Concord

We are all painfully aware of that well-worn Picasso quote about stealing from other creators. Those who know what they're doing copy, those who are clueless - steal. And if you're going to steal ideas, manoeuvres and set-ups from another game - might as well steal from the best? That was Rare's reasoning, of course, when they stole 68% of what made Super Mario 64 so good in Banjo Kazooie. The same goes for when Turn 10 with Forza Motorsport stole a lot from Gran Turismo and when Call of Duty took 122,000 kilos of inspiration primarily from Medal of Honour. That happens all the time, of course, and there's no doubt that Sony-owned Firewalk Studio has aimed to make 'its own Overwatch'. Concord is an Overwatch copy. Straight up. Straight through. Let's not mince words or ignore the obvious. However, as I said, this is not necessarily a negative thing.

Concord has been in development for nearly eight years and the people (around 150-160 people) behind it are primarily veterans of Destiny and Destiny 2 development, which, like the Overwatch inspiration, is very noticeable. It's an arena-based 'Hero shooter' in which two teams of five players each face off inside crowded stages to see which team can shoot the other team the most, and the best. There are 16 different characters to choose from and they all have different designs, characters, weapons and special abilities. The most typical 'heroes' are included here which means there's a robot that acts pretty much exactly like Tracer, a girl that acts exactly like Pharah, a copy of Cassidy, Winston, 76 and Hanzo. They're all here and those of you who spent time in Blizzard's now iconic shooter, will of course recognise much of it.

In terms of gameplay, Concord feels very much like Overwatch with some elements taken directly from Destiny. You move slowly, run slowly, jump high (and slowly) and slide slowly along the ground, if you choose to do so. Of course, several key people within Firewalk (which is primarily made up of Bungie veterans) have worked on both Halo and Destiny, and it shows in the way gravity affects game pace and movement patterns. I, as a lifelong Halo lover, would probably have liked this more if they also kept that particular, elusive and strange contrast from Halo with slow movement and ultra-fast fire rate in the weapons, which is not the case in Concord. Instead, this game feels sluggish. Something I've been struggling with. Sure, there are faster characters that jump higher and run slightly faster (Theo and Lennox are two examples, here) but it still feels like it's too slow compared to, say, Overwatch or Valorant, and I just couldn't shake that feeling during my full days with Concord.

The weapons feel good despite the slowness of the game pace, however. It is obvious that it is Bungie veterans who worked on the weapon arsenal, which contains plenty of variety and so here directly at release good balance. I have during my days with Concord stuck to the character Roka, who feels very much like Pharah, and shoots missiles out of a rocket funnel and thus gives me lovely Unreal Tournament vibes not to mention an Overwatch feeling that I will always prefer. I've also played a lot with the lizard man Lennox whose pirate gun amuses along with the tank character Emari and her brutal minigun.

There is, of course, a level system here and something Firewalk have chosen to call Variants which you unlock via time-based challenges rather than in the context of your own level. These are basically 'perks' but given how they are locked in behind an almost incomprehensible system based on time and how fast you are at completing various chores 'in match', it feels very arbitrary. There are cosmetic items too, of course. New clothes for each character, but even these are locked behind a system that only allows me as a player to choose one unlocked blouse at a time, even if I basically unlocked the whole thing. A lot of these ideas feel like they were only added because Firewalk felt they had to come up with something 'of their own' rather than copying everything from Blizzard. A bit like trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist, I would say.

For me, the single best part of Concord is the graphics. Firewalk has used Unreal Engine 5 in a brilliant way and there are few games in this category, for PlayStation 5, that can compete with the sharpness, detail and clarity that the graphics in Concord are characterised by. I love the lighting effects, how well it flows and the bright, gorgeous colours. The design is so retro-spacey in a way that I also really like. Firewalk has mixed Farscape with Roger Corman's iconic rubbish flick War Beyond the Stars to build a kind of self-aware, funky retro world up among the stars and when the loading sequence before each match is masked with a super fancy sequence where the heroes on your team fly in with the spaceship Northstar and get ready for battle, is atmospherically spot on and does a brilliant job of creating context in a multiplayer game where things like this usually feel like a waste of time.

Overall, I think the presentation and tone of the storytelling is successful, unlike the heavily criticised announcement trailer there just over six months ago. I like the behind-the-scenes look at the Freegunners, a group of retired mercenaries with a distinctly Guardians of the Galaxy vibe who, aboard the ship Northstar, tour the galaxy challenging various other teams to earn a living. I like the dialogue, I like the interior of the Northstar and I like the voice actors who, with just the right amount of sarcasm, perform in a way that feels familiar and funny, without being forced. The presentation in terms of graphics is also fantastic. Everything from the home screen to the menus, all the little graphical elements that tell you about updates, customised features and your level - is clear, cleverly structured and super stylish. The retrospace feeling is present in everything and in terms of style, Concord is very stylishly put together with a homogeneous and streamlined design feeling.

What I am not as fond of, however, is the character design. Minus Lennox, Star Child and Hayman, most of the characters are devoid of identity in the most bland design possible. It's clear that Firewalk Studios has worked hard to squeeze in as much compulsive inclusion as possible, and in the process has missed out on building variety and personality into the character roster. Given that this is a Sony-funded Hero shooter, it's hard to understand why Firewalk hasn't used beloved Sony characters like Ratchet, Jak, Helghast, Sly Cooper and Clank instead of the rather sad line-up offered in Concord.

In the end, Concord is not a bad game. Not at all. It's passable, all the way through. The matches are okay in terms of entertainment value, the game feel is okay and the developers have done a decent job of building their own hero party based on the fact that Blizzard is behind, but there is also a lack of intrinsic value here and given that they have borrowed so freely from Paladins, Overwatch and even Lawbreakers and thus failed to build their own identity, there is no reason for me to continue playing - when I can continue to enjoy the originals instead. The fact that Concord also costs £35 when all competitors are free, is also difficult to justify.