Concord

Firewalk Studios finally unveiled Concord at Sony's recent State of Play, and the reaction was... well it wasn’t great. After a year of staring at the admittedly gorgeous CGI teaser trailer, the State of Play pulled the curtain back with a world-building cinematic, some brief developer interviews, and a full trailer packed with gameplay. It turns out that Concord is a 5v5 first-person hero shooter that's heading to PS5 and PC later this year. We really liked the look of Concord and initially thought that Sony could have another hit on its hands — but comments after the show seemed to suggest the contrary.

Now, don’t get us wrong, Concord isn’t the most original game on PlayStation. Like an amalgam of Guardians of the Galaxy and Overwatch 2, there are elements of hero shooters you’ve played in the past here. But the vitriolic reaction to hero shooter aspects of this game have us scratching our chin. The big takeaway from the internet’s reaction is that nobody wants another hero shooter, but we have to ask if that’s really the case.

Whether you’re looking towards Overwatch 2, Rainbow Six: Siege, Apex Legends, or Valorant on PC, you’ll see consistently high player counts that showcase just how steady the hero shooter genre actually is. Not to mention other upcoming hero shooter Marvel Rivals, which is obviously riffing on Overwatch 2, seemingly passing the vibe check because Marvel, we guess.

The hero shooter genre’s influence is also felt in adjacent games, like Destiny 2, which currently has our Warlocks, Titans, and Hunters working through The Final Shape. Or XDefiant, the back-to-basics, supposed Call of Duty killer that features themed factions with unique abilities. Or even Embark Studios’ The Finals, a frenetic 3v3v3 shooter that utilises light, medium, and heavy builds. The reach of the hero shooter genre is percolating through the multiplayer space in a way that shows the popularity of games like Concord.

Concord

So why then, has Concord been received so harshly? Truthfully, we think it’s the big old PlayStation Studios logo that’s attached to it. Sony’s rip-roaring PS4 era has meant that the Japanese giant has solidified its reputation as a single player publisher. However, Concord, the first of its first-party live service games, is arriving in a year noticeably void of a big AAA release like Spider-Man 2.

Does that mean it's over before it's even truly began for Firewalk Studios? We reckon the multiplayer crowd will show up to at least try out the beta in July. It could be a make or break moment for Concord, but with ex-Bungie talent at the helm, we're confident that it'll be a tightly controlled shooter at the very least.

Whatever the case, we feel that Concord has been given a hard rap, and all before any of us have even played the game. We have our fingers crossed that Firewalk is able to showcase what’s special about this particular hero shooter on the run-up to its August 23rd release date.

But what do you think about Concord? Have you written it off already? Or are you quietly hopeful that Sony has another Helldivers 2 on its hands? Freerun your way to the comments below.