Guns are just a tool to kill in every other shooter, but it’s not a thing of the past. The weapons of destruction, as they speak, are inseparable to a unique alien world imagined by the co-creator of Rick and Morty. High on Life is in the same comedic pitfalls as Roilands, but this perspective led to an unique first-person shooter.
While this is very much its own, there’s a little contrast to the underrated classic Oddworld: Strangers Wrath, since both of these are unconventional shooters with living armaments that occur in the human space. Yet, High on Lifes combat loop is a little more conventional, because it borrows in a manner many recent trends and then makes the most use of a modern, modern, and modern style of packaging.
This isn’t evident from the start, since the game weirdly puts its worst foot forward and does not even equip players with a pistol early; there’s no standard melee attack in or around an hour. But when it comes to technology in addition to its use it slowly is gaining momentum. That makes them more and more flexible, like grappling hook, dash, rocket slide, jetpack. High on Lifes presentation implies it’s not just a standard, run-of-the-mill shooter; these extra tools give it more life so that it can stand up to that character. None of these gadgets are completely new inside the space, but they fit in the world and show no doubt that it is one other adolescent military shooter, full of gruff soldiers with M16s and buzz cuts.
M16s tend not to go away or blabber or even shoot slime out. This is another avenue where High on Life sounds weird. The four main weapons fit the roles of pistol, shotgun and machine pistol, while the fourth is explosive a grotesque version of Clanks of the Armageddon. Although standard weapons were at first, their alternatives’ fires and functions opened up new possibilities. The gun can fire out large discs that bounce between enemies and even use as platform when embedded in certain walls. The disc even has a twisting track, rewarded players with swift reactions. Of course, the weapons of the same kind are different – in and out of the combat. It makes it a bit deeper than other gunguns – just guns, not weapons.
It is not as solid as other genres, though. As far as being a little bit lazy, the upgrade and mod systems lack options, resulting in a broader sense of customization that is disappointingly not there. Its stingy shield pickups are also inconsistent and don’t gravitate toward the player. Taking over each other can be difficult to manage with every one of these tasks. These issues tend to fade into the background, since zipping around and killing slimy aliens generally becomes more thrilling than nine-hour runtime.
That shabby guns are much-intentional to the story, and they’re not just for the gameplay, but for their dialogue. Our common sense of humor is really in line with the other parts of Roilands, most important of which is Rick and Morty, where improvisation, vulgarity, and absurdity are the king. These can sometimes synergize well and lead to decent bits worth a pound or at least an amused nasal exhalation. Almost none of this is laugh-out-loud funny, but a decent portion of that is a bit of an entertaining enough portion to pass the plot by.
Yet there’s still too much that has to depend heavily on impromptu ramblings. Many characters haphazardly sweep or draw their lines or even go of work, often stamming or giggling in ways that make it easy to make them up by means of the moment. While this can lend some authenticity to the dialogue, its just too much a pitch here, especially since it often ends with a trite punchline about sex, or pooping. Like many gags, it must always be hilarious. However, they all make fun of that and they are all too often the end point of something, so can it be more enduring than ever? This is seen in the adult-swimming nonsequiturs, whose lines are played on the hub city’s TVs and almost exclusively traffic in this style of overused humor.
This rant is so much honed as written jokes and Roiland is the most guilty of it here because he plays Kenny the main weapon. Listening to him stutter through his parts and noticing that he is definitely forming on the spot is a bit annoying since his joking voice is like a Morty, who he has been doing for years. If you look at something different about Konami or draw out something new that needs some simple response, then it feels like filler, it’s a problem in Trover Saves the Universe. High on Life isn’t as obnoxious as it can be, since a cast of likable main characters mostly stick to their lines and deliver them well. But, even if it isn’t at home, a high on life style doesn’t have much to dislike, but its overreliance on this kind of humor has only worn out its welcome.
A very good thing about High on Life is that it is still very popular. The Squanch Games debut shooter takes action from afar, with a vivid and extraterrestrial setting, combat that uses his bizarre skills well and a simple campaign, but which doesn’t give up in an abundance of character, means he can gain a lot of space within that genre, and therefore can take action in its own life. There are a lot of obscene toilet humor and swearing pistols, but it’s a place the author nonetheless earned.
SCORE: 7.5/10.
This is a good piece of entertainment that is worth checking out but isn’t always appealing to everyone.
Apparently the publisher gave us a computer copy of the High on Lifeview. Reviewed on 4.27.2.0.