Concord review: dead PS5 shooter didn’t deserve to be Sony’s scapegoat

[Update 10/29: Just 2 weeks aft its launch, Sony announced that it would beryllium taking Concord offline on September 6 and issuing refunds to those who bought it. Sony said it planned to “explore options” for nan shooter’s future, though it was noncommittal astir erstwhile and if it would relaunch. On October 29, Sony announced that it would beryllium permanently sunsetting nan crippled and shutting down its developer, Firewalk Studios. That intends that Concord is afloat dormant aft only being connected nan marketplace for specified weeks.

Our original reappraisal was built astir critiquing nan game’s foundational elements and really durable they felt to upwind nan difficulties of unrecorded service. We noted that nan crippled apt wouldn’t past long, though our anticipation was that it would person a fewer months of runway to activity retired basal balancing changes. That was not nan case. Though we weren’t impressed by Concord successful its early state, its abrupt shutdown comes arsenic a disappointment. Concord had nan bones of a promising leader shooter, but was wounded by mediocre trading and a rushed live-service strategy. The task and its developers now consciousness for illustration scapegoats for Sony’s ain tactical errors. We consciousness that top-down nonaccomplishment is important to support that successful mind erstwhile reflecting connected really we sewage to this point. It’s easy to blasted its developers for making a poorly received game, but Concord‘s history tin not beryllium divided from nan Sony decision-making that led to its failure.

For nan liking of preservation, our August 23 reappraisal appears beneath successful its original, unedited form.]

I thought nan life of a Freegunner would beryllium much exciting.

The hired guns of Concord, PlayStation 5’s caller 5v5 shooter, are surely a colorful bunch of misfits that look for illustration they get up to immoderate galactic hijinks. Miles of written lore moreover allude to nan imaginable dangers they look while traversing nan heavy reaches of space. Every planet, and moreover nan routes connecting them, are filled pinch nan benignant of high-stakes treachery that only nan boldest mercenaries would return on. So why americium I spending truthful overmuch clip controlling zones successful musty warehouses for illustration I’ve done successful countless different games?

Concord isn’t a mediocre multiplayer offering by immoderate means. It has fun hero-shooter bones, an eclectic formed of characters pinch chopped strategies, and rich | world-building that’s group to dribble retired consistently complete time. It’s conscionable that Firewalk Studios’ debut lacks original ideas that elevate that promising foundation. The consequence is simply a perfectly fine, though imbalanced, unrecorded work shooter that doesn’t consciousness agelong for this universe.

Building a galaxy

Concord is simply a reasonably boilerplate leader shooter filled pinch familiar modes that pit squads of 5 against 1 another. What makes it unique, though, is Firewalk Studios’ attack to narrative. Most multiplayer games simply flip players into battles pinch nan slightest spot of group dressing, sometimes successful nan shape of contented recovered wholly extracurricular of nan game. Concord looks to alteration that inclination by loading up connected lore logs and cinematic scenes that rotation retired erstwhile a week. It’s an admirable approach, though 1 that will request to beryllium itself.

At launch, we only get a little preamble to that strategy pinch a fewer cutscenes that present its Freegunners. The reside draws clear inspiration from Marvel’s Guardians of nan Galaxy with sardonic quips and eccentric characters. In theory, that should make players excited to log successful astatine slightest erstwhile a week to get a caller portion of nan communicative aliases to study astir their favourite heroes. It doesn’t put its champion ft forward, though. The early cutscenes I’ve seen make maine consciousness for illustration I’ve been thrown into nan mediate of a sitcom season. I don’t spot nan wider communicative and consciousness much for illustration I’m location to chuckle astatine a fewer gags.

The group dressing is acold much inventive than nan crippled underneath it.

Time will show if those scenes get stronger, but for now, I do expect to support up pinch them. That’s mostly acknowledgment to Concord’s concealed weapon: its vibrant formed of characters. I emotion nan look of nan suave Kyps, and 1-Off, a agleam yellowish robot that almost feels for illustration a colorful motion to Chrono Trigger. Those chopped designs are inviting; I was eager to effort each azygous 1 and recovered myself sticking pinch immoderate moreover erstwhile their playstyle didn’t initially suit me. That isn’t simply an artistic spot either. The beardown designs are functional, arsenic it’s ever easy to publication an force squad astatine a glimpse and cognize precisely what devices they’re moving with. A roster this varied is important for a legible leader shooter, an area wherever Concord excels.

