Highguard Review So Far

Like tons of folks, I didn’t person overmuch to accidental aft Highguard’s underwhelming uncover astatine The Game Awards past month. Yet different leader shooter that I couldn’t prime retired of a lineup from the dozens of different options that are available? Not precisely riveting stuff. But arsenic I’ve learned implicit a mates decades of gaming, you ne'er truly cognize what you’re successful for until you’ve got the controller successful your hands – and aft doing conscionable that, it turns retired Highguard has plentifulness going for it. I spent astir 5 hours learning the ropes and playing matches astatine a pre-release hands-on lawsuit past week, and what I’ve seen truthful acold had polished gunplay, a compelling roster of characters, and a trailblazing crippled mode that serves arsenic its slayer feature.Of course, that constricted play league means it’s inactive hard to archer if it volition person staying powerfulness beyond the archetypal novelty, but with a promising roadmap for the adjacent twelvemonth already charted out, I’m amazed to accidental that I similar Highguard’s chances.

This competitory shooter has components from tons of FPS games, similar playable characters with peculiar abilities that are precise overmuch drawn from leader shooters and a simplified loot strategy that’s reminiscent of conflict royale games, but it sets itself isolated with a unsocial multiplayer gametype: Raid Mode. In this mode, 2 opposing teams of 3 players conflict it retired to invade and utterly destruct the force basal successful incredibly chaotic sieges. Inspired by the developers’ acquisition attacking subordinate bases successful endurance games similar Rust, Highguard looks to condense that high-stakes attack/defend showdown into minutes-long matches, alternatively than serving arsenic the climax to hours of mentation successful a crippled with little structured PvP. After respective hours moving matches, my archetypal content is that this look some stands retired arsenic a caller shooter acquisition and is simply a batch of amusive to play.

Raids are smartly breached into a fewer phases: a abbreviated antiaircraft signifier wherever players prime their starting limb loadout and reenforce their ain base, past an exploration and looting signifier wherever teams permission their basal successful hunt of weapons, armor, and different upgrades to usage successful battle. But the existent amusive begins during the Intercept signifier erstwhile a sword called the Shieldbreaker spawns connected the representation for 1 squad to claim, making struggle betwixt the 2 teams inevitable and showcasing Highguard’s stellar gunplay (more connected that later). Whichever squad is capable to assertion the Shieldbreaker and transportation it to the enemy’s basal past begins the last phase, called the Raid phase, wherever the invading squad temporarily tears down the shield protecting the different team’s basal and assaults it successful an effort to destruct antiaircraft structures and works bombs to destruct generators – by acold the astir breathtaking and precocious stakes portion of each match. Depending connected the result of the raid phase, this process tin repetition itself up to 4 times during each match, making games past anyplace from 8 to 30 minutes, depending connected however heated the contention is.

I truly excavation the structured, phased attack utilized successful this crippled mode, arsenic it offers a precise wide nonsubjective each measurement of the way, wherever I ne'er felt similar I had a clump of things competing for my attention. I could precise easy spot a mentation of these matches wherever I’m having to take betwixt adding defenses to my base, looting amended gear, oregon trying to invade an force base, which sounds similar mode excessively overmuch to juggle astatine once. Having my unit ever beryllium connected the aforesaid leafage astir however we were expected to beryllium spending our clip was great, and helped physique suspense arsenic we inched ever person to the implicit mayhem that is the Raid phase, careless of which broadside of that confrontation we ended up on.

The limb enactment is small, but each feels incredibly good tuned.“

That said, I besides saw areas that could apt usage immoderate tweaking, similar however the loot strategy limits you to lower-tier items earlier the archetypal raid but increases the rarity that tin beryllium recovered successful chests oregon bought from the vendor during each consequent round. While it’s a bully feeling to get much almighty for each caller raid successful a match, it felt a spot underwhelming to cognize that practically each the loot connected the representation had been upgraded, making some teams astir arsenic geared astatine each times. If some teams are expanding their powerfulness astatine the aforesaid complaint consistently, it sorta makes it consciousness little impactful – similar level scaling successful an unfastened satellite RPG. It’d beryllium bully if determination was a mode for players to summation entree to amended loot by performing amended successful raids oregon by making amended usage of their clip during the exploration signifier wherever they’re searching chests. As of now, it’s conscionable excessively casual to find each the loot you need, and being capped connected the rarity of loot disposable during each circular means you’re astir ne'er successful a presumption wherever you’ve got a shiny artifact your opponents aren’t acceptable for.

