Highguard Doesn’t Appear Soulless, But It Definitely Looks Generic

With the closing moments of The Game Awards 2025, the final game announcement of the night came from a group of former EA developers who started a studio named Wildlight Entertainment. Its first game, Highguard, was revealed with a release set for next month.

The reception for Highguard has probably not been what these devs wanted. The trailer is being bombarded with dislikes, with many comparing the game to Concord and Immortals of Aveum, not a spot any game ever wants to be in.

So, why the negative reception? You would initially expect people to get behind a new team that spun off from a disliked company like EA. It comes down to the game being more of what people don’t want: a generic hero shooter with bland design and numerous microtransactions and other live-service elements. It being placed as the final announcement of a big show like the Game Awards didn’t do it any favors.

Is it Just Another Hero Shooter?

Recently, I wrote about how Marvel Rivals demonstrated potential for a new hero shooter to enter the space and become a true competitor to Overwatch. In that case, you have a world-renowned franchise filled with tons of recognizable names that is being propped up by copying Overwatch’s style, but backs it up with fan service.

Highguard doesn’t have any of that in its corner. The Marvel name can greatly carry Rivals, but what’s recognizable from Highguard outside of hearing that some of the team worked on Titanfall and Apex Legends? Those are good games, but at this point, they’re also old news at this point. Apex Legends is coming up on its seventh anniversary, and Titanfall hasn’t been an impactful name since its sequel release in 2016.

In a day where there are numerous games with hero shooter mechanics, newcomers need to have something that sets them apart. Something that it has that no one else can claim. What is it that this game has? The melding of sci-fi, fantasy, and tech is Destiny, and the gameplay looks to be just more Apex Legends. Even the name, Highguard, feels like a synonym of Overwatch.

Of course, much of this is just what was gathered from a two-and-a-half-minute trailer, but when it comes to these kinds of reveals, perception is reality. Highguard can come out next month and be a fine, even good, game, but it won’t matter to the outside crowd if all they see is a game that they perceive will be shut down in six months.

How Can Highguard Change Early Thoughts?

As of now, the overall perception of Highguard is that it is the second coming of Concord. An online-only multiplayer game that definitely isn’t the worst thing to release, but it doesn’t have anything to hook players. Luckily, the game doesn’t have a pricetag, so that argument from the Concord haters won’t suffice here. Just like any live service game that’s free-to-play, if it doesn’t have the player count, that future lies in wait. So, the question is, how does Wildlight change that perception?

We’ve already seen with the reveal trailer that showing off the game’s different characters isn’t the hook that people are looking for. The early dialogue comes off as bland, and their design is ultimately very forgettable. It’s too late to change those choices, but it’s already been proven that they won’t sell the game to players.

Additionally, don’t focus on the shooting or calling in a horse to ride into battle. The mismash of sci-fi and fantasy has been grossly overdone through the years, and just shows a lack of a concrete identity. Pick a lane.

The best way to make players care about the gameplay is to let them actually get their hands on it. The best course of action before launch would be to set up an early access beta or stress test. Whatever you want to call it, let people actually play the game and start getting some good word of mouth flowing before launch.

The Road to Launch

The areas that Highguard needs to focus on before launch are aspects of the gameplay that we haven’t seen publicly or don’t have concrete information on. The most compelling part of the reveal trailer was when the character calls in a giant Trojan horse-like contraption and sends it forward into the enemy base. There have to be more interesting set pieces like that to plant your flag on. There is more to this game than shooting and using abilities, so let players know.

If Highguard has any surprises hidden up its sleeve before launch, it is very important that it makes those tricks apparent before that first day. Generating anything positive for people to talk about can lead to a potential community being established that can then grow post-launch. If things stay the way they are now, it will only be harder to generate any goodwill going forward.