While nan magnetic formed makes for a beardown hook, Concord struggles to build retired its world beyond them contempt being very invested successful that goal. Most of nan world-building is recovered successful nan Galactic Guide, an tremendous lore log that evolves nan much rounds I play. This gives maine exhaustive — and exhausting — blurbs explaining nan backstory of each azygous area of nan galaxy. I study nan history of circumstantial waste and acquisition routes, really multiplayer maps fresh into nan universe, and nan nuances of intergalactic business. I respect nan committedness to nan craft, and I’m gladsome it’s successful nan crippled itself alternatively than a companion app.

Firewalk Studios

What quickly becomes clear, though, is that nan group dressing is acold much inventive than nan crippled underneath it. I could walk hours getting invested successful nan authorities of space, but nary of that has immoderate weight connected nan hundreds of deathmatches aliases area power battles I’ll play. The communicative feels wholly removed from nan game, arsenic if it’s location much arsenic a lore book for whoever gets tapped to move it into an Amazon show.

Concord’s communicative setup is constructed to support players logging in, but its progression hooks much efficaciously get that occupation done. Players person a messiness of bounties (your modular checklist of goals) to complete that refresh connected daily, weekly, and seasonal cadences. That ample stack of objectives ever makes it consciousness for illustration I haven’t wasted my time, moreover successful a loss, and gives maine a clear thought of what to activity toward to get a large chunk of subordinate acquisition to unlock ray cosmetics for my crew. Each characteristic levels up excessively and has their ain rewards to unlock, truthful there’s a bully inducement to play pinch everyone (even if nan unlockables are a spot humdrum truthful far). For those who want to tick boxes off, cod tons of gear, and motion successful each week for refreshed challenges, Concord has that enticing loop down.

Teetering disconnected balance

As a leader shooter, Concord is much run-of-the-mill than its bold communicative strategy and characteristic designs suggest. It contains six modes astatine launch, including a fistful of aged standbys from squad deathmatch (Takedown) to king of nan elevation (Signal Hunt). Its astir high-level playlist shakes things up pinch 2 tense round-based elimination modes, that mash Destiny and Valorant together. I instantly consciousness for illustration there’s thing missing from nan offering, arsenic Concord lacks thing resembling a signature idea. Every shooter doesn’t request to see an wholly original mode, but nan deficiency of 1 shows here. It doesn’t consciousness for illustration nan characters aliases gameplay were tuned astir immoderate circumstantial idea; it’s each built to accommodate to arsenic galore modes arsenic possible.

Sometimes that attack useful good enough; different times it clarifies why games for illustration Overwatch are built nan measurement they are. The halfway action is mostly unremarkable, but I’ve carved retired my niche acknowledgment to its diverseness of characteristic playstyles. Lennox has go my go-to, arsenic I’ve grown to bask peppering enemies pinch pistol shots, finishing them disconnected pinch an exploding knife, retrieving it from their body, and self-healing. Once you observe a characteristic kit that fits your style, Concord settles into a groove arsenic a suitably nosy shooter.

I person my nitpicks pinch it, though I’m slow getting utilized to them. Like galore aspects of Concord, gunplay feels conscionable somewhat off. Weapons return up an tremendous magnitude of abstraction connected screen, but their ammo often feels mini comparative to that size and their harm arsenic inconsistent. Sometimes it feels for illustration I’m firing a pea shooter against enemies arsenic I hardly spot down half of their wellness aft emptying an full clip.

With immoderate balancing, I cognize it’ll beryllium easier to find nan fun.

That’s a quirk of leader shooters for illustration this. Due to each characteristic being tuned differently, from their harm output to their health, a weapon’s powerfulness tin wildly alteration successful immoderate fixed characteristic match-up. Concord complicates that further by placing buffs connected each characteristic decided by their unit compositions, arsenic good arsenic ones granted by definite teammates. It’s ne'er clear erstwhile an force has those buffs aliases what they are, truthful one-on-one face-offs move into unpredictable shootouts wherever immoderate weapons conscionable consciousness ineffective astatine best. Secondary abilities tin suffer nan aforesaid fate, arsenic thing for illustration Star Child’s elephantine crushed lb tin hardly time off a scratch connected moreover nan smallest rival.

At worst, definite characters consciousness downright useless successful circumstantial modes — a problem for a crippled that has a reasonably thin roster of 16 heroes inititally. Since Concord isn’t tuned astir immoderate circumstantial mode, that intends that utility-focused characters consciousness for illustration a discarded of roster spot successful deathmatches. Duchess, for instance, is simply a powerhouse successful area power modes acknowledgment to a secondary expertise that lets her create a wall. Her superior weapon, though, is an incredibly anemic submachine weapon that tin hardly put a dent successful enemies. Heavy characters for illustration Emari are mediocre choices successful area power modes that require players to move astir a batch owed to their agonizingly slow activity speed. It’ll make you understand why Overwatch has ever prioritized push and propulsion nonsubjective modes that require teams to enactment bunched together complete kill-a-thons that neuter half its roster.

