WARDOGS is the new hype shooter – but it’s not smooth sailing yet

WARDOGS is a tactical multiplayer shooter that has attracted plenty of attention in recent weeks – not least because the game throws quite a few shooter conventions out the window. Up to 100 players compete across three teams on massive maps, with one main objective in mind: making money.

Pretty much every action in the game earns cash. Whether players choose to work as transport pilots, medics, engineers or frontline soldiers is entirely up to them. The money they earn can then be spent on better equipment or vehicles.

What really matters, however, is what this system does to the gameplay. The constant rewards not only encourage teamwork, but also present players with interesting decisions. Those who invest more money in weapons and armor are significantly more effective on the battlefield – but also have more to lose when they die.

All in all, WARDOGS brings plenty of original ideas to the table, and the community seems to appreciate them. In a recent Reddit thread, players particularly praise the amount of freedom the shooter offers on the battlefield and how effectively the economy ties the different roles together. The three-team concept and the mix of infantry, vehicles and support roles also appear to make battles considerably less predictable than in traditional multiplayer shooters.

Why the Steam reviews are still struggling

So why are the reviews so mixed? After all, only 65% of more than 25,000 reviews are currently positive. There is one main reason: the launch. WARDOGS is not a traditional AAA production, and BULKHEAD apparently underestimated the enormous influx of players at launch. More than 330,000 players were online simultaneously at one point – significantly more than during the beta. The servers simply couldn't handle the demand.

The result was long queues, failed connections and players being kicked from servers in the middle of matches. Many buyers were unable to get into the game at all for periods of time on the first day. A large number of those affected appear to have vented their frustration in the Steam reviews.

In fact, many of the negative reviews don't criticize the actual game at all. Quite the opposite: Several players say that WARDOGS was already a lot of fun during the beta. Their frustration is primarily directed at the fact that they simply couldn't play the game at times during launch.

Overall, WARDOGS is therefore suffering mainly from a technically troubled launch. If BULKHEAD can get the server issues under control quickly, the Steam reviews are likely to recover as well. The response so far certainly suggests that many players are considerably happier with the shooter itself than the current rating might suggest.