I don’t go out of my way to watch Rick & Morty (anymore). It’s one of those shows that felt as if it was going somewhere really cool, but … never did. At least not while I was watching it. I was, admittedly, looking for something in the series that it’d never deliver, so … that’s likely a ‘me’ problem. But, as I played Justin Roiland and Squanch Games’ High on Life, one uncomfortable truth made itself known.
I am closer than I ever have been to watching Rick & Morty again.
Review Takeaways
- In theory, the concept of a game with Rick & Morty’s unique sense of humor is a good idea.
- In practice, it’s just hours of Roiland screaming at the player for wanting to play the game.
- The further in you get, the more the game justifies its own existence.
- It’s a fun, high-octane first-person experience that will have you sliding and slashing in no time.
- Final Score: 8/10
An Adventure Straight Outta Animation
High on Life is practically an episode of Rick & Morty. You play as a mute, blank-slate character who has been sleepwalking through life without much in the way of a life plan. In the beginning, your sister bursts into your room with a mirror lined with cocaine — which is how you decide on your facial appearance. I think back to the time a mirror was the method of character customization in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Little did we know, around seven years later, we’d be deciding how we looked whilst glancing into a mirror lined with cocaine.
In any case, she informs you that not only are your parents gone on vacation, but … your dad also said he doesn’t love you. Great! Off to a fantastic start, if I do say so myself! You go outside to help your sister get party supplies for the totally awesome rager you’re throwing tonight, when a race of aliens invade … your cul-de-sac? Soon enough, you’re on an intergalactic journey to stop an alien drug cartel from turning the human race into literal narcotics. See what I mean?
If I had never touched the game, and you were to tell me this was the latest episode of Rick & Morty, I would believe you. It’s made even more apparent whose mind we’re venturing into when you salvage a ‘gatlian’ pistol from one of the invaders. This gatlian — played by Roiland — is the Morty to your Rick, and, considering you’re a mute, does most of the talking.
In fact, the gun does so much of the talking that it almost feels like he never stops. He comments on the goings-on in the story, he comments on the world (and how you’re not taking time to appreciate it) and he comments on your actions (or lack thereof). I’ll be real, at first it was hilarious to see what he would and wouldn’t judge you for, especially when it comes to shooting NPCs. But, if I had a nickel for every time I wanted him to stop talking, I would have $100,000,000.
I’ll admit — it does get a little more bearable when you obtain new and interesting gatlians. In fact, after spending an hour or more with one of them aside from Kenny (which is the first gun’s name), I realized I kinda missed the little guy. Not enough to prefer using him over one of the other gatlians, but … still.
A Concept That Overstays its Welcome
I should mention the concept itself is absolutely brilliant. I can’t even count how many times I’ve laughed at the sheer absurdity of the game’s premise and its writing. There aren’t many games that play this hard to my sense of humor, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a reason for that. To be frank, once the punchline is revealed, it tends to overstay its welcome.
It’s as if the writers were unsure whether their jokes were landing, so they kept repeating them over and over again to make sure they did. I’ll provide an example; in the second major section of the game, you depart for an alien homeworld to take out a member of the cartel. But, this is also where High on Life introduces the first-person platforming challenges, which can be particularly difficult. It also has a tendency to have your gatlian comment on every single mistake, every single death, heck — if I made a mistake shooting a target, the gun would critique my aim. If I wasn’t already a fan of this style of improv humor crossed with chaotic, FPS-action, I would have dropped it once the gun mocked me for my aim.
It’s also in this section of the game that they introduce a character who is supposedly defecting from the cartel, who wants to be friends. But, this character’s voice is more impossible to handle than Kenny’s, and he too never shuts up. Ever. In fact, it could be argued that one of the obstacles of this level is not turning the game off, breaking your console / PC, and dropping it into a vat of acid.
I’ll admit, this problem does get a bit more bearable the more you play. I found myself genuinely enjoying the game more once I unlocked the fourth gatlian, named “Creature,” whose ammo consists of the children he’s been genetically modified to give birth to in seconds. He’s such an earnest character who has some of the best color commentary. Especially when it comes to the bosses.
On the Borderlands?
