Summary
- Concord fully embraces an original Sci-Fi universe, offering extensive lore like that of The Tempest disaster.
- The Tempest disaster split the galaxy, with the merchant Guild seizing control and Freegunners resisting.
- Season 1 of Concord's roadmap focuses on The Tempest, hinting at more about the galaxy-changing event being unraveled soon.
Creating a unique, original Sci-Fi universe is incredibly difficult in this modern age of pop-culture. It's widely believed that the Sci-Fi genre as fans know it today was born in the early 1800s, which means there have been over 200 years' worth of Sci-Fi novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, radio plays, stage productions, and video games for modern writers to contend with. But against all odds, Concord manages to deliver a surprisingly original, rich Sci-Fi universe, or at least the beginnings of one.
Despite being a multiplayer hero shooter first and foremost, Concord has some pretty extensive lore, all of which can be found in the game's handy Galactic Guide. When navigating over to the left side of the Galactic Guide's star map, players will notice a particularly vibrant collection of pink and purple waves. These waves are known in-universe as The Tempest, and it's the subject of one of Concord's most fascinating pieces of lore.
Concord's First-Party Budget Is Clear as Day
Concord has some stiff competition in the hero shooter genre, but its place as a first-party PlayStation game does give it the edge in a few key ways.
The Lore of Concord's Tempest Disaster Explained
Life Before The Tempest Disaster
An unknown number of years before the events of Concord's ongoing narrative, the galaxy was roughly split into two sections. On one half of the Concord Galaxy, there were the Core Worlds, where the affluent worked and lived, and where the merchant Guild first began to spread its influence. The other half of the Concord Galaxy consisted of the Wilds, a disparate set of planets loosely joined by difficult-to-navigate spacelanes.
The Tempest Splits The Galaxy in Two
82 years before the events of Concord, The Tempest suddenly appeared, drastically changing the galaxy forever. Coming seemingly out of nowhere, The Tempest is essentially a gigantic storm in the middle of space. The Tempest consumed every planet in its path, splitting the galaxy in two, and separating the Core Worlds and the Wilds for good.
Nobody knows where The Tempest came from. Nobody knows what The Tempest is made of. And nobody knows if anything survived on the other side of The Tempest. The Core Worlds could still be in their rightful spot in the galaxy, but nobody who's ever ventured into The Tempest has ever made it out alive to say one way or the other.
Season 1 of Concord's post-launch roadmap is titled "The Tempest," implying that fans might get to learn more about this galaxy-altering event in October, hopefully through the game's weekly cinematics.
Life After The Tempest Disaster
Concord centers on a group of Freegunners who travel across the Wilds seeking their fortune. In the wake of The Tempest disaster, the merchant Guild managed to seize control of the Wilds' most powerful resources and used that leverage to secure its place as the most powerful organization in the galaxy. Now the Guild controls the galaxy with an iron fist, forcing the Freegunners to use hidden spacelanes to smuggle black market goods.
Though The Tempest is no longer an imminent threat, its reach is slowly extending across the galaxy, suggesting that one day, it will consume everything. With that knowledge in mind, Freegunners try to make the most of their time alive, embarking on high-octane jobs that either offer a big payout or deal a significant blow to the Guild, or in the best case scenario, a bit of both.
Concord
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 64 /100 Critics Rec: 23%
- Released
- August 23, 2024
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Firewalk Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
Assemble your crew of Freegunner space outlaws and team up online with friends for thrilling 5v5 PVP modes across the galaxy in Concord.
Concord is a new team-based first-person shooter for PS5® and PC*. Handpick your personal roster of Freegunners from the crew of the Northstar – a group of outlaws and adventurers working as guns-for-hire.
ASSEMBLE YOUR CREW
From powerful mystics to skilled gunslingers and helpful healers, each Freegunner brings their own unique skills, personality, and abilities that cater to a wide-range of playstyles.
Create your own custom squads of Freegunners with Crew Builder to bring an arsenal of different role types to the match or focus on your favourite characters to master their gameplay and unlock unique modifiers, cosmetics, background lore, and more – you decide when to play your characters and how you impact the match.
PLAY. PROGRESS. PERSONALIZE.
Earn and unlock a wide range of character customization items and learn more about the characters, worlds, and factions in the Concord Galaxy with the Galactic Guide.
You’ll also be able to progress toward and unlock Freegunner Variants—versions of each of the 16 Freegunners with added Combat Trait modifiers to their base abilities. As you learn and master the characters, Combat Traits empower you to tailor each character to your playstyle.
