“When life happens,” runs the copy for Armored Core 6’s new ad, “Mechless Mutual Insurance covers everything* to give you peace of mind.” The asterisk will turn out to be quite important. In scenes no Armored Core fan ever thought they’d see, the new game is being marketed with a skit starring Rainn Wilson, the American actor best-known for his role as Dwight Schrute in the Office.
It’s that role being channelled here, as Wilson plays a harassed insurance clerk at Mechless Mutual, whose job mainly involves telling the owners of mechs that no, they don’t cover that. As the queries and footage keep on coming in, so does Wilson’s facade begin to crack, until he’s weeping on the floor and praying for a good old-fashioned fender bender: something, anything, that doesn’t involve mechs.
Though not detailed in the video itself, the asterisk is fleshed out in considerable detail by accompanying text, which you can see in the small print to the right.
I enjoy the idea of Dwight’s upward mobility eventually landing him the gig from hell, which this does seem to resemble. It also demonstrates the considerable ambition Bandai Namco has for FromSoft’s first post-Elden Ring release: You don’t hire actors like this for a niche title. Armored Core fans may enjoy the advert but, make no mistake, should be glad that their game is being marketed to a wider audience: because it means they may not have to wait ten years again for the next one.
PCG’s Wes Fenlon thinks the game has serious chops, and on his way to awarding a shining 87% score said in our Armored Core 6 review: “It may have taken FromSoftware a decade to return to its love of mechs, but it was worth the wait: Armored Core 6 is a “we’re back on our bullshit” slam dunk.”