When Concord was first revealed to the masses, it was met with immediate backlash. PlayStation is known for its blockbuster single-player experiences, and with 2024 lacking anything on the level of Spider-Man 2 or God of War Ragnarok, many were frustrated that the company decided to focus on a 5v5 hero shooter this year instead. I was also skeptical of Concord, but its betas won me over. I was left hungry for more, but after spending time with the full product, I have concerns about the hero shooter’s longevity.
Despite being a multiplayer-only, live-service game, Concord is a $40 premium experience. Locking a live service behind a paywall is always a risky move, but there are times when it has paid off. PlayStation’s own Helldivers 2 was a massive success, and the same can be said for the original version of fellow hero shooter Overwatch. But the difference between games like Helldivers 2 and Concord is that there is not a great deal of interest in the latter. Concord‘s beta player counts were abysmal, at least on PC, and since people couldn’t be bothered to play the game when it was free, it’s hard to imagine a world where they would be willing to pay for it.
The lack of interest in Concord seems to be due to a few different reasons. There’s the paywall, of course, but the fact that it’s a hero shooter also seems to be working against it, as that’s a genre that has suddenly become oversaturated. There’s the ongoing Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, Valorant, and Paladins for genre fans to play, plus Marvel Rivals to look forward to in December and FragPunk dropping next year. Concord has incredibly stiff competition and is releasing at the same time that Overwatch 2 added a popular new Support hero and shortly after Marvel Rivals hosted a very successful beta that has many fans excited about its full release. Another big issue with Concord is that many think its character designs are unappealing, and I have to say, I agree with that assessment.
There’s no easy way to say it. Concord‘s characters are ugly and derivative. Whereas games like Overwatch go out of their way to make appealing characters, Concord seems to be doing the exact opposite, presenting characters that are unattractive or are dressed in ridiculous outfits that make them look goofy. There are a couple of characters that look cool, like Duchess (who can throw up walls similar to Overwatch‘s Mei) and Haymar (who shoots people with a fire crossbow), but others are lackluster, like DaVeers, who has a bucket on their head; Emari, who is a comically gigantic woman with bulky armor; IT-Z, who gives off serious Greta from Gremlins 2 vibes; Lark, who is a horrific mushroom monster; and Lennox, who is a rip-off of Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy, but green and with fishier features. And when they aren’t ugly, most Concord‘s characters look generic and unimpressive. No one jumps out as particularly exciting or interesting, which is a death knell for a game like this.
Concord Has Some of the MCU’s Worst Traits
Concord‘s art direction has clearly taken inspiration from the Guardians of the Galaxy MCU films, combining 80s sci-fi aesthetic with bright colors in a way that wouldn’t look out of place in an official Guardians of the Galaxy video game. It’s yet another way that the game is derivative of other works, and it’s certainly doing it no favors, though someone who’s a hardcore fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie trilogy may find Concord‘s art style a selling point.
Unfortunately, the MCU inspiration doesn’t stop with its visuals. Concord‘s dialogue is full of poor attempts at humor. Concord‘s opening cutscene, a rather dull cinematic of people standing around talking instead of anything that may draw players into the world, features Yondu stand-in Lennox stating: “I’ve been alive a long time and I have done some pretty awesome things. A-and some not-so-awesome things like that time on Nitka with the spicy fungus…”
Concord is supposedly getting weekly cutscenes that will help flesh out the story, so it will be interesting to see if they are more engaging than what’s in the game so far. Concord players don’t have to wait for the cutscene drops to get more lore, though, thanks to the Galactic Guide. The Galactic Guide is a gigantic map Concord players have access to that lets them scroll around and read about the game’s characters and planets, with new lore entries unlocked by playing the game. The concept is interesting, but it’s not an ideal way to dole out lore. The Galactic Guide is a mess of words that most players won’t bother reading. I read quite a few entries and didn’t find anything all that interesting, and so my trips to the Galactic Guide soon became me hovering over the lore points to get the XP and leave.
Concord‘s presentation has some serious issues that it’s stuck with, though my concerns about it lasting long enough to fulfill its live service vision of multiple seasons with new heroes and content would be alleviated if it were to go free-to-play. As it stands, it’s somewhat hard to recommend Concord to anyone because I am not convinced that it’s going to be a long-lasting experience. Even in its early days, I’ve struggled to find matches at times. Whether that’s due to people already losing interest in the game, most waiting for the full release instead of paying the extra $20 for early access, or server issues, is unclear. But while I’ve consistently been able to get into Brawl matches (the game’s equivalent of Team Deathmatch and Kill Confirmed), there have been times when the wait for Takeover matches (objective-based modes) has gone on indefinitely. I have never been able to get into Rivalry matches at all during Concord‘s early access, though I did play it in the beta quite a bit. It’s the game’s most competitive playlist and can be great fun with a full group of friends.
Concord has 16 characters and 12 maps at launch.
