Highguards and Lowguards | Kurt & Lucy Gotcha Covered

Quick Overview

The new free-to-play 3v3 hero shooter Highguard, developed by former Titanfall and Apex devs, launched as a mixed bag, featuring compelling character designs and good shooting mechanics, but suffering from an overly large, empty map, superfluous systems like a thumbstick QTE mining mini-game, and initial connectivity issues, leading to a poor first impression despite having enough unique elements for a potential redemption arc.

Key Points: Highguard is a 3v3 free-to-play hero shooter with a premise similar to Overwatch and Apex Legends, featuring wardens with distinct abilities and a siege objective revolving around protecting two generators. The core gameplay involves reinforcing bases, mining currency, opening chests for gear, and racing to deploy a 'shield breaker' battering ram at the enemy base to destroy generators. Lucy found the character designs good, specifically liking the support warden Mara, who is essentially "2016 Symmetra from Overwatch," noting the game launched with only one support character. A major low point identified was the mining mini-game, which is a Quick Time Event executed on the right thumbstick, which Lucy called "insane" and a "frustrating time." The developer, Wildlife Entertainment, originally planned a shadow drop but accepted Jeff Keighley's offer to reveal it at The Game Awards, intending to go dark until the game was playable for hands-on assessment. Kurt felt that while the first two and a half hours were frustrating due to bad matchmaking and system clunkiness, he eventually had fun in a balanced final game when paired with similar skill levels, suggesting potential exists if systems are finessed. Regarding Resident Evil 4 Remake gameplay, Kurt and Lucy confirmed Leon's gameplay had "additions and evolutions" but asserted "no improvements" were necessary over the original remake, and they noted Leon does not appear to solve puzzles, unlike Claire.

Context: The "Curtain Lucy Got You Covered" show covered recent major gaming news, focusing heavily on the launch of Highguard, a new free-to-play multiplayer title from former Titanfall and Apex developers, which had a controversial reveal at The Game Awards before its surprise Monday launch. The hosts also dedicated significant time to answering audience questions about their recent hands-on preview of the Resident Evil 4 Remake, specifically focusing on the dual protagonists Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, and discussed rumors surrounding a potential Resident Evil Code Veronica remake.