when I've struggled the most and I've kept on trying to give myself more AP by heavier parts, to make myself hit harder with bigger and larger cannons, I've done worse... then I've returned to an ultra light build with two fast firing assault rifles and sufficient missiles to punish once the enemy is staggered - that is my road to success. Was in Balteus, was in the Sea Spider thing. Just managing a constant pressure with rifles while focusing on dodging everything... 10/10, definitely my jam. Though, some enemy might still become a roadblock, who knows as I'm not quite through just yet. Oh and in Balteus I couldn't even describe how I won on the run. First day, got my ass kicked, quit the mission in the end to replay old missions to get some parts. Second day, did it on the second run and I just stopped thinking, started reacting and it went suddenly so well I had 2 repair kits when it died. A part of me wished I was on PS5, as I would've loved to hit share and record the last minutes to really watch what I did right. But that's my advice on anyone stuck. Get confident in how your mech moves and doing a lot of mission replays just for fun is a good way to do so. So that it kinda becomes second nature. Then go in confident and just pay attention and react. Getting frustrated and disheartened is the biggest debuff. If that happens, back away, replay other content, try again later.
Stoked for the story/lore videos. You get a focus on characters in this game that the souls series doesn't deliver and it adds much needed emotional weight.
I've played so many difficult games, endured so many bosses that made me curse out loud. However, in AC6 I never got angry, however many times a boss kicked my ass, and I honestly can't tell you why that's the case. But I do think it is a testament to how fair the game felt to me. Never did I think something was impossible, I just needed to figure out which build would work best. God, I never expected to love this game as much as I do! Just so good!
Playing AC6, I genuinely have not felt so much joy since beating Gascoigne the first time in Bloodborne. You nailed it with the dopamine rush. The speed and heart pumping action had me hooked on Fromsoft games since. Funny it all comes back to AC, which I had played so long ago I had no idea who Fromsoft were. Feels like I'm in a rare state of gaming Nirvana and life is so good right now. 🎉
My main issue is that after I found something that worked, it was hard to ever change up my build. I tried out the zimmerman shotguns because they seemed cool in concept. But it kinda trivialized all of my fights. ACS stagger them with the shotties, then melee. Whenever I tried to switch it up to something else the back of my head was going, "Man this weapon either kills stuff way too slow or has barely any ammo." But god, using the zimmermans after a while made me feel like using a magic build in dark souls or elden. Loved the concept of a handgun mech... but then I could never complete any of the longer missions without running out of ammo, and sometimes single AC fights could drain it all. Loved the concept of machineguns or assault rifles... but then they felt too slow to kill anything or ACS break. Found the gatling guns, which felt just as dirty as the zimmermans to use. Tried out plasma guns... same ammo issues as handguns for me. (The only weapon type that felt semi-balanced to me were the laser guns. Which I wish I had realized sooner, but the earliest laser rifle you get was kinda dogwater compared to the other heavier ones.) Even though a lot of stuff seemed cool, they weren't satisfying to use. Either feeling too OP or underpowered. (Though I assume that FromSoft are gonna try to balance the different weapons out more come patch 1.)
The weapon balance could be better is about all there is to it. Zimmermans are one of the heaviest things a biped can use without having to stop to shoot. A 1000 weight handgun isn't going to be able to compete, but a bazooka or grenade launcher can't be fired without stopping, or is just too heavy for a lot of builds, so... zimmermans it is. Maybe some linear rifles or energy weapons could compete, but eh. Still probably worse.
I think people are sleeping on the laser pistol (VP-66LH). It's not a stagger machine, but it's a pretty solid DPS machine, especially when you dual wield it. Good DPS, good ammo count (380), and works well at midrange (ideal range is 190) compared to the shotties or gatling guns. They decently versatile with back weapons, working well with missiles of any arrangement (especially the vertical plasma ones, Vvc-70PM), the laser orbit (45-091 ORBT) or drones (Vvc-700LD), Songbirds, or a melee weapon to build stagger (like the plasma thrower, 44-143 HMMR). I'd say it tends to run best on a lighter, fast-paced build since it's more about DPS than building stagger. You'll need arms that have good Recoil Control and Firearm Specialization (04-101 Mind Alpha, AR-011 Melander, VP-46S, or IA-C01A: Ephemera-all depending on whether you want Melee Specialization as well) since you need good tracking and to minimize reticle bloom from spamming them. Likewise, a good mid-range FCS (like FCS-G2/P05) and a generator with good Energy Firearm Spec (VP-20C is good for lightweight mechs). You're a bit more restricted in your build, but I think it gives better results than Zimmermans against faster, always-moving opponents like the Chapter 4 boss since you don't need to constantly be close. Certain enemies have a seemingly stupid amount of energy resistance, though. Main two I can think of are the PCA LCs with the big metal shields (the ones with seemingly infinite flight capability) and the dumb wheel enemies just before the Chapter 4 boss. Again, less versatile than Zimmermans, but with better potential in a lot of chapters/against a decent set of enemies.
@@Jassu323 I tried the laser pistols once and didn't like them, but I'll def give em a better shot with your advice. (Wish the regular kinetic pistol had more than like 80 bullets like the laser pistol lel) And ye, found the most annoying enemy to fight in the game not being those LCs (though now it makes sense why my laser build sucked against them) but instead the HC with the constant energy shield up. Had trouble with both my kinetic and energy builds against it.
@@I-ONLY-BUILD-MECHS-AND-DUSTERS I wanted to like linear rifles, and they on paper seemed great. But I never could figure out how to get them to work. It might've been me early game (first half of the first new game) when I tried them all out influencing it. Not knowing hard lock makes tracking worse. But I'm still not sold on them. The only thing I feel like that can compete with zimmermans besides gatlings (albeit gatlings can only fit on medium and heavy builds) is the Sweet Sixteen shotgun. It's probably objectively worse than the Zimmerman, but still probably better than most other light weapons with the benefit of being way lighter than the Zimmerman so more weight to shoulder weapons. Will add: when I found the Zimmerman I thought it was so cool and that I'd be known in my group as the shotgun guy. And I thought all weapons would be similar in balance if not better than it early on. But then I played with friends and they commented on me having the meta weapons (I felt like how Ratotoskr described people finding the moonveil katana in Elden Ring without knowing it's meta). Looked it up and saw that people were using basically my favorite loadout (minus the electric needle launcher thing) to clear no-hit bosses.
This is one of the better games I've played in recent years, if not THE best game. It's so incredibly fun. The only thing I hope is that FromSoft makes a dlc or sequel to this ASAP. I'm having almost as much fun in AC6 as I had in Monster Hunter World, which is my favorite game of ALL TIME. And that's saying a lot. FromSoft just DON'T MISS!!!
Nailed it! Thank you! I was thinking about this myself, I've never had faster fun in a game as I did in AC6 when it gripped me. The frustrating parts were a hang up for me cause yeah, no one wants to be as frustrated as I was during some of those later bosses. I at least get why it might have turned people off just by random chance of their experience. 100% a distinct joy of this game was mastering the controls, then the world that opens up with your builds when you realize what you can really do. Shivers! And the take of the story too, The story actually was the glue that got me to keep playing the game. It's so fun, but I've got other games that are fun. I love all of the characters, the coolness in Walter, sheer disrespect in Karla, the arrogance of Snail; every character feels like it embodies personality. They all have something they want and a way they get along with others, maybe even hopes and dreams. I feel like they wrote a book just to find the personalities for these characters.
The thing you said about the story is exactly how I felt too. Aswell as the criticism of the game looking bad. Anyone who says those things haven’t gotten to chapter 3-5. There’s no way.
Partway through chapter 4, the story has been highly predictable when it comes to the major points (and many of the minor ones). I’m open to being surprised yet, but I’m not finding it odd so far that there are people who don’t find much “wow” in it.
