Highguard Review: Apex's Spiritual Successor Needs Work [2025]

Highguard Review: Apex's Spiritual Successor Needs Work [2025]

I've spent 15 hours in Highguard, and here's the honest truth: I want to play more, but I'm not desperate to. That sounds harsher than I mean it to be. The game feels incredible to play in those moment-to-moment firefights. Your character moves like they've got purpose. Weapons kick and respond with satisfying weight. Abilities chain together in ways that feel deliberate, not random. But somewhere between the lobby and the end screen, Highguard loses its grip on you. It's like biting into a fancy steak and finding the sides kind of boring.

When Wildcard Entertainment announced this game, the gaming community did what it always does: drew a straight line between "made by Respawn veterans" and "this will be the next Apex Legends." And honestly? The setup invites that comparison. It's a squad-based shooter with three players per team. You fight on contained maps. The gunplay feels snappy and responsive. The art style sits somewhere between gritty fantasy and modern tactical gameplay. Even the release strategy echoed Apex's surprise reveal at The Game Awards.

But Highguard is struggling to keep players engaged in ways that matter. After your first five matches, you've seen the fundamental loop repeat itself so many times that your brain starts looking for the exit. That's the problem this review is really about: can Highguard transform from "pretty fun shooter" into "the game I'm playing every evening for the next six months?" Right now, the answer is no. But give it a few months of patches, balance changes, and content updates, and that could flip entirely.

The Core Loop: Promising, But Predictable

Highguard's match structure tries to be clever. You're not just mindlessly running around like in traditional battle royales. Instead, rounds play out in distinct phases. First, there's the loot phase where squads scatter across medium-sized maps hunting for gear and weapons. Then, the Shieldbreaker artifact spawns, and one squad can carry it toward the enemy base. If they succeed in placing it, the match shifts into a raid phase where teams plant explosives to destroy a base defense. If the defending squad stops the raid, the artifact spawns again, and the cycle repeats.

On paper, this sounds way more interesting than "run around, loot, shoot." In practice, it introduces complications that the game doesn't adequately explain. The game mentions "limited-respawn rounds" and "overtime timers" without really spelling out what those mean or why they matter. I played ten matches before the system clicked, and even then, I had to mentally reframe it as overly complicated Capture the Flag mixed with Search and Destroy. That's not a feature—that's a bug.

The time investment required to understand Highguard's systems is disproportionate to the payoff. Compare this to Apex Legends, where you drop, you loot, you kill, you win or lose. Simple. Clear. Highguard adds layers of objective-based gameplay that sound good in marketing materials but feel like friction in actual play. You've got squad members asking each other if they should try to grab the artifact or position defensively. You've got matches stretching from six to thirty minutes with no clear sense of how much longer things will actually last. That unpredictability works against engagement, not for it.

The Gunplay: Where Highguard Actually Shines

Let me be specific about what Highguard does right, because the moment-to-moment combat is genuinely excellent. Firing a weapon in this game feels responsive in a way that separates it from a lot of modern shooters. When you pull the trigger, bullets come out. The recoil patterns are learnable but not annoying. Headshots register cleanly. You don't feel like you're fighting the netcode or the hit detection—you feel like you're in control of the outcome.

The assault rifles are solid all-rounders, dealing consistent damage at medium ranges and never feeling underpowered. The revolver is brutally satisfying: three bullets can down a player, and landing shots with it triggers that dopamine rush that keeps you coming back to shooters. Sniper rifles exist in that perfect sweet spot where they're powerful but require genuine aim. Hit a sniper headshot in Highguard and you feel like you've earned it.

Where the weapon balance completely collapses is at close range. Shotguns feel sluggish. The damage output doesn't justify the limited range, and any competent player will just back up and shred you with an assault rifle before you close the gap. SMGs are worse—they lack the punch to compete with rifles at any meaningful range, and their time-to-kill against armored opponents is embarrassingly long. This creates a weird meta where everyone gravitates toward the same two or three weapons, which contributes heavily to that repetition problem I mentioned earlier.

You're limited to carrying two primary weapons plus a raid-specific special weapon like a sledgehammer or rocket launcher. That constraint could create interesting loadout variety, but when shotguns and SMGs are objectively worse choices, you're basically always running assault rifle plus revolver, or assault rifle plus sniper. There's no reason to experiment. There's no "I found this weird gun combo that actually works" moments.

