shroud praises Highguard but calls out major problems that need fixed ASAP

Twitch streamer shroud has shared his early thoughts on Highguard after spending around 10 hours playing the game live on stream, praising its core gameplay but raising his concerns about technical issues he says need fixing quickly.

Shroud said Highguard feels like a game built for competitive and high-level players, calling it “a fun game for the sweats” and saying it clearly appeals to players who enjoy ranked and skill-focused experiences.

“The game is really, really good,” he started, adding that the main mode itself is “really, really good.”

However, despite the praise, the streamer was ultimately disappointed by the game at launch, pointing to a lack of settings options and performance problems. Namely, mouse smoothing, limited video settings, limited keybind options, crashes, and low frame rates.

“I am NOT fully happy with the product that came out,” he said. “Mouse smoothing, not enough video settings, not enough key binds. Game crashes, low FPS. I just wish that stuff came out better.

“I f**king hate playing games with mouse smoothing, I hate playing games with FPS. It drives me mad.”

Shroud says Highguard devs are on a “timer”

However, he is hopeful upcoming hotfixes and patches will address many of the problems, adding that he is “very, very hopeful” for the next major patch, which will come with the release of Episode 2, in two weeks.

Because Highguard launched under heavy scrutiny, with some players critical before release due to the Game Awards trailer – shipping with technical issues has only added fuel to the fire, according to Shroud.

“They kind of need to nail it,” he said. “This game is already starting off on the back foot. Everybody already started off hating it before the game came out, and the fact that it comes out with some problems is obviously perfect fuel.”

Shroud concluded that the developers are “on a timer” to address concerns and optimize, especially for competitive players who are most sensitive to performance and input issues.