Shooting guns in Highguard is fun and feels very good. But the most satisfying thing to do in the newly released free-to-play raid shooter doesn’t involve guns. Instead, it happens whenever I get a chance to smash some crystals using a minigame that rewards perfection in a smart way.
In Highguard, which is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox, you have the chance to visit shops during your match to buy shields, guns, ammo, upgrades, and other gear. But nothing in this world is free. Well, I guess Highguard is free, but whatever, my point is that you need some cash to buy this stuff. Actually, not cash but blue crystals. Bits of blue crystals, to be more precise. You get some from killing enemies and raiding or defending bases, but a fast and efficient way to get a lot of crystal shards is to mine the large deposits that litter the map. And mining these larger veins of crystal is satisfying.
On PS5, you click the right stick to begin a simple timing minigame that lets you quickly smash through a big crystal deposit with a satisfying series of sounds and a big crushing blow at the end. Every time I do this perfectly, I feel good. I love it. I sometimes take a moment to break a few more crystals, even if I don’t really need to, because smashing them perfectly is such a joy. I may at one point have been caught off-guard and quickly killed by two enemy players because I was distracted while mining crystals. Awkward.
What really helps make this process feel good, besides the wonderful “dink, dink, crash” noises and timing minigame, is that when you perfectly nail it, the game gives you a reward: The next crystal you mine will break instantly. Oh, buddy, you better believe that feels good.
Now, I would like to point out that I actually have to go mine for crystals during the middle of a long match so I can buy some shields, which isn’t my favorite part of Highguard. In fact, a lot of the economy around mining crystals and spending them likely needs to be tweaked to make it less annoying early on and less of a pain in the later part of a long round. But that doesn’t change the fact that the actual act of mining in Highguard makes me feel good. I love it. They should add a mode all about harvesting crystal shards and taking them back to your base, and whichever team has the most after five minutes wins. I’d play the heck out of that.