Highguard is another one those online PvP shooters that puts all of its eggs in one basket, to a fault. The new Xbox FPS — from some of the folks behind Titanfall and Apex Legends — has actually launched and feels super solid to play, but it needs more than just the one sprawling competitive mode as the only way to engage with it. There's not quite enough going on here in Highguard to keep me hooked, and that's a shame given that it can be pretty good fun with a few friends in-tow.
On loading the game up and engaging with its easy-to-follow tutorial, you can instantly tell that there's some decent FPS pedigree behind Highguard. Part Apex, part Destiny, the gunplay feels snappy and satisfying, and using your abilities is very slick as well. I've got no real complaints with the gameplay on offer, which is important for Wildlight Entertainment as it tries to establish itself in a packed online shooter market.
That tutorial teaches you all the basics of combat before opening the game up and offering you the option to jump into Raid Mode; Highguard's take on competitive FPS play. Two teams of three drop into a sprawling map with time to loot, engage in the odd skirmish and push forward with the objective - which all sounds good on paper, but just doesn't quite work in the way that it's being framed right now. The mode asks too much of you in terms of preparation, without the engagement reward to back it up.
This looting round before combat goes on a good couple of minutes, and there's just not enough interesting stuff to find in that time. This introductory loop works OK in your first match on any given map when you're first discovering things, but it quickly gets old; we just want to start shooting baddies ASAP to be honest. Then, because of that 3v3 setup, even the combat scenarios are filled with as much hide-and-seek as they are actual shooting. Things ramp up when the one team initiates the main objective at an enemy base, but that loop needs to come much earlier in matches.
Here's hoping the dev team looks into speeding up that initial setup, then, because when you do actually get into fights in Highguard, the game is pretty engaging. The combat reminds me of Destiny's Crucible PvP mode when it actually comes into play, and while again, I'd like more players in the fold here, that's not the worst comparison in the world. Think Destiny with some Apex-style looting prep and you're not far off with Highguard's Raid Mode as it stands at launch.
Those combat scenarios become even more fun with a real-life pal or two on your team. You can really tailor your hero's abilities to match those of a teammate, and storming those bases feels rather satisfying when you've got a plan of action in place. Sure, things can get a bit messy when six people are fighting over a bomb site — spamming weapons and abilities along the way — but the solid combat mechanics bring things up a notch. A few hours of Highguard went by rather quickly when not queuing solo.
As mentioned before though, Highguard just needs a bit more meat on its bones to be truly satisfying at this stage. Even after just a handful of hours, the game's Raid Mode feels a little tired, and its mechanics are somewhat wasted with such a limiting way to play. The development team has laid out a year-one roadmap of sorts and that's cool, but the game needs more modes and more players-per-match, as quickly as possible really. If Wildlight can add this and keep on top of updates at a speedy enough pace, this one might have a chance at retaining a decent free-to-play playerbase on Xbox and beyond.
One other issue I've taken note of so far is that the game is very competitive-focused, and while that's fair play if the devs want to go down that route, it can be a little punishing in general, especially for newbies. On top of that tight, objective-focused mode being the only way to play right now, you've also got harsh penalties for backing out early. Highguard matches aren't quick (they can be a good half an hour or so), and I've already had to head off early once or twice and had no choice but to face the punishment for deserting my online pals earlier than expected. Again, more game modes — such as a casual-oriented Deathmatch or Domination mode — would help with this.
All-in-all, Highguard is fun to play when everything comes together - it's just the fact that these are more fleeting moments, as the game stands right now at least. The weapons feel snappy, the abilities feel useful and the game runs well at 60FPS on Xbox Series X|S, so it certainly has that solid technical base to build from. A few more modes and gameplay options are needed though, ASAP, and then we can start looking at a more complete experience. For now, Highguard is merely a solid base to start from, and Wildlight has a long road ahead of it moulding this new competitive FPS into a gaming mainstay on modern platforms.