I remember an annoying time in gaming when the PS4 and Xbox One consoles had just come out and there was a surge in pure multiplayer video games. There’s nothing wrong with pure online multiplayer games, but many of them required paying 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 a single-player campaign, and players still had to pay full price for all of them.

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

However, Sony announced a new online hero shooter this year called Concord, which is now available on PS5 and PC. Rather than being a free-to-play video game like Fortnite, Concord is a pure multiplayer game that costs $69.99 NZD.

Not to mention that PS5 owners will have to spend extra money on a PlayStation Plus subscription, as the game is unplayable without it. I still think it’s a scam that console gamers have to pay for online gameplay while PC owners don’t. Only free-to-play video games are free on all platforms.

Anyway, I wanted to give Concord a chance despite the high entry price. While it’s not full price, it’s pretty expensive when you compare it to games like Fortnite, Overwatch 2, or the upcoming Marvel Rivals. All of these games are free to play, and with Marvel Rivals, all of the characters are free at launch!

Unfortunately, Concord itself is not a fun game for someone like me, as I’m not usually good at online multiplayer FPS games. Concord doesn’t feature any PVE modes, as it’s all PVP. If you hate constantly getting shot by more talented players, this game is not for you.

Before diving into Concord’s multiplayer modes, the game offers three practice modes to play. First, there’s the tutorial that explains the game’s controls and combat. Besides 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’s also a practice mode, which is helpful for testing each character’s strengths and weaknesses before you put your skills to the test online. Practice mode allowed me to figure out who the useless characters are, but I’ll talk more about that later in this review.

The final single player mode is the Time Trial, an obstacle course that you must complete in the shortest time possible. Only one Time Trial is available at the start, as you must unlock more by leveling up in the online multiplayer modes.

Speaking of multiplayer, Concord offers six multiplayer modes spread across three different playlists. The first playlist is called Brawl and includes “Takedown” and “Trophy Hunt.” These modes are essentially just about killing as many enemies as possible in 10 minutes.

The second playlist is Overrun with 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 when you reach level 6 and is called Rivalry. It includes “Cargo Run” where you have to place cargo and defend it from the opposing team. “Clash Point” is the last mode and you can either conquer zones or just kill enemies to earn points.

The actual gunfights are quick and responsive in most of the above game modes, and many of the characters are nimble on their feet. However, I’ve played many games where the teams felt unbalanced. I’ve rarely played a game where it felt even, as most game modes were one-sided whether my team won or lost.

In terms of gameplay, I don’t think all characters are balanced because there are far more useful characters than others. For one thing, few characters have a secondary weapon. Several other characters only have one weapon and it’s unfair when you have to reload in front of an enemy and can’t pull out a pistol or anything like that.

Some characters run out of skills and can’t use them again until they die and come back to life. This also feels unfair, since other characters can use their skills after a short cooldown period.

There’s also a character named Bazz, and I don’t think she’s useful in a gunfight, especially because she’s only armed with two knives. I’ve seen some people use them well, but I wasn’t really good at using Bazz because you have to be up close to stab people. She can throw knives, but it’s not as easy as firing machine gun bullets.

One of my favorite characters 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 it can do a lot of damage if you spam it a lot!

What annoyed me though was that you couldn’t use the same character on the same team. Emari is quite popular so there were a lot of times where I couldn’t use her. Luckily I was able to use Roka as a replacement as the other characters didn’t fit my playstyle.

Another big problem with Concord is the low player count, which affects how long you stay in a match. I’ve been playing the game since launch on PS5 and there was a time where I was constantly having to wait over four minutes to get into the Overrun playlist. I’ve heard Steam players have it the worst, especially since there are currently only 500 active players playing Concord on PC.

As for other modes in the game, you can search the Job Board for tasks to complete if you want to earn more XP. You can also select Freegunners from the main menu to customize the look of your favorite characters. The more you play, the more items you can unlock to make them look cooler.

The final game mode in Concord is the Galactic Guide, and this is where you can gain deeper insight into the game’s story. I personally didn’t spend too much time reading up on the story, but this is a cool feature for anyone who wants to learn more about the game’s characters and its expansive world.

Overall, Concord isn’t a terrible game, but it does have some hurdles to overcome to entice more people to play. The price of $69.99 NZD is high considering there are plenty of free-to-play games that are much cheaper. It’s also worth mentioning that the upcoming Marvel Rivals is coming out in December and is free and I can be cooler characters like Spider-Man or Black Panther.

Verdict: 6.0/10