Basically the ONLY problem I have it weapon balance. It’s almost too easy to end up with a “meta” build. After Balteus I almost never truly changed my build, I tinkered a bit when I got new parts but it was more to refine my existing build instead of making any drastic changes. I wish there was at least one boss or mission that forced me to try something drastically different.
For me it's ME wanting to change my build away from the meta. Sure, I used the craziest most overpowered build I could come up with to get all three endings... But now I'm playing through for a fourth time with wacky crazy builds thinking "hmmm, this might just work" and getting that satisfaction from piloting and experimenting with my own ideas. It's like the game with it's 3 endings was just the training for you to be able to go in fists only, or pulse / melee plus smgs, non meta things
I was in the top of the US leaderboard in 4A. I'm an AC veteran from the very first game on PS1. The Story and PVE has always been a hurdle to acquire all items and abilities to compete in PVP in AC. AC6 flips this and actually has a compelling story and difficult Bosses. Now you play the PVE for the fun of it. I am waiting for balance and game type updates in AC6 so that PVP catches up to the enjoyment of 4A.
That "seed" moment you're talking about happened to me as I jumped between both Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1. I nearly talked myself out of buying a PS4 because I just said to myself, "There's no way I'm going to like Bloodborne, I'm going to have the same problem I did with dark souls, what am I doing with my life?" But I went through with it anyway (mainly because I wanted to buy ffxv when it eventually came out) and I *still* needed to quit Bloodborne, come back to dark souls, and then finally when I went back to Bloodborne again, for the second time, that's when it finally clicked. And that was back in late 2015, early 2016, so I was already way behind by the time I figured out I was obsessed. But I got there eventually and it was worth it. I ended up putting in probably around two thousand hours across all from soft titles at this point, mainly Bloodborne and sekiro, though a fair mix of everything. Never did beat dark souls 2 or demon's souls, but I gave them both a fair and honest try. Anyways, I don't think it's possible to really understand what makes from soft the way it is unless you have that seed moment. Sorry for rambling, your voice is very soothing, and thank you.
I honestly have one major issue with the game and that's the UI. It's too subtle, it's hard to make out how much ammo you have remaining before a reload and hard to see your weapons being on cooldown or the charge-up for certain weapons. Often it gets very confusing to know if you're on hardlock-on or not.
This. In AC2 and 3 (can't remember the other ones), you can change the colour of the HUD. It's really damn hard to see the white HUD against the snow backdrop in this game. IIRC, you can also turn on and off HUD elements in AC2, and in AC3 you can straight up move the elements around. It's something missing in AC6
@@deva4229there were a few electric fields with the hidden bots you need to scan to see. If you walk in you'll get shocked and take a lot of damage if the bar fills.
The only issue is the lack of body part variability. Getting 2 more tetrapod leg sets, a proper hovertank and some specialised reverse joints would go a long way. Same with integrated weapon arms and utility shoulder mounts. And well, getting a missile radar For Answer style would’ve made the Balteus fight so much more threatening.
i wrote a short steam review the other day. it was something like, " if you take a 30 sec slice of gameplay from any game, i dare you to find one better than this." once you get a feel for the controls i dont think anything does it better.
Love this game, love the characters, love the story. Just beat NG++ and now will be going through the gruelling pain of getting S rank in every mission. I hope the success of this game convinces From to make a For Answer style sequel in the same universe as AC6.
But like.. what would it even be about because in the true ending SPOILERS Humanity bassicaly assimilated with machines and now everyone is a Mech lol. WTH would the plot be?
Walter's whole dialogue at the end of Liberator of Rubicon story route... I did not expect it to hit me as hard as it did. Ayre begging you two to stop fighting is also a super nice touch. Overall I found the game a bit too easy and underwhelming in very few aspects, but damn am I glad to finally have another Armoured Core.
I wish they would of said how many chest are in each level in the mission description. Since most of them dont have any it would of saved a lot of time.
The game, in spite of all the stats in the garage, fails to communicate critical information. S Ranking missions, the number of logs missed, and secrets missed.
@@jeff3221 I think the only thing that I genuinely found poorly communicated was decision missions. Admittedly it could have been my own stupidity, but I took them to mean that DURING the mission, I'd have to make an important decision. Not that choosing between them was the important decision.
@@boywonderandbatman2092 no they don't show up, it says the you haven't got all of them, not how many you have left to get. You've clearly not S ranked many missions if you think it's self explanatory or exempt from criticism
My only complaint is the lack of long range build options, snipers just don't exist in AC6 currently. But as an OG fan that has waited 9years for the series continuation I am very satisfied with what we got!
Its so good, I really hope it sparks a mecha game renaissance so we dont have to wait another decade for something to come along that's better than Daemon X Machina or MW5. Unironically one of the best games and the most fun I've had in years, I just wish it was a little longer.
Rat, this is by far the most fun ive ever had with a fromsoft game. Ive over 2000k collective hours over the fromsoft catalog and this game has captured me like none before.
My biggest complaint on this game is that the regular enemies sometimes feel very sitting-duckish. Like, a little bit of movement to get out of harms way would be nice but these guys don't give a fudge when they see their buddies disintegrated by a god mech. Perhaps a little repositioning and a more active combat role would turn these guys into actual threats than just level decoration.
FS continuously amazes me how invested i can get with characters like rusty and ayre with only their voices. Huge testament to the great world building they can create in every game
Honestly, my main complaint is just how cluttered everything can be. Its hard to keep track of ammo and cooling when they're on the constantly moving lock on reticle. Plus, some effects fill the screen, making it nearly impossible to tell what an enemy is doing.
"I had to change my build, experiment and learn good counters" Dual Long Range Shotguns and Shoulder Mounted Grenade Launchers: Allow us to introduce ourselves.
This game is so enjoyable. From building your mech, to piloting your mech, too landing that final blow as your wingman comms "I won't miss." Rusty my boy, what a mission!
This is a high darn praise. People have constantly tell me how good it is, but I've never been so compelled to buy a game before hearing how good you make this game to be.
that last line about Fromsoftware making any game from any genre into gold made me think about how funny it would be if the made a Madden or a CoD style game
This game is legit a great game with pretty much no downsides to me. The developers set out to and created probably the best mech game on the market and one of if not THE GOTY.
Just returned to this game recently and S ranked all missions. What a wild ride. I absolutely adore this game and pray that we get more content or another installment to this franchise.
What I personally, as a souls veteran, find really cool about the new AC game (which is my first AC game) is the balance between skill and mech composition. First, it reeeeally makes the window for new players broader, since you can always modify your mech for the situation and make the fight, well, not trivial, but much easier. For example, you can always take double pulse guns for Balteus and just melt his shield away in like a few seconds, then finish him with shoulder laser guns. Tested in mission replay, that fella dropped like a dead fly. Second is the challenge for those who like extra difficulty - your skill still matters. For example, I didn't really want to switch my mech composition for Balteus dramatically, so instead I just kept balling with my lovely combo of reverse-joints and blade, mastered his attack patterns (took me like 10 attempts since I'm a big noob in mech games lol) but the result was soo satisfying. However, I never had this feeling that I need to tinker my build in any of the souls games. Yes, bosses have resists, but it's not really too important, while this game actively encourages me to find new synergies and cook with my mech, trying different playstyles, I hope the new fromsoftwave soulslike titles will have a tiny bit more of that.
Characters are actually really well made, you don’t see them but you hear them and their personalities just pop off. Specially Michigan, bro doesn’t give af. I enjoyed the fuck out of this game and I usually don’t play games like this.
This is the first (not) review video about the game that I completely agree with. No other video has commented on that first feeling you get when you move your mech for the first time. It's so surreal, and that's the exact moment the game hooked ne to no end.
