The Concord beta will open its doors to everyone this weekend, and after last weekend’s testing I can’t wait to get back into it, which is something I didn’t expect to say.
I, like most viewers, was baffled by the game’s confusing launch back in June, spending several minutes trying to convince players we were getting a look at a new AAA single-player sci-fi adventure, only to give us Here comes the first look at the gameplay: It looks like every riff from Strike Force has come and gone without any glory over the past eight years or so. However, after spending five or six hours playing the beta, I really resonated with its identity and am convinced that PlayStation and Firewalk Studios just underperformed in the initial marketing push.
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Mind you, even a cheeky replacement for Overwatch (now called Overwatch 2 and offered as a free-to-play game in hopes of returning the IP to its former glory after a few creative missteps) is a big deal for a company It doesn’t have much appeal in terms of gameplay, but the solid playability gives people a different enough feeling. However, the first gameplay reveal feels like a cross between “We have a Guardians of the Galaxy at home” and a Fighter’s End clone that strives to make an impact time and time again. Also, the $40 price tag for the Concord is scary, even with the promise to avoid MTX altogether in the future (doubt it with an X).
Still, it’s easy to see where PlayStation and Firewalk are coming from. Earlier this year, Hellraiser 2 surprised even the biggest skeptics with its premium approach to old-school co-op killing that paid off massively and gave us the funniest, most authentic online experience in a while. interactive. While post-launch support for the game may be slowing down a bit ahead of another big push (a third enemy faction, perhaps?), it’s still healthy on PC and PS5. After shelving and delaying several unannounced live-service projects, and even killing a long-in-development multiplayer game set in The Last of Us universe, PlayStation is trying to use whatever it has left to win more Instant service wins, and chances are we’ll get the game furthest along in development, rather than the one with the most traction.
If we run with that idea, Concord isn’t the best thing PlayStation Studios has to offer, but if the cards are played in the right order and some streamers and YouTubers respond well enough, there might be a way to find a community here potential to it. Sorry, but that’s the way the internet works these days, life or death. You have to win those people over, especially when we’re talking about paid versions versus free-to-play games like First Descendant.
After spending some time looking at the vast array of characters, maps, and modes available in the beta (actually all that’s planned for release), I’ve come to the conclusion that Concord is more of a fusion of Destiny 2 PvP (but with Very good) Team Fortress 2’s class design remains one of the best in a free-to-play game today. Characters are more defined than in the current version of Blizzard’s hero shooter, the unique feel of each class type has been “flattened” over the years, and there’s a renewed focus on teamwork and stacking passive abilities (rather than just active ones) with Bungie these The days compete with each other in anything D2 does outside of the cooperative aspect of the game (its main component).
So far, Haymar (a mage-like girl with a single-shot crossbow and high splash damage) and It-Z (a playful run-and-gun goblin with excellent mobility and stealth) are my favorites. Love the Freelancers, but I’ve found a lot of love in most of the characters’ gear, which is pretty uncommon (at least in my case) when seeing a roster with a dozen or so characters. The most exciting thing about Concord is that each character feels like its own thing and isn’t limited by larger class archetypes. Plus, it all depends on how you wield their unique weapons and abilities, as ultimate abilities aren’t a thing in this game (which will definitely be criticized by the typical hero shooter crowd).
When coupled with the Halo-like action and match pacing, Concord actually feels like an old-school (at least PS3/360 era) shooter, rather than a Strike Force/Paladin one. Another entry in String Admirers. Sure, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and Firewalk’s approach to ongoing seasonal narrative may seem mysterious at first, but Firewalk’s big stakes is a solid game at its core, and I now find myself Support it to find its answers. The price tag is probably the biggest issue it has to deal with, and PC gamers certainly won’t respond well to the PSN account requirement, so this weekend’s open beta may be the most important piece of marketing before the full launch next month.
