As a seasoned gamer with over two decades under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of hero shooters and battle royales, so when Concord was dropped onto my PlayStation 5, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of excitement. The game’s stunning visuals and intricate level designs immediately caught my eye, reminding me of the opulence found in grand palaces during my European vacation last year.
It’s fair to say that Firewalk Studios faced an extremely challenging situation against Concord. Their characters initially seemed overly imitative of the Guardians of the Galaxy from the MCU. However, what really tipped the scales was the revelation that it was a 5v5 competitive shooter featuring unique heroes and a live service model. The $40 price tag, when compared to free-to-play games like Valorant and Overwatch 2, was perceived as quite steep in today’s market.
Over time, with little change in the minimal interest it generated, Concord ultimately reached a staggering 697 peak concurrent players on Steam. Despite initial high expectations, it was quickly labeled as a disappointment due to its numerous issues. These extend beyond its unimpressive content, confusing crew bonuses, identity confusion, and squandered storytelling opportunities. In spite of the grand presentations with regular cinematic vignettes and vibrant pastel colors, Concord fails to hold one’s interest.
In the narrative, the Northstar’s crew is anxiously waiting for the Guild to grant them work permissions. As I mentioned in my beta impressions, starting a game with an exciting cinematic trailer followed by characters huddled around a computer might not effectively generate excitement.
Indeed, I observe certain peculiarities among them – Star Child mimicking Drax, 1-0ff portraying a polite android, Haymar adopting a gloomy “it’s not a phase, mom” demeanor – yet none of it seems to lead anywhere significant. If anything, these traits appear to be carelessly used to explain the Northstar crew’s journey across the Concord galaxy, tackling various tasks along the way.
Checking out the Galactic Guide, one of the game’s standout features, is even funnier because it offers a wealth of interesting information about trade routes, planets, and other locations in the galaxy. This massive interactive map has some intriguing tidbits, such as the Northstar, which was constructed by an unnamed corporation decades ago and now finds itself in the possession of the Guild, who are determined to reclaim it using any means necessary.
In an enigmatic scenario, there stands a Tempest wall that wrecks what used to be a thriving trade center, devouring everything in its path. Even swift journeys at light speed have a compelling history. As you progress, further details are revealed, offering insights beyond the initial briefings. Regrettably, these additions contribute only to the game’s background story and do not influence actual gameplay. What a pity it isn’t a cooperative PvE title with missions based in these locations. Ah well.
Regrettably, beyond the weekly vignettes, the series Concord does not offer much opportunity to exhibit the characters’ personalities or relationships in a meaningful way. For example, consider the game Overwatch, which features dialogue during respawn or intriguing comments when eliminating specific characters, thereby enhancing character depth and engagement.
You may get a dialogue or two when a match starts like Haymar saying you shouldn’t make fun of a Mystic since they can light you on fire (she’s the Mystic – that’s the joke). However, beyond calling out enemy grenades or spouting some one-liners, the overall selection of voice lines feels limited, making the Freegunners feel all the more soulless.
Regarding content, Concord provides 16 characters, each with their own variants, along with 12 maps and six game modes. These modes are organized into three playlists. Additionally, you’ll find some Time Trials which present unique challenges such as navigating through tripwires or defeating enemies as Star Child in a speed race. Leaderboards are available for competition. Furthermore, there’s a basic Training Range and Practice mode for honing skills.
The six modes in question will look familiar to anyone who’s played a competitive shooter in the last few years. Takedown is all about scoring kills, while Trophy Hunt is Kill Confirmed – slay enemies, gather their Bounty Cards, or deny them. Area Control is Domination with three zones to capture and hold, while Signal Chase is King of the Hill, with the point moving after a brief period and perhaps the worst implementation of the mode I’ve ever seen.
In simpler terms, the last area generates control points too rapidly without any downtime, making it more effective to limit the new zone instead of fighting for the current one. It’s unclear if this was an accident or a design choice to give teams a chance to come back, but either way, it can be frustrating.
In all these game modes, there are respawns except for the Rivalry playlist which includes Cargo Run (also known as Bomb Defusal) and Clash Point (a variation of King of the Hill). When an objective is achieved or opponents are defeated, the round concludes. The team that wins four rounds first emerges victorious in the match.
With each victory in the next round, a character is eliminated from your playable options, motivating you to select someone new. Both modes are acceptable, although Cargo Run doesn’t allow you to halt an opponent’s extraction so much as transform their advancement into yours. A game mechanic that I find less appealing, but it’s not nearly as confusing as Signal Chase.
