There’s all the time that second at The Sport Awards.
The lights dim. Geoff Keighley will get severe. The music swells. That is “the yet one more factor.” Probably the most anticipated sport. The long run. The explanation all of us stayed up watching advertisements for power drinks.
This yr, that sport was Highguard.
The trailer did not blow anybody away, but when Keighley says it is wonderful, it’d truly be good.
After which… nothing occurred.
No follow-up trailers, No previews. No last-minute dev diary. Nothing. Not even a “hey, it’s out tomorrow” hype teaser.
The builders went suspiciously quiet, which in hindsight may need been the primary pink flag.
Now the sport is out. It’s free to play. And Steam’s evaluate web page appears to be like like somebody kicked over a beehive.
So what’s Highguard, why are folks so mad, and is that this the subsequent Harmony or simply one other misunderstood multiplayer experiment?
Let’s discuss it.
What Even Is Highguard?
Highguard sells itself as “a brand new breed of shooter,” which is all the time a harmful sentence.
At its core, it’s a 3v3 aggressive multiplayer shooter with two very completely different phases.
First comes the looting and preparation section. You and two teammates drop into a large open map, run round grabbing gear, mining sources, opening chests, and infrequently questioning if the remainder of the map is legally required to be this empty (We’ll get to that).
Then comes the siege section. One group defends a fortified base, the opposite assaults. Shields must be damaged. Bomb websites get planted. Partitions and doorways explode. There’s additionally a giant sword it’s essential to seize. It out of the blue feels nearer to Rainbow Six or Valorant, however with fantasy magic, weapons, mounts, and medieval vibes.
On paper, it’s formidable. In follow, that is the place issues begin getting bizarre.
The Maps Are Enormous and the Groups Are Not
The commonest grievance exhibits up nearly instantly.
Highguard’s maps are huge, however matches are solely 3v3. Meaning lengthy stretches of working, looting, and trying to find motion, adopted by very brief, very decisive fights.
Numerous gamers really feel the sport would make extra sense as 5v5 or 6v6. Others argue that the small group measurement is the entire level. Both manner, the dimensions mismatch is throwing folks off laborious.
It’s simply the primary grievance you’ll discover in the event you scroll by the “Overwhelmingly Adverse” part on Steam.
It Feels Empty in a Approach Shooters Often Don’t
There aren’t any NPCs roaming the world. No ambient threats. No evolving goals throughout the looting section.
You’re usually alone with the atmosphere, opening chests and mining ore, which feels unusual for a sport marketed as fast-paced and chaotic.
A number of evaluations land on the identical phrase, and it’s a lethal one for multiplayer video games.
Boring.
Efficiency Is a Actual Drawback
This one hurts.
Gamers with extraordinarily high-end PCs are reporting blurry visuals, pressured movement blur, inconsistent body charges, and efficiency that doesn’t match how the sport truly appears to be like.
When somebody with a top-tier rig says “you must attempt to make it run this poorly,” that sentiment spreads quick.
Console gamers aren’t precisely having a clean time both.
A Lack of Focus
Highguard throws all the things at you.
Weapons. Magic. Medieval fantasy. Siege towers. Horses. Mining. Shields. Bomb websites. Battle passes.
Some gamers love the chaos. Others really feel like the sport dumped each cool concept right into a blender with out stopping to ask whether or not they truly belong collectively.
Not Everybody Hates It
Buried beneath the detrimental evaluations are folks saying one thing sudden.
They’re having enjoyable.
They admit the optimization wants work. They agree the looting section may matter extra. They acknowledge the educational curve.
However they just like the pacing shift between calm preparation and intense close-quarters fights. They just like the smaller groups as a result of it makes firefights really feel private and readable. They like that you simply’re allowed to breathe between moments of chaos.
Some even level out one thing uncommon for a free-to-play sport in 2026.
It doesn’t always scream at you to spend cash.
So Is This the Subsequent Harmony?
Perhaps. Or perhaps not.
Highguard completely looks like a sport that launched earlier than it was prepared for this stage of scrutiny. The dearth of a beta, the shock launch, and the “most anticipated” label created expectations it clearly wasn’t ready to fulfill on day one.
Nevertheless it doesn’t really feel soulless.
There’s an actual concept right here. An odd one, certain, however not a cynical money seize. The issue is that uniqueness cuts each methods. If it clicks with you, you would possibly like it. If it doesn’t, you’re gone in three matches.
Proper now, Highguard is that this week’s punching bag.
That doesn’t imply it’s doomed. It does imply it wants quick fixes, clear communication, and possibly a severe rethink of how its methods match collectively.
As a result of if multiplayer historical past has taught us something, it’s this.
Typically the subsequent massive factor simply wants time.
And generally, it doesn’t get it.
