You know you made an amazing game when other Game Companies are demanding that Gamers don't use this game as the Standard Bar of what a modern game should be like. And to top it off the Devs straight up call out the bull that is Microtransactions and inform you that they want to give you a full product for a single payment? Larian has earned the coveted rank of Trusted Game Developer from me alongside FromSoft for being utterly true to the Game, the Customer, and their Ideals. There is a reason it broke records.

So with that out of the way as an introduction, let's give you guys a firm understanding of this game.

This game is a Match Scale of Dungeons and Dragon's 5th Edition Rules, turned into a Turn-Based Tabletop-Style Game with slight variations to Spells, Feats, and Movement. If you like DnD, you'll 9/10 like this. (A few people seem upset it isn't a 1/1 copy for some reason).

Your Choices Matter. When you talk to people, your party is paying attention...Your actions have consequences. If you up and leave a Quest to go to Camp and take a Long Rest while you have an NPC trapped in a burning building, when you return they burned to death. Making each interaction unique, and replayability interesting since you can approach things from different ways.

Your Class and Race Matter. While not as heavily impactful as your conversations or actions, characters and events respond differently if you are specific Classes or Races. NPC might like or hate you. Some enemies might think you are an ally and not fight you, while other NPC's who would normally be passive to you become Hostile on sight.

Your Journey is your own. You decide how to approach situations, be it through diplomacy and speech, combat, stealth, or even Environmental effects like blowing up a barrel by an NPC ending a fight before it begins. Pushing an enemy off a cliff and ending a potential threat before they realize you are there. You might be able to trick or convince enemies to leave, or even PAY you as they leave. The world is literally your oyster.

Companions each have unique stories. Each of your NPC Companions (Or Legacy Characters if you pick them instead of a Custom) have a backstory and unique "Condition" or "Situation". Feeding into a dope fiend's addictions? Standing up for the atrocities of a companions former sins? You decide how to react.

You decide how to approach. You can jump across rooftops to assault or bypass enemies. You can sneakily go into a cellar and skip a lengthy scene in a castle. You can talk your way out of doing battle. How you deal with situations is up to you.

4 Player (8 with Mods but not recommended) CoOp Campaign where players can drop in and out freely. This means if you and your friends are playing and someone needs to run to work but the other 3 want to keep going, the Working Player's character becomes an NPC and when they get back home they can jump right back in from where the Party is currently.

No Microtransactions!

Extensive Character Customization.

Adult Themes and wild events that truly fit a DnD Campaign and all the zany things you might want to try!




Honestly, this game will be in the running for Game of the Year. Armored Core is the only other game I can see giving it a run for it's money. I advise everyone to buy it on Principle even if they don't like Turn-Based Games just to show other companies that this is what a complete game looks like. No Nickle and Dime tactics. No artificial slow downs so they can sell us boosters. No lazy copy/paste story and gameplay. Physics and choices matter. No forced political views shoved down your throat. No censorship of what you want to try or do. Multiplayer support that is valid even for adults to deal with as a group. And the Dev's ACTUALLY LOVE THEIR GAME AND PLAY IT.

10/10 deserves nearly every award for GotY much in the same way LotR walked away with every award at the Oscars

First the Pro's

When this is an Armored Core Game, it is amazing.
The Customization
The Preparation
The Variation
The Level Design
The Weapon Play
The Atmosphere
The Sound

All of these make for an AMAZING AC Game that we have waited for years for.

Now the Con's
This game STOPS being an Armored Core game in 2 instances.
The Stun System: I knew the moment they announced "We have a new Stagger system based on a build up of damage that will immobilize enemies and give you a chance to critically damage them!" that this would be utilized against the Player in unfair ways. This is what was the prelude to the issue with the next topic.

The Boss System: Armored Core is not about Boss Fights. The "Bosses" of previous iterations (I've played every AC game except the PS Vita ones) are generally other Armored Cores. Units you could build and play as with advanced AI that challenged you when you fought with them. They might be difficult because they had access to higher tier armor and weapons that you didn't have at your rank, or prototype gear that you unlock at the end of the game. But with the exception of the random odd Gunship Boss or Tred Tank, all bosses were just other Mechs.
In this game however, bosses stop being Mechs and just turn into giant armored fortresses that someone stuck way too many weapons onto.

But let's put aside the aesthetic being broken and focus on the real issue with the Boss Fights. They aren't Armored Core fights. Up until the Boss Fight, you are playing standard Armored Core Gameplay. Shoot down waves of enemies, dodge missiles from a few missile-based units. Maybe dodge a few laser cannons on the terrain. But when a boss comes out, the gameplay turns from Armored Core to Bullet Hell. Bosses spray the battle with constant fire. Take the revealed gameplay of the Doser. A Furnace that swings grinder arms at you, but at the apex of it's swings it also shoots missiles, But that's not all, it also spews lava out the "weak spot", and if you try to fly over it or close to it, it spews lava out the top. It also charges and has wide arching swings. All of which take up massive zones of the battlefield. And remember what we discussed above? Yeah everything stuns you too. So if you take one Charge Attack that's about 50% stun, and then it chains a Missile pair that hits you for 10% each, then during that stagger of the explosion it hits you with the Arm Sweep. Or perhaps the camera failed you and you realize that there is a massive structure that you dodge into and get pinned. Well you are now stun locks and get to give your opponent free attacks which devastate your Hull.

And you might be saying "That doesn't sound too bad", that's not even the worst bosses. The first boss is arguably worse by showering the entire sky with about 50 Missiles which come at you from 3 different directions (Remember when I pointed out it's Bullet Hell?) And during Phase 2 has Flamethrower Blades, a Charge Dash that they chain with those Missiles. So not only are you dodging missiles, but also sword swings, having to fly off the ground to avoid burning flamethrower attacks, and trying to side dash to avoid the Charge Dash attack it does...Oh and did I mention it gets a Bubble Shield that protects it from damage that you have to wear out repeatedly while ALSO dodging all the attacks? Yeah.

I have beaten about half the game, 4-5 bosses, half the arena(Arena feels like home) and honestly, as much as I love Armored Core, I can't recommend this. I have played Elden Ring, I have played Bullet Hell games like Zone of the Ender, as I said before I've played every AC game there is besides the Vita ones(Hell I still have the PSP and PS2 ones in a box). This is a sad stray from what Armored Core is.