Concord Review
Summary
TLDRConcord, a sci-fi hero shooter from Sony, offers charming characters and solid class-based gunplay, despite a lack of innovation. With a roster of 16 unique characters, each with their own weapons and abilities, it provides enjoyable gameplay. However, it suffers from a generic selection of game modes and a weak narrative. The competitive playlist 'Rivalry' and character variants add depth, but the game could benefit from a more engaging story and distinctive game modes to set it apart in the genre.
Takeaways
- 🎮 Concord is a sci-fi competitive hero shooter from Sony that plays it safe with charming characters and beautiful cutscenes.
- 🔍 Despite the lack of innovation, Concord is enjoyable with its class-based, gunplay that is rock solid and carries the game.
- 🎯 The game features a variety of game modes including Deathmatch, Trophy Hunt, and Clash Point, but lacks novelty.
- 👥 Each of the 16 characters has unique strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities, offering a diverse roster.
- 🔧 The weapon selection is limited but finely tuned, ensuring each weapon feels responsive and distinct.
- 🎖️ Rivalry mode in Concord encourages players to master multiple characters by not allowing the same character to be used in consecutive wins.
- 🌟 Character variants with unique perks and appearances add depth and strategy to the gameplay.
- 📚 The game's story is underdeveloped with only two cutscenes and a reliance on drip-fed lore through the Galactic Guide.
- 🗺️ The 12 designed maps are well-crafted with complex pathing and varied environments, though some are larger than necessary for 5v5 combat.
- 🚀 Concord has potential to become a standout hero shooter with its solid FPS gameplay, but currently lacks a signature game mode and a compelling story.
Q & A
What is the game 'Concord' described in the script?
-Concord is a sci-fi competitive hero shooter developed by Sony, featuring charming characters, beautiful cutscenes, and ability-based PvP combat.
How does the gameplay of Concord differ from other hero shooters?
-Concord's gameplay is characterized by its class-based gunplay, a diverse roster of characters with unique abilities, and a competitive playlist called 'Rivalry' that encourages players to master multiple characters.
What are the different game modes available in Concord?
-Concord offers game modes such as standard Deathmatch, Trophy Hunt (a kill confirmed mode), and Clash Point (a zone control mode), although the script notes that these modes lack novelty.
How does the 'Rivalry' mode in Concord work?
-In 'Rivalry' mode, players are not allowed to select the same character again if they win a round, encouraging the use of a minimum of four different characters over a best-of-seven match series.
What is the significance of character variants in Concord?
-Character variants in Concord come with a unique perk and altered appearance, offering slightly different gameplay experiences and allowing players to use the same character in multiple rounds for strategic variety.
How does the script evaluate the weapon selection in Concord?
-The script praises the weapon selection for being slim yet responsive and finely tuned, with each character having one or two options that feel unique and distinct.
What is the script's opinion on the originality of Concord's characters?
-The script finds the characters in Concord to be immediately charming and well-balanced, with compelling powers, although it notes that not all characters feel original.
How does the script describe the maps in Concord?
-The script describes the maps as well-designed, featuring complex pathing and varied terrain that requires learning and strategy, although some maps are noted to be larger than ideal for 5v5 combat.
What is the script's critique regarding the story and narrative in Concord?
-The script criticizes the lack of in-game storytelling, noting that the game relies on short snippets of lore and cutscenes to develop its narrative, which it finds to be a poor substitute for a more immersive story experience.
What does the script suggest as areas for improvement in Concord?
-The script suggests that Concord needs a more engaging story and a signature game mode to set it apart from other hero shooters, as well as more content to support its live service evolution.
Outlines
🎮 'Concord' - A Solid Hero Shooter with Charming Characters
Concord, a sci-fi hero shooter from Sony, offers a safe yet enjoyable gaming experience with charming characters and beautiful cutscenes. Despite a lack of innovation, it excels in class-based gunplay, making it fun to play. The game features a standard deathmatch, trophy hunt, and clash point modes, all of which are familiar but well-executed. The weapon selection is limited but finely tuned, and each character's abilities are diverse and well-balanced. The game introduces a competitive playlist called 'Rivalry' that encourages players to master multiple characters by not allowing the same character to be used in consecutive rounds. This mechanic promotes team communication and strategy. However, the game's story is underdeveloped, with only two cutscenes and a reliance on external lore snippets, which may not be enough to engage players in the long term.
