Wildlight Leisure is a brand new workforce with a robust pedigree of expertise, together with workforce members who labored on Apex Legends. That have is obvious from the earliest moments of Highguard. The brand new aggressive shooter showcases agile, exact capturing mechanics and gratifying, fast-moving map navigation, assembly expectations many gamers might have if you happen to’ve performed Apex Legends. And when you get into actual matches, it’s clear that the sport has a rewarding new match construction at its core. Even so, I’ve struggled in my early hours to seek out the enjoyable amid some complicated programs, restricted variation within the play expertise, and little visibility into the seemingly richly imagined fiction and setting on supply.
Highguard is an uncommon title at launch, arriving as a free-to-play shooter with massive ambitions to seize an viewers, however with little to no element in regards to the recreation shared forward of launch. That’s definitely not an obligation for recreation makers, nevertheless it has left the viewers, myself included, scrambling a bit of bit in these early days to grasp what the mission even is.
After a number of hours of play, the image begins to take form. Gamers management Wardens, fantasy-inspired warriors of magic and elemental powers, however who additionally wield high-powered weaponry alongside their mystical capabilities. For causes that don’t appear to be defined clearly, small teams of Wardens are battling one another, laying siege to the enemy workforce’s stronghold within the identify of – properly, that’s not fully clear.
I like the colourful artwork fashion and the melding of fantasy and trendy aesthetics that Wildlight explores right here. However, and not using a PvE part or any particularly clear accompanying storytelling or setup, I’m stymied a bit on this first day of play, making an attempt to grasp what’s taking place and why. It’s a aggressive shooter, after all, and people components are probably finest left as background materials, regardless. Right here’s hoping the times and weeks that comply with assist to light up the lore and make clear that a part of the mission.
Irrespective of why these Wardens are preventing, the principle 3v3 raid mode is definitely novel. Every match is neatly separated into distinct phases of play. Gamers choose between plenty of base layouts and proceed to fortify that base with extra safety earlier than venturing out into a big open map to collect weapons and armor, gear up, and even mine assets to purchase extra upgrades. After a chosen time window elapses, a Shieldbreaker relic spawns someplace within the open area, and open battle with the enemy workforce begins in earnest, as every allied squad goals to choose it up. As soon as in hand, you’ll be able to deploy that Shieldbreaker in opposition to the enemy base, open its power protect, and try and raid the inside in an effort to detonate explosives and take out the stronghold. If that effort fails, issues reset, there’s one other probability to gear up (this time with higher gear), and the method begins once more.
Taken piece by piece, there’s nothing there that’s profoundly difficult. However I’ll admit that I felt fully misplaced for the primary a number of matches I performed – uncertain the place to place my consideration, when to interact in fight, what to prioritize when defending, and tips on how to even meaningfully contribute to my workforce. In the long run, it’s potential that the very confusion I felt is perhaps the sport’s saving grace – a barely extra advanced and freeform match construction that rewards artistic play and technique.
Nevertheless, there are another components that maintain again my endorsement at this part. The only 3v3 raid mode is at the moment the one method to play the sport, and at current, one thing about it simply feels a bit barebones. The maps are, to their credit score, very massive and cleverly designed. But it surely signifies that I spent a whole lot of time wandering the atmosphere, punctuated by very temporary moments of thrilling capturing exchanges. If the fantasy is considered one of besieging an enemy fortress, my preliminary impression is that the small participant depend feels out-of-sync with the idea and the map measurement.
Whereas I don’t perceive who they’re or the place they got here from, the small roster of obtainable characters all look and play splendidly. I just like the uneven powers that come into play in a given match, relying on who I’m up in opposition to. And the combo of distinctive fantasy powers – like magical invisibility or a personality who transforms into a large beast – makes me desperate to attempt everybody out and 0 in on a favourite. I additionally actually benefit from the velocity and enjoyable that comes from totally different mounts you’ll be able to summon to gallop throughout the battlefield. These work nice, add a way of velocity and momentum, and lend one thing new to the shooter equation.
Highguard is a thoughtfully designed recreation with robust motion and capturing fundamentals, and it’s making an attempt one thing new inside the style. For that purpose alone, I’m and excited to play extra and higher perceive the circulation of a given match. But it surely’s not a simple recreation to grasp at first look, and it lacks a breadth of play choices I’d count on from a title that has ambitions to interrupt into the scene.
We’ll have a full assessment after a number of extra days of matches, so examine again in for a extra complete rundown. Within the meantime, Highguard’s free value of entry means you possibly can give it a shot for your self and see whether or not this new raid shooter idea would possibly gel along with your needs.
Highguard is obtainable now on PS5, Xbox, and PC.
