High on Life: Everything We Know

Squanch Games' High on Life is unique, to say the least. Needless to say, though, the Rick & Morty-led shooter has us compelled to want to know more. After all, how often is it we get to see boggle-eyed talking weapons taking center stage and piloting an absurdly unorthodox sci-fi experience? Whatever it is, it's a blatant contender for this year's weirdest game, that's for sure.

Anyway, how much do we actually know about High on Life? Seeing as the game has only been around since June, do we really know enough to be able to assemble anything even remotely comprehensible? Well, let's see where you stand. Here's everything we currently know about Squanch Games's High on Life.

What Is High on Life?

High on Life is a first-person shooter action-adventure game by Squanch Games, a studio that is perhaps best known for games like Accounting, and Trover Saves the Universe. Founded by Justin Roiland, co-creator of Adult Swim's Rick & Morty, Squanch Games will be bringing the absurdly unique shooter to consoles and PC on December 13, 2022.

Story

So, what on earth is High on Life all about? Besides the gun-toting aliens and evidently vibrant sci-fi locale, just what exactly is it? Well, to put it short, the extraterrestrials have invaded earth and turned it into an intergalactic crime ring. It's your job, as a fish-out-of-water human, to become a bounty hunter and protect the world from eternal damnation. Your companions? Talking guns, and lots of them.

“Fresh out of high school with no job and no ambition, you’ve really got nothing going for you until an alien cartel that wants to get high off humanity invades Earth,” reads the game’s description. “Now, you and a team of charismatic talking guns must answer the hero’s call and become the deadliest intergalactic bounty hunter the cosmos has ever seen.”

Gameplay

High on Life formulates the idea of “Blade Runner meets The Muppets.” Or at least, that's according to Erich Mayr, design director at Squanch Games, anyway. In a nutshell, though, High on Life is predominantly first-person shooter-based, and will look to integrate various story-driven elements that are highly reminiscent of Rick & Morty's controversial blueprints. So, expect plenty of unusual atrocities, bad language, and a whole lot of weirdness.

Unfortunately, High on Life will not feature an open world structure, but more an episodic format with explorable layers to scoot around in. Its heart and soul will bleed through high-octane combat and in-your-face humor, which bodes well for anyone looking to delve into a high-powered experience with two smoking barrels to boot. It's incredibly weird, wacky, and just about everything we've come to expect from Justin Roiland at this point. Are we complaining, though? No, not even in the slightest.

Development

High on Life was first announced at the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase on June 12, 2022 with a scheduled release date of October 2022. However, due to Squanch Games wanting more time to make improvements to the game, the initial launch date was eventually pushed back to December 13, 2022.

It has been said that Justin Roiland, co-creator and leading voice actor of Rick & Morty, has been a major asset to the development of the game. Although not exactly a Rick & Morty game, per se, Roiland did however produce the concept and design for it. Therefore, High on Life will no doubt flow from a similar vein to that of the cult-classic TV series. And yes, it will be equally as bonkers.

Trailer

Squanch Games lifted the veil on High on Life on June 12, 2022 during the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase event. Since then, the game has received a number of external previews, as well as an official gameplay trailer, which was revealed in full during the Gamescom 2022 event in August.

The gameplay trailer, true to its oddball roots, revealed a whole lot of combat, goo-soaked zones, and a myriad of loudmouth guns with irresistibly colorful personalities. Think Splatoon 3, but on some form of hallucinogenic drug that turns weapons into chums for you to meander around with. That's really all we got from it — and we're strangely in love with every single aspect of it.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

High on Life will release on December 13, 2022 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Squanch Games has confirmed that the game will launch on Xbox Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate as a day-one exclusive. Otherwise, you can pre-order a copy for $59.99 from any major retail outlet.

As with any game that launches exclusively for any particular console, there's a good chance High on Life will come to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in the distant future. For now, though, Microsoft hold the bragging rights for the game, as it will do for the months following its December release. It also hasn't been made clear whether the game will eventually come to Nintendo Switch or not. At this stage, though, it's highly unlikely.

As it stands, there will not be any additional editions outside of the base game. You can pre-order both the physical and digital copies today for $59.99 from the Microsoft Store, Epic Games Store, and Steam. For more information on the High on Life release, you can follow the official social handle here. We'll be sure to update you if anything fresh comes to light before launch day.

So, what's your take? Will you be pre-ordering High on Life? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.