st238

GAMING FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

robots to skilled gunslingers and snipers, we want each Freegunner’s personality and gameplay abilities to come alive in every element of how they play, and the strategic considerations they create. Some Freegunner abilities are made for in-the-moment tactics, including casting walls of fire, throwing exploding knives, or lobbing trash bombs. Others can have an enduring impact on a match, like deployable walls that can block entire lanes, explosive traps, bullet-blocking domes, speed-granting spores, and

TAKING THE LEAP Concord is the debut release from Firewalk Studios, but the team has serious pedigree. 2018 by a group of ex-Bungie veterans, and they employ staff who have worked on smash franchises such as Apex Legends, Call The developer was founded in

Concord is a new PvP, character-driven multiplayer first-person shooter coming to PS5 this month. Game director Ryan Ellis at Firewalk Studios tells us more about their debut game. Words Bec Summer SHOOTING FOR PEACE

of Duty, Destiny, Halo, and Mass Effect.

more that persist across rounds and respawns.

Will we learn more about the

histories of these Freegunners? Alongside getting to know the crew of the Northstar through gameplay, you’ll also have an opportunity to see their stories unfold through cinematic vignettes that will premiere in-game, starting weekly from launch. These brief cinematic vignettes will feature ongoing narrative arcs that grow the characters’ stories, relationships, and unpack the broader Concord galaxy and life as a Freegunner. What about the gameplay? Please tell us more… From the very beginning, we wanted to make a tight, well-balanced FPS that feels great to play from the moment you pick up the controller. While our core gunplay will feel familiar to shooter fans, the versatility and variety of each Freegunner and their abilities makes it so aim and thumb skill alone aren’t always enough to come out on top. Each Freegunner’s abilities are designed to make it so that players of a wide range of skill levels and play styles can be effective - even those that are new to the genre - while providing additional challenge and depth for those looking for high-stakes, high-sweat competitive play. What plans do you have for future Concord updates? At launch, Concord will have a roster of 16 distinct Freegunners to learn and master, and the Northstar crew will grow over time through regular, free post-launch updates that will introduce new playable Freegunners, maps, modes, cinematic vignettes, and more.

• Concord is out Aug 23

How would you quickly sum up Concord ? Concord is a bringing together of peoples. It’s the power of games to build connection and inspire social play. The Firewalk team is driven by the type of exciting, unexpected moments and shared experiences that multiplayer games create. Every time you log on is the beginning of a new adventure, and every match is an opportunity for a new story. It’s these ideals that define Concord , its unique universe of vibrant worlds, and its rich cast of colourful characters. What inspired your team to create Concord ? We built Concord as a love letter to aspirational sci-fi adventure, inspired by our favourite art, anime, films, and TV series. Combined with our deep love of multiplayer, we’re dedicated to creating those had-to-be-there, down to the

wire moments with your friends and creating a sense of adventure as you discover more about the Concord galaxy, the characters you play as, and the worlds you visit every time you log on. Can you tell us more about the characters that we’ll be playing as? You play as the crew of the Northstar - a group of guns-for-hire known in our galaxy as Freegunners. The Freegunners roam the stars, taking high-stakes jobs on worlds across wild space, where they face other fiercely competitive Freegunner crews. From match-to-match, you’ll form your team of Freegunners with other players and

battle it out with rival crews to take home the reward across a variety of maps and modes. What sort of range of Freegunners will we have to choose from, and how will their abilities vary? From powerful mystics and towering

24 AUGUST 2024

jbhifi.com.au