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Released two days ago, interested parties now have a chance to see the 3v3 PvP shooter Highguard for themselves. So far, the reception has been far from positive. The game awards show ender currently sits with a mostly negative rating on Steam, with performance issues being among the top bugbears of those who have checked it out.
Amid the backlash, Larian’s CEO, Swen Vincke, took to Twitter to give a hearty defence of the game.
“I don’t like people sh****ng on things others have created,” wrote Vincke.
“Putting something out into the world makes you vulnerable, and that alone deserves respect, even if you dislike the creation. It’s easy to destroy things; it’s a lot harder to build them.”
Vincke took particular umbrage with critics.
“Sometimes I think it’d be a good idea for critics to be scored, Metacritic-style, based on how others evaluate their criticism,” he added.
“The harsh words do real damage.”
Too highly guarded?
Following the thread, Vincke took a chance to better surmise his opinions in the above tweet.
As of writing, Highguard has dropped to 80% of its initial player base. This sort of drop-off indicates that there’s a real issue here, especially in the wake of games like now-cancelled hero shooter Concord, which saw similar launch issues.
I cannot help but feel a prevailing feeling of nihilism in the gaming industry as companies ignore commercial flops and continue to pump out games that people don’t want to play. While the sentiment shared by Vincke is noble, it feels very forgiving of an industry that did not learn from titles like Anthem or Suicide squad kill the Justice League, let alone Concord.
Though this is not to call all the hate acceptable. The individual developers on Highguard are far from the root of the issue, and their work should still be commended rather than condemned.
However, Vincke’s position that “one of the best reviewers I ever knew refused to review games he considered failures” seems too forgiving, at least at first glance.
It is important to stress again that abject hate towards the Highguard team is far from acceptable, but we may need to accept the uncomfortable importance of players and critics being free to state their opinions.
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