Highguard (PC) Preview — Facing An Uphill Battle with Gamers

For the internet to classify Highguard as Concord 2.0 or another example of hero-shooter slop would be a disservice to this highly competitive FPS game, which I would not mind watching pros play. All the theorizing can be thrown out the window, and no, this is not a push-the-payload situation. The two years of development on this game are looking spicy. One phase of the game actually felt like the thrill of playing Halo’s Capture the Flag.

Wildlight Entertainment and Highguard’s VP, Product and Publishing/Game Writer, Jason Torfin, admitted in our group press interview that they made a slight marketing error by quickly scrambling to make a trailer for The Game Awards 2025. Also, it was true that Geoff Keighley offered them the final game trailer slot for free. However, they knew that the trailer did not truly show what the game is about. 

The Wildlight Entertainment team quickly briefed us by showing the launch-day trailer and providing an in-depth gameplay breakdown. Shortly after, they let us all jump into some matches in a small arena setup full of Alienware PC rigs—allowing us to experience the game running at its highest settings. 

Highguard is a PvP raid shooter where players ride, fight, and raid as Wardens—arcane gunslingers sent to battle for control of a mythical continent. Teams of three secure and upgrade their base, then ride across vast uncharted lands to loot, harvest resources, and upgrade their arsenal, while clashing with a rival Warden crew for territory. Players battle for the Shieldbreaker—a legendary sword that can bring down enemy defences. 

And lastly, carry the Shieldbreaker to the opposing base to break their shields, launch a full raid, and destroy their base before they destroy yours. It sounds like a lot, but simpler to understand once you get your hands on it. The overall design looks and feels inspired by games such as Rust, Rainbow Six Siege, Apex Legends, and MOBAs.

“The esports potential with Highguard is likely, but only if gamers are willing to give it a fighting chance.”

The primary difference is the fast pace and mobility with having Mounts in this game, along with six unique base layouts. Cute like mounts in World of Warcraft and Black Desert Online, but a lot more impactful in this high-octane raid-shooter. So far, there are three different Mounts in Highguard: a horse, a panther, and a bear. The choices are purely for aesthetics. 

Most FPS games have map picks, but this game is different. There are five maps in rotation, randomly selected: Kingdom, Vesper City, Rivermark, Dustline, and Summit. Rather than vote on maps, players can vote on the best base for them: Hellmouth, King’s Lair, Frosthold, Bellringer, Smuggler’s Den, and Wellspring. The different bases’ schematics feel like the devs went into Halo’s map-building mode, The Forge, and really thought about what works for spreading out each team’s three destructible objectives. The game offers a recommended base choice depending on the circumstances and map pick, but this could change when a meta develops.  

As with most team games, communication is key. Highguard offers great in-game voice and text chat and a robust ping system. Lead Designer Mohammed Alavi specifically helped design the ping system for the game, allowing players who do not want to use voice chat to still communicate effectively. One cool aspect is that the ping wheel is grouped from “immediate priority to low priority,” which I can confirm works quite similarly to many communication wheels in other FPS titles like Overwatch or Valorant. Essentially, it is very similar to Apex Legends’ one when picking weapons and calling dibs. 

While I am not the most technically skilled at fast-paced shooter games like Apex Legends or Fortnite, I love casually playing them and watching them competitively. The esports potential with Highguard is likely, but only if gamers are willing to give it a fighting chance. I was able to play with and against a bunch of the Highguard devs, so they taught me a lot of the strats they have already used while playtesting. 

I would be remiss to not talk about the guns and weapons in Highguard, an FPS game. On launch, there will be ten weapons available: 

Longhorn (like a Desert Eagle or Wingman), Kraken (a typical pump shotgun), Paladin (a cartridge-fed automatic shotgun), Vanguard (an AR that feels similar to an R-201 Carbine and an M4A1), Dynasty (a fully automatic AR that is like an AK-47 or VK-47 Flatline), Ranger (a lever-action sniper rifle that feels like a 30-30 Repeater), Corsair (an SMG that is somewhere between an Alternator SMG and an R-99 SMG), Viper (an SMG that gives P90 and Prowler Burst PDW energy), Saber Rifle (a burst rifle that plays like the Hemlok Burst AR or the Battle Rifle from Halo), and Big Rig (an LMG that almost feels like a chain gun meets the design of a Rampage LMG). 