I don't have anything too meaningful to say but it's been a while since I've played an AC game and the thing that made the biggest impression on me is how immersive AC6 feels. The minimalistic approach to story telling makes me feel like I'm actually hanging out at the mech hangar while waiting for my next mission during the downtime and makes me feel like I'm actually in a tense combat situation while on a mission. I can imagine it's not for everyone but god damn I love it SO much.
The game is perfect for my schedule working full time. Able to run a mission or two, get pushed in, play in the garage, try the missions again, go to bed, go to work, think about builds, try them when I get home, beat the mission, repeat.
Agree, even if you have to retry a hard mission because you want to buy a new part for your build it's ok since most missions don't really waste your time
in the zone sitting there you know the rate of fire for each of your weapons, you are charging the plasma cannon while unloading on a boss just waiting to break his guard to let go of that charge shot and rush in for heavy melee attack. So good man..
It took a couple of missions for it to click for me but afterwards I really started to enjoy it. I don't have much free time with my work and family, so the bite sized mission structure is way healthier to tackle than when i lost 3 months playing eldin ring from 9pm till3am every night
In just two games, Yamamura has already sold me on his immense talent. So much so, that it's actually hard to guess if AC6 and Sekiro would have even been good if it was Miyazaki directing. I hope Yamamura keeps taking on projects and gets even better. And i hope they both live long and healthy, stress free lives so we can get a masterpiece every other year. It's like they can just pass the game of the year award back and forth each year.
I OH SO HOPE for an anime adaptation of this story. The plot becomes grander and grander over time, especially on the 3rd playthrough where you get the True Ending - it would be such an amazing Epic Mech(a) Saga! For the gameplay my main complaint is that several "builds" can absolutely faceroll through the whole game without any tweaks, once you set them up, often beating bosses you see for the first time on first attempt, while other builds struggle and feel underperforming even considering the implied requirement to tweak it to fit the situation. Otherwise it is the GOTY for me, getting ahead of even BG3 slightly, which I also absolutely loved.
The story was fantastic. There's stuff that you can find on the second level that doesn't get paid off until NG++. There's log entries you can find that hint at character motivations and the way dialogue and situations play out differently depending on your actions and cycle of NG+ made my 4 playthroughs engaging. I have never no lifed a game prior to AC6, I just couldn't put it down. That said, there are some downright horrendous decisions and balancing problems. No listed criteria for S Ranking each individual mission, no in mission data communications if you're on track for an S rank, nothing. This wastes so much time and leaves you in a guessing game of what you did wrong. Some missions you can take tonnes of damage, others you need to take very little. Some missions prioritise speed, others require you to take out mini bosses. Moat weapons actively make the game harder just by using them over Zimmerman, Stun Needle, Songbirds, pile Bunker, lance, actually most melee. There needs to be a substantial patch to make the sandbox as a whole, more viable. Just nerfing the good guns won't make the rest any easier to make work. Buff rifle ranges, make burst rifles something other than a bad shotgun, etc.
Balteus teaches you how to move to avoid missiles but there's nothing unfairly difficult about him Armored Core VI is definitely one of the most fun moment to moment not being able to replay from scratch without deleting your primary save is a big minus to replayability. NG+ is super fun in this one as well but I'd enjoy back going to basics without losing that ng++ experience. I think that's the primary negative about this game, which is sad considering how easy it'd be to fix.
I still think they dropped the ball with the barriers being hard and giving you the option to restart mid-mission with full health, 3 more repair kits, and with a mech tailor made to the last third of a mission. Like with most AC games, I'm happy to report, the beginning is the hardest you'll ever have it, because you don't have a variety of parts to use and nothing into your tuning. Here's some good advice: the melander parts are amazing for most of the game, the Melander C3 head and BD-011 Melander torso made it into almost every build I have. The head for its reliability and scanning superiority, the torso for reliable defense and extra energy generation.The Nachtreiher superlight arms track targets better than almost any other, and you get both of these for your medium and light options when the shop opens up early on. And that plasma rifle is godly, there's good reason it's expensive. Use it. Pro-tip: you can use vertical missiles with your scan to bombard unaware targets from cover and take out groups in stealth. This can save a ton of pain down the line in softening up your entry by leaving only the meaty targets and weeding out the chaff.
Bro, I swear I didn't see your video beforehand, but we are very like-minded on most of our arguments about the game, great to see that you liked the game as much as I did!
As someone who has been play AC since PS1 days, this game has come a loooong way as far as movement and controls. Used to hope and dream of moving the way you do in AC6. The one thing I miss is the back mounted dual gatling gun part. I was looking forward to unloading all 4 machine guns all at once while zipping around
When I got to the _true_ final boss, and saw something happen there (I won't give away what it was) I straight-up cheered. I actually unleashed a mighty bellow of celebration from deep within my guts because the thing I saw was that amazing, that awesome. It pulled me right in and suddenly made me really care about everything the 'Raven on borrowed wings' had been fighting for up to that point. I'm the opposite of you, Ratatoskr; I think a game is first and foremost a _game_ , as in the component that you actually play. Don't get me wrong, I really, _really_ like my stories, and some of my favorite stories have been in video games (like Persona 5 Royal or FF IX), but as I have always argued, if you have a game and no story, you still have a game. If you have a story, but no game,. as in, if your 'game' is bad, but your story is good, your story is better off as a novel or a movie or something. Just take pvp in From Software games as an example; there is a barebones justification for pvp in the narrative, but people aren't playing pvp because of the amazing story you get from it. Even if we're talking pve, it's the gameplay that make the Souls games what they are; obscure environmental storytelling wouldn't have been able to rescue the game if it had the quality and polish of, say, Hellpoint (which I still liked). However, again, that doesn't mean AC6's story is anything short of a masterpiece.
It always amazes me how everyone loves rusty just because he calls you buddy. Don’t get me wrong he’s a well written character and likable character, I just think most people don’t realize he’s just cozying up to you because he views you as a potential threat.
I've played AC since 2 way back in middle school. I never thought I would enjoy an Armored Core as much as I enjoyed the hell out of this game. Blew through all 3 storylines in a week and now trying to 100% it while indulging in the PVP. I've gotta say, I think this is the best PVP package FromSoft has ever delivered straight out of the gate. The story is phenomenal, emotional, and as ever for FromSoft: profoundly philosophical. I can't stop thinking about it. They've done it again. I have no idea how, but they've captured lightning in a bottle AGAIN.
balteus reminds me of Genichiro so much as far as in a roadblock sense but instead of testing just your skill at game mechanics it also test how willing you are to change your mech and find the best weapons that work for your playstyle. But they are both the same in the fact that the best thing to do is to be cautious but aggressive.
There a 3 things to love about this game. The story, gameplay and V.IV Rusty. Every time that man called me buddy I had a huge grin on my face.
Watch out for friendly fire.
I Won’t Miss
@@Wolfgang-vd8kxbruhhh, that line give me chills
Him and g1 Michigan are my favorites
@@THEGREATMOLINAfelt like shit fighting them both
I love this game so much, I genuinely respect this director as much as Miyazaki after this game and Sekiro
Yamamura didn’t direct Sekiro
@@conaldeugenepeterson2147he did the combat design tho and the combat is the main thing about this game even though the story music and world are cool
@@conaldeugenepeterson2147 right, but he was heavily involved and is credited with the creation of the combat system, arguably the most revolutionary and special thing about the game.
I agree I think even after Miyazaki is gone fromsoftware is in good hands
Yamamura is the second coming of Miyazaki.
