Is Concord Destined to Fail? | Push Square

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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.

So why then, has Concord been received so harshly?