Traversal and Movement

Movement in Highguard is where you see the Respawn heritage shine through. Your character feels weighty without being sluggish. Sliding covers distance quickly. Climbing happens smoothly. The maps are designed so you're rarely stuck on one side of the battlefield unable to rotate. Verticality exists but isn't obnoxious—there are vantage points, but they're not so dominant that ground-level play becomes impossible.

Compare this to shooters where movement feels like you're controlling a heavily medicated character or where you bounce around like you're made of rubber. Highguard gets this balance right. I never felt like I was moving wrong or that the game was punishing good positioning through clunky controls. The responsive, snappy movement is genuinely one of the reasons I keep booting the game back up, even when I'm skeptical about the match structure.

Highguard and Apex Legends both offer free-to-play access, but differ in cosmetic pricing and battle pass importance. Estimated data suggests Highguard may have less emphasis on battle pass and more gameplay impact concerns.

The Wardens: Ability Balance Gone Wrong

Highguard launched with eight Wardens, which is the game's term for characters or legends. On paper, variety at launch is good. In practice, it revealed massive balance problems immediately.

Kai and Uma absolutely dominate the meta right now. Kai's instant ice walls are so powerful for controlling engagements that you see them in nearly every match. They're not just useful—they're game-defining. Uma's summonable wisps that throw grenades provide zoning and damage output that's hard to replicate. When those two Wardens appear in your squad, you feel like you've already won the mental game against opponents.

Conversely, other Wardens barely get played because their abilities are too situational or underpowered. When one player in a squad of eight becomes the obvious first-pick choice and another three are rarely used, that's not balance—that's a design failure waiting for hotfixes.

This matters because Warden selection directly impacts match outcomes. A balanced character roster means teams should theoretically be equal regardless of picks. But Highguard right now has Tier 1 picks and Tier 3 afterthoughts. You can win with the weak Wardens, sure, but you're playing on hard mode for no reason other than balance being broken.

The Ability System Design

Each Warden has a passive, a tactical ability, and an ultimate. The system itself is sound—three-tier progression for abilities feels right. Passive traits like faster reloads or damage buffs provide character identity. Tactical abilities on shorter cooldowns create mid-fight flexibility. Ultimates that take time to charge feel impactful when deployed correctly.

But the actual numbers are wildly inconsistent. Kai's ice walls have almost no cooldown, cost minimal energy, and completely shut down fights. Compare that to Wardens whose abilities require careful resource management and provide a fraction of the utility. It's not even close. You can theoretically balance this through number tweaks—cooldown changes, energy cost adjustments, damage reductions—but at launch, it's a glaring inequality.

The problem compounds because Highguard doesn't give you enough information about what opposing Wardens do. New players don't know if they're dying to an overpowered ability or if they're just playing badly. That confusion breeds frustration, and frustrated players leave.

Highguard excels in combat mechanics and character movement but struggles with long-term player engagement. Estimated data based on gameplay impressions.

Match Pacing: The Biggest Repetition Problem

Here's where I'm going to be really honest about what breaks Highguard's long-term appeal: the loot problem.

In traditional battle royales like Apex, you drop somewhere on the map. Your loadout is random. You might get a purple shield and a legendary weapon, or you might get white armor and a common pistol. That randomness creates rhythm. Early game feels different based on what you find. You hunt for upgrades. You make risk-reward decisions about whether to hold your current gear or push toward a better loot spot.

Highguard removes almost all of that friction. You spawn with the weapons you selected before the match. Attachments don't exist. There are no healing items because health regenerates. Ammunition doesn't need to be looted—you spawn with enough. Gear rarity is tied to round progression, not RNG. This means chests are mostly pointless until the final rounds when they're guaranteed to have rare loot.

The consequence? Your first match and your tenth match feel nearly identical. Same spawn points. Same Warden picks. Same weapon choices. Same opening minutes of "go here, hold position, wait for the artifact." There's no environmental storytelling, no "remember when we found that one gun and went on a tear" moments. Just predictable repetition.

I found myself longing for the chaos of a true battle royale, where landing in the wrong spot could destroy your game before it started, or where a lucky weapon find could turn an entire match around. Highguard's determinism feels efficient but not engaging. You always know what to expect, and that's actually a problem when "what to expect" stops being fun after fifteen minutes.

The Downtime Problem

Within each match, there are lengthy gaps between actual combat. You're mining resources in what feels like busywork. You're waiting for the Shieldbreaker to spawn. You're rotating across maps that aren't small enough to guarantee constant engagement but aren't big enough to feel like exploration.

