High On Life Review

Initial release date: December 13, 2022

Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows

Mode: Single-player video game

Composer: Tobacco

Genres: First-person shooter, Adventure game, Platform game

Developer: Squanch Games

Publisher: Squanch Games

"Review Copy Provided By Squanch Games"

Squanch Games, a game development studio founded by Justin Roiland, the creator of Rick and Morty, has mainly focused on creating virtual reality games since its establishment in 2016. From its first VR game, Accounting, to its 2019 release, Trover Saves the Universe, Squanch's games have been well-received by the VR gaming community. However, with its latest game, the company aims to release a more traditional gaming experience. High on Life is a first-person shooter that parodies the FPS genre while also being a great representation of it, featuring talking guns as its defining feature. These talking guns inject a lot of personality into the game and come in all the traditional FPS gun types, such as pistols, shotguns, and machine guns, each with their own distinct personalities, voice actors, and humorous reactions to the game's ridiculous situations. Additionally, the guns have secondary functions that are seamlessly integrated into the game's combat, puzzles, and platforming.

High on Life's pistol Kenny, for instance, is not just a standard pistol from any other FPS game, it also has a secondary fire function that allows the player to shoot out a large glob of green goo. In combat, Kenny's glob is useful for crowd control as it can be shot into a group of enemies to send them all flying into the air at once. The glob can also be used for platforming and puzzle solving, as it can be used to move barriers around, sometimes creating new platforms for players to land on. The more weapons players collect in High on Life, the more creative they can get with the game's combat. For example, players could use Kenny's glob to send a group of enemies flying into the air and then quickly swap to the shotgun (Gus, a frog-like creature) and take them out with a single shot. Each weapon adds to the player's combat toolbox, and their secondary abilities also give players many more options when it comes to navigating the game world.

High on Life has Metroidvania elements in that players will encounter areas that are inaccessible until they acquire more weapons and abilities. As players progress through the game, they will be able to return to these areas and find that they have more freedom and can reach spots and collectibles that were previously unattainable.

The knife in High on Life is an important tool for exploration, as well as combat. Early on in the game, players acquire a bloodthirsty, psychopathic knife that is obsessed with stabbing people and it can be used to trigger brutal melee kill animations. However, it serves as more than just a weapon; it also functions as a grappling hook that allows players to reach far ledges and swing on conveniently-placed flying bugs.

High on Life players will embark on a grand, unpredictable sci-fi adventure that takes place across a variety of visually unique and interesting planets. Players take on the role of a bounty hunter who is tasked with killing members of an intergalactic drug syndicate, with each encounter culminating in an exciting and unique boss fight. The levels in High on Life are large and filled with hidden chests, secret paths, and plenty of loot that players can use to purchase upgrades from a pawn shop near their home base and other merchants they come across during their journey. The chests contain bizarre Garbage Pail Kids-style trading cards and other collectibles with funny descriptions, so it's worth going out of your way to track them all down for the entertainment value alone. There are over 200 chests in the game, so completionists hoping to unlock all the extra content and acquire all of High on Life's achievements should be kept plenty busy after the credits roll.

High on Life's humor is a matter of personal preference. Like other games from Squanch Games, High on Life heavily incorporates Justin Roiland's signature brand of Rick and Morty-style comedy, which may be enjoyed by fans of the show, but may be considered crass and obnoxious by others. Players who don't enjoy this type of humor may find it difficult to fully enjoy the game, even if they can tone down the frequency of the guns' talking.

For those who enjoy Rick and Morty's surreal humor and meta-commentary, High on Life may be considered one of the funniest games they've played. However, it's worth noting that not every joke will land and hearing Morty's voice from Kenny's mouth for hours can be grating at times, even for die-hard Rick and Morty fans. Overall, High on Life is an amusing, well-written, surprising, and genuinely hilarious experience, but it will appeal more to those who enjoy the type of humor it presents.

High on Life is an enjoyable game overall, but it starts to lose some momentum around the halfway mark. Instead of visiting new locations to hunt down bounties, players are sent back to planets they've already explored. Although they can access new paths in these areas thanks to the upgrades they've collected, it still means some backtracking. The second half of the game still has plenty of exciting shootouts to keep the adrenaline high, but it also has more slower moments that affect the pacing. The second half is more story and dialogue heavy compared to the rest of the game. Even though High on Life can't maintain the same level of excitement throughout the entire game, the second half still has plenty of hilarious moments, unexpected plot twists and funny observations about game design. The last stretch of the game is still entertaining, even if it doesn't reach the same level of excitement as the first half.

High on Life is a great game and a easy recommendation. It is a consistently entertaining game from start to finish. It proves that Squanch Games is capable of delivering an excellent traditional gaming experience alongside its high-quality VR titles, and it will be exciting to see what the studio does next. Gamers should make it a point to play High on Life as soon as possible, whether they play it through Xbox Game Pass or on the Steam Deck or any preferred platform. It's a wild ride that deserves to be experienced unspoiled.