The title makes so much sense now…
Games dropping in the month of December always have it hard. They are ignored on year-end lists of the bigger sites, and they are fighting with the big games of November for mind share. Never has that been more relevant than this year. So many quality games are dropping in December. The latest from Squanch Games might be my favorite of this bunch as well. This Xbox and PC exclusive first-person shooter is one of the funniest and most interesting shooters I have played. It comes from the same mind that brought us Rick and Morty, and that is evident from the first frame. Even if that turns you off there is still a solid game underneath that may end up in my favorite games of the year.
High on Life kicks off with a unique segment that I won’t spoil, but quickly devolves into a mission to save Earth. The main character is thrown into an alien invasion where they quickly pick up a talking gun and set off on an interstellar journey that involves them becoming a bounty hunter and hunting down the aliens attempting to destroy their planet. The inspiration is clear from the start. Moving from the hub world to other worlds via portals interacting with goofy aliens along the way feels right out of an episode of Rick and Morty. The humor also feels familiar and is hilarious. The side characters around the world have some of the most outlandish dialogue and I love it. I don’t want to spoil any of the interactions, but it is worth it to talk to nearly everyone.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
This is a first-person shooter at its core mixed in with some Metroidvania inspired mechanics. Each gun has their own unique ability alongside their personality. As I progressed through the game I would collect new guns that opened up new ways to traverse the world. The gated exploration mechanic is as old as time, and it still works. As I take down each bounty hunter their world becomes available to revisit and explore. There are plenty of things to hunt down and find, but none of them ever feel imperative. Each new mechanic is familiar with a hilarious twist. Things like a dodge and jetpack open up traversal and the progression feels just right.
Each gun also has their own unique personality. This is one of the most impressive things about this game. Since most of the conversations with NPCs are done with the gun, there are voice lines for each gun with each interaction. An example is the first gun is basically Morty, well his lines are unique for quests as is the second gun, which is voiced by JB Smoove. It isn’t just the voice, it is entirely different dialogue. This makes for some hilarious interactions depending on the attitude of the gun. I found myself swapping to different guns to see how they interacted. It is an impressive amount of recorded dialogue.
If you find yourself hating the voice lines you can turn that down, but for me I left them at max. I loved the subtle lines, the in-between dialogue, it is so well done and if you enjoy the humor, it really helps the game stay fresh and funny all the time. There is never a quiet moment and I adored that. Sure some of the lines fall flat, but they never got repetitive and overused for me. This was my favorite part of the game.
The main campaign is around 8-9 hours if you skip most of the side stuff, but I found myself wanting to dig into this world. There are lots of interactions and things to do that really are just there for entertainment. I enjoyed talking to all the NPCs simply because their dialogue was hilarious. There are lots of Easter Eggs and hidden things around the world. It feels alive and I love that. Revisiting areas is more fun once you obtain the items as you progress and for a complete run the game still clocks in at under 20 hours, which these days I appreciate more and more. It also helps that the world and game play just feels great and is fun to explore.
Visually the game has a really great style mixed with some problematic technical issues. The game runs well most of the time, but when it stutters it is really off-putting. There is a weird stutter to so much of the game. The day one patch cleaned up some of it, but it still rears its ugly head from time to time. Nothing ever broke the game for me thankfully. Still it can be disappointing when a game that has such a unique look and feel starts to break down under the weight of these technical issues. It is a blemish on an otherwise incredible experience.
High on Life is a fantastic experience hindered by some technical shortcomings. The world and characters are simply fantastic and it is genuinely hilarious, which is one of the hardest things in gaming to achieve. This game shot up my list of the best of 2022 from the outset and it didn’t disappoint by the end. I really enjoyed my time with it and look forward to what the team works on next. The fact that it is available on Game Pass is just icing on the cake. I can’t recommend this game enough, it is a wonderful way to end the year and more than worth playing through.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
