Highguard has had one of the more fascinating video game launches in recent memory. Shown a level of attention its creators seemingly didn’t want, and exposed to a high level of critique from people who probably wouldn’t have played it otherwise. Highguard’s one saving grace was a shadow drop meant it didn’t have any reviews at launch. One week later, the reviews are here, and they’re not good.
Highguard Currently Has A 60 On OpenCritic
Highguard’s OpenCritic score is currently sitting at 60, which is low enough for the latest live service game to be considered “weak”. The first bit of good news is there’s room for improvement, a lot of it, as these are still early days. It has only been a week since Highguard launched, and at the time of typing this, only six reviews have contributed to OpenCritic’s average of 60.
The bad news is, as more reviews continue to trickle in, there’s just as strong a chance, if not slightly stronger, that Highguard’s score gets worse rather than better. As it stands, those of you enjoying your time with Wildlight’s debut game can at least take solace in it not being the worst-reviewed game of the year so far.
Poor Optimization Largely To Blame For Highguard’s Terrible Steam Reviews
Highguard has not got off to a good start, opening to overwhelmingly negative reviews with a 1/5 rating on Steam.
Highguard Isn’t The Worst-Reviewed Game Of 2026
Having launched so early in the year, there was a very real chance of a 60 being enough to clinch that unwanted crown, at least temporarily. Highguard has Code Violet to thank for that, the PS5 exclusive, which is the worst-rated game of 202,6 having scored just 40. That gives Code Violet the unwanted label of worst-reviewed PS5 exclusive ever, with some accusing its exclusivity of being tied to how difficult it is to get a refund through the PlayStation Store.
Back to Highguard, and here’s what those who have reviewed the game so far are saying about it. Push Square has given the hybrid shooter a score of 6/10, writing, “This is a fun yet bloated shooter that lacks the spark you’ll find in other games in the genre.” IGN Italy is a little more downbeat on what Highguard has to offer, awarding it 5.5/10 and noting, “The potential is there, but at the moment it suffers from balance, performance, and repetitiveness issues.”
Highguard’s Steam reviews, which are left by its players rather than critics, read pretty much the same. Its review scores are currently Mixed on Steam, which I’d say is equivalent to a 6/10. Over on the PlayStation Store, it has 3.1 stars out of five, so again, sitting right around that 6/10 mark. With that in mind, it seems very likely that even as more reviews are published, Highguard is destined to be a game with an average score that sits in the low 60s.
- Released
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January 26, 2026
- Developer(s)
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Wildlight Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
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Wildlight Entertainment
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
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Full
