Firewalk Studios
This August , PlayStation will kick back off its emerging dive into live armed service withConcord . The new hoagie shooter from Firewalk Studios look to capture the fun ofOverwatchwhile extradite a slow drip approaching to narrative that could keep consecrate players lumber in every workweek . With its fashionable art and memorable character designs , it has just about everything a good hero hired gun could need to succeed .
So … what ’s missing ?
Firewalk Studios
I asked myself that as I dove intoConcord‘s first betaover the past weekend . I found a perfectly competent shooter that seems to be checking all the boxes ; it just was n’t quite lock away into property just yet . I can easily point to a few fixable problem , like drive speed and matchmaking issue , but Concord ’s biggest job might be a trivial broader : I ’m struggling to find a central feature that gain it stand out from the competition . Every grinder needs their ultimate ability , after all .
Special abilities
If you ’ve played a hero shooter in the past seven years , you recognise what to expect here . Concordis a 5v5 multiplayer shooter where each role player picks a clear-cut quality ( dubbed Freegunners ) with their own bespoke weapons and abilities . From the jump , it ’s clear that Firewalk Studios has really put the proper effort forward to collar that aspect . Each character has their own unmistakable pattern and a wholly unique child’s play manner . Star Child is a loom tank that can dash into struggle and clap enemies with a scattergun , while Roka can float in the air and clap rocket shots down . Yes , a fair amount of the heroes here have directOverwatchcounterparts , but playful design and some inventive ability help separate them . I ’ve already found my principal character in Lennox , a sort of reptilian cattleman who can pepper enemies with pistol shots and heal himself .
I appreciate thatConcordis committing to fix those characters more than just avatars . Firewalk Studios is set to build them out through regular cinematics that show off their snarky personalities and relationships with one another . That ’s great on paper , though the beta does n’t make the sound case for that approach yet . The first cutscenes available do n’t give a gumption of the sci - fi macrocosm . I ’m throw away into what feel like a sitcom scene halfway through its first season . I ’m retain my mind until I can see how Firewalk doles these cinematics out , but I ’m hop the full press release has some stronger frame-up up top .
A few clear problems
Once I leap into conflict , everything starts to experience conversant — perchance too conversant . I ’m tossed into a play list where I can contend in a received deathmatch and Trophy Hunt , the latter of which is your median kill - confirm musical mode . The activity is fun enough in my first seance . I have some success when I dumbfound with my team and keep my distance from enemies . There ’s an accent on correct squad play here , as hear to peel off and take down foes on my own usually results in a fast demise . That moral force pull in a muckle more sense inConcord‘s liquidation mode , which unlock when I hit level 6 . There , it ’s more imperative that my squad sticks together to win controller of a central head on the function . The good matches I ’ve had happened in that mode .
While all of this is perfectly fun multiplayer action mechanism , there are a few clean problem that require ironing out . The most introductory is matchmaking . In my very first catch , three of my teammates throw out almost right away . No players or bots were backfilled onto my team and a lack of a mercifulness principle mean that I had to play out the full equal even though my teammate and I did not stick out a chance . That seems like an well-heeled enough solvent , so I ’m promising it gets tweaked between beta and launch .
What might be a bit more complicated is the overall stride of battle . Concordis a surprisingly slow shooter despite seeming like it ’ll be fill with agile movement strategies . Even the fastest character feel like they persist at a alert jog . At present tense , its tankiest quality are downright unplayable due to speed . Emari , an armoured character with a monolithic chaingun , moves like a snail . Anytime I give-up the ghost , it ingest me a good minute to trudge back into action mechanism . It ’s the dense trend f number I ’ve likely ever feel in a shooter ; it ’s so apparently off that I can not imagine it making it into the final game .
Standout feature needed
Even beyond movement tweaks , conflict finger irksome in general . Enemies have big health pool that take a routine to jaw down and gunplay does n’t feel too precise . No weapon system I try is particularly snappy , leading to a deal of long one - on - one gunplay where my opposite and I just keep missing one another . It all feels a picayune off . There ’s a heaviness to the shootout , but without the impact to correspond .
That ’s a potential secret plan killer if it does n’t vary due toConcord‘s heavy problem at present : It just does n’t have a feature that helps it stand out from the respite . The role skillsets are solid , but not as alone as something likeMarvel Rivalsyet . The modes are passably boilerplate ( and the one I ’ve yet to fiddle do n’t voice like they ’ll shoot that trend ) . So far , I ca n’t find much that set up it apart aside from some conventionalize UI for challenge and a police squad direction option that I ’m still toying with .
That does n’t signify thatConcordisn’t pleasurable . I had a fun weekend with it , and I know I ’d have a good meter wager it with friends . Is that enough , though ? There ’s no famine of playfulness — and destitute — shooter in 2024 . Standing out from the gang is key and I do n’t know thatConcordhas a secret weapon to action that yet , peculiarly considering it ’s a $ 40 game . Overwatch 2has signature modes like Push work to its advantage . Marvel Rivalshas some wildly originative character kits based on superheroes . Heck , even the critically pannedStar Wars : Huntersbrings a few new ideas to the board alongside a playful rendering of the IP .
What isConcord‘s defining feature article ? I ’m not totally sure there is one at present . team - construction wait like it could fill that vacancy , but I ’m not entirely convinced that it ’s enough yet . Strong character figure and in - game cinematics are welcome addition , but those are secondary . Perhaps there are some secrets cover in some of the subject matter presently locked off in the beta ? Maybe Firewalk is n’t fully playing its bridge player yet and there ’s an evolve gameplay twist akin to thecriminally underappreciatedExoprimal ?
Or maybeConcordis just what it is : A fun shooter that ’s not trying to overthink the genre . peradventure “ PlayStation ’s own Overwatch ” will be enough to acquire histrion over . Some pinch and maintenance could be all it takes to make for a steady hit that puts the PS5 ’s resilient service epoch in a stable place . I hope that ’s the case , because it ’s a crowded battlefield out there . Few games these day make it out live .
Concordlaunches on August 23 for PlayStation 5 and personal computer .