🌌 'Concord' - Maps and Modes Review
While Concord's game modes lack originality, its maps are well-designed and offer a variety of environments that require strategic gameplay. The maps feature complex pathing, cover mechanics, and unique routes that cater to different character abilities. However, some maps are larger than necessary for 5v5 combat, leading to longer respawn times. The game's modes, such as 'Signal Hunt' and 'Area Control', are generic but not unenjoyable. The game's character variants, which can be unlocked by completing objectives, offer minor changes that provide additional combat options. Despite the lack of a compelling narrative and a need for a signature game mode, Concord's strong FPS gameplay and character design make it a promising title in the hero shooter genre. The game's future success will depend on its live service evolution and the introduction of more engaging content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Concord
💡Hero Shooter
💡Cutscenes
💡Class-based Gunplay
💡Game Modes
💡Rivalry
💡Character Variants
💡Narrative
💡Maps
💡Live Service
Highlights
Concord is a sci-fi hero shooter from Sony with charming characters and beautiful cutscenes.
The game's class-based gunplay is rock solid, making it enjoyable to play.
Concord features a variety of game modes, though they lack novelty.
Each character in Concord has unique strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities.
The game's weapon selection is limited but finely tuned, offering a responsive feel.
Concord's characters are balanced and diverse, with abilities that change combat dynamics.
The competitive playlist 'Rivalry' forces players to use different characters, promoting strategy and team communication.
Character variants in Concord offer unique perks and appearances, adding depth to gameplay.
Concord's story is minimal, with only two cutscenes and a focus on drip-feeding lore.
The game's maps are well-designed with complex pathing and varied terrain.
Concord's lack of a signature game mode is a missed opportunity to stand out in the genre.
Despite a non-existent story, Concord's PVP gameplay is engaging and enjoyable.
The game has potential to grow with a live service roadmap and additional content.
Concord is recommended for those interested in hero shooters, despite its current shortcomings.
Transcripts
new signal zone
unlock grab a copy of OverWatch off some
dusty GameStop shelf and rub it under
the musky armpit of the Guardians of the
Galaxy's Peter Quill and you might have
something close to the feeling of
Concord as competitive hero Shooters go
this sci-fi Contender from Sony plays it
quite
safe complete with immediately Charming
characters rendered in Gob smackingly
beautiful cutcenes and ability based p
VP combat that never addresses why those
characters are fighting one another when
they're clearly allies in said cutscenes
but just because it doesn't offer much
in the way of innovation doesn't mean
Concord isn't fun to
play I've sunk over 40 very enjoyable
hours into the sweaty shooter and it
overwhelmingly Nails its class-based
Gunplay that rock solid foundation
certainly carries it quite a long way
but with only a few by the numbers game
modes and no killer features to shake up
the genre it's still has a lot of
growing to do during its live service
Evolution you and your squad will form a
five-person team of superpowered
characters each with their own unique
strengths weaknesses and special
abilities and then bring them to Bear
against an opposing team in a variety of
formulate game modes those include a
standard Deathmatch mode the best of the
best right here a kill confirmed Mode
called trophy
hunt and a Zone control Mode called
Clash point to name a few none of which
possess even the slightest hint of
novelty but being overly familiar isn't
necessarily a bad thing if you've got
best-in-class Gunplay and awesome
characters with compelling powers to
back it up and boy Concord has got both
of those down
packed Concord sagely keeps its weapon
selection very slim with just one or two
options given to each character by
default and no way to cust I that but
the upshot here is that every single
weapon feels incredibly responsive and
finely tuned and no two characters have
weapons that feel at all similar the
arena controlling old lady Duchess
wields the submachine gun that's
devastating at close range while the
sneaky and tactical Veil mostly relies
on this long rrange sniper rifle to take
out enemies from
afar while not all of these Larger than
Life Brawlers clicked with me
immediately like cleaning robot one off
in his vacuum based weapons that push
and pull both enemies and gunfire around
the map or baz and her knife throwing in
melee focused ways but given enough time
with each of them I was able to
appreciate and even develop an affinity
4 this incredibly balanced and diverse
roster of
characters all 16 options feel really
good to use once you figured out their
tricks and combining them with the four
other characters on your team to serve a
specific purpose whether it be
charitable support character DPS king or
damage absorbing tank is a a lot of fun
to play around with few more happy
customers similarly the abilities that
complement their weapons are fantastic
diverse and have very generous cooldowns
completely changing the way combat plays
out depending on which character you're
playing as the floating Fireball
chucking heyar can blind opponents for a
period of time and make them pay for
standing in the same spot too long while
the rampaging ogre Starchild can close
distances quickly with his charging
attack and smash the ground to do heavy
damage around him not all characters
feel quite as original like how ta Teo
is the world's most generic Soldier and
comes equipped with a smoke grenade and
cluster grenade as his two Powers but
those Bland options are few and far
between plus they serve as an easy
starting point for
newcomers learning each character using
their abilities to counter the team comp
