We have played Concord for 2 hours, the new PlayStation exclusive that is reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy and wants to conquer the action fan – Concord

It was presented at a crucial time for the PlayStation brand due to the “hysteria” that had been generated around the Activision purchased by Xbox and the possibility of losing Call of Duty almost a year ago. Therefore, announcing a space shooter multiplayer nature was important for the Japanese company. They did it without giving hardly any details; so much so that it wasn’t until the most recent State of Play that we had our first look at Concord, confirming the type of game that awaits us. A hero shooter in the style of Overwatch or Valorant which inevitably reminds us of Guardians of the Galaxy due to the tone and aesthetics of its protagonists, and which also comes sponsored by a studio made up of industry veterans who have worked on games of the Call of Duty saga.

With these ingredients and the pressure of being one of Sony’s great releases for PS5 and PC For the rest of the year, we have had the opportunity to play Concord for two hours, and below we will tell you in great detail what you can expect from this shooter developed by Firewalk Studios.

A new rival for Valorant and Overwatch

Concord proposes a galactic journey that seems straight out of Marvel’s own Guardians of the Galaxy. In this, players are part of the crew of the Northstar, which perfectly embodies the essence of characters like Starlord, Gamora, Groot or Rocket, but without being one. Being able to choose between 16 playable charactersthe fact of being mercenaries will be the trigger to enter into battles between 5 vs 5 teams. Because yes, We are facing a hero shooter with all the law.

However, before getting into the combat, characters, and different game modes, I would like to make a small allusion to the concord galaxy. Firewalk Studios seems to have put a lot of effort into creating an entire elaborate world around the gameplay, so there is a portion of the game dedicated to understanding its universe. You can explore (in a reduced form and through a general map known as a ”galactic guide”) the different areas to obtain certain contextual information. As Kimberly Kreines, the studio’s Director of IP, commented, “nothing in Concord is just there, but everything, even a graffiti on a wall on a map, has a narrative meaning.”

This effort to create a consistent universe also translates into a story beginning that is powerful enough for the player to become interested in it. In my case, I could see the beginning of a chapter related to Lennox, captain of the ship, and who is very reminiscent of Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy. In that sense, there is a lot of humor in the proposal, a certain hooligan tone that fits very well, and a lot of charisma in its characters. In fact, the studio has confirmed that, week after week, new cinematic chapters focused on the different fighters will be unlocked to explore more in them, just as other games of the genre such as Apexseason after season.

Thus, after this first good contact, it is time to get into the matter itself. Concord has six game modes ranging from the typical one of defending and attacking, conquering a specific point, making extractions, a mode called ”Trophy Hunter”, etc. From the first moment we have the 16 characters available; The team has made it clear that the micropayments available in the game are, in any case, for cosmetics topics.

Each of these characters are totally different, and have a most elaborate and original design. Although there are six different roles character (tank, support, attacker…), regarding the design of these, I think there has been a conscious work to create fighters that were not copies of existing ones. I have not been able to try them all, but I have been able to try some with which I felt more comfortable, verifying that, at the controls, each one works in a totally different way. And I’m not just talking about the main weapon, which can be anything from a sniper rifle, a crossbow or even a vacuum cleaner (in the case of a robot), but also about main abilities. Each of them has exclusive powers (one faster and one charged) that can vary in options and range from creating a wall of fire, absorbing your enemies or healing. In addition, they all have base passives that can be consulted before starting the game, and which include skills such as increasing mobility when low on life, reloading faster, etc.

The protagonists of Concord and what game modes await you

It is not easy to control the characters well, and I am not referring to the controls themselves (which feel comfortable on a controller). There is fighters more accessible than others, and play styles more suitable for those new to the genre. The studio has emphasized that “all players are invited to play Concord”, and therefore has included a Practice Mode so that it can be played individually before launching into the adventure. I, for example, had a special affinity with the sniper, since the gunplay It feels satisfying. I don’t know if it was because there was no one particularly good in my game (without discrediting anyone), but there were many options when it came to exploring the environment, selecting the paths you wanted to take, setting up the other team or even creating a certain synergy. with other members of your own group.

I was also able to control a fighter who fired something similar to a plasma, which also worked very well, but at close range. There are others like the robot that I have told you about, Lennox himself who is reminiscent of a western gunfighter, or a kind of Drax (Guardians of the Galaxy again), who goes almost uncovered and with pure brute force.

Depending on the mode, the game can be more or less demanding. For example, in some of them, once you die, it’s game over. This can be a bit harsh for those who are not so familiar with the style of play, also posing a certain barrier to entry into these modes. Others, however, will allow you to choose a character again, being able to change even a few seconds after having died, and without a death limit. It is at these moments when the ”crew builder” function comes into play, which allows us to configure our personal team in the desired order.

Although I have not fully understood this option, since I have not had the opportunity to try it (I imagine it is for the player’s comfort), what it aims to do is for the player to have the maximum possible customization of their characters. And speaking of personalizationthis is super present throughout the game through details such as the possibility of changing parts of the robot (if you handle it), weapon accessories, victory and defeat poses, etc.

The variety that Concord presents is also reinforced by the diversity of its 12 maps. I have only been able to play three, each one more striking than the last, but all of them are presented under a graphic section that does not seem to give a single fault. On a visual level, I especially like one that was full of a monstrous infection, and that, of course, had to do with the lore of the universe. There are also other scenarios such as the Bone Mine, the Salt Palace or the Robotic Ruins.

The virtues of its graphics also seem to be present when it comes to the combats themselves. These are not only spectacular (and often brief), but they also have small details that can go unnoticed, such as the animations when shooting, drawing or changing weapons. By the way, all characters usually carry their main weapon, a secondary pistol and a knife. For example, I said before that Lennox was somewhat similar to an Old West gunslinger, as that translates into the way he handles weapons, which is seen from a first-person perspective.

Once in combat, these perform like any other shooter like Valorant, Overwatch or Apex, but with the particularity of having certain action times. According to Jon Weisnewski, Concord’s lead character designer, “There’s a certain fighting game component that I wanted to include. Of course, Concord isn’t a fighting game, but I’m talking about having to react to enemy movements and then having to fight back. I have also been inspired by games like. League of Legends“.

Ultimately, Concord feels like a game, whose creators know what they are doing. The experience has been fun, as has the staging. I am left with some latent unknowns, such as how the connection would work in a different environment, how long I would have to wait to start a game or whether a PlayStation Network account will finally be required to access the game, just as the alert was raised a few years ago. weeks. Now we just need to see the full version of the game, which We already confirmed that it would not be free-to-playand know what its reception will be from the public after its launch on August 23rd. Will it follow in the footsteps of Helldivers 2?

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