Is High On Life Game Worth It? Review

High On Life game is a comedy shooter by the creator of Rick and Morty. It pokes fun at a lot of other games and pop culture. It roasts the silly things in video games that we have been accustomed to. The comedy of High On Life polarizing that goes directly with the gameplay. Comedy is the main theme of the game and if you don’t like comedy then you might not like the game. It has a lot of raunchy sense of humor that can seem downright dumb at times. If comedy is not your cup of tea then High On Life might not be an elevated experience.

The game is also available on Game Pass so there is no reason not to try it if you have it. Players will see a lot of rumbling and incoherent characters. Over-the-top villains, vulgar humor, gross stuff, weird looking characters are all part of the game. Humor is prevalent in all parts of the game. From gameplay to story, raunchy comedy is everywhere.

Plot and Setting (Spoiler Free)

The story is somewhat simple since comedy is the goal. Most of the High On Life game’s plot progress through comedic sequences. Earth is invaded by aliens that use humans as drugs. This space drug cartel is known as G3. G3 is a cartel that takes over various planets and uses its inhabitants as drugs. Humans are their target on Earth and G3 is getting the best out of all planets they have taken over.

You have been spared from being used as a drug and have found a talking gun named Galien. Galien is a species of talking gun that you use to take down aliens. The gun helps you take off the planet to a space city called Blim. Another alien will give you a hunter suite. You will use hunter suite and talking guns to take bounties on the leader of G3. So basic plot revolves around taking down the leaders of G3.

Narrative

High On Life is a hilarious comical story that relies heavily on comedy to provide a good experience. If you enjoy wired humor then it can seem quite good from the get-go. It has a good amount of video game tropes. It points to absurdity in these tropes which can result in comedic sequences. Some people might not like it as it can seem generic at times. High On Life game knows what to do so it goes with comedy at decent pacing. It presents a good entry, making it easy to jump in and have fun.

The story is 10 to 12 hours with a decent amount of none linear elements. The story is divided into phases and each phase has a couple of different bounties. You can choose which one of these bounties you want to do first. You will be presented with a choice occasionally during the campaign. However, the overall narrative will remain the same. Choices will not have any impact on the story.

There is not much replay value in the High On Life game. It will even mock other games for having replay value with choices and consequences. The frequency of its comedic sequence needs to be turned down. The hilarious comedy lasts throughout the game and will only stop once the credit rolls.

General Gameplay

Doing bounties will grant you money which can be used for upgrades. There are different abilities grappling hook, jet pack, and even wall running. Fun is the core part of the game and it leans too much into it. You will just keep on having comedic sequences until they become stale.

The sound design is good but it has repetition. You might hear one sound consistently which can make a lot of good music less interesting. The voice acting of the characters is good and all of the actors have done a good job in portraying their characters. The graphics are just decent and it performs well on Xbox Series X. The main focus is comedy so graphics are an afterthought for the High On Life game.

Progression and Weapons

The progression system is good with the option of upgrading both suite and weapons. There are several weapons to be found while playing the High On Life game. Each cartel boss will drop a weapon or you will find one in something leading to the boss.

Each weapon will have an alt-fire mode and a special ability to transverse terrain. Since weapons are living creatures, each one of them has a distinct personality and style. They will talk frequently but you will not be able to guess when they will do so.

Throughout the world, you will find upgrades for weapons in shops or somewhere on the map. These upgrades will increase ammo size, damage, weapon alt fire mods, and change how these weapons function.

There are upgrades for the suite that will grant better health, the ability to dodge, slide, and things like that. High On Life is a short game so you will get upgrades regularly. You can grab upgrades after the story and run through it. There is even a secret plot that can be unlocked through exploration.

Combat

The game is good but not amazing. It plays somewhat like Doom though it is easier with less enemy verity. Lack of enemy verity is the biggest issue that makes its combat less diverse. There are three to four types of enemies at best. Boss fights are unique which offers a noticeable change in the enemies. Combat is fun when you are switching between different weapons and using different powers.

It seems better than how I thought it would be. Though the combat is not enough to hold the game on its own. Humor and comedy are the main focus. Even during combat, the game is focused on providing comedic scenarios. The progression system is mostly focused on suites and weapons. You can upgrade your suites and weapons. Upgrading them will provide you with an advantage in combat.

High On Life game is not long and you can complete the entire game in under 20 hours even with all the side stuff. There is not a lot here, combat is ok but it is not that engaging and can be repetitive. Enemies will get better later on, as you play the game. Every level will end up with a boss fight since you are following bounties. Such a strategy incentivize you to do different activities.

The game has three different settings of difficulty. However, changing difficulty will not have much impact on gameplay. The only thing it changes is the amount of damage you take.

Go Higher

The game starts with basic combat but slowly goes up. In the beginning, it is all basic stuff but later on, you will be walking around shooting aliens. By the end, you will be flying around zipping enemies, and swapping guns. There are a lot of fun moments and moments where you feel powerful. Such moments make exploration fun.

Every gun has a primary firing mode and a secondary fire mode. Some can deflect projectiles while others fire a powerful projectile. Shotgun is not that powerful even its feedback is not as powerful. It just doesn’t have the same caliber. Even its feedback is not as powerful as it doesn’t have the same kick to it.

The majority of the work is parody of other media. It makes fun of the obvious things in video games and other media. Guns are fun to use and they have their own personality which gives them a unique identity. There is even an option to tune the talking frequency of guns. You can tune the number of dialogues you need your guns to speak. The humor that it has is not for everyone, a little more restraint of the humor would have been better.

The Humor

Humor is the key ingredient of the game and it is nearly impossible for the game to exist without it. High On Life has polarizing comedy and you will only like the game if you like its comedy. Meaning that in order for you to like the game you must like its comedy as well. If you don’t enjoy the comedy then the rest of the game will not matter.

High On Life game has various worlds to explore. Different missions take place on different worlds and some of these worlds are quite different. The world will open up as you progress and you will get access to new abilities to transverse the map. The game has a decent amount of exploration. You will find various chests that will give access to different currencies for upgrades.

Verdict

High On Life game does not overstay its welcome. It has a decent amount of exploration and humor. The graphics are decent and some areas look good. Areas and character models are full of details. There are little hidden details in different areas as well with some areas having hidden jokes. The comedy goes in line with the rest of the game and it emphasizes providing a platform for jokes. It is fun and full of humor, if you are into the game with comedy then this could be a good game for you.

If you want to try out the game and get in tune with then the game then it will give you time to do so. It has a good pacing that will tune you up so there is no reason not to try since it is available on Game Pass. It will take some time for the game to catch up with the pace but once it does it will not look back. Each area is a mini-open map which gives you time to explore at your own pace. There are different secrets one can find so keep that in mind. High On Life is a game with decent comedy that provides a good experience for anyone that likes the comic experience in video games.