Highguard Faces Over 7,000 Negative Reviews on Steam

Highguard has launched on PS5, Xbox, and PC, and it’s been quite the rollercoaster for this fresh hero shooter. The game faced some wild rumors about a collaboration with a controversial streamer and was hit with a slew of technical issues right out of the gate on Steam. Now that things have calmed down a bit, Highguard has amassed over 9,000 reviews on Valve’s platform, but the majority of them are leaning negative.

After a quiet period following its reveal at the 2025 Game Awards, Highguard went live on January 26 as a free-to-play title, offering players a 3v3 PVP “raid shooter” experience with destructible environments and unique mounts for combat. However, shortly after launch, players began encountering issues. Many, including myself, found themselves unable to access the game due to server overload, which is just the tip of the iceberg for launch day woes.

Once players managed to get in, numerous reports surfaced about performance hiccups on PC, with even high-end setups struggling to maintain a steady framerate. After overcoming these hurdles, some players found the matches in Highguard to be dull and slow, criticizing the 3v3 format and expansive maps for not meshing well. Adding to the mix, some users have taken to disparaging the game for perceived “woke” elements, whatever that means, contributing to its poor reception on Steam.

As of 5:10 p.m. EST, Highguard has received 9,442 user reviews on Steam across all languages. Out of these nearly 10,000 reviews, data shows that 7,230 are negative, resulting in a “Mostly Negative” rating with fewer than 2,000 positive reviews. Ouch. On the PlayStation Store, however, the situation looks a bit brighter, with Highguard holding nearly 2,000 reviews and a 3.34 out of 5-star rating.

It might be tempting to chalk this up to some sort of review bombing, and while some of the negativity can be attributed to bad actors, a closer look at the reviews reveals that many players are simply not enjoying the game’s slow pace and 3v3 format.

“The maps in this game are way too big for 3v3; the size would fit better for 5v5 or 6v6,” one Steam reviewer noted. “In the looting stage, the map is too big and empty considering it’s only 3v3, and the only things in it are red and blue chests (and the crystals I guess),” another user shared. “The 3v3 format on such a huge map just doesn’t click for me, and the overall experience becomes chaotic without bringing anything new to the table,” commented yet another player.

It’s important to remember that not even 12 hours have passed since Highguard’s launch. All these reviews are based on just a handful of matches or less. The real test will be what unfolds in the coming days, weeks, and months—assuming Highguard remains relevant—and whether the developers can steer the game in a better direction.