It took me until I reached the first boss — whose minions consist of an alien ant farm — to realize High on Life likely has Borderlands inspirations. Both are first-person shooters with absurdity and insanity at the forefront, both have enemies and bosses that compulsively comment on your killing them, and both have a theme of intergalactic travel, centering on a world that’s embraced nihilism.
In one instance, the mob enemies will scream “oh my god, you’re killing us!,” and in another, they complain about how they wanted to get married before they died, but that’s definitely not happening. In the second section, enemies will engage in philosophical arguments about how the enslaved race of Ewok-like creatures actually want to be enslaved. Borderlands is a concept that prioritizes humor among the bleak, depressive commentary on corporate culture fueled by nihilism. High on Life, on the other hand, does something similar, but in wholly different ways. It doesn’t have the customization options or the open-ish world, but it does have a set of memorable characters and clever-ish writing.
I should be clear — just because it’s not more like Borderlands doesn’t take anything away from High on Life. Heck; just because it can be incredibly annoying at times doesn’t make High on Life a bad game. I think it’s a solid experience overall, but I can only truthfully recommend it to people who are already fans of Roiland’s firebrand style of comedy. If you enjoyed Borderlands, play High on Life. It’s basically what you would get if you crossed the infamous story of Vault Hunters with Rick and Morty’s bonkers universe.
O.K. Gameplay
In noting the game’s inspirations, it should be asked: is High on Life a good game? I would say that it is, but it might be one that is best played in doses. The day-to-day first person combat is more or less what you’d expect, with the exception that you don’t ever run out of ammo. There are times where the combat can get remarkably chaotic, especially when you factor in the dodge mechanic, the powerslide ability, and the jetpack, which adds an interesting layer of verticality to the equation.
I personally love using all of my fuel powersliding over to an enemy, then stabbing them to death at the last second. There’s a cool factor involved in learning how to most efficiently use the tools you’re given. I must say, however, because of all the chaos, there are things you can miss out on in the heat of battle. This is one thing High on Life definitely shares with Borderlands — both games love to insert character development into the action sequences to the point where you’ll miss out on it if you’re focusing.
In High on Life, there are text messages from various characters that pop up on the left side of the UI. But, they aren’t voiced, and they don’t make an impression when they pop up. So, if they arrive when you have more pressing matters to attend to, you can likely miss out on some of the characterization. I mean, that’s hardly what we’re here for, but it doesn’t hurt to know why these characters are doing what they’re doing.
That said, I must compliment the level design of High on Life. I sometimes find myself just standing still in the center of Blim City and observing the unique alien architecture they’ve created. Zephyr, for example, is a forest-based mining planet with the abovementioned race of obscene, Ewok-like teddy bears called Moplets. The stark contrast between Old Town and Dreg Town in the third section of the game gave new meaning to our ultimate goal of destroying the G3 cartel in ways I won’t reveal here. But, it was the level design here that brought these seemingly disconnected ideas to life in a new way.
In Conclusion
High on Life is … something else. It’s hard for me to recommend it to a wide audience, simply because I know Roiland’s style can be an acquired taste. And, even for those it does appeal to, it can be exhausting. The varied characters you meet on your journey never know when to shut up. They’ll literally talk endlessly for 15 to 20 minutes if you sit there and listen to them. This does get better further in, but getting to that point is an obstacle that I don’t know if many mainstream gamers will be able to scale.
There’s a moment where I heard an ad playing at a nearby café and spent the next 11 minutes watching ads, like in that one episode of Rick & Morty that was also 11 minutes of nothing but Roiland and Friends ad-libbing alien ads. It’s entertaining, but … surely you can see how it can also be exhausting.
Independent of the game’s writing, the intense, first-person action is given new life once you incorporate the various tools you acquire, like the powerslide and jetpack. I don’t know if I would compare it to any other FPS. Because it’s unlike any other FPS, but the closest would be the Borderlands franchise. And, like that series, the characters help to shine a light through any exhaustion. The ones that stop talking every once in a while, anyway.
High on Life can be annoying, sure. But, if you play it in moderation, you’ll find a very interesting, hilarious, and heartfelt story underneath it all. Give it a shot if anything about it interests you. And in the meantime, I’ll be at Space Applebee’s if anyone wants anything.
