Fine, its post-apocalypse wasteland isn't as sexy as the thigh-high boots you'll find in a comparable game like Stellar Blade, and some people may not even see the romance in a chunky man made of steel, but Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon has its admirers. In fact, a whole fleet of fans in Japan have just decided FromSoftware's 2023 mecha shooter is actually an otome game, and they're in love.
This international update comes courtesy of Automaton, which has translated some posts fans made in support of a new decree: Armored Core 6 is a game for girls, because we said so.
More traditional otome games include popular titles like Piofiore or my beloved Love & Deepspace – they usually ask you to take on the, no doubt, tiresome role of a woman being pursued by many handsome men with no pores or facial hair. To the untrained eye, FromSoftware's stern robot game about being a laser-blasting mercenary may not seem very similar to this average, biscuits-and-tea otome experience.
But otome professionals in Japan can see Armored Core 6 blends right in with other suitors, particularly because the Augmented Human Rusty is so debonair.
"As an otome game player who was forced to play AC6, my impression is that it's an otome game," says one translated post. "Rusty is literally the typical guy from an otome game. That's why, my comrade, I don't want you to get killed by anyone except me. Let's kill (and love) each other like we should. Since you're gonna die anyways, let it be by my hand."
Another post explains, "His mecha is handsome, His weapon is handsome, His voice is handsome, His personality is also handsome, His theme is handsome," and on, and on.
So how can you resist? Trick question. As one player puts it, "I think Armored Core 6 is such a strange game because, though it wasn't made with women as the target audience, even when people call it an 'otome game' nobody gets mad.
"And the reason is because it turned everyone, even the guys, into pure-hearted girls. Yeah, I get it."
