![]() That’s especially true because Squanch isn’t out to create a walk in the park. A joke tends to lose its power each time you hear it, and there’s a lot of repetition here. ![]() By the end, it felt like my guns were just filling space with repeated voice lines. While there are plenty of good side gags packed into every location (dueling broadcasts about Mothers For and Against Violence make for a great background goof), it’s hard to sustain that level of comedy throughout. For one, there’s a lot of dead air to fill due to its length. High on Life ultimately runs into problems that are common in comedy games of this nature. You can almost hear the developers saying, “Screw it, we’re keeping it.” The biggest reaction I had was during an obnoxiously long conversation with an “alien cum” vendor, which abruptly ended with Smoove breaking character as I tried to buy a vial. The best laughs in High on Life are the ones that feel like the Squanch Games crew just making offhand jokes to one another and including what made them laugh. At one point, I find a collectible card that just has Frasier’s face on it, with flavor text wondering if it’s even legal for the developers to include it. A key emotional beat happens at a “Space Applebee’s,” a hilarious riff on Nathan For You’s Dumb Starbucks. A fair amount of gags fall flat, as they substitute yelling, swearing, or bodily functions for an actual joke. There’s similar inconsistency throughout. Tim Robinson, on the other hand, gets to fire out some zingers as he plays the role of Creature, a dad who uses his children like bullets and proudly watches them live out their short life span. JB Smoove (who voices Gus, a shotgun equivalent) doesn’t get as many good gags to play with and Betsy Sorado’s Sweezy is inherently a bit grating. Roiland himself has the firmest grasp on the humor here, lending the handgun-like Kenny his signature Morty stutter, but the voice actors are only as funny as their gun’s schtick. The talking gun schtick, for instance, oscillates between funny and cloying throughout. The comedy here is as hit-and-miss as it comes. The story has a few things to say about family and finding one’s calling in life, but it’s mostly just set dressing for a planet-hopping adventure. The hero takes on the role of a bounty hunter, tracking down aliens alongside an arsenal of talking guns, called Galatians. Their house is warped to a far-off planet where a three-eyed alien named Gene enlists their help (and their couch) to hunt down members of the G3, an intergalactic cartel that’s turning humans into drugs. ![]() The story finds a nameless protagonist and their sister flung in the middle of an alien conflict while their parents are on vacation. If you don’t, you’ll want to set the “banter” toggle to off.Ī joke tends to lose its power each time you hear it, and there’s a lot of repetition here. If you love that style, you’re in for a good time. The comedy here is largely similar to that of Ricky and Morty, as it’s loaded with sci-fi absurdity and adult humor that gleefully swirls down the proverbial potty hand in hand. ![]() If you don’t have the tolerance for Roiland’s humor, then I doubt you’ll be able to stomach over 10 hours of it. Interdimensional gamingĪllow me to help you figure out if this game is your jam in a quick sentence: High on Life is a first-person shooter created by Rick and Morty’s Justin Roiland. It can be a touch uneven at times, especially in its hit-and-miss humor, but it sticks the landing overall thanks to its unbridled creativity and deceptively deep gunplay. High on Life plays exactly like a Ricky and Morty joke riff: It makes a strong impression upfront, sustains that energy for a while, goes on a little too long for its own good, and tapers off before delivering a true punch line. Considering that I had to pause the game during that scene because I was doubled over in my airplane seat cracking up, I’d say that attitude is infectious. ![]() To hell with structure or rules - these are game makers who are having the time of their lives simply trying to make each other laugh. It’s a moment that best speaks to developer Squanch Games’ whole creative approach with its new sci-fi shooting adventure. I can hear someone in the background of the recording cackling too, absolutely losing it over the preposterously aggressive improvisation. “You’d be playing some Rockstar game, you fucking asshole,” he says, completely breaking character as he spits out the last few words through a laugh. ![]()
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