When rumors about this project first leaked I really liked the idea that it would be set ~400 years prior to the films. I feel like that would have been a perfect time for which to explore the ideas Lucasfilm are expressing: the golden age of the Republic and the Jedi, the Republic expanding and exploring the outer reaches of the galaxy, etc. As much as I love the KotOR/TOR era, one of my pet peeves with it had always been how similar it was to the movie era in terms of style and technology despite being ~4000 years in the past. (The TotJ comics had a much more primitive aesthetic that I think made more sense for the gap in time.)
But setting the High Republic ~200 years prior feels a little too close to the movies. To me, that feels more like it should be the transitional period between the High Republic and the era I've started referring to as the Late Republic, when the Republic had grown too large and began to collapse under its own weight.
Then again, maybe that's the ultimate goal of this publishing initiative. We know that it's going to kick off with some kind of Great Disaster that involves something major happening to a number of hyperspace lanes. Maybe this will instead start off with the Republic at its zenith, but eventually end with planting the seeds that will lead to its downfall.
Either way, I'm certainly curious to see how it turns out. Even if I still think lightsabers with crossguards look silly even for Star Wars.