It’s nary large astonishment that developer Wildlight Entertainment has built a shooter that instantly feels great, arsenic this caller workplace is made up chiefly of radical who worked connected Titanfall and Apex Legends. Whether I was sniping enemies astatine a region oregon getting successful adjacent for a cheeky submachine weapon oregon shotgun kill, combat was crisp and instantly reminded maine of my days sweating it retired successful Apex Legends lobbies (especially the highly recognizable consciousness of the sliding). The enactment of weapons is rather small, with conscionable 1 of each benignant available, but the upside of that slim arsenal is that each feels incredibly good tuned – and erstwhile you commencement to find higher rarities, you’ll spot small modifiers and buffs randomly rolled connected each that somewhat tweak things similar reload speed, mag size, oregon stability. Those go much absorbing astatine higher levels, wherever you mightiness find things similar a afloat automatic mentation of the usually slow-firing manus cannon, which tin supply that crippled changing powerfulness I was looking for. I didn’t person capable clip to truly excavation into however galore variations determination are during the preview event, but truthful acold everything was a blast to bring into battle.

Similar to the tiny but mighty fig of weapons, Highguard is launching with 8 playable characters, called Wardens, who volition consciousness rather acquainted to anyone who has spent clip successful a leader shooter similar Overwatch oregon Apex Legends. Each quality fulfills a circumstantial magic-based fantasy, similar Atticus, the flying, lightning bolt-chucking DPS machine, oregon Kai, an crystal magic idiosyncratic who tin crook into a monolithic frost oni and is unmatched successful his quality to support an area. Following successful the contented of astir leader shooters, they each person 2 abilities connected a cooldown, positive an eventual that tin beryllium utilized a fewer times per match. These mightiness beryllium adjuvant small tricks, similar 1 character’s quality to temporarily marque walls intangible truthful your squad tin walk done them discretely, oregon almighty combat abilities, similar different quality who tin lob balls of lava implicit an area, making the full portion impassible. There’s thing peculiarly archetypal to this formula, but Highguard does a truly bully occupation astatine making each quality idiosyncratic I’m anxious to master. Seeing idiosyncratic signifier a elephantine crystal partition and past magically propulsion that partition close astatine my squad arsenic we tried to transverse a constrictive span convinced maine to instantly effort that quality retired successful the adjacent match.

The item of Highguard, and the happening that truly sets what I saw of it isolated from each the different shooters retired there, is the raid mechanics, wherever 1 squad brings down the afloat unit of their squad’s destructive capabilities connected a heavy fortified base, portion the different uses their superior positioning to bring their beforehand to a halt. There aren’t galore things cooler than a castle siege, and Highguard channels the conflict of Helm’s Deep arsenic the nutrient and potatoes of its 1 and lone crippled mode. At the opening of each match, your squad votes connected which fortress to telephone their own, each of which comes with its ain acceptable of strengths and weaknesses. For example, 1 volcanic basal called Hellmouth is simply a classical castle surrounded by a lava moat, with unsafe choke points for invaders to transverse and agelong lines of show for defenders to sprout from. The downside is that if they negociate to get done these constrictive entryways, there’s not a batch stopping them from blasting done your interior walls and planting bombs connected your all-important generators. Or you could alternatively take to telephone Smuggler’s Den your home; a multi-leveled basal that lacks constrictive chokepoints, but has layers of antiaircraft walls to get done that tin beryllium pugnacious for invaders to navigate earlier getting ambushed by a defending squad.

The raid mechanics truly acceptable what I saw isolated from different shooters.“

As the attacking squad during a raid, you’ll marque usage of immoderate absorbing raid tools successful summation to your modular guns and abilities. The zipline allows you to make shortcuts and caller pathways erstwhile assaulting a base, portion the rocket launcher and blast hammer person a much straightforward solution to sieging by allowing you to blast done reinforced walls, sidesplitting force players successful the process. Fighting your mode done the enemy’s ranks to works and support a weaponry heavy wrong their territory is precisely arsenic thrilling and tense arsenic it sounds, but watching the force panic and despair arsenic a elephantine detonation rocks their basal and their antiaircraft walls crumble astir them makes it good worthy the effort.

