With all of the reside service titles from Sony formally (and unofficially) cancelled, it’s attention-grabbing to see Firewalk Studios’ Harmony survive the purge. Possibly Sony sees one thing within the sci-fi, totally-not-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy setting. Maybe with Helldivers 2 making an influence within the PvE market, it’s trying to seize the aggressive hero shooter market or a minimum of co-exist with Overwatch 2 and Valorant.
Regardless, I went hands-on with the early entry beta for Harmony, accessible on PS5 and PC for pre-orders, however an open beta will go reside for all gamers from July nineteenth to twenty first (which provides the Space Management mode and Bone Mines map). Let’s define all the pieces it’s best to know and probably fear about with the upcoming shooter.
Intro, Weekly Vignette and the Galactic Information
Keep in mind how Harmony was first revealed? The cinematic trailer showcased the Northstar crew wheeling and dealing via a busy metropolis to satisfy a job. By comparability, the intro to the beta – maybe the primary of many cinematic vignettes – is extra subdued. It sees the likes of Lennox, Haymar, 1-Off, Vale and Star Little one anticipating an invite to the Freegunner channel for taking over jobs, in all probability formally or one thing. Haymar is the cynical, indifferent one telling everybody to maintain their expectations low. 1-Off will sternly speak to anybody who disappoints Haymar. Star Little one says one thing, whereas Vale is optimistic. They get accepted. I can barely include my pleasure whereas typing all this.
Nonetheless, the manufacturing values, from the pores and skin textures and facial animations to the lighting and voice work, are impeccable. This consideration to element carries over to the character choose display earlier than matches. For instance, Haymar appears robust however slowly exhales, maybe out of nervousness, earlier than locking in once more.
I additionally like how a brand new entry seems for the Galactic Information with every related dialogue. Lennox commemorates a bobblehead which seemingly belonged to the crew’s earlier ship. If you wish to delve previous “seemingly” and be taught extra, the Galactic Information has the main points. Or relatively, it is going to with the ultimate launch – the Information isn’t at the moment accessible within the early entry beta.
Characters
In comparison with different hero shooters, Harmony leans nearer to Overwatch than Valorant in kits and weapons, although a number of elements carry over. Every playable Freegunner has a novel ability set – Lennox throws explosive knives and may self-heal. Roka is Pharah at dwelling however with the flexibility to slam down on opponents and achieve improved monitoring on her rockets when activating her hover. Haymar is a crossbow-wielding mystic who can blind enemies and toss projectiles to create a hearth path. Some even have secondary weapons, like a second revolver for Lennox or a sidearm for Vale.
Skills have cooldowns, however some even have a number of expenses on high. As soon as these expenses deplete, you have to rating a kill for an additional cost (or die and respawn). It reins in talents to an extent however doesn’t make them any much less vital. There could also be intensive steadiness modifications by launch time, however as of now, every character feels distinct sufficient when it comes to really feel, even when many of those kits will look acquainted to these well-versed in hero shooters.
Roles
Additional distinguishing every Freegunner is the function system. Wardens, like Haymar, have elevated weapon vary, whereas Haunts, like Roka, have larger mobility. A Tactician has elevated reload velocity; Breachers have diminished dodge cooldown; Anchors obtain extra therapeutic; and Rangers have decrease weapon recoil. They’re extra like bonuses the corresponding Freegunner advantages from relatively than something game-changing.
Motion
If you happen to’ve ever performed Overwatch or Future 2, the motion will really feel sluggish. Even the hovering and leaping really feel sluggish, although a bit extra weighty. Every Freegunner has a dodge, although some can use them mid-air and even activate particular results, like stealth. Others have a double and even triple bounce, and it’s also possible to slide. To counteract any probably slower pacing, the maps really feel compact, which works for 5v5. Nonetheless, decrease numbers imply it’s that a lot of a chore to seek out enemies.
Time-to-Kill
This additional ties into the time-to-kill. It’s on the longer aspect, which isn’t a foul factor relating to hero shooters. With the motion and deployables (extra on that in a bit), gamers usually tend to group up in an space and workforce shoot. Characters like Haymar or Teo can considerably break this up with their grenades, although they might be negated if somebody has 1-Off vacuuming up all of the projectiles whereas Emari offers armor to everybody and places up a defend. Mix this with Daw, who creates therapeutic pads and barrier domes, and you’ve got one of many extra obnoxious workforce comps to take care of.
A sluggish time-to-kill with restricted mobility choices and no passive well being regen may lead to fights the place you barely make it out alive and virtually at all times get cleaned up by one other enemy. I perceive the place Firewalk Studios was going with a few of this. It’s paying homage to Future 2 Yr 1, the place Crucible was slower and extra gunplay-heavy (with much less emphasis on snipers, shotguns, rocket launchers and so forth), but in addition Overwatch 1, besides 5v5 with no function queue. On the very least, the skills don’t take eternally to recharge, and the gunplay feels good.