Completely agree about the story. I felt more invested the longer I played, even after reaching the credits multiple times. More and more context being given and more characters showing up
Bruh did you get to NG+ or NG++ different story bruh.. I was giggling like a little kid. You will be fighting a certain pilot and suddenly another one pops out... And when you get to NG++ you suddenly learn that every mission you pick will change a lot of stuff.. 11/10
What made this different from other hard games is the short levels and parts based combat system. This makes it casual friendly while keeping its hard-core fans happy
I'm convinced anyone who thought the story was bad didn't know NG+ was half of the game.
Ngl I thought all first Ng and Ng+ are all simulation that Allmind came up and Ng++ is where it all starts...
ALLMIND is stupid for a super advanced intelligence lol. Iguazu is a hilarious chracter.
This game definitely made me confident that if/when Miyazaki truly steps back and stops being the lead director on Fromsoft games, we won’t experience a drop in quality of the games.
Yeah miyazaki has mastered and made a formula that has been reinvented but these are fresh ideas that are done with care and thought although the revolution in gameplay for AC did come from Miyazaki it still show that from soft can pull off other games and it’s so nice to see this completely different game get attention as it should
Are you sure? I heard he was involved a lot for structure of AC6
@@heliusahmadian2711 yeah he helped with the early development to get what the base of the game would be, there was still a lot that he didn’t have part in.
Dark souls 2 didn't have Miyazaki's involvement. It is still a lot of fun and arguably the most balanced PvP dark souls game today.
@@kphamcao yes but in hindsight it shouldn’t have been a dark souls game it could be something else and it would’ve given the devs more creative freedom for all of the ideas it had
Im with you about the story. I was fascinated by it. I find it odd so many people didnt like it. I even went all over the levels trying to find ac wrecks to get extra lore.
because ADHD tik tok brains cant sit down and read or listen to dialogue without having a seizure 😂 the story was incredible to me.
I’m convinced none of the reviewers actually got past Balteus and had to make the review based on the bits and pieces they had in Chapter 1.
@@Quoisboy I love the idea of coral being somewhat alive how can anyone not be interested in that there are SO MANY things to think about it as a concept.
@@Vross_MKII exactly. For some reason the mystery in their games grab me so much more. it really makes me think about what could be going on and what characters motivations are especially when I find things out in the world to read that can give the context I was looking for. just solid badass writing with masterful VA.
I have extreme ADHD and I loved the story. This game has already hit one of my favorite games of all time
Crazy how I had the exact same feelings about it all. The combat was so instantly satisfying it felt like I'm playing in an action movie, but unlike those cinematic games that focus on set pieces, I'm fully in control here, it's not in some cutscene or a pseudo cutscene with illusion of control where I can't die. All of it is in my hands and rewarding my trained muscle memory to pull of those impressive looking shots and combos.
And the game still has amazing set pieces without ever taking that control away.
remember when the community thought that the gameplay trailer showing an AC dodging Balteus' missiles was scripted and undoable in-game? well boy were we wrong. Assault Boost really does look that badass
I’m legitimately so in love with this game its hard to explain. I hadn’t even heard of the Armored Core series before this game, yet its utterly ensorcelled me!
Thank you for teaching me a new word
@@umyum3858 “ensorcelled” is a good word 👌🏼 synonymous with “enchanted”
Me too. The soundtrack is insane emotional. I played all the bangers this year and nine have me obsessed like this game. It's it's own vibe.
I really wasn’t prepared for how hype the story was going to be going in. I mean I was expecting something decent but I was not ready for how emotionally invested I ended up being with more or less the entire cast. Not only is everyone great but there were a ton of cool and impactful character moments that honestly blew me away for what I was expecting.
The best part about it all is that NG+ layers the story in a way that kept me on my toes to see what else changed and make me go “oh shit, it wasn’t like this last time”. All this apart from the new missions which straight up give you more story.
I absolutely adored the surprises in NG++
My favorite one was when you're attacking the watchpoint. I went into it, business as usual. Got to Sulla, said "Alright Sulla, time to put you down again, sorry." and then Walter cut in with the "Wait, 621, behind you!" and it caught me so off guard.
Fr when i got to that decision at the end i had to think for 5 minutes before choosing
And also, Balteus and specially SEASPIDER (for me atleast) really serve to remind you of the amount of tools you have at your disposal. If you're having difficulty with a boss, change up your build, its like making a car for a race if you really think about it. Depending on the length of the race, the type of tracks, if it will be rainy or not you will have to change and spice things up with your car, or in AC6's case, your mech.
My mind was BLOWN when I found out how many people were stuck on bosses…. Like the whole game is about making a mech to beat the boss. I don’t think I died to the same boss more than 5 times….
@@diegeticfridge9167 Same, but thats because i learned really quickly that just hitting your head against a brick wall until you break it does not work. You need to build the tool for the job, .
Balteus teach me how to be aggressive. Sea Spider teach me how to pick my tools. Pretty good early bosses ngl.
opposite for me @@rightsideup6304
I have a hard time with those bosses. Just beat the Seaspider tonight. But every fight I was learning something new. What does and doesn’t work. The attack patterns. When to push and when to back off. I’m still a newb but I’m having a great time with this game!
The story script is not revolutionary by any means. But the atmosphere of this game, the art direction, the scale, the presentation are all insane. The game never loses that story tension. The factions were interesting, i genuinely cared about the characters in the game, they might be cringe sometimes but they feel alive. One of the best parts about this game for me were the mission briefings/notifications. The "story" is incredible!
Rusty: "I wont miss."
@@normanbestboi9117 "You flew just out of reach... buddy"
The script isnt revolutionary because its not trying to be a movie
Its what I like to call „mastering the basics“. You dont need to be weird and unique if you do absolutely everything perfectly.
The script is a copy of Dune, which isn't a bad thing.
I did the "bad" ending first and I feel that was the best choice. You get the most cash for their missions so you can build without grinding too much and you’re not really attached to the characters yet. Then the good ending to better focus on story more. Then might as well do the true ending. It’s only gonna take a few more hours any way lol
That one battle at the end of my first play through and the dialog plus after you beat them made
Like that character a lot more so can’t wait to see the rest.
Honestly I don't think the game has any truly bad endings, at least with the first two. I don't like the RLF, and I don't like the Corps. I do like Ayre, but I consider Coral to be too dangerous to be put in the hands of humanity. The freedom ending feels good, and Ayre lives, but coral is still gonna be hanging around, waiting for the Corps to come back and steal it.
New game++ might change my thoughts on that, about halfway through rn.
I did the ‘good’ ending first and I honestly think it was the best choice to do first. It all depends what you yourself chose first tbh, but I personally loved murdering Snail, the only character who never gave 621 respect
@@sauceinmyface9302my thought process exactly, i was really sitting there tallying each side up to see what was the better option
@@sauceinmyface9302 get the 3rd ending
Shout out to the voice acting, tho!
When I first found out that you don't really see anybody's faces, I was worried that I wouldn't get involved in this story as much. But the personalities portrayed by the voice actors are just perfect, and more than make up for it.
"I won't miss"
chills all around
Yeah each character is distinct due to good writing and amazing voice acting. Even characters which only appear briefly, such as the samurai guy from the Liberation Front, are clearly different from other characters.
Beating Balteus made me “get it” the movement, the quick boost, the flying. It really empowered me that the rest of the main bosses were only as difficult as Balteus. It made me feel so badass being in full control of the insane and epic set pieces the game puts you through. It’s not on the rails or a QTE, and it gets such a huge plus for me. Definitely my goty:)
Balteus took me five hours to get through. Loved every bit of it. Haven't had a game spank me that hard since the hidden bosses of KH1.
The story was awesome. I actually felt for the characters even though never actually seeing them.