Holding the enactment against the force portion connected the antiaircraft extremity of a raid tin beryllium incredibly stressful, but besides highly rewarding, similar 1 clip wherever I reinforced a bid of walls to container the invaders into a choke zone, past utilized a well-placed crystal partition to chopped their squad successful half, past ambushed them earlier they could reorient themselves. I bash privation determination were much opportunities to acceptable traps and spell afloat Home Alone with your base, though – arsenic of now, the lone mode to marque your basal harder to battle is by making a prime fig of walls harder to destroy. There are a fewer tricks, similar intentionally breaking done floors and walls to make caller lines of show erstwhile the force steps into your domain, but speech from that it truly comes down to your quality to outplay the invaders connected your ain turf, utilizing the static advantages and disadvantages of whichever basal your squad ends up with. Still, managing to stave disconnected an force battle and footwear them retired connected their ass is highly satisfying.

When you’re not defending oregon attacking a base, you’ll walk your clip retired successful the overmuch larger areas of the representation wherever you’ll find yourself greatly successful request of a faster mode to get around, and that’s wherever mounts travel in. While they don’t person a relation successful raids, arsenic they aren’t permitted wrong the bounds of a base, they’re perfectly indispensable retired successful the world, wherever you tin instantly equine oregon dismount them astatine immoderate clip to adjacent agelong distances quickly, arsenic good arsenic leap to usually retired of scope areas. Once you commencement warring against the force squad for the Shieldbreaker, you’ll find them highly important successful the seizure the emblem benignant of that phase, wherever triumph often comes down to being capable to outmaneuver the enemy. Riding your equine isn’t without risks though, arsenic it turns you into a immense target, and if your equine gets killed, you volition suffer entree to it for a portion which makes you a sitting duck for your enemies and leaves you susceptible for a tiny play of clip arsenic you autumn to the crushed and prime yourself backmost up.

One happening that feels similar it’s missing from Highguard astatine the infinitesimal are PvE opponents, which determination is simply a implicit deficiency of adjacent during the signifier wherever you’re conscionable exploring the representation successful hunt of gear. I’d presume determination would beryllium baddies trying to halt you oregon bosses to hunt down to assertion rarer loot on the way, but alternatively you’ll find the representation implicit devoid of beingness speech from the force team, who much often than not I didn’t bump into until the adjacent signifier wherever we ran to the aforesaid determination successful hunt of the Shieldbreaker. The deficiency of NPC enemies is mitigated somewhat by proviso drops that spawn during the cogwheel up phase, giving you a crushed to prosecute successful PvP earlier successful each round, but I inactive consciousness similar it would beryllium bully to person much to bash earlier the large struggle astatine the end.

My archetypal hands-on impressions are overmuch amended than the uncover trailer near maine with.“

Wildlight has intelligibly learned immoderate other lessons from the assorted lumps successful the roadworthy that Apex Legends faced, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to the live-service model. After taking a peek astatine Highguard’s roadmap for the adjacent year, which includes caller contented each azygous month, I’m beauteous impressed by however overmuch is supposedly coming down the pipe. That roadmap includes 5 caller playable characters, arsenic good arsenic respective caller bases, maps, and weapons, each wrong the archetypal year, with seasonal contented coming each 2 months. I’m definite astatine slightest immoderate of this won’t spell according to plan, arsenic adjacent the champion intentioned roadmaps tin often get bumped disconnected course, but it’s astatine slightest large to spot Wildlight has travel prepared for semipermanent support.

I inactive person galore much hours of matches to play with Highguard present that it’s retired successful the wild, but my archetypal impressions are overmuch amended than the uncover trailer near maine with. Once I’ve had a accidental to walk clip with with each people and figured retired the ins-and-outs of each basal (as good arsenic spot however the unrecorded servers clasp up), I’m definite I’ll person plentifulness much to accidental and a people to spell with it. For now, it’s backmost to the lobbies with me!

Highguard's 2026 update roadmap