Highguard is not a “new breed” of shooter – but it’s really good anyway

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I recently had a chance to play an early version of Highguard, a new free-to-play team-based shooter. It’s a 3v3 game with heroes, competitive elements, raids, tactical gameplay, and loot – and it’s made by the team behind Apex Legends and Titanfall. Despite drawing inspiration from those games, Highguard still feels like its own unique experience.

The biggest hurdle for Wildlight Entertainment’s new game is that people are getting tired of hero shooter games. This became obvious when they unveiled a trailer at The Game Awards, which didn’t generate much excitement. The reaction was essentially, ‘Oh, another hero shooter—this one with unusual characters in a fantasy world. It probably has a character who can turn invisible and another with a pet bird.’ And you’d be right.

Highguard really comes together when you start playing it. It features the polished shooting mechanics you’d expect from this studio, a gameplay cycle clearly designed around cooperative raids, and a surprising amount that will remind players of Apex Legends.

The trailer hyped it as a revolutionary shooter, but it’s actually pretty similar to other games in the genre. Maybe ‘cross-breed’ is a better description. Ultimately, it’s just a really enjoyable experience, and the developers at Wildlight are hoping that’s enough to make it a hit.

What is Highguard?

Highguard’s team battles happen in three stages. First, players ride around the map collecting items and supplies. They can use these resources to buy improvements from a shop, which prepares them for the first big team fight.

The main conflict revolves around a sword named Shieldbreaker. It becomes available a few minutes into the match, and both teams fight to grab it. The team that carries the sword to the enemy base initiates the final stage of the battle, similar to a capture-the-flag game.

The game then switches to an attack-and-defend scenario with limited respawns. Teams damage the enemy base by destroying generators. If the defenders win, the attackers’ base takes the damage instead, making each attack a risky move.

Is Highguard just another hero shooter?

Right from the start, it was clear where Highguard drew its inspiration. While built with a new game engine, the shooting mechanics are very similar to those in Apex Legends. Guns feel snappy and accurate, characters move smoothly, and battles are exciting without being too chaotic. The game’s characters, called Wardens, also follow a recognizable pattern: each has a unique passive skill, a tactical ability, and an ultimate move, and they use armor and helmets that are designed much like those in Apex Legends.

This game isn’t just copying Apex Legends. The director mentioned Rust as a major influence, especially regarding raids and attacking enemy bases, and the way walls can be broken down reminded me of Rainbow Six Siege. The gameplay smoothly alternates between careful planning and fast-paced action, and the breaks between fights prevent matches from becoming overwhelming.

The game’s characters really stood out. The Wardens each feel unique, and their abilities are simple to learn and use. Even during hectic raids, the 3v3 battles remained clear and easy to follow. I appreciated that the game avoided the visual clutter that often plagues shooters focused on special abilities.

Highguard has been in the works for four years, and the developers always envisioned a complex, team-based shooter. Interestingly, alongside the programming language Rust, they drew inspiration from Minecraft’s Bed Wars – a game mode where players work with their teams to protect a key objective while battling opponents by managing resources and coordinating attacks.

Free-to-play done right?

Wildlight is designed to avoid frustrating ways many free-to-play games make money. It doesn’t use loot boxes or rely on chance in its store. Instead, players directly buy the cosmetic items they want, like skins for characters, creatures, and weapons, with the most expensive items costing around $20.

The game also features smaller items like weapon charms, banners, and emotes. The developers intentionally kept the shop simple, explaining they designed it to be something they would enjoy as players themselves.

The game has a detailed world, but its story isn’t heavily featured during gameplay. Instead, the developers intend to reveal more about the game’s background through trailers and other content outside the game itself. This approach allows them to prioritize fun and action while still offering deeper lore for players who are interested.

Post-launch is make-or-break for Highguard

I was really impressed with Highguard when I first played! The gameplay is super fun, the shooting feels great right away, and the raids really make it stand out from other hero shooters. My biggest worry now is whether it’ll stay interesting for the long haul. They’ve got one main game mode, so they’re really going to need to keep things fresh with new stuff and keep it from getting repetitive.

While new content like bases, wardens, and systems are planned for the first year, and a Ranked mode is in the works, the long-term success of Highguard will hinge on whether the core gameplay stays enjoyable for players over many months and years.

I really enjoyed the first four hours of this game, but I’m not sure if I’ll still be playing it after 20 or 30 hours of constantly raiding other players’ bases. The developers initially had to overcome the challenge of players getting tired of hero shooters, but the real test for this game, Highguard, will be whether players get bored with the base-raiding aspect.

Highguard is available now on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, free-to-play for all players.

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2026-01-26 18:49