of your opponents and juggling the
madness on the battlefield with
top-notch Gunplay was just as fun in my
first match as it was in my 30th and I
certainly can't say I felt that way
about most hero Shooters I've spent time
with ah look at us go don't stop now
you'll have to get comfortable with the
roster 2 because one of the few novel
twists conqueror brings to the genre is
the way its competitive playlist called
rivalry works unlike the Casual
playlists where you can choose whichever
character you please so long as someone
else on your team hasn't already
selected it in rivalry you cleverly
aren't allowed to select the same
character again if you win around while
using them yes indeed since matches go
to the best of seven rounds that means
winning one will push you to get outside
of your comfort zone and use a minimum
of four different characters not only is
this a neat way to force people to
master more than just one or two options
it also encourages communication with
your team between rounds to ensure
you've got proper coverage to play out
whatever strategy you're trying to pull
off as your options get Slimmer that
choice is supported by another
interesting Wrinkle In concord's
character variance slightly different
versions of existing characters that
come with a unique perk and an altered
appearance which can be unlocked by
completing specific objectives during
matches for example the Gunslinger
Lennox can normally reload his weapon by
dodging while the variant you can unlock
for him loses that ability but gets more
ammo for all of his weapons instead
though each variant offers mostly minor
changes they definitely provide a
meaningful thing to chase that offers
more options in combat perhaps more
importantly they also give you the
opportunity to fudge the numbers a bit
in rivalry since variants count as
separate characters on your crew and
therefore let you play as the same
characters in multiple rounds with 16
likable characters front and center
you'd think story would be a major Focus
but sadly this is an area that's
woefully lacking with just two cutcenes
right now to flesh out small bits of
lore concord's strategy is to slowly
drip feed players with short Snippets of
story over a long period of time now
let's establish Roots glass subsidized
by the galactic guide a matap filled
with nodes where you can read about the
locations and characters I've spent a
fair bit of time scrolling through the
sizable library of short descriptions
and though much of It is Well written
it's a pretty poor substitute for
in-game storytelling that I worry won't
come often enough to keep me invested
great characters squandered by a
complete lack of narrative is basically
a Hallmark of the hero shooter genre at
this point but it definitely doesn't get
any easier to swallow that especially
bitter pill if developer firewalk sticks
with building out the Galaxy over time
it could end up being a major draw but
for now it's extremely thin and also
quite disconnected from the PVP action
you spend all your time with and a
pretty big waste of a cast that has lots
of potential set your
expectations low concord's game modes
are much less inspired than its
characters as well of the six currently
available none of them possess more than
a modum of originality for example
signal Hunt is a king of the hill mode
where you fight to control one spot on
the map until it moves elsewhere and
area control is well a Zone control mode
where you fight over control of three
static zones I'm just getting warmed up
while none of these milk toast ideas are
especially offensive it certainly
highlights a major issue with Concord a
lack of any signature game mode that
sets this hero shooter apart from the
other options out
there love it or hate it overwatches
spin on its iconic escort mode made it a
defining selling point even if that idea
was admittedly borrowed from Team
Fortress 2 before it meanwhile Concord
has a handful of the world's most
generic modes I intrinsically understood
and was preemptively bored by before I
even played them that's a pretty big
Miss for a hero shooter that already
badly lacks ways it sets itself
apart the 12 designed Maps shake out a
lot better than the Bland game modes
though and I largely enjoy running
around concord's Arenas with which
feature lots of zigs and zags cover
mechanics complex pathing that require
spending time learning the map and some
routes that only more mobile characters
can easily reach due to the pretty
intense Heights the vast majority of the
stages
reach on the water loged planet of
Leviathan you'll fight inside of giant
dead sea creatures in the water hazard
map and battle through labyrinthine
hallways in the shock risk map while on
the dying planet of a car you'll blast
enemies to bits as you dance around the
skeletal REM s of some long forgotten
Kaiju really my only issue is that some
of these maps are a tad larger than 5v5
combat calls for and that means it can
take quite a long time to get back in
the action after each respawn aside from
that though I've had a great time
figuring out the best paths and team
strategies across each
Arena Concord isn't the most Innovative
or content heavy hero shooter you could
play but with such fantastic competitive
gameplay 16 compelling characters to
master and 12 well-designed Maps it's
got the makings of something that could
go the distance in the months and years
to
come in fact it's a testament to its FPS
chops that even while it has a virtually
non-existent story and a serious need
for a signature game mode I still found
myself losing dozens of hours to its PVP
charms hopefully the live service road
map will do its thing and show this
promising shooter the love it needs to
become something truly special but right
now it's at least good enough for me to
recommend trying
out for more check out our recent
reviews of Star Wars Outlaws and black
myth Wukong and for everything else
stick with IGN
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)