It was supposed to be the next big thing from the minds behind Apex Legends and Titanfall, but Wildlight Entertainment’s Highguard launch disaster is proving that pedigree isn't everything. Despite a massive surge of interest that saw the game peak at nearly 100,000 concurrent players within hours of its release on January 26, 2026, the sentiment has curdled faster than milk in the sun. As of this morning, Highguard Steam reviews have plummeted to an “Overwhelmingly Negative” rating, leaving the community asking one burning question: How did it go so wrong?

From Hype to "Overwhelmingly Negative" in 24 Hours

The numbers paint a stark picture of the dissonance between player interest and player satisfaction. While the ex-Apex developers new game successfully drew a massive crowd—peaking at over 97,000 players on Steam alone—retention is already bleeding out. Users are flooding the review section with complaints, driving the positive rating down to a dismal 17% in some regions.

The primary culprit isn't just one flaw, but a cascade of failures. Players describe a hollow experience that feels like a "corporate checklist" rather than a cohesive game. The Highguard overwhelmingly negative reception stems largely from its confusing identity. Is it a survival game? A raid shooter? A battle royale? By trying to be everything, players argue it has succeeded at nothing, leaving them with a disjointed loop that fails to capture the magic of the studio's previous hits.

Highguard Gameplay Issues: Big Maps, Empty Lobbies

Central to the criticism are the fundamental Highguard gameplay issues. The game forces a 3v3 format onto maps that reviewers are jokingly calling "the size of Latvia." This mismatch between player count and map scale has resulted in a pacing nightmare where squads spend the majority of a match running through empty fields, only to be instantly wiped in a brief, confusing skirmish.

“It’s a walking simulator with guns,” one top-rated Steam review reads. The mechanics themselves are also drawing fire. The inclusion of tedious resource mining and base defense elements in what was marketed as a fast-paced shooter has left the competitive crowd baffled. Instead of the tight, fluid movement fans expect from Titanfall veterans, they got a sluggish hybrid that feels unsure of its own genre.

Optimization Nightmare: Even 4090s are Struggling

Beyond the design flaws, the technical state of the game is abysmal. Reports of severe Highguard optimization issues are widespread, with players on high-end rigs—including RTX 4090 and the new 50-series cards—struggling to maintain 60 FPS. The game suffers from aggressive stuttering, memory leaks, and a bizarre resolution scaling bug where the "Low" post-processing setting forcibly downscales the resolution to 80%, making the game look blurry regardless of your hardware power.

Potential Highguard Optimization Fix

While we wait for an official patch, the community has identified a temporary Highguard optimization fix that might help stabilize your framerate:

  • Disable Windows Game DVR: This background process seems to conflict heavily with Highguard's engine.
  • Adjust Post-Processing: strangely, keeping Post-Processing on "High" prevents the automatic resolution downscaling that makes the game blurry.
  • Check Secure Boot: The game's kernel-level anti-cheat requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot to be enabled; failing to do so can cause crashes on startup.

Wildlight Entertainment Responds to the Backlash

Wildlight Entertainment Highguard developers are not staying silent, though their response has been mixed. CEO Dusty Welch and Lead Designer Mohammad Alavi have publicly stated that they aren't chasing Apex Legends numbers, aiming instead for a "core group of fans." However, dismissing the concerns of nearly 80% of your player base as just "internet hate" is a risky strategy.

The studio has promised a one-year roadmap and acknowledges that their reveal trailer did a poor job of explaining the game's unique loop. But with players already uninstalling in droves and the "Overwhelmingly Negative" badge acting as a warning sign to new users, Wildlight faces an uphill battle to turn this ship around before it sinks completely.