Yeah, most characters in this game feel very unique and memorable, both the writing team and the casting director did a great job
Imaginary waifu voice in my head >>> phoned in, 16k face mocap “celebrity”
@@aysn2277cheers to that, Raven
You summarized very well the way i'm feeling toward this game
Building something from scratch then tinkering to improve or adjust a bit more to your playstyle. Controlling the mech, the way its moves, the way you blast the weak mobs and the satisfaction of connecting hits to deal the criticals. Its all so fun, genuinely and raw fun
I have minor gripes with the game. But they are very minor. They absolutely nail all the important stuff. It's an incredible game.
The mech customizing is the most fun I've had in ages. Fromsoft delivers another banger!
The story for this game was so incredible, I absolutely adored the npc's, and the twists were amazing. My mouth was honestly agape during chapters 3-5 for every single cutscene. FromSoft really added another masterpiece to their roster with ac6.
hobo will never play this game forsenDespair
I think you nailed it with the movement. I'm an old gen simp, and in those games it's more like a puzzle. It's not really fun to move around. You move around as part of solving the puzzle of the mission, but the fun comes in successfully figuring out the best way to build your AC for a given mission and then seeing how well you did (with the old control scheme it was often particularly NOT FUN to move around or aim at ACs flying above you.) It's just fun to move around in AC6, even jumping around fighting MTs. My only complaint is there isn't enough, and non-boss encounters aren't challenging enough.
About having to customize your mech, and not to toot my own horn, but that's exactly why I cringed when you started with AC4. It's by far the least necessary of any AC to even touch your build. They start you off with a mid-tier build that can beat the entire game. They never should have messed with the tradition of starting you off with an absolute junker. Even 4A isn't much better in that regard, but at least there are better and longer missions that might actually require you to try something different once in awhile.
To be fair the story takes off towards the end. Like most ACs, the beginning is a lot of shallow political squabbling between random entities you're not likely to care about. When you first met Rusty you had no idea what he would become to you. Same for Walter. Same for pretty much anyone and anything in the story. Balam, Arquebus, Ayre, Flatwell, Carla, Chatty, Michigan, they're all just names that mean nothing to you until the story actually develops them into something for you to care about, and that is when the NG+ system actually rockets this story into the stratosphere, because next time around you actually know who everyone is and care about what's happening. No more "This is probably some random person who's going to disappear," no now it's "This guy will betray us later," or "This guy is going to lay down his life for us." I think it's the best AC story so far with some really memorable characters.
And then NEWGAME++ happens , and you realize how important the arena rankings in the story are lol. And that ALLMIND is thier own faction i guess lol.
"and that is when the NG+ system actually rockets this story into the stratosphere"
I'd say that the story launches itself into outer space even before NG+.
Get it? Because you pass that Kármán line?
Yes, it's a stupid joke. And I'm proud of it.
Spoilers down here:
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Fr tho stop here if you dont want spoilers.
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Never thought i'd cry over the fruits of my protagonist's schizophrenia and commit a greater warcrime than blowing up the cradles.
10/10 game.
Perfect spoiler free review right here
Yo hold up spoiler warning dude, jesus.
@@PBart7 Hol up imma fix that
This is a GOTY contender in my opinion!
Stop doing drugs
Finally someone who nailed it, this game needs more love and alot of people dont accept its unique traits that are there for a reason.
I couldn't agree more. I had no idea what I was walking into - and I actually did play previous games in the series to try and get a taste first. But the moment you pick up the controller and move and shoot as the mech, everything instantly clicked and within 30 minutes of play time, I messaged my friend and said "I was not prepared for how much im about to love this game". Savoring every bit of this. This might even be so good I go back and play the prior games with new appreciation, we'll see...
He always focuses on the negative, and he didnt find any. That is huge. Proud of you armored core
I honestly feel he’s lying to some small degree
The best thing is the stat of part really influence your mech behaviour, like speed, the tracking system, stamina consumption,jump power etc it makes refining your build to suit your playstyle is really satisfying.
It's unbelievable for me how much I COMPLETELY agree with you in every single topic in every single one of your videos. It's crazy. Also, thanks for not showing things past chapter 1, I see you always care about that too and it confirms how much you care about others not getting spoiled.
Balteus and the Ice Worm were my favourite bosses not just because they were hard, but because they made me change how I approached the game. Balteus forced me to experiment with the Weapon Bay in order to make a build that could competently strip his shields and deal a lot of burst damage, and the ice worm showed me the virtues of manually aiming my weapons when my FCS couldn't keep up or lock on.
The story becomes surprisingly more compelling during the third ending. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet, but it had me questioning my whole life at one point.
I completely agree with the point made at 3:48, this has been the hardest game that has taken me the least amount of time to get "competent" at.
Furthermore, unlike dark souls, bloodborne and elden ring, this game feels super polished from start to finish, not a single mission feels "rushed" or "incomplete".
One thing I find myself not really liking about the game is how strong some loadouts are in general, that they dominate the entire game in PVE. But it's also tuned the way it is so that guns feel good, so not really sure what the solution is. In the back of my mind for every encounter though, I think to myself, "Man, dual zimmermans and stun needles would probably crush this encounter"
I very much agree on there being a big difference between playing it yourself and watching gameplay.
It's so odd how you really feel that the mech, or Core has weight to it immediately as you start playing and it's just really satisfying. That took me by surprise.
Yet, the movement doesn't feel janky at all but instead very fluid and responsive.
I honestly couldn't even begin to try and tell you how they've managed to make it both really fluid and nice but still feel weighty, but that is exactly how it feels and that really makes it feel so satisfying. When you thrust dodge around, it feels almost violent, the hits, impacts...
How you can change one part, like a booster and comparing video between those few parts wouldn't really tell you anything of difference, but you FEEL that difference. You feel that little bit of weight you added and it can even throw you off that you're not as light as you were in the previous mission.
That in itself to me is a crazy achievement lol.
Edit: Oh and what I also quite like is how in my opinion there are no "OP easy mode picks" in this game. A lot of people are saying that gatling guns are it, combined with a heavy hulking build. But I can't make that work for me, my playstyle is just so different. Infact, when I've struggled the most and I've kept on trying to give myself more AP by heavier parts, to make myself hit harder with bigger and larger cannons, I've done worse... then I've returned to an ultra light build with two fast firing assault rifles and sufficient missiles to punish once the enemy is staggered - that is my road to success. Was in Balteus, was in the Sea Spider thing. Just managing a constant pressure with rifles while focusing on dodging everything... 10/10, definitely my jam. Though, some enemy might still become a roadblock, who knows as I'm not quite through just yet.
Oh and in Balteus I couldn't even describe how I won on the run. First day, got my ass kicked, quit the mission in the end to replay old missions to get some parts. Second day, did it on the second run and I just stopped thinking, started reacting and it went suddenly so well I had 2 repair kits when it died. A part of me wished I was on PS5, as I would've loved to hit share and record the last minutes to really watch what I did right.
But that's my advice on anyone stuck. Get confident in how your mech moves and doing a lot of mission replays just for fun is a good way to do so. So that it kinda becomes second nature.
Then go in confident and just pay attention and react. Getting frustrated and disheartened is the biggest debuff. If that happens, back away, replay other content, try again later.
Stoked for the story/lore videos. You get a focus on characters in this game that the souls series doesn't deliver and it adds much needed emotional weight.
Hope Vaati doesn't do them, that's always another channel's content
I've played so many difficult games, endured so many bosses that made me curse out loud. However, in AC6 I never got angry, however many times a boss kicked my ass, and I honestly can't tell you why that's the case. But I do think it is a testament to how fair the game felt to me. Never did I think something was impossible, I just needed to figure out which build would work best.
God, I never expected to love this game as much as I do! Just so good!
