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High On Life has immediately become one of the most anticipated upcoming Xbox Series X games for 2022. It’s a first-person shooter from Squanch Games and Justin Roiland, one of the key creative minds behind Rick and Morty. As a result, High On Life comes equipped with no shortage of adult humor, big sci-fi ideas, and absurdist comedy – and it looks all the better because of it.
We caught our first glimpse of High On Life during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase and it quickly caught our attention. Which is no surprise, given that it casts us as intergalactic bounty hunters, equipped with talking guns, on a mission to take down an alien cartel looking to get high off of the life-force of humanity. High On Life looks like an absolute trip, and this is everything we know about it so far.
High On Life release date
The High On Life release date is set for October 2022. The news was confirmed during the world premiere trailer shown during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, although developer Squanch Games is yet to set an exact date. That means you’re going to have to take a break from the spooky season, pause your marathon of the best horror movies, and pump the breaks on the Halloween decorations so that you have the time to get through this wacky new FPS adventure.
While Squanch Games hasn’t confirmed an exact day for the High On Life release date, we are expecting that to get announced in the coming weeks as we inch closer to October 2022. One thing we do know for certain, however, is that when High On Life does arrive it’ll be available to play day one on Xbox Game Pass.
High On Life platforms
As revealed in the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, Squanch Games has said that the High On Life platforms are set for Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC – including availability on both Steam and Epic Game Store. High On Life will also be available to play via PC and Xbox Game Pass from day one, should you be a subscriber to either service.
High On Life trailer
The first High On Life trailer was revealed during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022. In it, Squanch Games gave us a first taste of its comedic biopunk FPS and the arsenal of talking guns that are set to steal the show. You can watch the first trailer for High On Life above – but be warned, it’s a pretty weird and wild ride.
High On Life gameplay
Squanch Games themselves describe High On Life gameplay as an: “Action Adventure Comedy Metroidvania First-Person Shooter.” That’s a bit of a mouthful, but it does give us some sense of what to expect. It’ll mean visiting bright and vibrant alien worlds, meeting weirdo characters, and a cast of oddball weapons to wield at will. In the first High On Life gameplay, we see the player take control of an arsenal of talking guns that help guide the story, provide objectives, and be berated by the weapons for squeezing them too tight. The player’s relationship with the race of weapon-shaped-aliens is going to be crucial, developing the bond with your new favorite gun friend will be essential if you’re going to survive.
High On Life isn’t an open world shooter, instead we can expect unique alien worlds acting as stages, each housing individual challenges and loot, along with a cartel boss at the end. A small early moment of the trailer shows a grid of enemy portraits on a touch screen, listed as bounties. Think of this similar to the structure of a Mega Man game, giving us the option for the order in which we take down smaller bosses before challenging the big bad.
In the Xbox Games Showcase Extended, creator Justin Roiland uses the word “Metroidvania” amongst others to describe the game, indicating we can expect some back and forth amongst the stars, visiting stages more than once to uncover hidden areas once new weapons provide us with the abilities we need.
High On Life story
Okay, if we weren’t already convinced this is going to be an odd one, here’s where that’ll kick in. The High On Life story definitely sits firmly in the same genre as Rick and Morty – some space stuff, some weird aliens, some science, and a lot of crude humor.
The player character really has no prospects whatsoever, zero reason to get up in the morning. All that free time is spoiled when an alien drug cartel invades planet Earth and starts huffing down humans. We see people in cages, and adverts for the Hyperbong, allowing aliens to enjoy the high of humanity. So now we have to team up with a race of sentient guns and knives, rescue their friends, become a bounty hunter, and hunt down an alien drug cartel, one boss at a time. It’s a lot to take in. Then again, we wouldn’t expect anything less from Justin Roiland and Squanch Games.
High On Life developer
High On Life is being developed by Squanch Games, founded by Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland. Where animation, TV, and comedy have been Roiland’s bread and butter, since 2016 Squanch games has been an avenue to get that unique adult humor into the world of video games. Previous releases Trover Saves The World and Accounting+ both share a similar tone, and it’s immediately clear that High On Life continues that thread on further, albeit with a much richer game. Squanch Games describe High On Life as a “Triple I” game – meaning the indie game equivalent of a AAA blockbuster – as it takes aim at reaching the peak of indie games.
High On Life is a game we’ll be watching closely in the coming weeks. In the meantime, why not check out some of the other great looking new games of 2022 announced during the E3 2022 season.