In summary, the game doesn’t offer a vast selection of PvP content. There’s no Free-For-All Deathmatch, Custom Games, or unique modes to participate in. The progression system is quite simple, as you earn experience points by finishing daily and weekly tasks to level up your profile and characters, unlocking new cosmetic items. Despite the game boasting numerous customization options, the selection and depth of these cosmetics appear limited at best, and uninspired at worst.
It’s possible to make the case that when it first came out, Overwatch didn’t have many features for its price. However, that was eight years ago. In comparison to today, Concord seems rather limited in terms of activities. To be honest, I’m not sure if the absence of a well-structured Ranked mode is such a drawback, considering the lengthy matchmaking times for Rivalry or the issues that can arise with the modes themselves.
The maps look good, even if they don’t sport any earth-shatteringly new gimmicks. For example, the giant sea creature’s corpse on Water Hazard is little more than a pathway and Shock Risk sports a large tower in the center with multiple windows and exits overlooking it. Freewater gives pseudo-Tatooine vibes, while Glance and its extensive sightlines are more opulent. The designs and layouts are solid overall, right down to the placement of health packs, flanking routes and choke points, and thankfully, they don’t start to bleed together after extended periods.
In simpler terms, the shooting and skills in this game seem robust enough, but I don’t particularly enjoy the slower, more floaty movement. This often leads to a tactic of staying back and team-shooting, but it’s still possible to execute flanking maneuvers and potentially catch unsuspecting opponents off guard for a lucky kill. At times, it seems like this game aspires to be both a hero-based shooter like Overwatch and a copy of Destiny in disguise. Each Freegunner has distinct weapons and abilities, as well as unique roles, yet the game doesn’t strictly require following a “one tank, two damage, two support” team composition to win.
In this game, certain characters like Daw and Lark are highly recommended due to their useful abilities. However, it’s important to note that these characters also require careful consideration regarding balance, particularly since deployables stay the same throughout rounds. The protective dome shield and healing pads that Daw offers can be frustrating, especially on maps with designated zones, as they not only provide cover but also deal reasonable damage. On the other hand, Lark’s Spore Seeds are essential for their defensive benefits such as damage resistance and increased movement speed, while simultaneously slowing down enemies and making them vulnerable.
When it comes to playing styles, you’ve got options like Teo, armed with an assault rifle, smoke grenades, and cluster grenades, versus Lennox who carries an explosive throwing knife, revolvers, and has self-healing abilities. Kyps stands out with his silenced burst pistol, not so effective against full-health targets but perfect for surprising weaker opponents, particularly when using stealth. Additionally, disrupting their abilities and marking them with Surveillance Traps benefits the team. Lastly, there’s Haymar whose explosive shots (which can be charged) inflict heavy damage, while Wall of Fire and Blinding Flash offer good area and crowd control.
In a slightly different phrasing: Concord doesn’t disappoint by keeping most of its characters’ abilities relatively modest compared to competitors, but it stands out in unique ways. Unlike other hero shooters, there are no Ultimates; instead, there are Crew Bonuses that let you switch roles and gain benefits from the previous one. For instance, you could pick Roka, a Haunt, for enhanced mobility, then upon respawn select Haymar and gain increased agility while hovering.
The bonuses aren’t huge or essential; they’re designed to motivate players to switch between characters during rounds. Ideally, the characters’ abilities would be compelling enough on their own, offering substantial strategic advantages in certain situations. However, if you prefer to specialize in a single character throughout a match, it’s perfectly fine and comfortable to do so without switching.
In addition, there are Variants, which refer to distinct versions of characters boasting unique passive abilities. Due to the rule that only one character of each type can be used in a match, these Variants serve as a workaround, allowing you to field two Lennoxes or Teos, for instance. The mere thought of two Daws, each armed with an endless supply of shields and health packs, leaves me feeling quite uneasy.
Fundamentally, Concord functions reasonably, yet it encounters occasional lags and severe frame drops during a single game. The trouble lies not just in its performance but also in its overall design. Despite the captivating world-building, it seems disconnected from the competitive multiplayer experience (many other live service games have mastered this integration). The gameplay and levels are satisfactory, yet they lack novelty. On top of that, Crew Bonuses, though innovative on paper, seem redundant and complicate the gaming experience, frequently requiring you to go back to the character selection screen.
It’s unclear how Concord will develop, or if Firewalk Studios can contribute captivating concepts to it at this point. Currently, there’s not much incentive to explore it given that numerous other games provide far more enticing gameplay experiences without any cost.
This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.
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2024-08-27 15:42