I’m happy to report that the core gameplay in Concord is still fantastic. While its presentation and monetization strategy are potentially going to keep it from ever getting off the ground, Concord‘s multiplayer matches are an absolute blast. It’s light on game modes at the moment, with only six currently available, but all of them are fun. And while Concord‘s character designs leave a lot to be desired, the characters are all fun to play.
Concord‘s characters have distinct kits that make them each feel completely unique from one another, leading to different strategies players can employ in any given match. Some characters are all about going straight on the offensive, like Lennox, who can heal himself and throw an exploding throwing knife, but some are more about supporting the team. Lark is one of the best support-style characters in Concord, able to lay pods on the ground that buff teammates and de-buff nearby enemies. Other heroes, like Daw, can also lay down deployable, including a shield and a healing pad, to help his team. Deployables stay on the map between rounds, which can make characters like these invaluable for any Concord match.
Concord has absolutely nailed its first-person shooter combat, and with things like crew bonuses incentivizing players to swap between different characters in a single round, there’s a ton of variety. All 16 Concord launch characters are fun to play, and the same goes for its 12 launch maps. While there are some legitimate gripes to be had with the Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired art style, the maps still look incredible. Colors pop, the lighting is breathtaking, and there are some genuinely jaw-dropping sights to be had. On top of all this, the game runs super smooth, with zero performance issues to report in my time with Concord. From a pure graphics standpoint, Concord is easily one of the best-looking games on PS5 right now.
Those wanting to roll the dice on Concord will find an excellent FPS full of exciting abilities, intense battles, and eye-popping visuals.
Developer Firewalk Studios went all-out with Concord‘s graphical fidelity, and that same level of care has been applied to progression and unlockables. It’s not uncommon for live service games to launch with lackluster progression, but Concord does a great job right off the bat. Concord eschews the battle pass model that so many of its peers use, instead opting to go for more traditional progression mixed with special challenges that players can pursue for bonus XP and additional unlocks. Concord has a large number of cosmetics for players to unlock by leveling up themselves and individual characters, with more freedom when it comes to customizing their characters than similar games offer. I found the quality of the game’s skins to be underwhelming, but it’s still nice to have so much to unlock right at launch.
The key to leveling up and unlocking new cosmetics in Concord as fast as possible is completing its challenges. Concord has a seemingly endless stream of daily missions for players to complete, plus weekly missions, seasonal missions, and variant missions that help players unlock alternate versions of existing characters that have their own passives. Unlocking these variants gives players more options when putting together their crews, which are their roster of characters they can choose from in each match. Different Concord crew combos yield different bonuses, and while it’s a system that can be safely ignored, it does add an interesting wrinkle to the proceedings.
Concord’s Core Gameplay Shines
Judging purely by its core gameplay, Concord is excellent. There are a lot of unlockables to earn, the maps look amazing, and all the characters are a blast to play in their own way. And while Concord is a hero shooter, it leans more toward Destiny or Halo in terms of minute-to-minute action. Simply put, it’s a lot of fun. There are some minor complaints, like the lack of recharging health leading to some awkward situations where teammates gather around health pads and you might get stuck with the same map multiple matches in a row, but I’m confident that FPS fans willing to look beyond its unappealing character designs will have a great time with Concord.
The problem is that Concord can’t be judged purely by its core gameplay. What’s here is an incredible FPS, but there’s no guarantee that what’s here will still be available a year from now. Concord is struggling to drum up interest, whether it be its look, its paywall, or whatever else, the fact remains that a live service game like this needs dedicated fans if it hopes to stay online. If people stop playing Concord, which is a very real possibility, players will be left with a $40 game that’s basically useless, since there isn’t a single-player campaign or any kind of PvE content at all to speak of. There is some minor solo content in the form of time trials and a practice range, but they certainly won’t make up for dead multiplayer if that day comes to pass.
Those wanting to roll the dice on Concord will find an excellent FPS full of exciting abilities, intense battles, and eye-popping visuals. The game’s character designs, premium price point, and general lack of interest from the public may make it so Concord never really gets a chance, and so potential consumers need to weigh the risks of investing $40 on a game that may be dead before too long. Personally, I am glad to have played Concord and I will continue playing it as much as possible, and will be sad if the day comes when its player count dwindles to the point where it no longer makes sense to support it. Hopefully, Concord defies the odds and becomes one of Sony’s long-lasting live service experiments.
Concord
- Released
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August 23, 2024
- Developer(s)
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Firewalk Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Fast-paced and fun FPS gameplay with exciting abilities
- Gorgeous graphics
- Lots of unlockables right out of the gate
- Guardians of the Galaxy art style isn’t for everyone
- Ugly and derivative character designs
- Lack of interest could keep it from ever getting off the ground
- 6 modes spread across 12 maps means things start to get repetitive fairly quick
Concord is available now for PC and PS5. Game Rant was provided with a PS5 code for this review.