Call of Duty can sustain repetition because matches are six-minute bursts of constant action. Highguard has 10-minute stretches where you're organizing inventory and moving between positions. In that downtime, your brain wanders. "Could I be doing something more entertaining right now?" becomes an increasingly loud voice.

The matches that work best are the ones where engagement happens early and continuously. But those matches are exceptions, not the rule. Most matches follow a predictable arc of slow opening, middling buildup, and frantic endgame. That's a pacing problem that content updates alone won't fix—it's baked into the game's structure.

Technical Performance and Polish

On the technical side, Highguard runs smooth. I tested it on a mid-range PC, and frame rates stayed consistent. There's no stuttering during intense firefights, which matters because gunplay consistency is supposedly the game's strength. Load times are reasonable. The net code feels stable—I didn't experience moments where I felt killed by lag or desync.

The user interface is clean and information-dense without feeling cluttered. You can see at a glance who's alive, who's dead, what objectives need completing, and where enemies were last seen. The minimap is useful. Character models are detailed enough to distinguish Wardens at range.

Where the polish breaks down is in explanation and onboarding. The tutorial doesn't adequately prep you for how rounds actually work. The UI shows information you don't yet understand. Tooltips explain mechanics without context for why you should care. A new player's first two hours will feel overwhelming, not welcoming. That's a design flaw that impacts retention.

Highguard excels in frame rate consistency and net code stability, but its onboarding experience needs improvement. Estimated data based on narrative insights.

The Art Direction: Fantasy Meets Tactical

Highguard occupies an interesting visual space between dark fantasy and military tactical. Your Wardens wear armor that looks like it belongs in a fantasy setting but also incorporates modern materials and tech. Weapons are sci-fi fantasy hybrids. Maps have magic-touched environments alongside modern structures.

It works better than I expected. The game doesn't feel confused about its aesthetic. Instead, it feels intentional—like someone at Wildcard said "what if you took Apex's tactical aesthetic and mixed it with sword-and-sorcery?" The result is distinctive enough to stand out from other squad shooters while remaining grounded enough that you understand the game's mechanics intuitively.

The character designs are mostly solid, though some Wardens feel more visually interesting than others. Kai's ice aesthetic is immediately striking. Some others are generic-fantasy-warrior adjacent. It's not a dealbreaker, but it means certain Wardens naturally draw your eye more than others, which reinforces the pick bias problem.

Map Design: Tight But Uninspired

Highguard's maps are medium-sized, which is intentional. They need to be small enough that matches have consistent pacing and large enough that strategy matters. The current map pool succeeds at that balance—you're never more than two minutes from potential engagement.

But the maps lack memorable landmarks or personality. You've got the usual: warehouses, bridges, abandoned settlements, etc. Nothing jumps out as especially creative or memorable. Compare to Apex's King's Canyon with its Skull Town or Thermal Station—locations that became iconic because they played well and looked distinctive. Highguard's maps are functional but forgettable.

That's likely addressable through future content. New maps with more distinctive themes could significantly improve match variety perception. Right now, running the same three maps fifty times exacerbates the repetition problem because the environments themselves don't offer much novelty.

Kai and Uma dominate with high usage and effectiveness, highlighting balance issues in Highguard. Estimated data.

The Monetization Model: Fair But Unclear

Highguard launched with a free-to-play model, which immediately invites comparison to Apex's monetization. You can play everything for free. Cosmetics cost money, as expected. Battle pass exists but isn't mandatory for progression or competitiveness.

What's unclear is whether cosmetics are priced fairly or if the monetization is aggressive. I didn't deep-dive into the shop, but the existence of a pricing structure doesn't inherently solve content problems. You can offer cosmetics all day, but if players are bored with the core gameplay, cosmetics won't retain them.

Moreover, cosmetics create a secondary engagement problem: if Kai is overpowered, everyone plays Kai, everyone buys Kai cosmetics, and cosmetic variety becomes meaningless. The game's balance problems trickle into the monetization strategy, undermining both.

What Wildcard Needs to Fix Immediately

If I were leading Highguard's post-launch development, here's what would get fixed first.

Balance the Wardens. This isn't a long-term project—this is a weekend hotfix. Run the math, adjust cooldowns, reduce ability effectiveness on overpowered picks, and buff underused Wardens. Make eight viable picks feel meaningfully different, not dominated by three or four obvious choices.

