During Concord’s early entry, it was fairly laborious for PC gamers to seek out video games with out queuing in console lobbies. At the time, I gave Concord the good thing about the doubt, deciding to chalk it as much as a sluggish early entry. Unfortunately, issues have not gotten higher for the reason that recreation turned accessible for everybody.Â
There are presently 96 gamers in Concord. It’s off-peak hours, however having a 24-hour peak of 276 and an all-time peak of 697 on SteamDB is fairly damning—it has been a tepid first week on PC for certain. There aren’t any public information for participant counts on PlayStation, so that is actually all we’ve to go on proper now relating to Concord’s reputation.Â
PC gamers have reported that lengthy queue occasions are very a lot an issue for these not queuing alongside console gamers. “Just waited eight minutes for matchmaking, after which it timed out,” one participant says. “I like the sport and need to play it. Unfortunately, I am unable to wait eight minutes plus between video games. [So] I made a decision to play one thing else and are available again on peak hours. This actually would not look promising in any respect.”Â
I’ve additionally had some fairly lengthy wait occasions on Concord over final weekend—I bought to about seven minutes earlier than I discovered a recreation. This is not terrible, and I’ve performed loads of different video games that may have equally lengthy queues, however the distinction is that I’m unsure Concord is well worth the wait. The video games are fairly enjoyable, if a little bit chaotic, however they don’t seem to be excellent, which might be why gamers are discovering the $40/£35 price ticket laborious to abdomen.Â
I’ve performed just a few video games, and whereas I get pleasure from a number of the heroes like Haymar and Daw, many of the matches really feel indistinguishable, and the maps appear too huge for their very own good. You spend a variety of time strolling round searching for fights, after which if you discover one, everybody’s skills mix into a giant, chaotic ball of injury. There’s extra to Concord than simply the fights, because the cosmetics are fairly cool, however that does not imply it is well worth the price ticket.Â
Criticism over the upfront price appeared the second it was introduced, and a few gamers nonetheless suppose the reply to its launch woes is shedding the value and going F2P “They have to go F2P, this recreation will not final the month, they cannot wait.” Something like this might assist bolster numbers, though there wasn’t large curiosity across the free beta both.Â
Even if the F2P route may assist the dwindling participant numbers, there’s nonetheless an excellent chunk of the playerbase that does not need Firewalk Studios to make the shift to F2P. “F2P is tremendous predatory and lives off youngsters’ dad and mom’ bank cards,” one participant says. “Concord prices $40, and the whole lot post-launch is free! There will not be battle passes, and each further map and hero is free!”Â
F2P undoubtedly has its drawbacks, however when there are such a lot of alternate options accessible at no further price, it looks like a misstep to attempt to subvert that. Some folks say that this reveals confidence, but it surely’s not an awesome enterprise mannequin if you wish to forged your internet large and encourage a great deal of folks to play your recreation. If I had to decide on between tons of free and unbelievable staff shooters or take an opportunity on one for £35, I’d go for the free video games each time, and lots of could be simply nearly as good, if not higher.Â