Maps
I’m considerably optimistic about Harmony’s maps, although a number of have a standard theme. Maps at the moment accessible within the beta embody Freewater, Star Chamber, Water Hazard and Shock Danger. Freewater is a backwaters city with a central bridge within the center – the sections off to the edges provide loads of open-air flanking routes. Star Chamber emphasizes the central level idea much more however has a round platform with a spot within the center to maneuver round and a extra spacious decrease stage. The corridors are additionally narrower, which is right for Breachers like Star Little one, although it’s typically higher to hold across the center on excessive floor.
Shock Danger is the place issues begin to get somewhat iffy. The center level returns, but it surely’s so out within the open with so many potential locations to get shot from that it’s virtually not value it. As a substitute, the slender corridors on the edges are the place battles happen, with loads of house to again out and take over or toss Wall of Fireplace grenades to chop off chokepoints. If even one workforce is making an attempt to hunker down with two Anchors and Daw, you’re in for an extended match, even when there’s loads of room to flank.
Water Hazard is a reliable map for Cargo Run, although the bot spawn might must shift between rounds to stop the fortification technique utilized by some. In any other case, there’s a pleasant combine of canopy, corridors and notable factors of curiosity, although I’m dissatisfied that the large sea creature is little greater than a husk.
Brawl Modes
There are two playlists at the moment – Brawl and Rivalry – the previous providing two modes – Group Deathmatch or Takedown and Kill Confirmed or Trophy Hunt. There are respawns in these modes, and the aims are fairly easy. Win the previous by eliminating enemies – every kill offers a cost for some talents which you can choose up. The latter is about defeating opponents and selecting up their Bounty Playing cards earlier than their allies can retrieve them. It’s nothing you haven’t seen earlier than.
After every loss of life, you come to the Freegunner display to pick out your character (with an choice to spectate others). I do know it’s annoying to listen to the one-liners each time, however there’s a methodology to the insanity.
Rivalry Modes
On the opposite finish is the Rivalry playlist. It doesn’t have ability tiers or divisions, however this may possible be the ranked format for the long run. Rivalry is round-based – first-to-four wins – and makes use of a knockout system for its characters. Win a spherical with one, and so they’re unavailable for you on the subsequent, however that doesn’t cease your teammates from selecting them. Circumstances apply, although, which we’ll get to later.
The 2 modes are Conflict Level and Cargo Run – the previous is basically King of the Hill, the place each groups battle over capturing a single level. Emphasis on “capturing,” not holding – as soon as that share reaches 100, the spherical is over. Cargo Run is Harmony’s tackle Bomb Defusal from Counter-Strike: GO. A bot spawns within the heart of the map after a brief interval, and both aspect should choose it up, take it to one among two zones and start the extraction course of. The enemy workforce can interrupt the method, and you have to cease them. Alternatively, each groups can ignore the target and annihilate the opposite first.
It’s additionally doable on Conflict Level, eliciting a lot confusion after I first heard it. Granted, one workforce might hunker down on a map with Emari, 1-Off and Daw, forcing the opposite workforce to return to them to realize level management. Your workforce can successfully take activates every of those heroes and use the identical technique in subsequent rounds. Nonetheless, there’s additionally potential for a snowball because the first workforce to safe a kill can arrange on the purpose, making it more difficult to dislodge them.
Variants
Freegunners have separate passives on high of their function. For instance, Haymar’s Hellfire passive grants extra expenses to her Wall of Fireplace grenade and reduces the cooldown of her blinding shot. Why would that matter when nobody else makes use of her talents? That’s the place Variants are available, that are present Freegunners with totally different passives. So whereas Lennox can reload on dodge, Lennox-2 – sure, “2” – will get extra ammo for each weapons, that means ten photographs in his major revolver as an alternative of six. It’s a notable idea so as to add extra nuance, however why couldn’t these be unlockable passives for that character? That’s due to the…
Crew Builder and Bonuses
At Fame Degree 6, you unlock the Crew Builder, one of many extra baffling techniques of Harmony. It permits for making a roster of Freegunners and allows you to have as much as three copies of every (which incorporates Variants, by the best way, so you may successfully have six Lennox in your roster). The road-up will need to have 5 distinctive characters, and back-ups are offered throughout a match in case you want an Anchor.
Why? As a result of in the event you swap characters between deaths – and rounds in ranked play – you inherit their function passives. If you happen to swap from Lennox to Lennox-2, you inherit the previous’s vary passive, which stacks with the latter’s. Going from Lennox to a different Warden character, like Haymar, additionally successfully permits you to double up on the identical passive, however you may’t stack past that.
