Highguard, developed by Wildlight Entertainment, is a PvP raid shooter built to pit teams of Wardens in short competitive matches across a mythical continent. The game centers on a 3v3 loop combining resource gathering, base fortification, and raids that use a Shieldbreaker objective to pierce enemy strongholds. It features mounted combat, Vesper resource upgrades, and Unreal Engine 5 environments with destructible elements. Players who enjoy tactical hero shooters and MOBA-style escalation find a focused, match-based competitive experience here.

What kind of game is Highguard?

Highguard blends hero-shooter gunplay with a raid-style objective loop centered on 3v3 matches. Players take the role of Wardens, arcane gunslingers who contest the Shieldbreaker, a mythical sword required to break enemy stronghold shields. Matches revolve around alternating phases of gathering Vesper, reinforcing bases, and staging raids; that cycle defines the game's competitive rhythm and keeps matches focused on team coordination and objective timing.

Does it have a multiplayer mode?

Highguard is built entirely around competitive team play, offering full cross-platform play and cross-progression across console and PC at launch. Matches pit three-player squads against one another with persistent match flow that lets teams fortify a chosen stronghold and ride mounts into combat. The mounted system includes bears, horses, and panthers, which affect traversal speed and firefights and change how teams contest map objectives.

What does the game look and sound like?

The presentation uses Unreal Engine 5 to render high-fidelity, mythical environments with destructible structures that alter the battlefield mid-match. Art direction leans toward fantasy-infused weaponry and stronghold designs, which gives each map a clear personality. Audio specifics are not detailed in the materials, so assessment focuses on the visual craft: environments and destructible geometry shape tactical sightlines and moment-to-moment cover decisions during raids.

How steep is the learning curve?

The match design forces teams to divide attention between economy, defense, and offense, so effective play rewards coordination and role clarity. Vesper gathering and in-match upgrades let squads adapt loadouts on the fly, which shortens the time to meaningful choices but raises tactical complexity. Players who prefer quick mechanical entry may find the combined resource-and-raid loop demands more planning, while teams that communicate can exploit escalation to control match tempo.

In summary, a promising experiment with limited longevity

Highguard is a promising experiment for players drawn to tactical, match-focused PvP, supported by praise for smooth gunplay and a veteran team behind it. Critics and users described the release as a "rough draft," and the game's servers closed on March 12, 2026 after roughly 45 days of live operation, which effectively ends its competitive prospects despite its design ambitions.