The Best Armored Core Games to Play Before Fires of Rubicon Comes Out

Prepare for Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon with this guide to the best entries in the series! While FromSoftware is known for Souls-like games, the Armored Core franchise boasts a rich history of mech combat. This guide highlights the top titles to experience before diving into the newest installment.

The Armored Core series, spanning decades and multiple titles, puts you in the cockpit of a customizable mech, battling across a post-apocalyptic Earth as a mercenary. Your mission: complete contracts, earn money, upgrade your mech, and survive. Failure means financial ruin and mission failure. Success brings powerful new parts and devastating combat capabilities.

The series comprises five main entries (with numerous spin-offs), each with its own storyline. Armored Core 1 and 2 share a continuity, distinct from the separate timelines of Armored Core 3, 4, and 5. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, launching August 25, 2023, will likely establish a new continuity. To prepare for this latest entry, Game8 recommends exploring the best Armored Core titles to get a feel for the series. (Specific game recommendations would follow here, but were not included in the original text).