I absolutely adore Armored Core. I’ve been playing Armored Core games since the days of the PSP. I love the series’ take on mechanized battles, and I love collecting parts to improve that improve my war machine. So, when FromSoft turned the series into a slightly more realistic mech Souls-like, I was overjoyed. But the thing with realistic mech games is that there is a “heavy” emphasis on gravity and physics limiting a mech’s performance. That’s the issue OMEGA PHENEX COMMENCED PROJECT SIX wanted to address with its own unique spin on Armored Core combat.
OMEGA PHENEX COMMENCED PROJECT SIX is a mech action game where players take control of humanoid mechs called “Icarus”. These mechs are distinguished by their ability to stay in the air in almost perpetuity, with speeds rivaling that of fighter jets. Players take on mercenary jobs ranging from assault missions to escort jobs, and enemies are more than just rival mercenary outfits and regular soldiers; there are also autonomous mechs of unknown origin.
The Open Beta gives us an almost complete idea of what we can expect at full release. It has a cutscene, worldbuilding, fully functional menus, and most importantly, a nearly complete combat system. Unfortunately, the current build has one or more game-breaking bugs that result in me not seeing the full experience. But that’s just how things go in game development. I hope that the additional dev time can help stamp out the most detrimental of bugs. Otherwise, it’s a seriously impressive beta.
Speed is the name of the game here. OMEGA PHENEX takes everything we’ve come to know about Armored Core VI and removes all of its shackles. “Icarus” mechs appear to have a near-limitless boost while in the air as well as a very fast recharge time. If this were AC VI, even with the best engines and thrusters, I still need to touch the ground every so often. In this game, however, I feel like I can go through entire missions without ever needing to touch the ground. On top of that, looking around with the camera is as snappy and quick as modern first-person shooters. I think the removal of the camera delay is the most jarring change that can throw off players of the genre.
The other feature added in the beta is the ability to customize our mechs. We are able to “Tune” our mech’s performance to fit our preferred playstyle. Essentially, we are assigning points from a predetermined pool of points to fit our preferred playstyle. We are also able to “paint” our mechs in the colors of our choice. I am not sure how comprehensive the customization options are. For example, I don’t know if you can apply decals anywhere on the chassis or how many color segments there are per armor piece. I don’t usually pay attention to such things in an open beta.
The movement feel seems to be the game’s primary draw. I was expecting to adjust to the game’s controls, but I somehow took to it like a fish in water. I stayed in the air, floating, while searching the horizon for my next targets. What amazed me the most was that I was able to push the thrusters to their limits, and the energy was fully recharged barely before I stopped moving. You don’t get this kind of freedom unless it’s a mech from Macross. Tracking targets is a breeze because there’s practically no delay on mouse movement. This puts the turning on par with games with snappy camera controls like competitive first-person shooters. It’s such a small change but a paradigm shift in a genre where a small delay in movement is expected.
Combat is also what I liked about the beta. When you pair snappy camera controls with near-unlimited boost, you’ll get constant non-stop action. It helps that in almost every battle, the air is fully saturated with guided missiles and tangos. I had a blast taking down enemies, even if their AI is a bit rudimentary.
Speaking of which, I find it hard to recall a battle where it didn’t devolve into missile spam. It seems like the enemies are quite fond of throwing everything they have in my direction. Unfortunately for them, their missiles aren’t as reliable as mine. Now, I love missile spam as much as the next mecha fan, but can we have enemies that are a little bit more intimidating? What I mean by that is enemies are not reactive to the player’s actions. They will float around the balloons or go between predetermined points, but they won’t change behaviors regardless of how close or far away the player is from them.
One concern I have is with regards to the “Tuning” system. In AC VI, point distribution ultimately decided how maneuverable your AC is in and out of combat. With such an emphasis on unlimited 3-dimensional movement, I’m not quite sure how points should be distributed. Should you have a longer leash if you want to be the next “Heavy Arms EW”, or will it actually affect how long you stay in the air? This is a fundamental question I’d like answered in the near future.
My biggest concern with the game is how long it takes for the devs to respond to immediate issues with the game. I expected my game-breaking issue to be addressed sometime during the Open Beta. It was never addressed. Instead, the devs added new content during the course of the open beta. It got to the point that I was waiting for any updates in the Steam community forum, along with others who have experienced the same issue. I understand that it’s an Open Beta and I shouldn’t expect too much from it at the moment. But quick reactions are greatly appreciated with gamers, especially when we pay for a functional product.
I don’t have much to say about the game’s visuals and audio, at least at the moment. I only hope that the game’s mech designs are not finalized yet. The problem I have is that the mechs don’t have much of a signature look to them. They just scream “generic” mech design. Much like the subtitles, I paid little mind to the music playing in the background. I was too focused on the mechs around me to notice anything else. The game ran perfectly on my mid-range PC. Everything went off without a hitch until the 3rd mission, where I encountered a game-breaking bug that made it so my weapons no longer fired.
OMEGA PHENEX COMMENCED PROJECT SIX should be something to be excited for. And yet, I find myself being cautiously optimistic at best. I didn’t see any particular red flags other than a bugged build, but I’m afraid that the final product will fail to deliver on the level I’m propping it to be. That sentiment can change as more betas are released in the future. At least I’m hopeful that there will be more betas before the year ends. The game is set to release some time in 2027. It’s said to feature more than 30 missions plus an Arena Mode, ala Armored Core VI.