Playing AC6, I genuinely have not felt so much joy since beating Gascoigne the first time in Bloodborne. You nailed it with the dopamine rush. The speed and heart pumping action had me hooked on Fromsoft games since. Funny it all comes back to AC, which I had played so long ago I had no idea who Fromsoft were. Feels like I'm in a rare state of gaming Nirvana and life is so good right now. 🎉
My main issue is that after I found something that worked, it was hard to ever change up my build. I tried out the zimmerman shotguns because they seemed cool in concept. But it kinda trivialized all of my fights. ACS stagger them with the shotties, then melee. Whenever I tried to switch it up to something else the back of my head was going, "Man this weapon either kills stuff way too slow or has barely any ammo." But god, using the zimmermans after a while made me feel like using a magic build in dark souls or elden.
Loved the concept of a handgun mech... but then I could never complete any of the longer missions without running out of ammo, and sometimes single AC fights could drain it all. Loved the concept of machineguns or assault rifles... but then they felt too slow to kill anything or ACS break. Found the gatling guns, which felt just as dirty as the zimmermans to use. Tried out plasma guns... same ammo issues as handguns for me. (The only weapon type that felt semi-balanced to me were the laser guns. Which I wish I had realized sooner, but the earliest laser rifle you get was kinda dogwater compared to the other heavier ones.)
Even though a lot of stuff seemed cool, they weren't satisfying to use. Either feeling too OP or underpowered.
(Though I assume that FromSoft are gonna try to balance the different weapons out more come patch 1.)
The weapon balance could be better is about all there is to it. Zimmermans are one of the heaviest things a biped can use without having to stop to shoot. A 1000 weight handgun isn't going to be able to compete, but a bazooka or grenade launcher can't be fired without stopping, or is just too heavy for a lot of builds, so... zimmermans it is. Maybe some linear rifles or energy weapons could compete, but eh. Still probably worse.
I think people are sleeping on the laser pistol (VP-66LH). It's not a stagger machine, but it's a pretty solid DPS machine, especially when you dual wield it. Good DPS, good ammo count (380), and works well at midrange (ideal range is 190) compared to the shotties or gatling guns. They decently versatile with back weapons, working well with missiles of any arrangement (especially the vertical plasma ones, Vvc-70PM), the laser orbit (45-091 ORBT) or drones (Vvc-700LD), Songbirds, or a melee weapon to build stagger (like the plasma thrower, 44-143 HMMR).
I'd say it tends to run best on a lighter, fast-paced build since it's more about DPS than building stagger. You'll need arms that have good Recoil Control and Firearm Specialization (04-101 Mind Alpha, AR-011 Melander, VP-46S, or IA-C01A: Ephemera-all depending on whether you want Melee Specialization as well) since you need good tracking and to minimize reticle bloom from spamming them. Likewise, a good mid-range FCS (like FCS-G2/P05) and a generator with good Energy Firearm Spec (VP-20C is good for lightweight mechs). You're a bit more restricted in your build, but I think it gives better results than Zimmermans against faster, always-moving opponents like the Chapter 4 boss since you don't need to constantly be close.
Certain enemies have a seemingly stupid amount of energy resistance, though. Main two I can think of are the PCA LCs with the big metal shields (the ones with seemingly infinite flight capability) and the dumb wheel enemies just before the Chapter 4 boss. Again, less versatile than Zimmermans, but with better potential in a lot of chapters/against a decent set of enemies.
@@Jassu323 I tried the laser pistols once and didn't like them, but I'll def give em a better shot with your advice. (Wish the regular kinetic pistol had more than like 80 bullets like the laser pistol lel)
And ye, found the most annoying enemy to fight in the game not being those LCs (though now it makes sense why my laser build sucked against them) but instead the HC with the constant energy shield up. Had trouble with both my kinetic and energy builds against it.
@@I-ONLY-BUILD-MECHS-AND-DUSTERS I wanted to like linear rifles, and they on paper seemed great. But I never could figure out how to get them to work. It might've been me early game (first half of the first new game) when I tried them all out influencing it. Not knowing hard lock makes tracking worse. But I'm still not sold on them.
The only thing I feel like that can compete with zimmermans besides gatlings (albeit gatlings can only fit on medium and heavy builds) is the Sweet Sixteen shotgun. It's probably objectively worse than the Zimmerman, but still probably better than most other light weapons with the benefit of being way lighter than the Zimmerman so more weight to shoulder weapons.
Will add: when I found the Zimmerman I thought it was so cool and that I'd be known in my group as the shotgun guy. And I thought all weapons would be similar in balance if not better than it early on. But then I played with friends and they commented on me having the meta weapons (I felt like how Ratotoskr described people finding the moonveil katana in Elden Ring without knowing it's meta). Looked it up and saw that people were using basically my favorite loadout (minus the electric needle launcher thing) to clear no-hit bosses.
This is one of the better games I've played in recent years, if not THE best game. It's so incredibly fun. The only thing I hope is that FromSoft makes a dlc or sequel to this ASAP. I'm having almost as much fun in AC6 as I had in Monster Hunter World, which is my favorite game of ALL TIME. And that's saying a lot. FromSoft just DON'T MISS!!!
Nailed it! Thank you! I was thinking about this myself, I've never had faster fun in a game as I did in AC6 when it gripped me. The frustrating parts were a hang up for me cause yeah, no one wants to be as frustrated as I was during some of those later bosses. I at least get why it might have turned people off just by random chance of their experience. 100% a distinct joy of this game was mastering the controls, then the world that opens up with your builds when you realize what you can really do. Shivers!
And the take of the story too, The story actually was the glue that got me to keep playing the game. It's so fun, but I've got other games that are fun. I love all of the characters, the coolness in Walter, sheer disrespect in Karla, the arrogance of Snail; every character feels like it embodies personality. They all have something they want and a way they get along with others, maybe even hopes and dreams. I feel like they wrote a book just to find the personalities for these characters.
The thing you said about the story is exactly how I felt too. Aswell as the criticism of the game looking bad. Anyone who says those things haven’t gotten to chapter 3-5. There’s no way.
Partway through chapter 4, the story has been highly predictable when it comes to the major points (and many of the minor ones). I’m open to being surprised yet, but I’m not finding it odd so far that there are people who don’t find much “wow” in it.
Basically the ONLY problem I have it weapon balance. It’s almost too easy to end up with a “meta” build. After Balteus I almost never truly changed my build, I tinkered a bit when I got new parts but it was more to refine my existing build instead of making any drastic changes. I wish there was at least one boss or mission that forced me to try something drastically different.
For me it's ME wanting to change my build away from the meta. Sure, I used the craziest most overpowered build I could come up with to get all three endings... But now I'm playing through for a fourth time with wacky crazy builds thinking "hmmm, this might just work" and getting that satisfaction from piloting and experimenting with my own ideas. It's like the game with it's 3 endings was just the training for you to be able to go in fists only, or pulse / melee plus smgs, non meta things
I love turning on my Xbox and Playstation and seeing Remannt 2, Elden Ring, and AC6 all on the dashboards
I was in the top of the US leaderboard in 4A. I'm an AC veteran from the very first game on PS1. The Story and PVE has always been a hurdle to acquire all items and abilities to compete in PVP in AC. AC6 flips this and actually has a compelling story and difficult Bosses. Now you play the PVE for the fun of it. I am waiting for balance and game type updates in AC6 so that PVP catches up to the enjoyment of 4A.
That "seed" moment you're talking about happened to me as I jumped between both Bloodborne and Dark Souls 1.
I nearly talked myself out of buying a PS4 because I just said to myself, "There's no way I'm going to like Bloodborne, I'm going to have the same problem I did with dark souls, what am I doing with my life?"
But I went through with it anyway (mainly because I wanted to buy ffxv when it eventually came out)
and I *still* needed to quit Bloodborne, come back to dark souls, and then finally when I went back to Bloodborne again, for the second time, that's when it finally clicked.
