Hands On: Highguard Is Real and Potentially Great on PS5

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Highguard is a real game, and we’ve had a chance to play it. Created by Wildlight Entertainment – a team of former developers from Respawn – it’s a free-to-play shooter focused on player-versus-player raids, and we’re enjoying it so far.

These are our first thoughts, but like a lot of people, we were curious to see what game Geoff Keighley was so confident in that he staked his reputation on it. After the end of The Game Awards, we hadn’t heard anything, and many feared it would end up like Concord – a game that disappeared without a trace.

Whether it will be successful long-term is still uncertain, but Highguard is a very refined shooting game on PS5. It blends elements of Apex Legends and Valorant, emphasizing precise shooting, unique character abilities, and strategic teamwork.

Players will be split into two teams of three, each starting at their own base. You’ll have a short amount of time to strengthen your base by reinforcing walls – a bit like in Rainbow Six Siege. The main goal is to defend the generators inside your base.

Next, you’ll enter the gear-up phase, where you’re free to explore a large area on one of the game’s five starting maps. You can search for better weapons and armor in chests, or collect crystals to spend at shops located around the map.

After a time, the Shieldbreaker will appear on the map, and both teams will battle to control it. Whoever captures the Shieldbreaker needs to carry it to the enemy base to activate their siege tower. This tower will destroy the base’s shield, signaling the start of an attack.

Next, you’ll need to sneak into the base and set bombs on the generators. The goal is to destroy them and completely shut down the base’s power.

There’s a lot to take in, especially when you haven’t explored things like the hero characters (Wardens) or the different levels of weapons and armor. But we particularly liked the dynamic interplay and back-and-forth of the game.

The game keeps you constantly shifting between defending your own base and attacking the enemy. It’s fast-paced because you can respawn often, meaning you’re rarely out of the fight for long.

Games tend to be quite long, sometimes lasting over 20 minutes. This allows players time to develop strategies, recover from setbacks, or unfortunately, see their team’s efforts crumble.

What really stands out is the excellent game design, particularly the way the game feels to play. Similar to games like Titanfall 2 and Apex Legends, moving around is incredibly smooth and fun. You’ll be constantly jumping, sliding, ziplining, and riding a horse, all while quickly swapping between weapons, skills, and grenades.

This is a well-made and refined shooting game, and it runs incredibly smoothly, especially on the PlayStation 5 Pro. The graphics are sharp and the fantasy world is beautifully designed with a subtle but vibrant color palette. It’s a shame, though, that the game doesn’t include an option to adjust the field of view – a surprising omission for a shooter released in 2026, as it limits how much of the game world you can see at once.

Reloading guns feels great, with crisp sounds and a different animation for each weapon. This makes every gun feel unique, not just when firing, but also when you reload.

We’re excited to spend more time with Highguard. It’s enjoyable discovering new shooting games, and its blend of PvP and raids offers a fresh experience compared to other games in the genre.

Only time will tell if Wildlight will become a popular, long-term game, but it’s off to a good start. It looks and plays well, and its unique game mode offers exciting opportunities for teamwork and strategy.

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2026-01-27 01:07