There is always that moment at The Game Awards.
The lights dim. Geoff Keighley gets serious. The music swells. This is "the one more thing." The most anticipated game. The future. The reason we all stayed up watching ads for energy drinks.
This year, that game wasHighguard.
The trailer didn't blow anyone away, but if Keighley says it's amazing, it might actually be good.
And then… nothing happened.
No follow-up trailers, No previews. No last-minute dev diary. Nothing. Not even a "hey, it's out tomorrow" hype teaser.
The developers went suspiciously quiet, which in hindsight might have been the first red flag.
Now the game is out. It's free to play. And Steam's review page looks like someone kicked over a beehive.
So what isHighguard, why are people so mad, and is this the nextConcordor just another misunderstood multiplayer experiment?
Let's talk about it.
1What Even Is Highguard?
Highguard sells itself as "a new breed of shooter," which is always a dangerous sentence.
At its core, it's a 3v3 competitive multiplayer shooter with two very different phases.
First comes the looting and preparation phase. You and two teammates drop into a massive open map, run around grabbing gear, mining resources, opening chests, and occasionally wondering if the rest of the map is legally required to be this empty (We'll get to that).
Then comes the siege phase. One team defends a fortified base, the other attacks. Shields need to be broken. Bomb sites get planted. Walls and doors explode. There is also a big sword you need to grab. It suddenly feels closer toRainbow SixorValorant, but with fantasy magic, guns, mounts, and medieval vibes.
On paper, it's ambitious. In practice, this is where things start getting weird.
2The Maps Are Huge and the Teams Are Not
The most common complaint shows up almost immediately.
Highguard'smaps are massive, but matches are only 3v3. That means long stretches of running, looting, and searching for action, followed by very short, very decisive fights.
A lot of players feel the game would make more sense as 5v5 or 6v6. Others argue that the small team size is the whole point. Either way, the scale mismatch is throwing people off hard.
It's easily the number one complaint you'll find if you scroll through the "Overwhelmingly Negative" section on Steam.
3It Feels Empty in a Way Shooters Usually Don't
There are no NPCs roaming the world. No ambient threats. No evolving objectives during the looting phase.
You're often alone with the environment, opening chests and mining ore, which feels strange for a game marketed as fast-paced and chaotic.
Multiple reviews land on the same word, and it's a deadly one for multiplayer games.
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4Performance Is a Real Problem
This one hurts.
Players with extremely high-end PCs are reporting blurry visuals, forced motion blur, inconsistent frame rates, and performance that doesn't match how the game actually looks.
When someone with a top-tier rig says "you have to try to make it run this poorly," that sentiment spreads fast.
Console players aren't exactly having a smooth time either.
5A Lack of Focus
Highguardthrows everything at you.
Guns. Magic. Medieval fantasy. Siege towers. Horses. Mining. Shields. Bomb sites. Battle passes.
Some players love the chaos. Others feel like the game dumped every cool idea into a blender without stopping to ask whether they actually belong together.
6Not Everyone Hates It
Buried under the negative reviews are people saying something unexpected.
They're having fun.
They admit the optimization needs work. They agree the looting phase could matter more. They acknowledge the learning curve.
But they like the pacing shift between calm preparation and intense close-quarters fights. They like the smaller teams because it makes firefights feel personal and readable. They like that you're allowed to breathe between moments of chaos.
Some even point out something rare for a free-to-play game in 2026.
It doesn't constantly scream at you to spend money.
7So Is This the Next Concord?
Maybe. Or maybe not.
Highguardabsolutely feels like a game that launched before it was ready for this level of scrutiny. The lack of a beta, the surprise launch, and the "most anticipated" label created expectations it clearly wasn't prepared to meet on day one.
But it doesn't feel soulless.
There's a real idea here. A strange one, sure, but not a cynical cash grab. The problem is that uniqueness cuts both ways. If it clicks with you, you might love it. If it doesn't, you're gone in three matches.
Right now,Highguardis this week's punching bag.
That doesn't mean it's doomed. It does mean it needs fast fixes, clear communication, and probably a serious rethink of how its systems fit together.
Because if multiplayer history has taught us anything, it's this.
Sometimes the next big thing just needs time.
And sometimes, it doesn't get it.
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