It felt like, for a short while, Highguard had become the gaming community’s proverbial punching bag. After receiving the once coveted and now dreaded “One More Thing” slot at the end of 2025’s Game Awards showcase, many rallied around to beat it into complete and utter silence. In fact, it got so quiet that many believed the game simply wasn’t going to hit its January 2026 release date, and instead would be delayed indefinitely or, worse yet, not release at all.
Videos by ComicBook.com
However, the day finally arrived, and Highguard hit digital storefronts on time. Alas, it was to an unfortunately negative reception. The hatred for Highguard is perhaps not as overwhelming as it once was, but many are already decreeing it dead on arrival, on account of its quickly dwindling player count and many, many flaws. Yet, despite it all, Highguard has a lot going for it. Not only is it developed by an incredibly passionate team of industry veterans, but there’s something special here that, if refined, could make for an incredible experience. At the very least, I think it is safe to say, Highguard should not be treated in the same way as Concord.
Highguard Is Better Than People Think
Ever since the live service genre began dominating the gaming space, opinions on it have soured immensely. This is, frankly, deserved, as years of predatory monetization practices, lackluster updates, and half-baked launches have led to many players being burned. Worse still, entire games that people have devoted a significant portion of their lives and finances to have been pulled from existence, rendering all of that time and money null and void. However, as depressing a situation as it is to behold, it should not have resulted in the rather unfair hatred that taints the entire genre.
It can feel that the gaming community as a whole is out to get live service titles. We criticize them ruthlessly before they’ve even launched, watch gleefully as their player numbers dwindle, and celebrate when they inevitably die. Concord was a prime example of this, a game that, despite its flaws, was exceedingly fun and, had it been given a chance to survive, could have offered something new in an overcrowded space. Highguard feels like another victim, a game whose status and quality are colored by negative sentiment before it even has a chance to showcase its talents.
The thing is, now that we’ve all had a chance to give Highguard a whirl, it has proven itself to be rather enjoyable. Sure, Highguard has its problems, but none so drastic that they can’t be fixed over time. There’s a solid foundation here, one that defies genre expectations and can be built upon over the years with new modes and slight tweaks to mechanics and maps. Developer, Wildlight Entertainment, should it be receptive to player feedback, could craft a novel experience, the likes of which we haven’t really seen since Overwatch (at least within the Hero Shooter genre).
Highguard Is Like Concord, But Not In The Way You’d Expect
It may seem cruel to Wildlight Entertainment to compare Highguard to Concord, considering just how much hate the latter received at launch. However, the two share a lot in common. As aforementioned, Concord went through a rather similar cycle of hatred to Highguard, albeit one that ended far sooner. Of course, circumstances were a tad different, namely owing to Concord being a premium experience, unlike Highguard, which is entirely free.
However, much like Concord, the basic framework here is aiming for something a little different, blending multiple experiences like Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, and even a little TF2, to create something fundamentally different. Concord attempted to do something similar with its greater focus on lore, and had it been given the chance to deliver some of that, we may have been in for a rather compelling time. Unfortunately, Concord wasn’t given that chance, and it feels as if Highguard could be headed the same way.
Both games also deliver best-in-class gunplay, unique hero abilities, and stunning visuals (I was perhaps the only person in the world who didn’t hate Concord’s character designs). These feel like the most important features to get right in a genre lovingly called Hero Shooters, and yet it simply isn’t enough. There’s certainly an argument to be made about the oversaturation of the genre requiring a game to be utterly perfect at launch to survive. However, so too should there be an argument about giving a game a chance, especially one designed to improve over time.
Highguard Deserves A Chance At Survival
It saddens me to see how we’ve moved away from a culture of supporting new developers and giving new games a chance. So quick are we to celebrate a game’s defeat that we miss out on potentially great experiences flourishing over time. That is not to say that games should release in broken or unenjoyable states, but I’d hesitate to say that Highguard has done either. Its foundations are solid, its gunplay extremely frenetic and punchy, and its incredible roster of heroes engaging to play as. Its flaws lie in its map size, which can be shrunk, and its lack of modes, which can be expanded.
Indeed, there is a lot that Highguard gets right compared to its competitors. It has managed to askew much of the predatory monetization seen in other live service titles, offering all of its heroes, maps, and modes for free, and only limiting skins behind a paywall. It even gave away its first battle pass for free, which felt like a nice touch. Yet, rather than see what Highguard could become, many of us seem content with allowing it to fade into obscurity. There is, I admit, plenty of nuance to this situation. For one, we’re flooded with more games than we know what to do with, each vying for our undivided attention, meaning the average and flawed experiences get left behind.
Similarly, allowing Highguard to flourish would require players to support it financially through purchasing skins and future battle passes. Many may not feel inclined to do so, both with the amount of hate surrounding it and because of its perceived flaws. However, it seems a shame to allow yet another experience to perish merely because it exists within an oversaturated space that has hurt us in the past. Let’s not allow Highguard to go the way of Concord, and instead celebrate those who try to offer something new and wait to see if it gets the support the developers are promising.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Prime Video -
Image Courtesy of Toei Animation
