Concord

Concord bursts onto the hero shooter scene with its sci-fi flair and intergalactic battles. This 5v5 shooter puts players in the boots of Freegunners, mercenaries vying for high-stakes jobs across the galaxy. While it brings smooth visuals and an interesting space setting to the table, does Concord have what it takes to stand out in a crowded genre? Let’s dive into this review.

Concord may not be worth $40 to some, but that doesn't mean there isn't $40 worth of game here. With PlayStation levels of production value, and exceptional gameplay, fans of hero or team-based shooters should find Concord appealing – if they give it a chance.

Concord offers a unique experience that distinguishes it from other hero shooter games.

Fun, quickfire game modes and solid multiplayer shooting help steer Concord through an asteroid field of scepticism and unhinged vitriol but the space odyssey doesn't end here. Like any live service, Concord's ongoing vitality and potential appeal to new fans will hinge on its post-launch support, content roadmap, and building on Firewalk's exciting foundation.

Concord largely nails the fundamentals - it feels highly responsive, is handsomely made, has good feeling, if slower gunplay than other games, super stable servers and minor concerns aside, has a roster of mostly well balanced characters. With Concord's obviously passionate team of developers confirming that they are absolutely in it for “years to come”, I would love for Concord to still be around in one, two or three years time and even beyond that. I just don't know if gamers who have been experiencing varying amounts of genre fatigue will be generous enough to put a significant amount of ti...

Concord has a few interesting ideas, but its live service trappings, lacklustre game design and mediocre level design keep it from being truly great.

Concord's snappy combat and colourful character abilities make it a perfectly playable shooter. But muddled hero designs and unimaginative maps and modes leave it struggling to stand out.

Winning a round with a hero locks them out for future use, but building a custom crew with repeat heroes can get around this obstacle. Swapping, however, is incentivized by the buff-stacking system, which integrates more naturally in Rivalry than in casual mode. With careful flanking and team showdowns that tend to be more guided than the directionless arenas of other modes, abilities are more consistently relevant, and playing a slower tank no longer feels like punishment. Rivalry is relatively tactical without venturing into hyper-competitive territory, and it could be nice for those who lik...

Concord is by no means a disaster and has the potential to grow into a compelling hero shooter. But a thin selection of modes, characters who leave a weak impression, and a misguided overabundance of lore make it a hard sell currently.

Firewalk Studios' debut sci-fi shooter makes an incredibly rough landing with too little to set it apart in a highly competitive genre.

PlayStation’s big hero shooter bet isn’t a disaster, but it’s hard to justify picking it over its relatives.

[Update 10/29: Just two weeks after its launch, Sony announced that it would be taking Concord offline on September 6 and issuing refunds to those who bought it. Sony said it planned to “explore options” for the shooter’s future, though it was noncommittal about when and if it would relaunch. On October 29, Sony announced that it would be permanently sunsetting the game and shutting down its developer, Firewalk Studios. That means that Concord is fully dead after only being on the market for mere weeks.