Fix close-range weapon balance. Shotguns and SMGs need to be legitimate choices. Either buff their damage, reduce their spread, or make them fill a different niche. Right now, they're trap weapons, and trap weapons breed frustration.

Simplify the round structure or explain it better. Either streamline the match flow so it naturally makes sense, or invest heavily in onboarding and UI clarity. Right now, it's confusing and feels overcomplicated without payoff.

Add more loot variance. This is harder to fix because it might require redesigning economies, but introducing elements like rare weapon variants, temporary loadouts, or even classic healing items would inject randomness back into matches.

These aren't impossible problems. None of them require scrapping the game and starting over. They require focused design work and acknowledgment that the launch state isn't the final product.

Apex Legends outperforms Highguard in key areas such as gameplay loop and update quality. Estimated data based on typical player feedback.

The Roadmap: Hope and Uncertainty

Wildcard has published a content roadmap with planned updates across the next several months. New Wardens are coming. New maps are planned. Quality-of-life improvements are scheduled. On paper, this should inspire confidence.

But roadmaps are promises, not guarantees. A map that solves nothing or a Warden that breaks the meta in new ways won't help long-term retention. What matters is whether Wildcard understands that Highguard's problems are systemic, not cosmetic. Releasing new content won't fix fundamental match pacing or loot repetition issues.

The question is whether they'll do the harder work of redesigning systems or if they'll rely on quantity to obscure quality problems. The next two months will tell us a lot.

Comparison to Apex Legends: Where Highguard Falls Short

Direct comparison is inevitable, so let's be explicit about where Highguard underperforms relative to its spiritual predecessor.

Apex has four years of polish and balance iteration behind it. Highguard is a launch title with inherent rough edges. That's fair context. But even accounting for that, Apex's core loop is tighter. Drop, loot, kill, win. No unnecessary complications. Apex's Legends feel distinct and viable. Apex's weapons reward different playstyles. Apex's maps have become iconic through play and community attachment. Apex's updates have consistently improved the game rather than introduced new problems.

Highguard had the opportunity to learn from Apex's mistakes and successes. Instead, it feels like it made different mistakes while copying some of the right elements. That's not unusual for spiritual successors—the best iteration isn't always obvious—but it means Highguard starts from behind in the minds of players who've invested thousands of hours in Apex.

The question isn't "Is Highguard good?" It's "Is Highguard good enough that you'll switch from Apex?" Right now, the answer is no for most players.

The Community Element: Still Early

Community formation around a shooter is slow. Apex took months to develop its culture, memes, and streaming presence. Highguard is in week one, which means the community is still forming.

That's a positive signal and a warning simultaneously. Positive because engaged community members are already experimenting with strategies and discussing balance problems. Warning because a week-old community can vanish just as quickly if the game doesn't hold their attention.

Streaming adoption will be crucial. If major streamers keep playing beyond the "new game" window, that attracts viewers who become players. If Highguard falls out of the top ten games on Twitch by month two, momentum dies fast.

Right now, the streaming numbers are healthy but not overwhelming. That tracks with where the game actually is: good enough to hold attention for a few hours, not engaging enough to become someone's main game immediately.

Should You Play Highguard Right Now?

If you love squad-based shooters and have four hours to experiment with something new, sure. Download it. Experience the fantastic gunplay. See if the match structure clicks for you. Maybe you'll find elements that resonate where I found problems.

If you're looking for your next 200-hour investment or the game you'll be streaming six months from now, wait. Give it two or three months. Let balance patches roll out. Let the community settle into a groove. Let Wildcard prove they understand what needs fixing.

The game isn't broken. It's not a disaster. It's a competent shooter with great fundamentals and significant design problems that prevent it from reaching its potential. That's frustrating because the potential is genuinely there—you can feel it in the responsive controls and the intensity of close firefights.

But potential isn't the same as delivery. And right now, Highguard is still in the delivery phase.

The Verdict: Good Foundations, Questionable Future

Highguard is a game that feels incredible to play in thirty-second bursts but struggles to maintain engagement over thirty-minute matches. The core loop has problems that can't be fixed with cosmetics or new maps—they require systemic design work. The balance is broken enough that character variety suffers. The loot progression removes the randomness that makes shooters compelling across repeated matches.

Yet there's genuine talent behind this game. The gunplay is tight. The movement is responsive. The fundamental design isn't flawed, just in need of refinement. With focused post-launch development and a willingness to make difficult changes, Highguard could absolutely become what it promises to be.