And that was back in late 2015, early 2016, so I was already way behind by the time I figured out I was obsessed. But I got there eventually and it was worth it. I ended up putting in probably around two thousand hours across all from soft titles at this point, mainly Bloodborne and sekiro, though a fair mix of everything. Never did beat dark souls 2 or demon's souls, but I gave them both a fair and honest try.
Anyways, I don't think it's possible to really understand what makes from soft the way it is unless you have that seed moment. Sorry for rambling, your voice is very soothing, and thank you.
Look at you with almost 125k subs. Glad to see your still doing well on the channel and hopefully in life.
The way you describe the difficulty of Sekiro and the "click" resonates so strongly with me 😂
I honestly have one major issue with the game and that's the UI. It's too subtle, it's hard to make out how much ammo you have remaining before a reload and hard to see your weapons being on cooldown or the charge-up for certain weapons. Often it gets very confusing to know if you're on hardlock-on or not.
This. In AC2 and 3 (can't remember the other ones), you can change the colour of the HUD. It's really damn hard to see the white HUD against the snow backdrop in this game.
IIRC, you can also turn on and off HUD elements in AC2, and in AC3 you can straight up move the elements around. It's something missing in AC6
Best soundtrack and gameplay of the year. Seriously put that masterpiece on in the background. Multiple times I got goosebumps man.
Look Rata, none of the AC reviews out there tell me the one thing I need to know: How many poison swamps Miyazaki? HOW MANY?
0 i think, surprisingly enough. i was totally expecting an area that like rusted through our ac super fast or something
@@deva4229there were a few electric fields with the hidden bots you need to scan to see. If you walk in you'll get shocked and take a lot of damage if the bar fills.
Nadda. However, there are these enemies that sort of show up on an area and make it sort of a poison swamp. But you can quickly eliminate them.
The only issue is the lack of body part variability. Getting 2 more tetrapod leg sets, a proper hovertank and some specialised reverse joints would go a long way. Same with integrated weapon arms and utility shoulder mounts.
And well, getting a missile radar For Answer style would’ve made the Balteus fight so much more threatening.
i wrote a short steam review the other day. it was something like, " if you take a 30 sec slice of gameplay from any game, i dare you to find one better than this." once you get a feel for the controls i dont think anything does it better.
Love this game, love the characters, love the story. Just beat NG++ and now will be going through the gruelling pain of getting S rank in every mission. I hope the success of this game convinces From to make a For Answer style sequel in the same universe as AC6.
But like.. what would it even be about because in the true ending SPOILERS
Humanity bassicaly assimilated with machines and now everyone is a Mech lol. WTH would the plot be?
Walter's whole dialogue at the end of Liberator of Rubicon story route... I did not expect it to hit me as hard as it did. Ayre begging you two to stop fighting is also a super nice touch.
Overall I found the game a bit too easy and underwhelming in very few aspects, but damn am I glad to finally have another Armoured Core.
I wish they would of said how many chest are in each level in the mission description. Since most of them dont have any it would of saved a lot of time.
The game, in spite of all the stats in the garage, fails to communicate critical information.
S Ranking missions, the number of logs missed, and secrets missed.
@@jeff3221s ranking mission is fairly self explanatory and the logs missed show up in the mission replay screen
@@jeff3221 I think the only thing that I genuinely found poorly communicated was decision missions. Admittedly it could have been my own stupidity, but I took them to mean that DURING the mission, I'd have to make an important decision. Not that choosing between them was the important decision.
@@maskedmenreiki ah, yeah a tutorial box pop up warning you would have helped
@@boywonderandbatman2092 no they don't show up, it says the you haven't got all of them, not how many you have left to get. You've clearly not S ranked many missions if you think it's self explanatory or exempt from criticism
Me before 7:13: who is this Rata impostor?
Me after 7:13: tears of joy
My only complaint is the lack of long range build options, snipers just don't exist in AC6 currently. But as an OG fan that has waited 9years for the series continuation I am very satisfied with what we got!
Its so good, I really hope it sparks a mecha game renaissance so we dont have to wait another decade for something to come along that's better than Daemon X Machina or MW5.
Unironically one of the best games and the most fun I've had in years, I just wish it was a little longer.
Rat, this is by far the most fun ive ever had with a fromsoft game. Ive over 2000k collective hours over the fromsoft catalog and this game has captured me like none before.
My biggest complaint on this game is that the regular enemies sometimes feel very sitting-duckish. Like, a little bit of movement to get out of harms way would be nice but these guys don't give a fudge when they see their buddies disintegrated by a god mech. Perhaps a little repositioning and a more active combat role would turn these guys into actual threats than just level decoration.
FS continuously amazes me how invested i can get with characters like rusty and ayre with only their voices. Huge testament to the great world building they can create in every game
LOL, Ratatoskr habitually keeping a tab open while gaming to complain is the most Ratatoskr thing to have ever Ratatoskr'd
I hope they will release a DLC or a branching sequel to AC6 in the future.
A new generation would be fine too
Honestly, my main complaint is just how cluttered everything can be. Its hard to keep track of ammo and cooling when they're on the constantly moving lock on reticle. Plus, some effects fill the screen, making it nearly impossible to tell what an enemy is doing.
"I had to change my build, experiment and learn good counters"
Dual Long Range Shotguns and Shoulder Mounted Grenade Launchers: Allow us to introduce ourselves.
This game is so enjoyable. From building your mech, to piloting your mech, too landing that final blow as your wingman comms "I won't miss." Rusty my boy, what a mission!
This is a high darn praise. People have constantly tell me how good it is, but I've never been so compelled to buy a game before hearing how good you make this game to be.
Lots of good points, but all I can think is man the full Schneider set just looks so sick
that last line about Fromsoftware making any game from any genre into gold made me think about how funny it would be if the made a Madden or a CoD style game
This game is legit a great game with pretty much no downsides to me.
The developers set out to and created probably the best mech game on the market and one of if not THE GOTY.
Just returned to this game recently and S ranked all missions. What a wild ride. I absolutely adore this game and pray that we get more content or another installment to this franchise.
Any game from any genre, huh? Id love to see fromsoft make a classic jrpg lol😂
What I personally, as a souls veteran, find really cool about the new AC game (which is my first AC game) is the balance between skill and mech composition.
First, it reeeeally makes the window for new players broader, since you can always modify your mech for the situation and make the fight, well, not trivial, but much easier. For example, you can always take double pulse guns for Balteus and just melt his shield away in like a few seconds, then finish him with shoulder laser guns. Tested in mission replay, that fella dropped like a dead fly.
Second is the challenge for those who like extra difficulty - your skill still matters. For example, I didn't really want to switch my mech composition for Balteus dramatically, so instead I just kept balling with my lovely combo of reverse-joints and blade, mastered his attack patterns (took me like 10 attempts since I'm a big noob in mech games lol) but the result was soo satisfying.
However, I never had this feeling that I need to tinker my build in any of the souls games. Yes, bosses have resists, but it's not really too important, while this game actively encourages me to find new synergies and cook with my mech, trying different playstyles, I hope the new fromsoftwave soulslike titles will have a tiny bit more of that.
Characters are actually really well made, you don’t see them but you hear them and their personalities just pop off. Specially Michigan, bro doesn’t give af. I enjoyed the fuck out of this game and I usually don’t play games like this.
This is the first (not) review video about the game that I completely agree with.
No other video has commented on that first feeling you get when you move your mech for the first time. It's so surreal, and that's the exact moment the game hooked ne to no end.
It's one of these rare games that is just 100% fun all of the time. The last time I had this amount of constant enjoyment was Doom Eternal.
