It’s almost time for the High on Life release date, the latest eccentric title from Squanch Games. Founder Justin Roiland, co-creator of the hit animated series Rick & Morty, takes players into a strange future filled with talking weapons and “an alien cartel that wants to get high on humanity”. As you can probably see, this is definitely not your typical FPS game.
In the months since High on Life was first revealed on the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase 2022, the development team has released new details and gameplay teasers. Now that there’s more information to work with, here’s everything we know so far about High on Life.
High on Life release date
The release date of High on Life is December 13, 2022. Initially, the game had an October 2022 release window, but Squanch Games delayed it by a few months shortly after.
While the announcement of the delay Avoiding revealing specific details, chief creative officer and art director Mikey Spano has since gone into more detail. In an interview with GameMe+, Spano states that “October is busy, it’s very busy”, referring specifically to God of War: Ragnarok and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. He also states that delaying High on Life “makes us a bit gave us extra we needed”, and that delay will hopefully lead to a more polished product in the long run.
High on Life supporters
Squanch Games released some trailers for High on Life, featuring more gameplay at events. The first reveal trailer was short showing a few locations and some of the talking weapons on offer. Another trailer appeared during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022 that focused entirely on gameplay, detailing a boss fight against the bounty target 9-TORG.
The Squanch Games YouTube channel has also shared short videos featuring some of the odd characters that may (or may not) make an appearance during High on Life.
High on Life story
You play like a nobody, just finishing high school with no future prospects or goals to work towards. Your dull life is interrupted by an alien cartel that wants to use humanity as a drug to get high.
To escape the cartel on Earth, a talking alien weapon called Kenny gives you the power to teleport anywhere. In an effort to make a quick escape, you eventually teleport your home (including your sister) to Blim City. Under the wing of ex-legendary bounty hunter Gene – who only wants you to die so he can take your home – you travel across the galaxy, encountering a cast of colorful aliens along the way.
The ultimate goal is to take out Garmantuous, the leader of the alien cartel, and his gang. To do this, collect a number of Gattliens, which are talking weapons that each have their own abilities. The Gattliens are a big part of the dialogue in High on Life as they chat during gameplay.
High on Life gameplay
Despite the less-than-conventional plot, High on Life is still an FPS at its core. The Gattliens act as your weapons, with your roster expanding over time. For starters, you only have access to Kenny, whose primary fire acts like a basic pistol. All guns also have secondary fire, with Kenny being a slimy long-range grenade. Secondary fires are locked behind cooldown timers, although they compensate with firepower.
Other weapons shown include one that works similarly to a shotgun, and a Gattlien that launches creatures at enemies. Even your melee option is in the form of a talking blade, which doubles as a grappling hook for additional movement options both in and out of combat.
High on Life is not a fully open world game, although you can explore a number of different locations. Most of this exploration comes in the form of various planets, ranging from a jungle paradise to a city built in an asteroid. New planets means new bounties to hunt, more side missions, and possibly extra Gattliens to acquire.
At the Xbox Games Showcase in June, Justin Roiland described High on Life as an “action-adventure comedy Metroidvania first-person shooter”. While it’s an intentionally long-winded description of the game, the ‘Metroidvania’ section gives some insight into how the progression works. Using the term Metroidvania as a descriptor means that instead of going on a linear adventure through a fixed list of planets, you should instead revisit previous areas after purchasing new tools. This can already be seen with your knife, as the grab function allows you to reach higher areas and clear holes that would not be possible on foot.
High on Life PC Game Pass
High on Life will be available for PC Game Pass on December 13. For those with Game Pass Ultimate, you can also play the game on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and via the cloud.
High on Life DLC
Currently, no DLC has been announced for High on Life. However, executive producer of Squanch Games, Matty Studivan, mentions during an interview with TheGamer that future downloadable content is at stake. Studivan states that the team is “thinking about DLC as always”, with Squanch Games looking to support High on Life in a similar way to their VR title, Trover Saves the Universe. In Trover’s case, this came in the form of a major free update three months after launch.
And that’s all we know about High on Life so far. If you want to make sure your PC can run the game properly before it’s released, don’t forget to check out High on Life’s system requirements page.
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