High Life
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High Life review
Explore the bizarre universe of Justin Roiland’s intergalactic FPS
High on Life is a comedy-driven first-person shooter set in a wild sci-fi universe created by Justin Roiland, best known for Rick and Morty. You play as a regular human who becomes an intergalactic bounty hunter after Earth is invaded by an alien cartel that wants to turn people into a recreational substance. Armed with a team of talking, personality-packed weapons called Gatlians, you travel across strange planets, take on dangerous bounties, and fight to save humanity. This article breaks down what makes High on Life stand out, from its over-the-top humor to its fast-paced gunplay and mature themes.
What Is High on Life All About?
Ever had one of those days where you’re just… stuck? 😩 Staring at your ceiling, wondering if your biggest achievement that week was finally organizing your game library? I’ve been there. Then, I booted up High on Life, a game that essentially asks: “What if, instead of getting a real job, you became an intergalactic bounty hunter with a bunch of chatty, living guns?” Suddenly, my mundane problems felt very small.
This isn’t your typical sci-fi epic. Created by Justin Roiland’s mad genius, High on Life is a first-person shooter that trades gritty realism for gut-busting absurdity. It throws you, a relatable human couch potato, into a universe where humanity is the galaxy’s most desirable recreational substance. Let’s dive into what makes this bizarre adventure so unforgettable. 🚀
The story of an unlikely intergalactic bounty hunter
The High on Life story begins not with a heroic call to arms, but with a palpable sense of post-graduate aimlessness. You play as a freshly minted (or perhaps failed) high school graduate, content to waste the day away in your sister’s messy room. Your plans for the future extend about as far as the living room couch. But destiny, in the form of a slick alien infomercial and a sudden invasion, has other ideas.
You quickly learn a horrifying truth: humans are the key ingredient for a powerful alien drug called “HUMAN.” A massive, galaxy-spanning cartel known as the G3 has come to Earth to farm us. Talk about a bad day. Your only hope? A mysterious, discarded bounty hunter kit containing a talking pistol named Kenny. In minutes, you go from zero to hero—or more accurately, from zero to the galaxy’s most unqualified High on Life bounty hunter.
Your motivation is beautifully simple: save your family, save Earth, and maybe figure out what you want to do with your life along the way. The narrative joy comes from this stark contrast. You’re not Master Chief; you’re just some kid, constantly bewildered by the insane, bio-organic (or biopunk) worlds you explore, and regularly mocked by your own weapons for your incompetence. It’s a classic fish-out-of-water tale, if the fish was armed with sarcastic artillery.
Meet the G3 alien cartel and the Gatlian weapons
Every hero needs a villain, and in the High on Life universe, they don’t get much bigger than the High on Life G3 cartel. This mega-corporation of crime, led by the flamboyant and terrifying Garmantuous, has turned interstellar exploitation into an art form. They’re not just faceless goons; they’re a structured, corporate evil with managers, middle-men, and marketing strategies for their illicit human-based product. Taking them down means working your way up the corporate ladder, one bizarre boss fight at a time.
But you’re not alone in this fight. Your primary tools are the High on Life Gatlian weapons. These aren’t just guns; they’re sentient, charismatic partners with full-blown personalities and opinions on everything. Finding and recruiting them is a core part of the adventure. Each one has a unique ability that changes up the High on Life gameplay, forcing you to think strategically in combat and exploration.
Here’s a quick rundown of your talkative arsenal:
| Weapon Name | Personality | Key Ability |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny | The enthusiastic, slightly needy starter pistol. Your tutorial and constant commentator. | Standard fire, creates grapple points for traversal. |
| Gus | A swaggering, knife-obsessed Texan with a heart of… well, sharp metal. | Fires a deadly disc blade that boomerangs and can be manually controlled. |
| Sweezy | A cool, calculated, and massively overpowered alien creature. | Charges to fire a devastating plasma blast that goes through walls. |
| Creature | Doesn’t talk. Just… globs. A living glob gun with a mind of its own. | Fires globs that can create temporary platforms and stick to surfaces. |
These weapons banter with each other, comment on your performance (“Wow, you missed a stationary target!”), and even argue with NPCs. They are the soul of the game, transforming every firefight into a dynamic comedy routine.
How humor shapes the entire experience
If you take away one thing about High on Life, it should be this: High on Life humor isn’t just a feature; it’s the foundation. This game is a masterclass in absurdist, meta, and often dark comedy that permeates every pixel. The tone is pure Justin Roiland—the co-creator of Rick and Morty—meaning it’s packed with improvisational riffs, fourth-wall breaks, and a willingness to go to deeply weird places for a laugh.
The High on Life gameplay loop is consistently interrupted—in the best way—by comedic moments. You’ll be mid-mission only to have an alien stand-up comedian start a set in the corner of a bar. You’ll find movie theaters showing bizarre intergalactic films you can sit and watch. Your guns will start philosophical debates about their existence while you’re platforming across chasms. The world is littered with sentient, often pathetic, creatures just waiting to deliver a one-liner or a tragicomic backstory.
Personal Insight: The first time I tried to have a serious conversation with a quest-giving alien, only for Kenny to interrupt with a rant about his ex-wife, I knew this was a special kind of game. It never lets you take anything, especially yourself, too seriously.
This commitment to comedy creates a unique High on Life experience. A typical scene might see you, the protagonist, fumbling through a neon-drenched alien city plaza, trying to line up a shot on a G3 enforcer. Meanwhile, Kenny is loudly criticizing your aim, comparing it to a “blind Grumblat in a fog storm,” while a nearby sentient vending machine heckles you about your life choices. It’s chaotic, hilarious, and utterly absorbing.
So, what is High on Life all about? 🤔 It’s about embracing the absurd. It’s a sci-fi action-adventure FPS that prioritizes laughs per minute just as much as shots per minute. It’s a game where the journey—filled with unforgettable characters, insane weapons, and a story that lovingly pokes fun at every sci-fi trope in the book—is far more important than the destination. If you’re looking for a shooter that’s as much about making you smile as it is about making you shoot, your next great adventure is waiting. Just don’t expect your guns to shut up about it.
High on Life delivers a wild, laugh-out-loud sci-fi shooter experience built around a simple but effective premise: save Earth from aliens who want to get high off humanity. With its talking weapons, colorful alien worlds, and relentless comedic tone, it stands out as a unique entry in the FPS genre. While it includes strong language, crude jokes, and some intense moments, it’s firmly a comedy action game, not an adult or explicit title. If you enjoy offbeat humor and fast-paced shooting across bizarre planets, High on Life is definitely worth checking out.
