Harmony will not be the catastrophe the discourse round it might lead you to imagine. 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 greatest challenge 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 strive 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. Accessible on PS5 and PC, it is a premium launch with a $40/£35 value 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 mentioned 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 up excessive stakes missions. Every match, throughout a complete of six modes, is framed as one among mentioned targets. Characters embody 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 prospects. Lark, a form of fungi-like humanoid, can deposit vegetation on the stage which permits them to both warp to secure spots or buff the mobility of their teammates. Emari, in the meantime, an infinite hulking woman, can deploy armour for her allies and utilise her personal private defend to defend herself from incoming shrapnel and enemy fireplace.
A key gameplay mechanic encourages you to modify between completely different characters in every match, as finishing a full spherical with one hero will unlock bonuses for an additional. Selecting the hyperactive cat-girl It-Z, for instance, will enhance your motion pace. You possibly can then utilise this whenever you respawn as a distinct character to extend your total agility. All of those methods intertwine strategically, permitting you to collaborate with teammates to noticeably improve the capabilities of your 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, akin to 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 at the moment chosen hero for the rest of the match.
The manufacturing values are off the charts, with dense detailed sky packing containers and very good animation. The entire characters are movement captured, and whereas there’s a level of uncanny valley to a few of the heroes, it nonetheless all appears extremely spectacular in movement. Personally, we’re not significantly eager on a few of the designs: 1-Off, a recycling robotic armed with a large industrial vacuum cleaner, is ridiculous – and DeVeers is inexplicably geared up with Tupperware on her head.
It’s additionally laborious to shake the dearth of originality in locations. Star Little one, a beefcake shotgun wielder with crimson and blue pores and skin, is successfully Drax – and Teo is your typical textbook PS3 protagonist from 2008. We wouldn’t be stunned if he’s voiced by Nolan North!
The developer clearly needs you to attach with the characters regardless. It’s promising weekly cinematic skits with a purpose to join you with the forged, and these look as costly as they sound. Frankly, we’ll be stunned 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 could possibly be mentioned 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 little thing may be unlocked just by enjoying the sport. This contains different 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 sport 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 value mentioning as nicely that the person interface is a murals. It captures the title’s retro sci-fi theme completely, and every little thing is introduced cleanly and clearly. There are additionally no actual bugs that we’ve encountered, though we did get caught to the spot in direction of the top of 1 match after respawning, that means that we couldn’t transfer to help our group. Luckily, we’ve been unable to duplicate this challenge and we’re assuming it’s uncommon.
Our greatest concern, past the general lack of identification, is how the sport goes to retain gamers’ curiosity long-term. There are solely six modes accessible at launch, virtually all of that are variants of playlists you’ll be aware of from different video games, and there’s not the lure of a unending checklist of quests and targets 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 troublesome 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 as well. 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. Nonetheless, there’s a cultured and superbly introduced expertise on provide right here, with some attention-grabbing tactical team-building methods and stylish animations. Firewalk’s debut will not be out of this world, nevertheless it’s genuinely fairly good total.