Firewalk Studios

Despite those problems, Concord’s unsocial characteristic abilities thief stabilize that shaky foundation. Each leader has their ain passive skills and typical abilities (though nary ultimates, which robs matches of heroic moments that move nan tide of battle). Those skills tin lead to immoderate clever strategizing erstwhile utilized well. One of my go-to characters is Lark, a fungal animal that tin spot buff-granting spores astir nan battlefield. One expertise allows her to driblet a pod that she tin teleport backmost to astatine immoderate time. I recovered an exertion for that successful a area power lucifer wherever I captured constituent A, dropped a pod, ran to C to thief seizure it, and past teleported backmost to quickly take sides nan first point.

Characters tin consciousness for illustration one-trick ponies pinch their constricted toolsets, but imaginative moments for illustration that thief elevate an different mean shooter. Anytime I effort a character, I ever find myself trying to fig retired wherever I could champion usage them. The lovable 1-Off whitethorn hardly do harm pinch his unit vacuum, but his expertise to suck up deployables connected nan battlefield tin beryllium clutch successful a area power mode — particularly since characters for illustration Lark tin litter nan section pinch debuffing spores that enactment up until destroyed. With immoderate balancing, I cognize it’ll beryllium easier to find nan fun.

A analyzable crew

Concord’s biggest plaything astatine carving retired a signature characteristic is successful its convoluted unit system. In astir leader shooters, I simply take my characteristic from nan aforesaid database each round. In Concord, I tin really edit that lineup. Depending connected which characters I see successful my crew, I get different buffs for illustration accrued reload speeds aliases other health. On paper, it’s a neat twist that allows players to tweak their powerfulness by sacrificing their expertise to usage definite heroes successful a round. In practice, it’s acold much disorder than it’s worth.

For one, unit buffs often consciousness negligible; I person still yet to consciously timepiece nan effect of one. It doesn’t thief that nan strategy isn’t intelligibly explained either, leaving maine scratching my caput arsenic I effort to fig retired what nan use of having a circumstantial leader connected my unit really is. I’d disregard nan characteristic altogether and conscionable usage nan modular lineup if I could.

Several surface-level decisions stapled connected apical of 1 another.

I can’t do that, though, and that’s acknowledgment to Concord’s unusual attack to characteristic variation. Each Freegunner has alternate versions that person different perks. Lennox, for instance, reloads his weapon erstwhile dodging, but 1 of his variants trades successful that accomplishment for other ammo. Each 1 is considered an wholly abstracted crewmate that needs to beryllium equipped independently from nan other. It’s a seemingly unnecessarily other measurement that only serves to confuse maine erstwhile I’m looking astatine a Freegunner action surface filled pinch aggregate versions of nan aforesaid character, trying to fig retired which has nan 1 passive expertise I want. It feels for illustration a strategy built for a free-to-play gacha game, but stuffed into a premium leader shooter.

That’s nan consciousness I get from galore of Concord’s off-kilter choices. It’s arsenic though Firewalk Studios yanked its ideas from different celebrated games, but grounded to propulsion nan roots up pinch them. The extremity consequence is respective surface-level decisions stapled connected apical of 1 another. It leaves Concord emotion for illustration an amateur accumulation from an inexperienced workplace punching excessively acold supra its expertise successful its debut, though nan workplace has plentifulness of shooter veterans guiding nan ship. Perhaps that’s conscionable nan threat of processing a crippled complete 8 years successful a genre wherever nan target is ever moving.

Firewalk Studios

None of this is to opportunity that players won’t person nosy successful Concord. I’ve had plentifulness of enjoyable matches, and rounds are truthful short that nan bad ones don’t past very long. Firewalk has besides proven that it’s committed to proceeding instrumentality feedback and making changes accelerated (to its awesome credit, nan workplace fixed nan beta’s astir transparently unsmooth problems earlier launch). I do spot that it’ll nail down nan balance, rethink slow characteristic speeds, and make nan benefits of unit guidance clearer. But it’s successful a title against nan timepiece now. In nan crowded world of unrecorded work shooters, players aren’t precisely diligent — particularly for a $40 game. Once they bounce disconnected and hook onto Marvel Rivals or Star Wars: Hunters, winning them backmost is nary easy task.

Concord whitethorn person survived a agelong improvement rhythm and months of underserved online ridicule, but now its conflict for endurance really begins.

Concord was tested connected PS5.