In the run up to writing this review for Concord, the love that developer Firewalk Studios has for its debut effort under the PlayStation Studios banner has been clearly on display and deeply encouraging. From the recent news that the team is going to be supporting Concord for the long haul, through to the touching, welcoming message which appears declaring their passion and love for the game when you boot it up for the very first time, the affection that Firewalk Studios has for Concord is warmly abundant to the point that you actively want to root for Concord’s success.
Thus, it can be disheartening to already hear that thudding ring of the death knell for Concord in the many corners of the internet. And while there are a myriad of things that Concord could and should do better, it’s also clear that given time Concord will likely blossom into something much more than it is – I’m just not sure that it will command sufficient interest in the early going to allow it to stick around that long – a prospect that would be quite a shame indeed.
Concord PS5 Review
Developed With Passion, Concord Is A Roundly Entertaining Hero Shooter In Need Of A Killer Hook
To be reductive for a second, it’s clear that the elevator pitch for Concord was Overwatch meets Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and you don’t really need to think too hard beyond that to see why the two are a decent match. Before we get to how Concord leverages its setting, it’s important to grasp how developer Firewalk Studios has channelled the essence of the hero shooter genre to create a perfectly enjoyable, if largely unspectacular genre entry.
For anyone who has played the Overwatch games, Valorant or even the forthcoming Marvel Rivals during its recent beta period, the setup will prove to be a familiar one – you have sixteen different characters (or ‘Freegunners’ as they’re called here) to choose from and then it’s off to the races in one of Concord’s numerous PvP or time trial modes and somewhat frustratingly, this is where the first of Concord’s most obvious issues become apparent.
Though you have the expected swathe of competitive deathmatch and objective based game types, there’s nothing here which feels unique or exceptional in the slightest. From the Trophy mode that has you collecting tokens from fallen enemies to the Cargo Run mode that has you shuttling a MacGuffin from point A to point B, it all feels numbingly familiar in ways that do little to ignite the imagination – at least at launch, anyhow.
Nonetheless, the moment to moment gameplay loop of Concord is entertaining all the same with responsive combat underpinned by well-constructed wraparound level design with plenty of opportunities for attack from all sides and, thankfully, robust network code to keep games ticking over smoothly and without issue. That said, it’s also worth mentioning that Concord feels at least a half step slower when compared to its genre stablemates, with combat that while precise and responsive, isn’t anywhere near as snappy or as agile as something like Valorant, for example.
Furthermore, It would be nice to have an in-game reminder of what your special abilities are – as it currently is, you can only work out what your special abilities do before a match rather than during it, which can prove frustrating if you’re not particularly experienced in using a specific Freegunner. Functionally speaking, Concord does nothing especially new in the hero shooter genre but there are some great bones here.
When it comes to the numerous Freegunners that you can choose from, Concord arguably fares better here, with each Freegunner falling broadly under six different class types and each Freegunner feels appreciably different to play and has their own progression paths that are generously stuffed cosmetic goodies to unlock. Quickly on the topic of unlockables, it’s also refreshing that while there are no microtransactions at launch (Concord’s first season will however introduce an in-game store where cosmetics – and cosmetics only – can be bought), there are also no battle passes being thrown in your face over and over. Which is, you know, nice for a change.
In terms of progression, Concord’s incentive for repeat play is easy to understand if, again, not especially fresh or bespoke in its execution. Concord has two progression paths, an individual level progression path for each of the Freegunners on the roster and an overall account progression path and both can be incremented by killing enemies and completing objectives, unlocking additional cosmetics, skins and other such goodies in the process. By way of its constantly updated Job Board, Concord also provides wannabe space rogues with daily, weekly, seasonal challenges that if met, bag you a sizable bag of experience points and in turn, offer up a spread of mini-objectives to keep things interesting. Again though, this is nothing we haven’t already seen before in other similar titles and so the pattern of familiarity continues.
Speaking of the Freegunners, though its Guardians of the Galaxy-lite setting draws direct analogues with Marvel’s popular space bound property (Star Child is almost literally Drax the Destroyer, right down to the hulking build, body paint and loudly filter-free proclamations), the cast of characters are charming enough – even their designs which I know I’m in the minority when I suggest that I actually find the designs easy on the eyes, if not especially unique or fantastical.
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Where Concord does strike out on its own somewhat is in the crew customisation and bonus systems which neatly supplement the bedrock of its 5 vs 5, PvP shenanigans. In regards to the latter, each Freegunner brings a bonus to the group that can be stacked in turn with the other bonuses that other Freegunners bring. Where the cleverness and nuance of the system comes into play is in how you can stack different bonuses depending on the game type to improve your chances of success.
So for example, in a game type that requires speedy movement – such as Trophy Hunt or Signal Chase – you’ll want to stack bonuses that provide extra speed after a dodge, while in a Takedown match, you’ll want to stack bonuses that provide increased accuracy over longer distances, or quicker weapon reloads. Neatly, this is where Concord’s crew customisation system also comes in, as it allows you to create unlockable variants of each Freegunner and adjust their traits depending on the game type you’re about to play. All told it’s an interesting mechanic and one which lends Concord the quasi-flavour of a deck-building game as you tailor and update your ‘deck’ of Freegunners according to the game at hand.
Another area where Concord attempts to set itself apart from other entries in the genre, is in how it tries to shape an entire universe of lore around its seemingly disconnected online skirmishes. Framing the conflict of the Freegunners against the nefarious organisation known as The Guild, Concord also goes into some depth about the Northstar – the experimental spaceship that the Freegunners call home. As the player makes their way across each of Concord’s twelve maps, additional entries in the galactic guide appear – a handy lore digest that is embedded within a stylish looking intergalactic map. Likewise, new vignettes pop up each new season, providing an often amusing insight into the trials and tribulations of the crew of the Northstar. It’s encouraging that Concord’s developer has committed itself so deeply to fleshing out its universe, though it still feels too early to comment on how this storytelling will manifest itself in gameplay terms further down the road. All the same, I’m eager to see what Firewalk does with its committed approach to storytelling going forward.
It’s difficult not to think of the economics of Concord’s situation – would the game be better off being free-to-play and maybe offering up additional Freegunners as additional purchases that can be earned through in-game play or via microtransactions? The sad truth is that you need to do *a lot* to stand out in a genre that is not only fairly overcrowded with a number of household names at this point (see Overwatch, Valorant and so on), but Marvel’s Rivals looms this December and that is a free to play affair based on a popular licensed property that similarly offers all of its characters at no extra cost.
Of course, it also hasn’t been lost on myself or others that Concord hasn’t really had the sort of mainstream advertising blitz that is usually associated with other PlayStation Studios titles. And that is a shame, not least because while Concord does struggle to stand out from its more established peers, it would have been nice to have seen it exist a little more prominently in the gaming space than it currently has. Tragically, I suspect that there will be a glut of think pieces 5-7 years from now that will look back on Concord and will bemoan the fact that the game simply deserves better. And while it certainly does, it’s also abundantly clear that Firewalk Studios first title under PlayStation Studios – which has been in development for eight years or so – simply doesn’t have a strong enough unique hook to entice great swathes of genre newbies and savants alike right now.
Concord is out now on PS5 and PC.
Review code kindly provided by PR.