Armored Core 6 is another fantastic Steam Deck title from FromSoft
Armored Core 6 is a bombastic action title that feels bizarrely at home on Valve's Steam Deck handheld - making it a great way to play one of last year's best games.
I feel like I keep saying it, but the Steam Deck really does feel like the gift that keeps on giving. It opens up titles I'd otherwise need to be sat at my PC to play, while freeing up the main TV in the house for my partner.
And, while it's not fully 'Verified' by Valve (more on that below), I'm pleased to say that Armored Core 6 is an excellent way to play one of last year's finest action games and proves that FromSoft might just be one of the most exciting studios when it comes to embracing the Steam Deck.
Armored Core 6 is a blast on Steam Deck
While Elden Ring on Steam Deck feels a little like magic because of its huge open world, Armored Core 6 goes the opposite way and offers a series of more linear missions with some scope to explore.
That makes it nifty for playing in bite-sized chunks, and I've been having fun customising my mech while on a flight, or running some arena combat sessions to blow off some steam (pun intended).
It's also worth remembering that while Fires of Rubicon isn't a Soulslike, it's a pretty challenging game when it comes to boss fights (I'm still banging my head against the Balteus fight).
That might mean you find yourself gripping the Steam Deck a little tighter, and in bosses like that one things can get pretty hectic on screen. That's worth knowing because the sheer number of missiles, explosions, and mechs on screen can sometimes feel a little bewildering.
In that instance, it doesn't hurt to have a Steam Deck dock, or a solid gaming PC, to fall back to - but you can definitely beat everything the game throws at you on the Steam Deck.
As for frame rate, you can expect a solid 30fps throughout, but you'll likely get less than two hours out of the battery, even on the OLED model. I'd recommend turning Motion Blur off to make things more readable, though, and you can stick to Medium texture quality on the console's 800p display.
Is Armored Core 6 Steam Deck verified?
Yep, Armored Core 6 is rated as 'Playable', which means Valve has given the mech-battler its seal of approval - but there's one caveat.
As per the game's store page, the only thing stopping the game from getting that all-important green tick is 'Some in-game text is small and may be difficult to read'.
That's definitely an accessibility concern, and your mileage may vary, but since Armored Core 6 does offer a whole bunch of menus for mech parts and stat comparisons, it's definitely worth being aware of before you hop in.
About The Author
Lloyd Coombes
Lloyd is GGRecon's Editor-in-Chief, having previously worked at Dexerto and Gfinity, and occasionally appears in The Daily Star newspaper. A big fan of loot-based games including Destiny 2 and Diablo 4, when he's not working you'll find him at the gym or trying to play Magic The Gathering.
