Is Highguard Worth Your Time?
Following its surprise reveal at The Game Awards, Highguard is unfortunately now facing largely negative reception. Its statistics are alarmingly average, and it has received significant criticism from players.
Despite its explosive debut on Steam after The Game Awards, with high concurrent player numbers initially, those figures plummeted drastically after just a few hours, losing roughly 90% of its player base.
Highguard Review: Gameplay
Highguard incorporates several mechanics, allowing players to experience different genres. You start by strengthening your base, using a somewhat tower defense-like mechanic that feels largely pointless. In the open world, you must gather resources (somewhat similar to Fortnite), a part developers seem to have inspired by extraction shooters.
A common complaint among nearly all players is that the map is excessively large for 3v3 matches. This results in vast, unused spaces and insufficient meaningful player engagements.
The core gameplay loop of Highguard is as follows:
Fortify your base defenses at the match start.
Venture into the open world to collect crystals.
Purchase armor and weapons from vendors.
Open chests for better gear (though buying is usually more efficient).
Engage in sporadic PvP on oversized maps.
Technical Issues
Currently, Highguard's Steam reviews show a disastrous 30% positive vs. 70% negative rating. Player complaints, especially regarding technical aspects, are valid:
Sound Positioning Issues: Relying on audio to locate enemies is futile. This problem in Highguard is completely disappointing, as enemy sounds often seem to come from directly above you.
Performance and Connectivity: A major issue players face is the "Not Enough Players" error, which appears even during peak hours. Additionally, the game's default post-processing settings create a blurry, muddy visual effect unless manually set to "High" – a non-intuitive fix that shouldn't be necessary.
Kernel-Level DRM: Like Valorant, Highguard implements kernel-level anti-cheat, which automatically triggers negative reactions from the PC gaming community. While understandable from a competitive integrity standpoint, it's a controversial choice for a new title.
Highguard Review: Visual Design
Character designs feel completely lifeless and boring. The default skins are very generic and uniform, seemingly pushing players toward the in-game store. While the environments feature different themes, from lava to icy areas, they are visually too similar with little distinct flair.
Positives of Highguard
We've covered the negatives, but the game isn't all bad and has some positive points:
The game's automatic weapons perform well and feel satisfying; weapon handling is generally good.
Using Mounts for traversal is fast and useful, and they can provide a significant advantage in battle.
Each character's abilities are very useful and appropriate. Using them correctly at key moments can turn the tide of a match in your team's favor.
Highguard's Roadmap
The developers have outlined a roadmap extending into December, promising new characters, weapons, and maps, along with exciting surprises. However, this future vision has failed to convince players to stick with Highguard in the present.
The game desperately needs to fix its technical issues, especially concerning gameplay, before adding any new content. The slow pace and empty spaces fail to generate the necessary excitement for players, instead leaving them frustrated and bored.
The Game Awards Marketing Miscalculation
Studio co-founder Chad Bernier admitted in interviews that they initially planned a stealth drop, but The Game Awards presentation opportunity proved too tempting. In hindsight, this massive spotlight may have backfired. The reveal trailer focused heavily on cinematic elements without adequately showcasing the actual gameplay loop, setting unrealistic expectations.
If Highguard had launched quietly without the Game Awards hype, it might have found a modest but satisfied niche audience. Instead, the game faced immediate scrutiny it wasn't prepared to handle, with a trailer that failed to communicate what makes the experience unique or compelling.
Final Verdict: Highguard Review
To judge this game honestly, it could be placed in the category of decent games. However, in a market saturated with excellent free-to-play competitive titles like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Valorant, a merely "decent" game cannot expect high praise.
Fortunately, the game hasn't become a catastrophic failure and still maintains a reasonable number of concurrent players—but this will likely not last if the current problems aren't addressed.
After several hours of gameplay, the question everyone asks themselves is: "Will I play this again?" Perhaps it can help pass the time before major releases like the next Resident Evil, but it's hard to view it as a staple, long-term game.