I don't have anything too meaningful to say but it's been a while since I've played an AC game and the thing that made the biggest impression on me is how immersive AC6 feels. The minimalistic approach to story telling makes me feel like I'm actually hanging out at the mech hangar while waiting for my next mission during the downtime and makes me feel like I'm actually in a tense combat situation while on a mission. I can imagine it's not for everyone but god damn I love it SO much.
The game is perfect for my schedule working full time. Able to run a mission or two, get pushed in, play in the garage, try the missions again, go to bed, go to work, think about builds, try them when I get home, beat the mission, repeat.
Agree, even if you have to retry a hard mission because you want to buy a new part for your build it's ok since most missions don't really waste your time
in the zone sitting there you know the rate of fire for each of your weapons, you are charging the plasma cannon while unloading on a boss just waiting to break his guard to let go of that charge shot and rush in for heavy melee attack. So good man..
It took a couple of missions for it to click for me but afterwards I really started to enjoy it. I don't have much free time with my work and family, so the bite sized mission structure is way healthier to tackle than when i lost 3 months playing eldin ring from 9pm till3am every night
My goodness, your take on game journalists was so good 😂
v 8 pater imitating v 4 rusty is my favorite moment.
In just two games, Yamamura has already sold me on his immense talent. So much so, that it's actually hard to guess if AC6 and Sekiro would have even been good if it was Miyazaki directing. I hope Yamamura keeps taking on projects and gets even better. And i hope they both live long and healthy, stress free lives so we can get a masterpiece every other year. It's like they can just pass the game of the year award back and forth each year.
I OH SO HOPE for an anime adaptation of this story. The plot becomes grander and grander over time, especially on the 3rd playthrough where you get the True Ending - it would be such an amazing Epic Mech(a) Saga!
For the gameplay my main complaint is that several "builds" can absolutely faceroll through the whole game without any tweaks, once you set them up, often beating bosses you see for the first time on first attempt, while other builds struggle and feel underperforming even considering the implied requirement to tweak it to fit the situation. Otherwise it is the GOTY for me, getting ahead of even BG3 slightly, which I also absolutely loved.
The story was fantastic. There's stuff that you can find on the second level that doesn't get paid off until NG++. There's log entries you can find that hint at character motivations and the way dialogue and situations play out differently depending on your actions and cycle of NG+ made my 4 playthroughs engaging. I have never no lifed a game prior to AC6, I just couldn't put it down.
That said, there are some downright horrendous decisions and balancing problems.
No listed criteria for S Ranking each individual mission, no in mission data communications if you're on track for an S rank, nothing. This wastes so much time and leaves you in a guessing game of what you did wrong. Some missions you can take tonnes of damage, others you need to take very little. Some missions prioritise speed, others require you to take out mini bosses.
Moat weapons actively make the game harder just by using them over Zimmerman, Stun Needle, Songbirds, pile Bunker, lance, actually most melee.
There needs to be a substantial patch to make the sandbox as a whole, more viable. Just nerfing the good guns won't make the rest any easier to make work. Buff rifle ranges, make burst rifles something other than a bad shotgun, etc.
Disagree
@@themaverick1898 with what
@@jeff3221 basically everything after the 1st paragraph
@@themaverick1898 ok 👍
@@jeff3221 your welcome
The whole "all you ever need is 2 assault rifles" problem is still there, it's just "all you ever need is 2 miniguns and 2 Songbirds" now.
Balteus teaches you how to move to avoid missiles but there's nothing unfairly difficult about him
Armored Core VI is definitely one of the most fun moment to moment not being able to replay from scratch without deleting your primary save is a big minus to replayability. NG+ is super fun in this one as well but I'd enjoy back going to basics without losing that ng++ experience. I think that's the primary negative about this game, which is sad considering how easy it'd be to fix.
I still think they dropped the ball with the barriers being hard and giving you the option to restart mid-mission with full health, 3 more repair kits, and with a mech tailor made to the last third of a mission.
Like with most AC games, I'm happy to report, the beginning is the hardest you'll ever have it, because you don't have a variety of parts to use and nothing into your tuning.
Here's some good advice: the melander parts are amazing for most of the game, the Melander C3 head and BD-011 Melander torso made it into almost every build I have. The head for its reliability and scanning superiority, the torso for reliable defense and extra energy generation.The Nachtreiher superlight arms track targets better than almost any other, and you get both of these for your medium and light options when the shop opens up early on.
And that plasma rifle is godly, there's good reason it's expensive. Use it.
Pro-tip: you can use vertical missiles with your scan to bombard unaware targets from cover and take out groups in stealth. This can save a ton of pain down the line in softening up your entry by leaving only the meaty targets and weeding out the chaff.
Bro, I swear I didn't see your video beforehand, but we are very like-minded on most of our arguments about the game, great to see that you liked the game as much as I did!
As someone who has been play AC since PS1 days, this game has come a loooong way as far as movement and controls. Used to hope and dream of moving the way you do in AC6. The one thing I miss is the back mounted dual gatling gun part. I was looking forward to unloading all 4 machine guns all at once while zipping around
I'm keen for those lore videos to come out. Keep it up boss. :D
It’s really nice to hear you being positive
When I got to the _true_ final boss, and saw something happen there (I won't give away what it was) I straight-up cheered. I actually unleashed a mighty bellow of celebration from deep within my guts because the thing I saw was that amazing, that awesome. It pulled me right in and suddenly made me really care about everything the 'Raven on borrowed wings' had been fighting for up to that point.
I'm the opposite of you, Ratatoskr; I think a game is first and foremost a _game_ , as in the component that you actually play. Don't get me wrong, I really, _really_ like my stories, and some of my favorite stories have been in video games (like Persona 5 Royal or FF IX), but as I have always argued, if you have a game and no story, you still have a game. If you have a story, but no game,. as in, if your 'game' is bad, but your story is good, your story is better off as a novel or a movie or something. Just take pvp in From Software games as an example; there is a barebones justification for pvp in the narrative, but people aren't playing pvp because of the amazing story you get from it. Even if we're talking pve, it's the gameplay that make the Souls games what they are; obscure environmental storytelling wouldn't have been able to rescue the game if it had the quality and polish of, say, Hellpoint (which I still liked). However, again, that doesn't mean AC6's story is anything short of a masterpiece.
It always amazes me how everyone loves rusty just because he calls you buddy. Don’t get me wrong he’s a well written character and likable character, I just think most people don’t realize he’s just cozying up to you because he views you as a potential threat.
This sold me on getting it more than any other review
Man I love rusty so much, and even the handler. The characters in this game are just very stellar
I've played AC since 2 way back in middle school. I never thought I would enjoy an Armored Core as much as I enjoyed the hell out of this game. Blew through all 3 storylines in a week and now trying to 100% it while indulging in the PVP. I've gotta say, I think this is the best PVP package FromSoft has ever delivered straight out of the gate. The story is phenomenal, emotional, and as ever for FromSoft: profoundly philosophical. I can't stop thinking about it.
They've done it again. I have no idea how, but they've captured lightning in a bottle AGAIN.
This video gave me the push I needed to pick up AC6. No regrets. I just beat Balteus and am already blown away by what FromSoft has done here
balteus reminds me of Genichiro so much as far as in a roadblock sense but instead of testing just your skill at game mechanics it also test how willing you are to change your mech and find the best weapons that work for your playstyle. But they are both the same in the fact that the best thing to do is to be cautious but aggressive.
I heard you say “this game has no negatives” and screamed FUCK YEAH
Well we've already have 15 previously games, so, the level of polishing to the combat is fantastic.
Thank you for another amazing review Ratatoskr!
This video is way will be ahead of its time.
Can definitely see more people in the future realising this game is a PURE VIDEO GAME masterpiece