Highguard, a game with high potential, but no execution

Introduction

Highguard, a game with high potential, but no execution

Sometimes in gaming, you seek a fun free to play shooter that encourages you to work with teammates and complete an objective. Maybe you turned to games like Overwatch, Valorant, or even Paladins, or maybe, you saw the new upcoming game at the Game Awards and thought “Huh, this should be fun.” You probably clicked this article expecting hate or high praise, but let’s dig into the meat and potatoes of this game first.

MECHANICS

Highguard is a 3 versus 3 PVP hybrid hero shooter where you play a tycoon, a battle royale, a capture the flag, and a raiding game all at the same time. Each character you can play has different abilities that can shape the battlefield whilst others provide team utility in the heat of the moment. You start out choosing a hero, a weapon, and your base layout. You then spawn in and start reinforcing walls akin to games like Rainbow Six Siege.

Once preparation ends, that’s where the fun is supposed to begin. You venture forth unto a new land, excited for the prospects of upgraded gear and team fights for loot. Instead? You leave empty handed as you mine for resources that the game doesn’t fully explain why you need. Your team spreads out like a wildfire, scavenging every chest around them, only for the team to realize there is no enemy. The map is gigantic, and the 3V3 does not lend itself to making an interesting dynamic. Often, you’ll find yourself alone as the only indicator on the map ticks away for the first forced team-fight on the map. Suddenly, the sword spawns and both teams funnel into the ruins as adrenaline kicks in. This is your moment, and then boom, 2 abilities get thrown your way, you chose a non-meta weapon, and got shredded. Now you wait 20+ seconds to get back in the fight.

Now if this didn’t paint a picture of the slow gameplay, then how about the next part? Your team failed to capture the sword and now you are being raided. The game goes from feeling like a hero shooter, to a not-so-tactical shooter with tight corners and a lot of AoE (Area of Effect) abilities being tossed your way. When you die in this mode, it takes over 30 seconds to respawn, meaning dying as the defending team puts your teammates at a significant disadvantage.

GRAPHICS

There isn’t much to say about the graphics department. It looks like your typical stylized hero shooter but in a sci-fi medieval setting. Unfortunately, the characters look a bit bland, nothing stands out on its own. The maps look pretty generic, if you slapped any other name on this threw in other characters, it would feel the exact same.

CONCLUSION

Highguard is a game that high on potential, but loses its guard when it comes to standing out with any of its mechanics. It needed a lot more time in the oven to make the mishmash of games actually fun. That being said, it has solid gunplay and some abilities do actually feel fun to use. It would be a fun game to pick up for a few matches with friends, but anything more than that? You are better off playing another hero shooter or spending your yearly 70 dollars USD on the next Call of Duty. I give this game a 5.5 rating out of 10.