Personally, I like to take mid-to-close range fights, so I was mostly rocking the Dynasty and Corsair. But I did try out a bunch of the other guns too. Each player also gets to carry one of three raid tools to add to their arsenal, but does not necessarily need to be used for the actual raiding phase. 

“I like how certain team compositions will affect voice lines spoken between the characters on your team, which works similarly to League of Legends and Valorant.“

These raid tools include: a Rocket Launcher (functions like any rocket launcher you can find in games like Call of Duty to Halo), Blast Hammer (very similar to Halo’s Gravity Hammer but more destructive), and Zipline Gun (almost works like Apex Legends’ Pathfinder Zipline Gun ability). These tools offer great situational advantages depending on how the player uses them. 

And last but not least, there are eight Wardens available at launch—with a new one coming out soon, which many devs said was their favourite. The eight Wardens are Atticus, Scarlet, Redmane, Mara, Una, Kai, Condor, and Slade. Just from this preview, it appears that Atticus, Mara, and Kai are popular picks. But again, the pros and the meta will really open up all the possibilities that these Wardens can do. 

The overall character designs look like most hero shooters and MOBAs, but the devs discussed how the skins and voice lines add another layer of lore to the characters, adding more flavour. I like how certain team compositions affect the voice lines spoken by your team’s characters, which works similarly to League of Legends and Valorant. The diverse cast of characters is always nice to see, and I hope they do it as well as Valorant or Overwatch.  

Ultimately, Torfin confirmed they were supposed to shadowdrop Highguard and let the players jump in blind—similarly to how Apex Legends dropped in 2019. Torfin also went into detail about their roadmap, general philosophy, and the direction they want to take the game. I am hopeful Highguard can be successful if they follow their roadmap schedule

Content releases are structured by “Episodes”—they plan to drop new Episodic content every two months, with two-part splits. Torfin explained that “every episode will be two months, split evenly into part one and part two. So, every month, there will be new core content available to players for free. And then every two months, we’ll reset and do a big Episode.” 

For those who like their customizable in-game cosmetics, yes, Highguard will have plenty of them. They call it Warchest. To celebrate the launch, all players will receive a free Warchest featuring 44 items, including 11 legendary skins and emotes for Wardens, weapons, and mounts. The best part about Warchests is that they do not expire, meaning players picking up the game at launch versus a year later will still have the opportunity to grab the same Warchests. This is somewhat similar to how Sea of Thieves’ shop works.

“For Wildlight Entertainment’s first independent game, a live-service game, this was an outstanding first impression.”

Additionally, there are also no loot boxes or RNG factors for Warchests. Cosmetic bundles are available for purchase with real money, but the devs noted they will not cost more than $20. I took a look at a few of the cosmetic bundles available, and they were very pretty—some adding some extra flavour to each Warden and Mount. For example, the horse Mount can be decked out in gold and red jewels.  

Overall, Highguard has high esports watchability and addictive replayability as a 3v3 raid FPS game. While I do think it feels like a special game mode within the Apex Legends universe, it has enough uniqueness to have its own foundation. For Wildlight Entertainment’s first independent game, a live-service game, this was an outstanding first impression. I hope gamers out there give it a chance, and hopefully, this game can prosper in the esports scene. I also cannot wait to see when they will drop some comics and other lore-building materials.

The Wildlight Entertainment team all spoke about how they already have plans for up to a year post-launch, including new maps, bases, modes, Wardens, weapons, mounts, raid tools, and loot items. I am looking forward to Ranked Mode dropping in two weeks, after which we will hear more about the Ranked Mode structure and system before the second Episode drops. The devs all shared that they are excited to hear player feedback, so go play Highguard now and relay all the feedback!

Highguard is out today (January 25, 2026), on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC (Steam).