Armored Core 6 is out and further proves that FromSoftware knows fashion is a lifestyle and not a choice. Looking as good as you fight is core to many games from the accredited studio, and seeing that legacy continue is heartwarming.
Casual onlookers might look at the bleak, dead worlds and assume style cannot thrive in this environment. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Fashion Souls has been a thing for many years as fans shared how they brave dangers with pizzaz. Their undead journeyed ruined worlds living their best lives balancing protection with style. Given how FromSoftware took the time to craft hundreds of runway-worthy outfits, the community was responsible for ensuring they fit together perfectly.
Long before the Souls games took the gaming fashion world by storm, Armored Core brought together style and war crimes. Survival may have been hard on the mechanized battlefield, but it was even harder for your Core to stand out. These games have so many beautifully designed mechs that I felt comparing my starter to them was like comparing Sketchers to Louboutins. One might have been fine but the other carries status with it.
Thus my personal journey in Armored Core 6 was to become Rubicon’s ultimate mech fashionista. My cores were to be the perfect blend of deadly and elegant, fulfilling different purposes while also impressing Project Runway‘s judges. They are all gum-themed to add a playful edge, and I can say 3 designs are simply magnifique.
Bubblegum Dusk delicately balances a deadly arsenal with a soft touch.
Bubblegum Dusk holds a special place in the Armored Core 6 fashion journey because it was the first one I made. A quad-ped originally named Bubblegum Crisis, the idea was to contrast a soft pastel look with the game’s brutal world.
The design evolved to add dark accents that gracefully contrasted with the pink. Rubicon is a harsh place, and the final design was meant to reflect that while still retaining that light touch. This might have made Bubblegum Dusk the least visually distinct, but the contrasting colors fit perfectly with its theme.
Bubblegum Dusk doesn’t particularly excel in any area but also lacks glaring issues. Stats are all-around decent with none seeming all that remarkable. Where it shines on the battlefield is in its unique features instead. As the only Core to carry a pulse shield and have quad legs, it can shield itself and hover in mid-air. Pair this with long-range weapons, and Bubblegum Dusk is perfect a long-range attacks while still being able to take a hit. Unfortunately, I haven’t tested this Core as much as the others despite being the original. Other designs I spent more time with had new parts consistently coming out, meaning there was less opportunity to find Bubblegum Dusk’s true worth. The redesign does give me hope that it will soon see its chance to thrive once more.
Bolt Spearmint is a blur that strikes like lightning.
Bolt Spearmint is probably my favorite in the entire collection because it’s the Core I use the most often. It’s the only bi-pedal Core I use, and it excels at having the speed and force of a lightning bolt. What’s consistent with Bolt Spearmint is this core idea since it’s the design that’s undergone the most changes.
Given how much I use it on missions, I built it to be the most practical with my play style. Something consistent with my time in any FromSoftware game is that I like going fast. My primary builds in prior Armored Core games revolved around this, and this continues in the latest entry.
Despite the game’s overall speed being comparable to Armored Core 3, Bolt Spearmint is meant to emulate how Cores from the fourth game look and work. That title went at a blistering pace with sleek Cores darting about, and I wanted something like that. An unintentional comparison I found is that Bolt Spearmint looks like Kamen Rider but as a mech. The slender humanoid body with a grasshopper-like head made me consider having a specific variant based on the Black Sun reboot.
Much of that would come from a recolor as Bolt Spearmint is brighter than Bubblegum Dusk. The palette comes from mixing a minty green with light blue accents to emphasize the lightning theme.
Using Bolt Spearmint is equally as satisfying given its ability to close distances before unleashing devastation. Whereas Bubblegum Dusk and my next design cater to keeping distance, Bolt Spearmint is at its best right next to an enemy. Armed with Fires of Rubicon‘s variant of the Moonlight Greatsword and a shotgun, its lack of armor is more than made up for by killing the enemy before it can react.
Steel Peppermint is a very jolly tank.
I saved Steel Peppermint for last because it has my favorite theming out of all these designs. Bubblegum Dusk might have unique features and Bolt Spearmint is elegant, but Steel Peppermint is the happiest mobile fortress around.
That might be a bit of an overstatement because Armored Core is as serious as most fashion shows, but I digress. Peppermints themselves might not only exist within candy canes and the holidays, but that’s where this Core’s concept went. I wanted it to have the most diverse color scheme of any mech, creating something that looks impractical and fun.
What I drew from was a candy cane variant with green stripes along the red and white. This primarily added more color, but I put in an angular pattern to make it just a tad extra. Steel Peppermint is an acquired taste for sure, but that is what makes its theme so fun.
Its build is also reflective of its intentionally niche appeal. This is a slow, lumbering tank whose purpose is to take hits. Its floating base ensures several heavy weapons are equipped with a generator capable of powering them all. What it lacks in speed or unique features is balanced out by long-range attacks. Powerful lasers to rip across battlefields and bazookas laying waste to the environment give the gift of death to all in their way.
It isn’t practical against Armored Core 6‘s boss roster, but it makes up for being great against common grunts. The explosive weapons ensure multiple enemies fall in one fell swoop, and cannons can take out snipers from a safe distance. Steel Peppermint doesn’t cater to how I play, but I know it can find an audience.
Armor Decor is the real deal.
I didn’t come up with the term Armored Decor, but it perfectly describes my time in Armored Core 6. I consider myself a fashionable person, and it’s amazing when I get to express that side in games. My hype partially stemmed because of FromSoftware’s pedigree with fashion in games, and I’m happy it lives up to that.
Armored Core 6‘s build variety is commendable from a gameplay front too. The focus here may have been on fashionable Cores, but each has an arsenal suited to their looks. There’s a creative freedom present here that isn’t there in the Soulsborne games thanks to having options for color and patterns. I’m a pilot within the game’s world, but customizing my mechs is like designing new outfits and I love it.
It’s nice to see the mech action genre in the spotlight after being underrated for years. Hopefully, Armored Core 6‘s success means we will be getting more games like it. I can already feel many more mechs crying for a fabulous makeover.
