We’ve finally caught a glimpse into the woeful world of Armored Core 6; a myriad of mechanized madness brought to life in FromSoftware’s grim, gritty style. The latest trailer for the upcoming PC game shows off a battle-hardened new mech, as well as providing some insight into Armored Core 6‘s story. What we didn’t expect, though, was the fact that our pilot protagonists may just be, well, dead.
Amid stunning action sequences, defined by epic mechanical combat, we see several images of an AC pilot that appears to be strapped to a bed and, erm, vacuum packed. Described purely as “functional,” the apparent cadaver appears to have some form of conscious link to 617, the mech that the sequence focuses on.
As 617 is eventually destroyed, creepy worm-like cables detach from the side of the presumed pilot’s head, implying that there’s some form of mental connection between the pair. As the sequence closes, we see the body placed in front of a new unit, 621, which our narrator claims “will give [the body] a reason to exist.”
It begs the question: are these pilots dead? Or are they in some form of Matrix-style stasis? My money’s on the latter, but mainly because I’m not sure if I fancy playing AC6 as a literal corpse.
To be fair, though, that’s rich coming from me. As an Adepta Sororitas player in Warhammer 40k tabletop, a decent portion of my army is made up of Arco-Flagellants – Imperial citizens who have been condemned to a life of servitude for past crimes.
The poor heathen is strapped to a massive machine, and has half of their limbs removed and replaced with cybernetic augments. They’re one of many units in the 40k universe that is made up of reanimated cadavers, and it looks like Armored Core has borrowed a page from Warhammer 40k’s Lectitio Divinitatus.
Generally, however, the concept works well for Armored Core. As one fan writes, the idea that you can transfer an AC pilot’s consciousness on a whim regardless of the state of their body accounts for the fact we can switch mechs midway through missions which, I won’t lie, is pretty cool. So, while it may not be great for our protagonist, I’m very much on board with this new system.
While we wait for the Armored Core 6 release date, we have a list of some of the best robot games out there to keep you occupied. Or, if you’re intrigued by the woeful world of 40k, we have a rundown of all of the best Warhammer 40k games, too.