Game review: Concord (PS5)

I remember an annoying time in gaming when the PS4 and Xbox One consoles were just out and there was a rise of multiplayer-only video games. There's nothing wrong with online-only multiplayer games, but a number of them were full-price!

I'm talking about games like EA's Star Wars Battlefront, the first Titanfall, Evolve, and even Overwatch. None of these games included any single-player campaign, and gamers were still expected to pay full price for them all. 

It wasn't until the release of Fortnite in 2017 that this trend started to die. Fortnite became so popular it was hard to compete with it because it was free-to-play. Now, there are tons of free-to-play multiplayer games like Overwatch 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, The First Descendant, and more. 

However, Sony announced this year a new online hero shooter named Concord, which is now available for PS5 and PC. Instead of being a free-to-play video game like Fortnite, Concord is a multiplayer-only game that costs $69.99 NZD. 

Not to mention PS5 owners have to fork out extra cash to pay for a PlayStation Plus subscription too, because the game is unplayable without one. I still think it's a scam that console players have to pay for online gameplay since PC owners don't need to. Only free-to-play video games are free on all platforms. 

Anyway, I still wanted to give Concord a chance despite its high price entry. It might not be full price, but it's quite expensive when you compare it to the likes of Fortnite, Overwatch 2, or the upcoming Marvel Rivals. All those games are free-to-play with Marvel Rivals offering all characters for free at launch!

Sadly, Concord itself isn't a fun game for someone like me as I'm usually not good at online multiplayer FPS games. Concord does not offer any PVE modes as everything is PVP. If you hate getting shot all the time by more talented players, this game is not for you. 

Before you dive into the multiplayer modes of Concord, the game does offer three practice modes for you to play. Firstly, there's the tutorial that gives you guidance on the game's controls and combat. Aside from a main weapon, each character in this game has two unique ability buttons. Some characters can also dodge or even jump higher than others. 

There is also a Practice mode which is helpful in testing out each character's strengths and weaknesses before you take your skills online. The Practice mode allowed me to find out who the useless characters are, but I'll talk about more in this review later. 

The last single-player mode is Time Trial which is an obstacle course you need to finish in a fast time. Only one Time Trial is available at the start because you have to unlock more of them by levelling up in the online multiplayer modes. 

Speaking of multiplayer, Concord generously features six multiplayer modes that are spread out into three different playlists. The first playlist is called Brawl and this features 'Takedown' and 'Trophy Hunt'. These modes are essentially just you trying to kill as many opponents as possible in 10 minutes. 

The second playlist is Overrun featuring 'Area Control' and 'Signal Chase'. These modes are similar to the old Star Wars Battlefront games where you have to capture the command posts. The only difference is that 'Signal Chase' moves the zone every few seconds. 

The third playlist is only unlocked if you manage to reach level six and this is called Rivalry. This features 'Cargo Run' where you need to plant cargo and defend it from the enemy team. 'Clash Point' is the last mode and you can either capture zones or just kill enemies to gain points. 

The actual gunplay is fast and responsive in most of the game modes mentioned above, and many of the characters are quick on their feet. That being said, I played a lot of matches where the teams felt unbalanced. I rarely played a match where it felt evenly matched as most game modes were one-sided whether my team won or lost. 

Speaking of gameplay, I don't think every character is balanced because there are far more useful characters than others. For one thing, only a few characters have a secondary weapon. Several other characters have one weapon only and this is unfair if you need to reload in front of an enemy and cannot whip out a pistol or something like that. 

Some characters "run out" of their abilities and can only use them again when they die and get respawned. Again, this feels unfair because other characters can use their abilities after just waiting for a small cooldown period. 

There is also a character named Bazz and I don't think she's useful in a gunfight mainly because she is only armed with two knives. I've seen some people make good use of her, but I wasn't really great at using Bazz because you need to be at close range to stab people. She can throw knives, but it's not as easy as spraying machine gun bullets. 

One of my favourite characters to use was Emari because she has a huge Gatling gun and can generate a shield. The other character I liked to use was Roka mainly because she has a rocket launcher and this can deal a lot of damage when you spam it many times!

One thing that did annoy me, though, is that you cannot use the same character on the same team. Emari is quite popular so there were many times I was unable to use her. Luckily I was able to use Roka as a backup because the other characters didn't suit my playing style.  

Another major problem with Concord is its low player count and this will affect how long you will get into a match. I have played the game since launch on PS5 and there was a time I had to wait constantly for over four minutes to enter the Overrun playlist. I heard Steam players have it worst mainly because there are only 500 active players playing Concord on PC at the moment. 

In terms of other modes in the game, you can check out the Job Board for objectives to complete if you want to earn more XP. You can also choose Freegunners in the main menu to customise the appearance of your favourite characters. The more you play, the more items you can unlock to make them look cooler. 

The last game mode in Concord is the Galactic Guide and this is where you can read into the deep lore of the game. Personally, I did not spend too much time reading about the lore, but this is a cool feature for those who want to know more about the game's characters and its expansive world. 

Overall, Concord is not a terrible game, but there are several barriers it has to climb in order to entice more people to play it. The $69.99 NZD price tag is expensive because there are many free-to-play games out there that are much cheaper. It's also worth mentioning the upcoming Marvel Rivals is out this December and that's free and I can be cooler characters like Spider-Man or Black Panther. 

Verdict: 6.0/10