High On Life Review

Ever watched Rick and Morty? You must have heard of it. Adult Swim's most famed work is now playable—well, not quite literally. Justin Roiland's Squanch Games has come up with High On Life, which has been stirring the pot of controversy with a polarizing take on a comedy shooter that has left us bewildered for some time now.

What's High On Life really trying to achieve? High On Life offers everything that Rick and Morty does: tongue-in-cheek humor and alien mayhem. But again, as we already clarified, it is not a Rick and Morty game, even if the game follows the blueprint set by the show.

The comedy in High On Life is polarizing, if you couldn't tell already. If you don't like the comedy, you're not going to like the game. Simple as that. High On Life doesn't pander to social standards. The humor can be dark and at times abrasive. If you don't like Rick and Morty, for instance, you probably won't like this. This game is probably not for you if you don't enjoy its crude, raunchy sense of humor.

The story is simple; it does the job well enough to warrant your attention. So to give you a quick rundown—parents out of town, home alone with sister, sister throwing a dubious party. That's only where it starts off. You can choose the appearance of your character, which is pretty much pointless because you never see or even hear them for the rest of the game. It probably makes sense why he gives in to his controlling sister so easily.

The party, however, is spoiled when Earth is invaded by aliens who want to use humans as drugs. In this universe, a space drug cartel known as the G3 takes over various planets with different species to then use them as drugs—humans being the latest and greatest version.

Then you come across Kenny, who is what the game calls a Gatlian, the Morty to your Rick (Justin Roiland voices him), let's just say. They are a talking sentient race of guns who lead you off the planet, along with your sister, to a space city known as Blim. There, you come into contact with another alien who introduces you to a retired bounty hunter, Gene, who allows you to take bounties out on the G3 cartel, tracking down their leaders and dismantling them—all while going on crazy space adventures in High On  Life.

You even get a neat little bounty hunter suit with an in-built AI that talks to you. And this genuinely could have been something aimed at a younger audience, if not for all the mature content, but good for us anyway; who needs more 10-year-olds playing games they shouldn't be playing?

So, more on the G3 Cartel—who are they? They are an invasive alien species that are on the hunt for humans to use them as drugs. They ran rampant across the galaxy, and their next target is humankind. The profanity may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're not a big fan of cussing, again, the game is not for you. Justin Roiland, obviously, as you may know, isn't one to hold back on vulgarity.

If you know Justin Roiland, well, there isn't really much of an explanation to give. Whether you like the plot or not ultimately boils down to whether you like his sense of humor or not, or, for that matter, the guy himself. 

The plot, though, does most of the heavy lifting, as combat leaves a lot to be desired. High On Life is similar to Doom in gameplay, but it is a simplified version of it and has fewer types of enemies. That lack of variety is perhaps the biggest complaint. Throughout the game, you will likely encounter three or four different kinds of enemies. The boss fights are enjoyable and are actually pretty fun, especially when switching between weapons with different powers and abilities, but they are also few and far between. 

If we were to elaborate further, basically, you are met with four classes of Gatlians, of course, the first being Kenny. He uses a glob shot (you read that right) as his special attack, which throws opponents into the air, allowing them to be juggled and dealing additional damage. Kenny is your only option for the first few hours, which can make the first few areas rather dull because the fighting doesn't have much depth.

Then comes Knifey, an Australian, by far and away the most "adult" character in the game. Knifey's specialty is his tether ability, which apparently causes him brain damage every time he uses it. Up next, depending on the path you choose, you'll either find Gus or Sweezy.

Gus functions like a shotgun, essentially, and his ability is to shoot out a sharp, spinning disc. Sweezy, on the other hand, is perhaps the most OP Gatlian you can get. The crystals that Sweezy's bullets embed in their enemies can be broken with a melee attack or the ultimate fire for extra damage. For both offense and defense, Sweezy's best trick is a time bubble that records everything in its range. 

Last but not least is Creature, a "chill guy" (yes, we know that meme is dead), if you will, who can give birth to alien babies that run out and attack enemies in their immediate vicinity. This becomes really useful when you're getting swamped by a bunch of these guys at once. His power sends out a single mind-control alien that temporarily attaches itself to an enemy and fights with you.

At the end of the day, the combat system is basic. It's good for what it is, but not strong enough to carry the game on its own. The game leans on comedy more than mechanics.

You can explore a variety of worlds in High On Life, which become available as you advance and acquire skills that let you move through various types of terrain. Exploration mostly involves looking for luglox chests, which contain currency and weapon upgrades.

Progression systems include upgrades to your suit and your weapons. Each cartel boss you defeat gives you a new Gatlian. Every Gatlian has a unique personality, style, and special ability that typically allows you to cover more ground. They talk to you frequently, but you get to adjust that if it does get too overbearing. 

Your suit also gets upgrades like better shields, more health, and movement options. With the game being short, these upgrades come regularly. Even if you don't get them all in the story, you can still get them later and even discover a secret plot that the achievement list humorously refers to as "sequel bait."

Outside of the main missions, which will take you roughly 10 or so hours to get through, High On Life does let you go back to previously explored areas and collect all the stuff you've missed—mostly just chests full of pesos, because apparently that's a currency in space.

In terms of visuals, this game is just plain gorgeous. It's colorful, and it's creative. While pursuing all of these bounties, you get to visit various planets, and the diversity of the settings and the types of animals you're attempting to find and eliminate is simply amazing. There is an alien that looks like a crazy praying mantis, an octopus that is wearing a fishbowl as a helmet, and a fight that takes place entirely inside a drug-addled country.

All of these amazing visual effects match the fight perfectly, even if the core mechanic itself may lack depth. It's a cartoonish art style that mostly works. Also, every Gatlian has a very unique appearance, and aside from their vibrant language, they all have quite different voices and personalities. 

As for the soundtrack, High On Life mostly sticks to a chill Lo-Fi beat. It's simply a fantastic background track for games that don't require a lot of focus, and for this particular game, it seemed like the ideal choice. Lo-Fi just perfectly balances out the chaos you'd otherwise find in dialogue. 

Although the jokes kind of harm the gameplay experience in a way, even if they are funny, because you will find yourself laughing way too often to focus on anything that the screen may actually show you.

In conclusion, High On Life is obviously controversial. Comedy is what truly matters in this game; if that is something you care for, this is the right Xbox exclusive for you, which is now playable on PlayStation, too. The game's combat and mechanics aren't strong enough to support it without humor, so if you don't like it, you won't enjoy it. As a shooter, it's average. But if you do like the humor, it's an incredible experience.