Playing On A Shadow Drop: Highguard Behind Closed Doorways

Earlier this month, Wildlight Leisure invited a complete host of media and content material creators to take a hands-on take a look at Highguard–a 3v3 “raid shooter” whose huge reveal was the nearer to final month’s Sport Awards. Response to that trailer was decidedly mixed. This text isn’t about my ideas on the sport itself, which you can find here, however slightly what it felt prefer to attend an occasion for a recreation which was already being handled by some on-line as gaming’s next Concord. What’s it prefer to be one of many first folks outdoors of the studio to play one thing that so many had already written off regardless of not likely figuring out what it was even making an attempt to be? 

The Highguard Launch Occasion, as my lanyard calls it, was an all-day affair held in Los Angeles that was scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to six p.m. Making the trek from Lengthy Seashore, I boarded my Lyft (paid for by Wildlight) at about 7:45 within the morning, and regardless of my finest efforts at being punctual, didn’t arrive on the venue till about 9:15. Being caught in a sea of automobiles on the I-110 gave me a number of time to consider what the day forward had in retailer.

Whereas gamers experiencing the sport for the primary time at the moment may have a completely completely different expertise, myself and the opposite of us who skilled the sport that day solely had the TGAs trailer to base our expectations on, and it hardly instructed us something in regards to the recreation in any respect. None of us knew what a “PvP raid shooter” was, nor did we all know something in regards to the moment-to-moment gameplay past a brief description on the Steam retailer web page: “From the creators of Apex Legends and Titanfall comes Highguard: a PvP raid shooter where players will ride, fight, and raid as Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to fight for control of a mythical continent.” 

9:16 AM – January 21 – NYA West, A Hazy Recollection, And Espresso #2 (and #3)

The very first thing I observed upon arriving was a faint feeling of deja vu. I’d been to this venue earlier than, I believed. It took me just a few moments to comprehend that I’d been on this identical a part of city for EA’s personal preview occasion for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor again in 2023; I puzzled if the members of Wildlight in control of selecting the place had nonetheless been at Respawn again then. After checking in at reception, I walked right into a foyer crammed with fellow members of the press from all around the world. I grabbed my second espresso of the day, some yogurt, and an apple Danish from an assortment specified by entrance of me; moreover the espresso I’d grabbed earlier that morning I hadn’t but had any breakfast, and the longer-than-expected commute had me ravenous.

Conversing with different members of the press, I confirmed what I’d already assumed; none of us fairly knew what we had been about to play. Regardless of this, there was a quiet hope that maybe the trailer was a misstep, and that the sport itself would possibly impress. I spoke with GameSpot‘s Jordan Ramée and one other L.A. native freelancer pal of mine, Luis Joshua Gutierrez, amongst just a few others, as I scarfed down my meals and occasional. 

Out of the nook of my eye I observed Geoff Keighley. The Sport Awards host was the one particular person outdoors of the event staff who would possibly be capable of reply our questions as to what precisely Highguard is, as he’d performed it the earlier summer season earlier than asking the staff to let him put it in his December showcase. Had he chosen a shock hit, or hooked up his model to a different live-service dud?. I downed Espresso #3.

9:52 AM – So, What On Earth Is A “PvP Raid Shooter,” Anyway?

The occasion working barely forward of schedule, we had been shepherded into an auditorium. As soon as everybody had been seated, we bought the entire spiel–who Wildlight are, how Highguard got here to be, and what being a “raid shooter” really entails. Roughly 4 years in the past, when Wildlight was solely about 5 members huge, the staff spent a while taking part in shooters all day in the hunt for inspiration. Because the staff put it, “we were trying to figure out what the question was that we wanted our game to answer.” Inspiration itself got here from the expertise of driving to and raiding bases in Rust; the staff needed to determine a approach to distill these experiences into one thing repeatable, with out all of the busy prep work that survival crafting video games require.