It’s an intriguing but complicated idea that’s not defined properly. Your HUD shows the energetic function passives however not what they do. Hope you’ve received the icons memorized.
I can perceive having this as a method to advertise character-switching. Since there aren’t any Ultimates, you don’t have to fret about shedding cost when switching. Nonetheless, what if you’d like the Anchor passive to extend therapeutic acquired for Lennox, however somebody is already enjoying Emari or 1-Off? You may’t swap to a Variant if somebody is already enjoying the unique character since duplicate heroes aren’t allowed.
What in the event you’re doing properly and don’t discover the chance to change, except for leaping off the map? Worst of all, the function passives appear inconsequential, offering virtually no discernible distinction.
The Crew Builder additionally messes with Rivalry’s knockout format. Why draft characters between every spherical when you may have six Lennox? Why hassle making an attempt to grasp a handful of characters in a job when you may stack your favourite? Firewalk in all probability wished a draft system that doesn’t discourage individuals from one-tricking a personality, which maybe explains the…
Persistent Deployables
Deployable refers to therapeutic pads, journey mines, partitions, spores, and so forth, which persist on the map. If you happen to throw out a bunch of journey mines as Vale and swap off to Lennox, these will stay till destroyed by an enemy participant. The identical goes for partitions constructed by Duchess. The kicker is that additionally they persist between rounds in Rivalry, inflicting some gamers to beeline to the target and arrange a fortified place to realize a bonus on the opposite workforce.
Whatever the knockout system, that is doable if teammates cycle between the related Freegunners. You may also have a single participant do that consecutively on one character for 3 rounds with the Crew Builder. I’m considering how Firewalk offers with this by launch time as a result of it’s tremendous obnoxious.
Development
As soon as once more, in the event you’ve performed Overwatch 2 or perhaps a gacha recreation, the development ought to look acquainted. Full each day, weekly and seasonal challenges to earn XP to stage up your Fame. Matches additionally present XP, so progress shouldn’t be solely dictated by challenges. Leveling up your Fame unlocks new cosmetics and customization choices, however there are additionally elective pursuits, like unlocking new Variants. A Theo Variant is out there within the beta, which you’ll unlock by finishing 5 challenges. Characters additionally stage up with use, although there doesn’t appear to be some extent (a minimum of within the beta).
Cosmetics
The cosmetics in Harmony vary from weapon skins and charms, poses for victory and defeat, and match entry emotes to gloves and new outfits. You can even modify your bounty card, which shows kills, assists and your motto. Fame ranges award cosmetics, and leveling up characters might present entry to extra customization choices and skins. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t shock me if Harmony goes the best way of Overwatch, which has a store with cosmetics to buy with premium forex that may also be earned in-game.
No Kill-Cam, Be a part of-in-Progress or AFK Kick
One other infuriating factor about Harmony at current is the dearth of a kill-cam. Certain, you’ll at all times know who killed you, however how? The place had been they, what are their cooldowns, and what number of expenses have they got for his or her talents? Figuring out the place enemies can enter from and the place they’ll flank is necessary. Those that don’t need the choice can flip it off within the settings or skip it to verify different gamers’ views, however Firewalk forgoes the selection fully.
Even worse is the dearth of kicking idle gamers or becoming a member of matches in progress. You’re down a participant or two due to the matchmaking? You higher robust it out until the tip as a result of nobody is coming to assist. Alternatively, you may depart due to…
No Leaver Penalties
The onus is usually on a participant to stick with a match till then, however when matched 4v5 and even 1v5, it’s comprehensible if you wish to duck out and go subsequent. Nonetheless, what about evenly-matched affairs the place somebody decides to depart for no matter purpose? The beta doesn’t have leaver penalties – not even in Rivalry, which might be disastrous at launch. It might not appear to be an enormous deal in informal matches, but the problem turned so rampant in Overwatch 2 that Blizzard needed to take harsher stances towards leavers. Even when Harmony doesn’t go down that very same path, it should clamp down on them in Rivalry and the long run ranked play.
General Polish and Bugs
I discussed the sturdy manufacturing values from the cinematics and character particulars, although I’m considerably divided on the clothes. How will you make somebody as clean as Jabali and never give my man a sleeker coat? Regardless, whereas the general polish, constancy and sound design are good, there are some bugs. These embody a difficulty the place my HUD – reticle, potential cooldowns, you title it – disappeared.
One other bug, probably attributable to a participant leaving in the course of a match, primarily broke my dash and hover. The primary was mounted after respawning whereas the second required exiting the match. There additionally appears to be a bug the place my character would inherit their function passive after a respawn regardless of not swapping, which can be a UI bug.
