Harmony shouldn’t be the catastrophe the discourse round it could lead you to consider. This on-line first-person shooter – a debut effort from Sony studio Firewalk – has outrageous manufacturing values, a good enterprise mannequin, and a genuinely entertaining gameplay loop. Its largest difficulty is its lack of identification: there’s no denying the developer has been closely impressed by Guardians of the Galaxy, and whereas the title does genuinely attempt to blaze its personal path, that’ll largely be its downfall.
For many who haven’t been following, that is the second of PlayStation’s much-discussed stay service efforts, following on from the record-breaking success of Helldivers 2 earlier within the yr. Obtainable on PS5 and PC, it is a premium launch with a $40/£35 worth level, and all 16 characters and 12 maps can be found for everybody from day one. There aren’t any microtransactions, Battle Passes, or hidden prices – though the studio has stated it plans to promote cosmetics at a later date.
You play as a Freegunner from a ship named the Northstar, a ragtag crew of sci-fi mercenaries tasked with taking over excessive stakes missions. Every match, throughout a complete of six modes, is framed as one in every of stated goals. Characters embrace a lizard-like particular person named Lennox, who wields a revolver and may heal himself. You’ll additionally discover Haymar, a pyromaniac with a penchant for crossbows, and Teo, an ex-elite soldier with a love for grenades.
Every of the 16 characters have their very own persona and equipment, offering them with distinctive gameplay potentialities. Lark, a type of fungi-like humanoid, can deposit crops on the stage which allows them to both warp to secure spots or buff the mobility of their teammates. Emari, in the meantime, an infinite hulking girl, can deploy armour for her allies and utilise her personal private defend to defend herself from incoming shrapnel and enemy hearth.
A key gameplay mechanic encourages you to change between completely different characters in every match, as finishing a full spherical with one hero will unlock bonuses for one more. Selecting the hyperactive cat-girl It-Z, for instance, will enhance your motion velocity. You may then utilise this if you respawn as a distinct character to extend your general agility. All of those techniques intertwine strategically, permitting you to collaborate with teammates to significantly improve the capabilities of your chosen character.
So as to add much more tactical depth, variants of every Freegunner can be found to unlock. Whereas these don’t drastically change their equipment, they do introduce attention-grabbing gameplay wrinkles, resembling elevated ammunition reserves or higher therapeutic capabilities. The upper pressure modes – like Flash Level and Cargo Run, which don’t have respawns – actually pressure you to think about your team-building priorities, and reward you for understanding a number of characters, as profitable a spherical will completely lock you out of your presently chosen hero for the rest of the match.
The manufacturing values are off the charts, with dense detailed sky containers and excellent animation. All the characters are movement captured, and whereas there’s a level of uncanny valley to a few of the heroes, it nonetheless all seems extremely spectacular in movement. Personally, we’re not notably eager on a few of the designs: 1-Off, a recycling robotic armed with an enormous industrial vacuum cleaner, is ridiculous – and DeVeers is inexplicably outfitted with Tupperware on her head.
It’s additionally arduous to shake the dearth of originality in locations. Star Little one, a beefcake shotgun wielder with pink and blue pores and skin, is successfully Drax – and Teo is your typical textbook PS3 protagonist from 2008. We wouldn’t be shocked if he’s voiced by Nolan North!
The developer clearly needs you to fall in love with the characters regardless. It’s promising weekly cinematic skits to be able to join you with the solid, and these look as costly as they sound. Frankly, we’ll be shocked if it’s capable of afford to maintain making these past the primary few seasons, and we’re not fully positive how a lot they add to the general expertise. The identical may very well be stated of the lore library, which expands as you discover extra maps and progress with completely different characters.
We must always reiterate, there aren’t any Battle Passes or shady enterprise fashions right here: every thing might be unlocked just by taking part in the sport. This contains various outfits, equipment, attachments, and extra. Whereas the studio has admitted it intends to promote cosmetics later down the road, it’s refreshing to play a multiplayer recreation not burdened by microtransactions, and there’s an affordable quantity to unlock on day one. It stays to be seen how way more will get added in future seasons.
It’s price mentioning as effectively that the person interface is a murals. It captures the title’s retro sci-fi theme completely, and every thing is offered cleanly and clearly. There are additionally no actual bugs that we’ve encountered, though we did get caught to the spot in the direction of the top of 1 match, which means we couldn’t transfer to help our staff. Happily, we’ve been unable to copy this difficulty and we’re assuming it’s uncommon.
Our largest concern, past the general lack of identification, is how the sport goes to retain gamers’ curiosity long-term. There are solely six modes out there at launch, nearly all of that are variants of playlists you’ll be accustomed to from different video games, and there’s not the lure of a unending checklist of quests and goals like in Fortnite. The studio clearly hopes gamers will get a kick out of the gameplay itself and never the entire surrounding fluff, however that’s a tricky ask on this aggressive market. We clearly can’t communicate to how a lot the title will develop and evolve past launch.
Conclusion
Harmony is a clear and well-meaning first-person shooter, with no shady enterprise practices besides. Its lack of actual identification is a matter, and it’s tough to find out simply how a lot Sony goes to get behind it long-term. Nevertheless, there’s a elegant and fantastically offered expertise on supply right here, with some attention-grabbing tactical team-building techniques and elegant animations. Firewalk’s debut will not be out of this world, however it’s genuinely fairly good general.
