Highguard was announced at the Game Awards last year as the big announcement of the night, the one game that everyone would unanimously rise out their seats and cry tears of joy, if only we lived in that timeline. The world we live in is where Highguard got announced as this revolutionary game that would change the landscape of PvP game forever but is really nothing special. Borrowing elements from so many popular games and mixing them together in a brew that isn’t bitter but lacks originality. Maybe in another time or place Highguard could have marketed their game better and arrived on better terms but we have to judge what is laid before us and it isn’t looking too hot.
First off I believe I should list off my credentials and my current pc set up. I have been playing multiplayer games for my whole life on a more casual basis, I have dabbled in competitive play, but for the sake of this feature, I am not a sweat lord FPS streamer so I am coming at this from a guy who played hundreds of hours of Counter-Strike, Rainbow Six Siege, and Overwatch.
My PC is not top of the line and I played it on low settings for most of my play time. I did try it out on PS5 for comparison purposes. From my experience the game has some big performance issues and has plenty of matchmaking issues. One of the first issues I encountered was being booted out of the tutorial right in the middle of it which was just spectacular. Other than that once I do get into a match everything seems to work pretty good and I do chock up most of my performance issues to my PC so take it all with a grain of salt.
Rough Landing
Highguard was not advertised well, it is not a hero shooter like we originally thought but more of a mix of MOBA format with modern FPS tropes mixed into it to give it some variety. Each match starts off with picking a character and a base that has different layouts. You then start phase one which is reinforcing your base for about a minute then you go into phase two which is collecting resources and finding loot in the form of guns, armor, and items that can help you during the matches. Phase 3 is when the shieldbreaker spawns which is a giant sword that both teams fight over which is crucial for phase 4 which is the base raiding phase. The Base Raiding is where the meat and potatoes of the action is going to take place as you have to kill the enemy team and plant a bomb on the two generators so you can destroy their base. If you die too many times then the raid is a failure and the whole cycle is repeated until one time destroys a base.
First off the positives, which there are some good things to enjoy with this game. The mounts you ride during the resource and shieldbreaker phase make traversing the huge map way more enjoyable. Shooting enemies off of horseback is very satisfying and I’ve seen some very cool tricks you can do with the mounts. The Gunplay is pretty solid with weapon variety being very nice and if you’re familiar with Apex Legends then you will feel right at home. The game could do with more weapon variety and more distinct unique weapons but I’m sure we’ll see more as the game gets updated. Lastly, the design of the Wardens are not too bad and are a good start with even more wardens and maps on the way in the near future. I’m sure if you love Apex Legends and are a huge fan of competitive FPS games then I think you will get a kick out of this game, at least for a time.
Skin Deep Issues
Now onto the big major issues that plague the game right now and could, if not properly addressed, be the downfall for this game. Highguard is launching with only 8 wardens and only one game mode with some small variety with maps that pretty much all play the same with some minor landmarks and choke points being different. This is less content at launch than many of its competitors and the games that inspired it like Apex Legends, Overwatch, and Rainbow Six Seige which all started with way more content than is present here. Combine that with the absolutely awful marketing between the Game Awards when it was announced to now does not exactly put this game in an excellent position to sustain players for a long time. There is just not enough content on launch to satisfy players for a long time and even their road map which can look promising doesn’t really address the core issue of the game which is the main 3v3 mode is not deep or interesting enough to be a core mode to surround the game. A game like Marvel Rivals can get away with having minimal game modes because the core objective game mode is proven to be good in the past with games like Overwatch and the huge variety of heroes with unique abilities and play styles make every match feel different. With Highguard every match kind of just plays the same, with the same loot, the same objectives, and the same resources.
Why is the game even a 3v3 game anyways, it makes every match so much more tedious. There are genuinely times when I am playing the game and I am just looking for people to shoot and the environment is so big and dense that sometimes I can’t even pick out an enemy before there is a sniper bullet in my cranium. Either increase the player count to a 6v6 or add some random events and minions to spice up the game. Imagine if during the resource gathering phase you to make sure you were gathering loot while also defending your base from minions like in most MOBAs like Dota which this game is obviously taking inspiration from. Also, just get rid of the preparation phase or improve it because as it is it is just wasting time to put some reinforced cardboard on walls that will be blown up just as fast with little to no effort from a rocket launcher. Not to mention you can buy and find reinforcements during the looting phases so why not make the looting phase part of the general prep phase instead of wasting our time with a defense phase that is ultimately pointless.
Bugs, Bugs, and More Problems
The game is also plagued with performance issues and early release bugs which is honestly unacceptable for a game that already has an in-game store and a year one road map. There was a bug that kicked me out of the middle of the tutorial which is mandatory if you want to play the actual game. There are weird sound and performance issues that just make the game janky to play. There is no cross platform progression and no FOV slider for consoles which is just strange coming from the ex-Titanfall guys. The balance between the wardens is also very questionable with Scarlet being the most broken at launch with an ultimate that resets after every kill with her throwing knives which at a point is just bullying.
I know it sounds pretty harsh, but if this games wants to make it past year one and past the early game hype it needs to find a strong identity. Rainbow Six Seige is the tactical shooter, Marvel Rivals is a hero shooter with marvels characters, Fortnite is the premier battle royale. I can understand the logic for the 3v3 and it can be fun at times but this game needs to be more than a little fun if it wants to last a long time. There are so many multiplayer games that battle for attention from players and to me this just seems a possible flavor of the week.
One Update Won’t Save Highguard
During the process of playing the game and writing this opinion piece, Highguard has gotten its first major update, fixing some issues with performance and adding some missing modes like a firing range and the illustrious 5v5 mode. I repeat myself, but the game should not have launched with 3v3 as this update just proves to me that they did not adequately test this game and were not aware of how to sell their game. The increased player count makes the whole game more hectic and fun to play. This game has a lot of work to do earning back players and making permanent modes that are engaging long term. Please do not make 5v5 a temporary mode if you want this game to still have a shot at success. They need to knuckle down and really make a game that makes everyone want to play it not just streamers and hardcore gamers, but it may be too late if we are to judge by very recent staff layoff news. It may be very well that Highguard may turn into a lessons learned case than a success.