Right now, though, it's a few tweaks away from greatness. Not weeks away. Months away. That's not a criticism unique to Highguard—most launches need time to mature. But acknowledging that also means acknowledging that the launch product, while good, isn't the finished product.

If Wildcard commits to the hard work of balancing systems, not just adding content, Highguard could transform into the Apex successor everyone hoped for. But that transformation hasn't happened yet, and players should approach with cautious optimism rather than day-one commitment.

FAQ

What is Highguard?

Highguard is a squad-based tactical shooter developed by Wildcard Entertainment, featuring three-versus-three matches in fantasy-meets-tactical settings. The game combines gunplay mechanics from Apex Legends with objective-based gameplay where teams compete to carry artifacts and complete raid objectives. It launched on PS5, PC, and Xbox in January 2026.

How does Highguard's match structure work?

Matches follow a phase-based system where squads first loot maps and gather supplies, then compete to carry the Shieldbreaker artifact toward enemy bases. Successful carriers trigger raid phases where teams plant explosives to destroy base defenses. The structure combines elements of Capture the Flag with Search and Destroy mechanics, though this complexity can confuse new players during their first matches.

What are the main problems with Highguard at launch?

Highguard suffers from several critical issues: character balance favors Kai and Uma overwhelmingly, close-range weapons like shotguns and SMGs are underpowered compared to assault rifles, the match structure feels overcomplicated without adequate explanation, and loot progression is too predictable, causing matches to feel repetitive after multiple playthroughs. These design problems prevent the game from achieving long-term engagement despite excellent gunplay mechanics.

Is Highguard pay-to-win?

No, Highguard operates on a free-to-play model where cosmetics cost money, but gameplay content and competitive tools remain free. Cosmetics are purely aesthetic and don't provide mechanical advantages. The battle pass exists but isn't mandatory for progression or competitiveness, making the monetization fair relative to peers like Apex Legends.

How does Highguard compare to Apex Legends?

While Highguard shares Respawn heritage and similar gunplay mechanics, Apex Legends has four years of balance refinement and community attachment. Apex's core loop is simpler and more engaging, with viable character variety and iconic map locations. Highguard matches Apex in moment-to-moment gunplay but falls short in systemic design, character balance, and match pacing despite having potential after several months of post-launch development.

Should I switch from Apex Legends to Highguard?

Not immediately. While Highguard offers excellent gunplay fundamentals, its repetitive match structure and balance problems make it insufficient as a primary replacement for Apex right now. If you want to experiment with a new shooter and have a few hours to invest, Highguard is worth trying. For long-term investment, wait two to three months for balance patches and content updates to address launch issues before committing significant time.

What Wardens should new players pick?

Kai and Uma are objectively the strongest characters due to overpowered ability mechanics, so picking them provides immediate advantages. However, experienced players should experiment with other Wardens to find playstyle fits and understand the full roster, knowing that balance patches will eventually make underused Wardens more viable. Don't feel locked into meta picks—the meta is broken and will change.

What weapons should I focus on learning?

Assault rifles and revolvers are the most reliable weapons across all ranges and match phases. Sniper rifles reward accurate aim with powerful single shots. Avoid shotguns and SMGs at launch, as they lack the damage output or utility to compete with rifles despite better close-range theoretical application. This weapon imbalance will likely receive hotfixes that could make close-range alternatives more viable.

Will Highguard get better with updates?

Wildcard has published a content roadmap promising new Wardens, maps, and balance updates over the next several months. However, a roadmap represents promises, not guarantees. The critical question is whether they'll fix systemic design problems like match pacing and loot progression or simply add cosmetic content. Early post-launch patches should indicate their commitment level and design philosophy.

How long are typical Highguard matches?

Matches range from six to thirty minutes depending on how quickly objectives progress and defend phases end. Early rounds with minimal engagement can last ten to fifteen minutes, while endgame pushes can be decided in minutes. This unpredictable pacing contributes to the repetition problem, as longer downtime makes the limited loot variety more noticeable and less engaging.

Key Takeaways

• Highguard delivers responsive, satisfying gunplay but suffers from repetitive match structure and loot progression systems
• Character balance is severely broken at launch with Kai and Uma dominating while other Wardens remain underutilized
• Weapon balance favors assault rifles and revolvers while close-range shotguns and SMGs are trap weapons
• The match objective system is overcomplicated and poorly explained, creating unnecessary friction for new players
• Wait two to three months for balance patches before committing significant time—the potential is there, but delivery requires development work

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