Highguard Review

HighguardCreated by the former Apex Legends and Titanfall The developers at the new studio Wildlight Entertainment, came out of nowhere. “One Last Thing” was announced at the Game Awards 2025, featuring an action-packed twist on the hero shooter genre that honestly raised more questions than it provided answers. As a fan of the genre, I was eager and excited to play Highguard Me, especially when it was revealed that the game will be released in a few weeks. Unfortunately, keeping Highguard At The Game Awards that spot did more harm than good, with many dismissing the game entirely before even getting a chance to play it.

Highguard Many have torn it apart online, comparing it unfavorably to PlayStation's failed live-service Hero Shooter experiment. consent. But while consent had a $40 paywall that severely limited its reach, Highguard Launched as a completely free-to-play game. After spending the last week playing Highguard Every night, it's clear that Wildlight has built a wildly entertaining shooter experience that's a lot of fun at launch and should only get better as the months go by.

While this is a hero shooter at its core, Highguard Truly Frankenstein's monster of various online shooter games. Its single game mode at launch is called Raid, and in it players experience a little bit of everything. The game begins with players strengthening their base (not the other way around). Rainbow Six Siege) and then the loot begins, players are free to explore the huge map for loot just like they do in battle royale games. Fortnite and Apex Legends. Finally, the Shieldbreaker sword comes into play, and Highguard It turns into a giant game of Capture the Flag, where the goal is to deliver a sword to an enemy base.

Successfully planting a sword or clearing the enemy team in overtime then changes Highguard As in something Counter strike Or many other FPS games with similar modes, where players have to plant bombs at specific points. It can all be a bit overwhelming at first, though Highguard has struck gold with this set-up, offering a feel of parts drawn from many other games that all manage to come together to create something that feels fresh.

HighGuard always puts you right in the action

I have seen some complaints online HighguardThe maps are very large and there is a lot of downtime between firefights, but that was not my experience. yes, HighguardThe maps are huge, but the game is constantly funneling players into the action. The Shieldbreaker spawn point is always marked on the map, and thus, players are free to ignore it and just loot during the loot phase, many times enemies are already converging on it, leading to some intense battles before the sword is really a factor.

The person holding the Shieldbreaker is always marked on the map, letting the opposing team know where they need to go, and once again forcing everyone together for more battles. The raid phase then has players fighting in one team's base or the other, and it's an exciting struggle to plant bombs, defuse bombs, and otherwise wipe out the enemy team by any means necessary.

HighguardMounts (ala Paladins) also plays a major role in ensuring action is fast and frequent. A simple double-tap of the jump button will have players instantly take off on the mount of their choice, be it a horse, bear, panther or whatever. The mounts are quickly crossed Highguardof maps and looks great doing it.

Highguard Wardens have an incredible arsenal at their disposal

in HighguardThe playable characters are called Wardens, and they come with their own special abilities just like in every other hero shooter. The Highguard The Wardens feature fairly straight-forward abilities that make it easy to pick up and play a new hero, and literally every single one on the roster is fun to play.

My personal favorite is Scarlet, a defensive Warden who can turn invisible, turn walls into sand, and unleash a deadly Ult that fires high-damage blades at nearby enemies. There's nothing more satisfying than turning invisible as Scarlet, sneaking up on an unaware enemy, and then blasting them with the Kraken Shotgun to deal ridiculous damage and start the fight with a huge advantage.

Other characters are also fun to play. Kai transforms into a giant ice monster whose powers are not unlike those OverwatchReinhardt has, while Redman has a powerful thunderbolt that can completely level buildings. Condor has a bird that can effectively give his team super-valuable wallhacks, and Atticus has an ult that's similar to Hela's. Marvel RivalsRaining down powerful lightning spears at anyone unfortunate enough to be in his line of sight.

There are not a large number of guns HighguardOnly one pair is available in each category, but this keeps things simple and allows players to focus on the meat and potatoes of the action instead of wasting time on menus. The guns all feel great to use and have a lot of kick to them, and combined with the characters' special powers, make every combat encounter exciting.

Highguard is a great game, but it needs more to reach the next level

Original gameplay Highguard Fun, so much so that I can see myself playing this as my go-to multiplayer game for the rest of the year. And as the years go by, Highguard A better game should be made. As it stands, my biggest issue with the game is the lack of content compared to its competitors, but that should be addressed in future updates.

at launch, Highguard There are five maps, eight wardens, and one game mode. HighguardThe flagship Raid mode is a lot of fun, but there's a lot of potential here to expand into other modes that perhaps cater to other gaming tastes. There is no reason HighguardActions and characters can't be seen on smaller, more traditional multiplayer maps Call of Duty and hello. A mod that completely removes the loot and armor aspect would also be interesting.

The fact that Raid Mode is limited to only 3v3 is also a huge disappointment. HighguardThe maps are large enough to showcase large-scale battles, and while it would be very chaotic, I think at least 5v5 if not 6v6 would help the game reach new heights and a wider audience.

Highguard Currently testing a 5v5 playlist, but have yet to make it a permanent mode in the game.

The good news is this Highguard There is an ambitious roadmap for 2026 that confirms a lot of new content on the way, and I hope it has a chance to deliver. It has been revealed Highguard Off on the wrong foot, but at its worst, it's a fun, unique shooter that costs $0 to play.


Highguard tag page cover art


issued

January 26, 2026

developer(s)

Wildlight Entertainment

Publisher(s)

Wildlight Entertainment

Multiplayer

Online multiplayer

Cross-platform play

complete


Pros and cons

  • Successfully mixes ideas from other shooter games to create something new
  • The guns feel great and almost every combat encounter is a thrill
  • Interesting characters with fun abilities
  • Only one game mode at launch

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