High on Life (video game)

High on Life is a comedic first-person shooter game with action-adventure and Metroidvania elements. It takes place in a science fiction world which features talking guns. It was created by Justin Roiland and developed and published by Squanch Games. The game was released on December 13, 2022 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It was later ported to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on July 22, 2023. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who were divided on its humor, while criticizing the technical issues upon launch.

Gameplay
High on Life is a first-person shooter video game with action-adventure and Metroidvania elements. Players are tasked with assassinating select targets, and must fight their way into the target's lair and then fight the targets in a boss battle.

Players attack using living alien weapons, five living guns called "Gatlians" and one sentient knife. The guns have primary, alternate, and special "trick hole" firing modes that can be used in combat. The knife has an additional grapple ability that allows players to use ziplines to move around the world. Weapon specials are also used to solve puzzles and gain access to certain areas in non-combat scenarios.

Players can gain abilities and upgrade their existing abilities by purchasing upgrades at shops or by finding them in chests. As players get new Gatlians and other equipment it is possible to access previously unreachable areas, as in a Metroidvania.

In addition to combat, players encounter traversal and platforming sections, as well as puzzles that are solved using the Gatlians' weapon abilities, and social areas where players can interact with non-player characters.

Plot
The game’s overall plot focuses around an Earth invasion by the G3 Cartel, led by Garmantuous (Hal Lublin) who intends to turn humans into drugs. The player character, with their sister Lizzie (Laura Silverman), teams up with an alien named Kenny (Justin Roiland) to combat this threat. Their adventure begins when they warp their house to Blim City to escape Earth's invasion.

The player, now a bounty hunter trained by Gene Zaroothian (David Herman), is tasked with defeating G3 leaders and rescuing captive Gatlians, a species with unique combat abilities. They successfully defeat 9-Torg (Jennifer Hale), Douglas (Tom Kenny), and Krubis (Echo Kellum), recruiting two more Gatlians, Sweezy (Betsy Sodaro) and Gus (J.B. Smoove), and Knifey (Michael Cusack), a gleefully bloodthirsty sentient knife, along the way.

As the player gains notoriety, Blim City's Magistrate Clugg Nuggin offers them support, providing intelligence on G3 and equipment upgrades. However, personal challenges arise when Lizzie's relationship with an alien boyfriend, Tweeg, leads to conflicts at home.

The player encounters more Gatlians, like Creature (Tim Robinson) and the powerful but catatonic Lezduit (Mike Stoklasa), while dealing with adversaries like the Skrendel Bros and Dr. Jon Giblets (Kevin McDonald). Amidst these conflicts, Kenny confesses his inadvertent role in Gatlus's destruction, causing tension within the group.

The story intensifies as Lizzie goes missing, leading to a confrontation with Tweeg and an attack by the G3. The player's journey takes them to Gatlus, now a toxic wasteland, and back to Earth, which faces a similar fate. The final battle against Garmantuous requires a tough decision, potentially sacrificing a Gatlian to blow him up from the inside.

In a secret ending, the player uncovers Clugg's human experiments, setting the stage for a potential sequel. Dr. Gurgula (Wayne Pygram), a sinister scientist behind the virus that ravaged Gatlus, shoots Clugg and hints at further developments before escaping, while Clugg's sons promise to care for the rescued humans.

High on Knife DLC
Set two years after the original game, the Bounty Hunter, now accompanied by a new female Gatlian, Harper (Sarah Sherman), and with Kenny and Lizzie absent, continues bounty hunting on an Earth shared by humans and Gatlians. Knifey, receiving a letter about an undelivered package from his home planet, embarks on a journey with the Bounty Hunter to Peroxis, a salt planet ironically inhabited by slugs.

In Salt Lick City on Peroxis, they acquire a new weapon, B.A.L.L., and face a series of adventures leading to Muxxalon HQ. There, they are captured by CEO Mux and infected with a parasite, Gary, forcing them into labor. A shocking revelation of human trafficking by Muxxalon jolts them into action. The Bounty Hunter, empowered by a new chainsaw blade upgrade for Knifey, fights their way to Mux and eventually kills her.

Knifey returns to his homeworld, Australia-II, only to find he was exiled for being too violent. Feeling betrayed, Knifey annihilates his kind during their "Sharpening Day" ritual. The story concludes with Knifey returning to Earth, reaffirming his bond with Gene through his traditional stabbing gesture, and planning to settle unfinished business on Peroxis.

Development
Development of High on Life began in 2019, a short time after the release of the studio's previous title, Trover Saves the Universe. The initial concept, conceived by Justin Roiland, was to develop a first-person shooter that featured talking guns that would speak to the player and react to their actions.

The original High on Life trailer was released at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12, 2022, with an anticipated release of October 2022. A two-month delay was announced on August 18, 2022, however that set the release date to December 13, 2022, with the stated reason being to finish improving the game. The game was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on July 22, 2023.

The game features a large ensemble voice cast, including Roiland, J. B. Smoove, Tim Robinson, Betsy Sodaro, Michael Cusack, Hal Lublin, Laura Silverman, David Herman, Kevin McDonald, Mike Stoklasa, Tom Kenny, Echo Kellum, James Urbaniak, Maria Bamford, Joel Haver, Wayne Pygram, Andy Daly, Zach Hadel, Rich Fulcher, Thomas Middleditch, Jack Black, and Susan Sarandon. Original music was composed by Tobacco with additional music provided by Morris Borris, Ryan Elder, Sam Houselander, Pete Maguire, Jonathan Peros, Kevin Temmer and Akash Thakkar.

Justin Roiland was heavily involved in the creation of High on Life. He has received credit for creating the original concept of the game and taking part in the design and development of it. Design director Erich Mayr has described the style of the game to be "Blade Runner meets The Muppets".

A paid expansion, titled High on Knife, was released on October 3, 2023. It features the voices of Cusack, Ken Marino, Sarah Sherman, and Gabourey Sidibe.

Reception
High on Life received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game's crude and absurdist humor proved polarizing. In a positive review, IGN called it "an irreverent, absurd shooter that manages to shine with its outrageous humor, silly setting and story", while Eurogamer criticized that the writing "too often settles into edgelord cynicism and the same tedious, punchdown humour as South Park." The Guardian noted that "the line between entertaining and excruciating here is down to how you feel about listening to a game-length version of Rick and Morty's Interdimensional Cable ad-libs".

Reviewers also noted that the game suffered from a number of technical issues. Squanch Games released a day-one patch addressing these bugs, along with a second patch on December 16, 2022.

Sales
High on Life was the most played title on Xbox Game Pass during the week of its release, and was the fourth most played title on the Xbox platform overall, and was hailed as a "breakout hit" by Xbox VP of Marketing Aaron Greenberg. It also became the top-selling game on Steam.