Video game discourse was once obsessed with visual quality, especially in the 32/64-bit era, when the shift from 2D to 3D was happening. Nowadays, identity is worth more than frame rates and reflections. Games like Undertale and Among Us aren’t hardware melters, but they’re oozing with a personality that makes people want to play them.
The barrier to video game development has never been lower, which is why the market is flooded with titles of little artistic merit. To stand out nowadays, you need a solid hook, and unfortunately, the newly released Highguard just doesn’t have it, and the issues start with the playable characters.
The Escapist recaps
- Highguard is a PvP Raid Shooter, where players take on the role of Wardens and fight in a fantasy/sci-fi world.
- The game is developed by Wildlight Entertainment, a studio that has former Apex Legends devs.
- Highguard is let down by lackluster character and world design.
- Live service multiplayer games live and die on their USP and visual design, leaving Highguard with little going for it in a packed marketplace.
Highguard’s character designs are somehow worse than Concord’s
Rather than letting the player design their own character, Highguard goes the hero shooter route, forcing the player to pick a Warden. These have their own abilities and can be customized using cosmetics.
There’s just one problem: the Wardens look terrible. Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh. The Wardens are so dull that I have no desire to play as any of them. They all feel like someone hit the Randomize button in a Dragon Age character creator and called it a day.
The Wardens of Highguard feel minimalist in a bad way, like they were given similar sizes and shapes to make it easier to make uniform cosmetic pieces that could be fitted for them all with little work.
Highguard is a game that blends fantasy and sci-fi, yet its cast consists of generic-looking humanoids. Where are the robots? Where’s the slow big dude, and the small one who is a pain to hit? Where’s the person with lots of arms? Sure, Kai can turn into a big demon as part of his Ultimate, but he’s a skinny anime twink the rest of the time.
Highguard has mounts, and the mounts can be cool, like the panther, but I’m not playing as the mount. When there’s a new Legend of Zelda game announced, I’m excited to see Link and Zelda, not Epona.
Highguard’s setting and lack of connection to an established franchise mean it has limitless possibilities for Warden design, yet the starting roster inspires no joy. I don’t particularly want to play as any of these people, which is death for a hero shooter. Highguard would have been better off letting the player design their own character and concentrating on the loot/cosmetics, then shoving out these half-baked designs.
Identity is everything in live service games
People mocked The First Descendant for its fan service designs, but it got the game a ton of attention. It piqued people’s interest in downloading and playing the game. That’s the point where The First Descendant had the chance to win people over with its gameplay, and if it failed at the second hurdle, then no amount of booty shorts or low-cut tops could save it.
This isn’t to say every live service game needs overly-sexualized characters, as that approach can also be off-putting to people. What it needs are interesting character designs that make you want to play as the heroes.
Marvel Rivals practically cheated in this regard, as it uses beloved characters with decades of goodwill and prominent public exposure, thanks to the Marvel movies. Sure, the game might not be balanced, but people are tuning in in droves to play as Spider-Man, Psylocke, Wolverine, and the jerk of a shark.
Being attached to a big license isn’t necessary for success in this regard. Overwatch consisted of entirely new characters, but Blizzard did a fantastic job creating a diverse roster of heroes and villains who looked cool, appealed to a wide variety of players, and had just enough lore to make people interested in future plans for the story.
By comparison, the Wardens and Highguard as a whole just don’t pique interest. The characters feel like they were thrown together in five minutes, which is not what you want in a live service game, regardless of whether it’s free-to-play.
The competition leaves no room for generic aesthetics
One counterargument to my point is ARC Raiders, which is a game that lacks cool-looking characters but has been a huge success since launch. It’s a game where you make a character and send them out to die at the hands of robots, rather than selecting a pre-made hero.
What ARC Raiders lacked in hero design, it made up for in a gorgeous NASApunk-style aesthetic that is instantly recognizable. The game’s menus pop in a way that stands out, which convinced people to check it out, and then the gameplay convinced them to keep playing.
Highguard might have gotten away with lackluster hero designs if the world stood out, but it was just as bland as the Wardens. When Highguard was first revealed, if someone had told me it was Spellbreak 2 (a game that was basically Fortnite but with wizards), I’d have believed them. It has a World of Warcraft-like aesthetic but with realistic people, leaving the final product feeling unoriginal.
There’s a ton of competition in the live service space, with established games that are already content-rich. To break into this business, you need an amazing hook, and sometimes, even that’s not enough. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt had all kinds of unique gimmicks and a gorgeous world, and it still bombed.
Countless games are vying for player time in the world, and you need something that convinces them to take the plunge on something new. Highguard is just so bland that I have no interest in clicking that “Download” button, and it started with a roster of heroes that only inspires yawns.
Ask The Escapist
Highguard is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Yes. You can play against people on other platforms and continue your progress via the official Highguard website.
Yes. Highguard is completely free-to-play, with monetization through direct-to-purchase cosmetics and a Battle Pass.
There are eight Wardens in Highguard at launch: Atticus, Condor, Kai, Mara, Redmane, Scarlet, Slade, and Una.
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