There’s a lot of pressure on the reigning Game of the Year studio. Elden Ring’s tremendous success has undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on FromSoftware and its next game release: Armored Core 6.
I’m sure everyone who loved Elden Ring and the past Souls games was ecstatic with Elden Ring, and by extension, FromSoftware’s 2023 Game of the Year award win, but the old saying about crowns and heads remains true: “Heavy is the head who wears the crown”.
And, right now, FromSoftware’s head is very heavy with the unbridled expectations and excitement of its fans over its next video game release, which just so happens to be the latest edition to one of the company’s longest running franchises. Now, Armored Core 6 has not been officially announced as the next FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki game to come out, but its development has all but been confirmed.
I mean, the game has already been confirmed to have been in development since 2018 by Miyazaki and two gameplay trailers have been rumored to be circulating amongst test audiences.
Anyway, what really matters is how fans will view and judge this game as, unlike most FromSoftware games, Armored Core 6 is NOT a Soulslike game and will not have the same difficulties, styles, characters, plots, etc. of games like Dark Souls, Sekiro, Bloodbourne, and Elden Ring.
This game and series are a mech-esque game that will take different approaches and directions in the gameplay, focuses of the plot, and the narrative and thematic direction.
Miyazaki himself even said in an interview with IGN a few months ago that, “The essential direction of [Armored Core 6] was to go back and take a good look at the core concept of Armored Core and what made that series special. So, we wanted to take the assembly aspect, assembling and customizing your own mech – your AC – and then being able to exact a high level of control over the assembled mech. So, we wanted to take those two core concepts and reexamine those in our modern environment.”
Clearly, this game will have very little in common with Elden Ring as we won’t be battling the Golden Order and Frenzied Flame as the Tarnished Lord, but rather assembling mech’s and fighting against other players in multiple player modes. It’s simply a vastly different type of game than Elden Ring, but it will undoubtedly come with the same polish, shine, and care that all FromSoftware games come with.
Sounds great, right? I just hope that newcomers to FromSoftware, Miyazaki, and the Souls games don’t view this game as a failure or betrayal to the Souls foundation. FromSoftware is not just “the Dark Souls game company”.
So, with that in mind, I doubt Armored Core 6 will get the same critical and general audience acclaim, such as the Game of the Year awards, glowing fan and critical reviews, boasts of it being one of the “greatest games of all-time”, etc., but it should revive interest in a franchise that has been dormant for the last ten years.
Remember, Armored Core 5 came out in 2012!
Thus, I have full confidence that Armored Core 6 will be another fantastic game produced by one of the greatest video game companies in the world today, though it might be catered to a more niche gaming market.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Bandai Namco/FromSoftware) (ELDEN RING – Rise, Tarnished | Official Launch Trailer – YouTube)
