Concord, the first game developed by Firewalk Studios, is about to be released this coming August 23rd and this past weekend Firewalk Studios held an Open Beta on both PlayStation and PC so that everyone could participate and provide the feedback necessary to improve the game before launch.
Concord comes as Sony’s new Game as a Service initiative, which seems to be trying to carve out a space for itself within that industry, no matter what the cost.
With the release of Helldivers 2 it seemed that Sony’s Games on Service strategy had started on the right foot, but after the media disaster of thethe need to have a PSN accountthe hype for Helldivers 2 died resoundingly despite being an incredible game. Concord on the other hand comes from the other side of the spectrum, a hero-shooter that mixes mechanics from Overwatch and controls from Destiny to be simply that, a hero-shooter without anything that really takes it to the next level and convinces players to spend $40 in the process.
Concord demonstrates the ambition of PlayStation studios
From the outset, Concord presents itself as a high-quality game; the visual component is incredible and runs excellently on the PlayStation 5, everything very fluid and with a great level of detail in terms of character models, textures, lighting, etc. It is quite clear that Firewalk has spared no expense when it comes to taking its game to the highest possible graphic level.
This level of production is only possible thanks to the money provided by Sony and it seems that at least in this aspect it has been put to good use.
However, one of the visual components that will really make many people decide whether or not to play the game is its design, especially the character design, which really leaves a lot to be desired. Concord is carried away by an aesthetic that is reminiscent of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, so if that’s an aesthetic you like, you’ll probably be able to look past the boring level and character design, two points that currently seem to be breaking expectations for the game on the internet.
A shoehorned-in design style
Despite all the characters boasting a high level of graphical fidelity, none of the designs have that “cool” factor that makes you want to grab a character and dominate them from head to toe. In fact, in a strange move, all the character designs seem to be the product of an inclusion process gone haywire, and the vast majority of the characters and even the color palette they use bring to mind the stereotype that is held at a social level for some LGBT+ minority groups.
While there is nothing wrong with these people having representation within the gaming world, there must be a balance, and here in Concord it seems that the balance only invites those who share ideologies with these groups.
The character design has already been criticized a lot in the discourse that is taking place on the internet, but for a hero-shooter, where the look of the characters is as important as their skill kit, it seems that Concord decided to focus solely on one type of audience, one that may not be the one that will support the game in the massive way that it needs.
How did Concord do during its Beta weekend?
The numbers have reflected this with the beta, not even reaching 3000 players in unison not once throughout the entire weekend. Changing character designs would be too drastic a change, something Firewalk couldn’t possibly do when the game comes out in just a month, and doing so would also bring the ire of other groups, so it seems that Concord is already coming to platforms with a huge disadvantage from the start, a toxic discourse coming from both sides of the argument.
This is a shame, as overall Concord is a lot of fun. It may not be a game that will revolutionize the hero-shooter genre, but it is an enjoyable game to play, with controls that are extremely responsive, weapons that feel good to shoot, and a generally frenetic and satisfying level of gameplay. The game itself is pretty solid, and it would be hard to find any solid complaints against the game in this regard, just as there are any in regards to its visuals.
How different is it from other games in the genre?
The differences that exist between Concord and games like Overwatch or Destiny are quite strange differences, which I have not yet been able to analyze if they are for good or bad, but their benefit is not apparent. For example, first of all, none of the characters have a special ability that is unique to that character, these special abilities are an almost basic element of this type of game, as we see in Overwatch or Valorant, but here they do not exist, so the experience is perhaps a little purer and perhaps that is what Firewalk is looking for, since aiming and shooting is and always will be the most effective.
Secondly, the game encourages switching characters during matches, offering different buffs for the team as a whole and also for the player themselves each time they switch characters, so playing an entire match with just one character doesn’t seem to be the best way to go here in Concord.
This goes against the character mastery seen in other games, and the way buffs are distributed is quite cumbersome and complicated, as it includes creating variants for each character, but it is still too early to know if this system really has a considerable effect during the games.
Conclusion
Concord has the potential to be special, but its current state is going to make it pretty difficult for it to stand out in a field full of established titans that do everything better and with a price tag that says “Free.” It’s unlikely that a month will see enough changes to alleviate these woes, though Sony has done the price change to free or at least “free for PS Plus” in the past, so it’s just a matter of wait and see, but Concord has a tough time.
Read also Concord will also require a PlayStation Network account
#Concord #Impressions #Latest #News
2024-07-26 02:31:03
