I Didn’t Care About Concord Until I Played It

I don’t envy the builders behind Concord. The hero shooter subgenre is a troublesome area to interrupt into, and cultivating a devoted playerbase is even harder. After seeing Concord’s gameplay reveal final month and its lukewarm response, I would have advised you Firewalk Studios’ debut title would doubtless fall flat on its face.

Nevertheless, after spending a number of hours with Concord earlier this month, it’s clear that PlayStation and Firewalk Studios have constructed a stable basis for its sci-fi multiplayer shooter. Mechanically, Concord sits someplace between Overwatch and Valorant. Gun fight performs an enormous position within the moment-to-moment gameplay, however quick response instances and pinpoint accuracy aren’t the be-all end-all of firefights. Every hero, or Freegunner as they’re known as, boasts a singular major weapon, a definite motion type, and two major skills. The prolonged time to kill lets all these totally different skills shine with out undermining the tight and responsive gunplay. Success requires good staff composition, an understanding of every character’s skills, and a little bit of uncooked talent.

Whereas most Freegunners nonetheless match into a standard role–such as a assist or tank–they really feel a bit extra versatile than their Overwatch counterparts. You’d assume Star Little one, the blue and pink behemoth with a big well being pool, can be the best tank. However due to his well-rounded kit–including a major potential that basically turns him right into a wrecking ball that prices throughout the battlefield–and his shotgun that doubles as an axe, he can match into an offensive DPS position with hit-and-run ways. Within the again half of 1 sport, I racked up a half dozen kills by outflanking the enemy staff.

All 10 of the Freegunner’s I examined out felt lethal in their very own manner, whereas nonetheless enjoying in direction of particular roles. Vale is a sniper geared up with a bolt-action sniper rifle, a pistol, proximity mines, and an enhanced vertical leap. She thrives at vary the place she will choose off weakened enemies, however due to her journey mines, she will additionally management the circulate of the battlefield. All three maps I performed consisted of three interconnected lanes, and whereas a pair journey mines fastidiously positioned alongside one in every of these corridors doubtless gained’t cease an enemy staff, they’re positive to gradual them down.

In the meantime, Lennox is Concord’s Cole Cassidy, previously McCree. Armed with a six shooter, explosive throwing knives, and a self-heal potential, Lennox looks like your customary high-skill DPS character. Lining up headshots is vital, and activating his skills on the proper time can get you out of some sticky conditions. Lennox captures that prime threat, excessive reward playstyle. His self-heal makes him viable for lone wolf ways, and in case you can constantly land headshots, most enemies gained’t final lengthy.

My favourite Freegunner was Haymar, a crossbow wielding spellcaster that may hover across the map. Her Flameshot Bow fires an incendiary bolt that may deal vital injury on direct hits. Her skills encompass a blinding flash that disorients enemies and a wall of fireplace that may create chokepoints. Flying round fight zones basically flash banging enemies and laying down partitions of fireplace whereas teammates cleaned up the stragglers was a blast.

Freegunners and their skills aren’t set in stone, both. Firewalk Studios hopes to maintain fight contemporary with one thing known as Fight Traits. Every Freegunner has a set of Fight Traits that act as perks. For instance, Lennox had one that allow him robotically reload when he dodged. This felt slightly unbalanced in a PvP setting–especially when the primary downside of revolver is its gradual reload speed–but it positively has me curious how these Fight Traits might have an effect on a Freegunner and their position throughout the staff.

Firewalk Studios has opted to lean into that asymmetry of its characters.

Versatile Freegunner roles and Fight Traits feed into Concord’s uneven fight. Every Freegunner has their very own set of strengths and weaknesses due to their different well being swimming pools, weapons, and skills. This implies some heroes could pair properly with one another whereas others don’t. For instance, there’s a assist character named Daw who can put down AOE heal stations and drive fields that block all incoming and outgoing hearth. Daw is nice for holding down targets and retaining Star Little one lined at lengthy vary. Nevertheless, my staff rapidly realized that Daw’s drive subject potential might negatively influence all of our medium to lengthy vary heroes at essential moments. Jabali then again can heal teammates with a bit extra precision due to his therapeutic orbs, just like Zenyatta’s Orbs of Concord from Overwatch. Seeing how all these totally different Freegunners might praise one another and counter the opposite staff’s makes firefights really feel dynamic and unpredictable.

Firewalk Studios has opted to lean into that asymmetry of its characters. Whereas this may undoubtedly make particular matchups troublesome, this imbalance forces you to work as a staff, and use your character’s complete package. After all, the Firewalk Studios staff will likely be monitoring steadiness as soon as the sport leads to gamers palms, however in response to Claude Jerome, the lead gameplay designer, that asymmetry is essential to Concord’s heroes.

This asymmetry shouldn’t be mirrored in Concord’s sport modes and map design. I had the prospect to take a look at three totally different sport sorts: Trophy Hunt which is mainly Kill Confirmed from Name of Obligation, and Cargo Run and Conflict Level that are spherical base modes with no respawn. As somebody who’s performed over 500 hours of Rainbow Six: Siege, Cargo Run and Conflict Level have been the highlights for me. The restricted respawn and goal primarily based gameplay required a degree of coordination that you just don’t at all times get in staff deathmatch type modes. Not like Siege and Valorant, Concord’s symmetrical maps meant that each groups have been at an excellent enjoying subject at the beginning of every spherical. This makes it simpler to concentrate on staff composition relative to your staff reasonably than your beginning location.

Concord’s mechanics could tread a number of acquainted floor throughout the hero shooter style, however the way in which Firewalk Studios’ heroes, maps, and sport modes praise one another feels contemporary. Every Freegunner has simply sufficient flexibility to interrupt out of their position if they should, the simplistic arena-style maps prioritize sensible potential utilization over intimate map data, and the sport modes are simply difficult sufficient to encourage teamwork. I’m curious to see if and the way Concord holds up with extra maps, characters, and sport modes within the combine.

Whereas I was impressed by the fight, I’m not totally offered on the universe and the story Concord hopes to inform. Freegunner’s are outlaws that pace across the galaxy searching for journey. Every week, Firewalk Studios will launch a two minute vignette that performs while you boot up the sport. These vignettes will form an ongoing narrative that gamers will expertise collectively.

Earlier than my hands-on session, the studio confirmed us the primary one, and its tone gave off a we-have-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-at-home type of vibe. Perhaps it might construct to one thing extra fascinating, or perhaps I’ve simply grown bored with that Marvel-esque tone, nevertheless it didn’t do a lot for me within the second. I additionally marvel how Concord plans to onboard new gamers in the event that they’ve missed the primary few weeks of the story. Based on the devs, they’ll make all these vignettes out there on YouTube, however I can’t think about gamers will actively search these out.