In fact, everybody needed to know why the staff had opted for radio silence because the recreation’s reveal; the reply to that was twofold. We got one half of the reply there after which, with the opposite coming only a bit later within the day. Initially the staff had supposed to shadowdrop the sport, a lot as they’d executed with Apex Legends once they had nonetheless labored at Respawn. Because it so occurred, the Sport Awards trailer solely got here to fruition on the eleventh hour after Geoff Keighley had supplied up the spot upon being impressed by the sport throughout his private demo earlier within the 12 months. 

In hindsight, given how difficult the sport’s programs are to elucidate and the TGAs’ strict runtime, it’s little shock the trailer struggled to land. The radio silence, then, was equal components a return to the unique plan in addition to an acknowledgement that the sport would maybe finest communicate for itself. Nonetheless, slightly than being tossed in totally blind and letting the sport make its personal impression, press and influencers needed to watch an intensive overview of the shooter’s mechanics and programs earlier than getting our arms on the controllers and keyboards laid out for us.

Coming into the auditorium, I noticed the venue was cut up in two halves. On the suitable had been teams of PCs, 6 a bit, paired with some very costly Dell 4K OLED screens. Whereas by default gamers might play with mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse, Wildlight shortly famous that anybody who wished to play with a controller might request both a PlayStation 5 Dualsense or an Xbox Wi-fi Controller, and they might deliver one proper over. On the other wall was a group of 3D fashions of in-game property, heaps of idea artwork showcasing the sport’s world and its characters, and extra.

11:30 AM – Probing the Vibes

With lunch scheduled for midday, I solely had time for a handful of matches. IGN‘s Travis Northup had his first interview with the team scheduled early, leaving myself and the other member of our impromptu group–GameSpot‘s Jordan Ramée–to wander over to the art that caught our eye. I wondered how the artists that had drawn these felt about the reception to the game’s reveal.

It occurred to me at this level that the occasion took up a substantial amount of area, particularly when contemplating the modest variety of press in attendance. There have been a pair dozen of us, on no account a small quantity, but the venue was so massive that it bordered on feeling empty. I puzzled if the staff had anticipated or deliberate for a bigger viewers once they’d booked the placement; there was actually room for double, possibly even triple the variety of attendees. Perhaps the group in the course of the influencer session, held a day earlier, had been loads greater. I grabbed Espresso #4 from a concessions desk whereas ready for the lunch unfold to be arrange. 

After gorging myself on sandwiches, wraps, an power bar and at the least another cup of espresso I performed just a few extra rounds of the sport earlier than heading off to a set of interviews with among the recreation’s core designers, in addition to the studio’s cofounders. Because the day progressed, it was fascinating watching of us slowly come to grips with among the intricacies of the gameplay loop. You possibly can learn my hands-on impressions here, or resolve for your self now that the total recreation is stay. 

5:12 PM – Winding Down, and Cacio e Pepe Pizza

The occasion was set to go till 6PM, however with the recollections of my agonizingly lengthy journey to the occasion I had no intentions of grabbing my Lyft dwelling proper in the course of L.A.’s infamous rush hour site visitors. There have been no plans for an afterparty, although we had been given per diem playing cards to assist pay for meals and different facilities and some of us had the identical concept—we selected grabbing some pizza and drinks from a bar shut by that got here really helpful. 

Whereas ready in line to order my first drink, I witnessed what felt like a microcosm for the day’s occasions as a complete when the bartender tripped up and spilled a drink order for one occasion. She shortly adjusted, repouring their beers and bringing them over efficiently with the second try, finally no worse for put on. I doubt the 2 gents who’d ordered them even keep in mind the spilled drinks; I get the sensation that Wildlight is banking on one thing related. If Highguard can finally communicate for itself, then will it matter in the long run that they tousled with the reveal trailer? Nobody will keep in mind. Properly, besides possibly Geoff Keighley. 

Scanning by the menu, my eye was drawn to an unorthodox-sounding pizza taste; Cacio e Pepe, just like the pasta dish. Evidently I used to be the one one on the desk that was aware of the flavour, and we ordered the pie to provide it a shot. It was scrumptious, and I’d solely want it hadn’t been devoured so shortly–I’d have beloved a slice or two for the journey dwelling. Typically it’s good to take an opportunity on one thing completely different.