There are shooters built around tight mechanics, competitive play, and serious tone. And then there is this one. High on Life sits in its own category, a first-person shooter that leans fully into comedy, absurdity, and a talking arsenal of alien weapons that will not stop giving their opinions while you play.
That concept sounds like it could go either way. A joke game with novelty appeal but not much underneath, or something that genuinely delivers a fun experience from start to finish. After spending real time with it, the answer is more interesting than you might expect.
What Kind of Game Is This Actually
At its core, High on Life is a first-person shooter with light exploration elements. You play as a regular person thrown into an alien bounty hunting career after an intergalactic cartel attempts to harvest humanity for use as a drug. That premise sets the tone for everything that follows.
The game was created by Justin Roiland, one of the people behind Rick and Morty, and that influence is present throughout. The humor is self-aware, often fourth-wall breaking, and built around absurdist logic. Characters comment on things that do not make sense, the world is filled with bizarre details that reward attention, and the dialogue leans heavily into comedic timing.
If that style of humor works for you, the game has a lot to offer. If it does not, the experience will feel grating quickly. That is the most important thing to know going in.
The Talking Weapons Are the Real Hook
The central gimmick of High on Life is that your weapons are sentient alien creatures that talk. Each one has its own personality, voice, and running commentary on everything happening around you. They react to enemies, to the environment, to your decisions, and sometimes to each other.
This sounds like it would get annoying fast. In practice, it works better than expected. The writing is sharp enough that the banter stays interesting for a good portion of the game, and each weapon feels distinct enough that switching between them never gets boring.
Each Weapon Plays Differently
Beyond the personality element, each weapon also has a unique set of mechanics that changes how you approach combat. One fires bouncing projectiles that can hit multiple enemies at once. Another shoots a stream of goo that slows targets down and creates environmental hazards. A third fires a disc that you can manually control mid-air.
The variety keeps combat feeling fresh. You are not just switching weapons for damage output, you are switching because each one opens up different options in a fight. Learning how to combine them effectively is one of the more satisfying parts of the gameplay.
Upgrades Add Depth Over Time
As you progress, you earn currency that can be spent on upgrades for each weapon. These upgrades are not just stat increases. Some of them add entirely new functions or change how an existing ability works. The upgrade system is simple enough to not feel overwhelming but meaningful enough to make a real difference in how combat feels.
By the time you are deep into the game, your loadout feels genuinely powerful and personal, which is a good sign for any shooter.
The World Is More Interesting Than It First Looks
One of the things High on Life does well that does not get talked about enough is world building. The alien environments you move through are packed with detail. Signs, background conversations, interactive objects, and small environmental stories are tucked all over each area.
Exploring thoroughly is rewarded. Hidden rooms contain extra currency, lore items, or just strange comedic moments that add texture to the world. None of it is required to complete the game, but it makes the experience significantly richer for people who take their time.
The hub area, your house on an alien planet, is especially well done. It fills up with characters over time, each of whom has their own dialogue that changes as the story progresses. Checking in between missions to see what has changed is a small but consistently enjoyable part of the loop.
How the Comedy Actually Holds Up
The humor is the element that will make or break this game for most people, so it is worth talking about honestly.
The writing is genuinely clever in a lot of places. The comedic timing on weapon dialogue is often well executed, and some of the mission setups are legitimately funny. There are moments that land well and feel like they come from writers who understand how to construct a joke rather than just throwing random weirdness at the screen.
That said, the comedy is not consistent all the way through. Some jokes overstay their welcome. Certain bits that are funny the first time get repeated in ways that dilute the impact. And the humor is very much in the style of adult animated comedy, which is a specific taste that not everyone shares.
The game is also aware of itself in ways that feel intentional rather than lazy. References to game conventions and the medium itself are woven throughout, and they mostly feel like they come from a place of genuine creativity rather than cheap self-awareness.
The Bounty Hunter Structure Works Well
Missions in the game are structured around hunting down a series of alien bosses for bounties. Each boss has their own environment, personality, and set of mechanics that make the encounter feel unique. You are not just fighting bigger versions of regular enemies. Each target is designed as its own mini-experience.
This structure gives the game a natural sense of progression. Completing a bounty opens up new areas, new weapons, and new story beats. The pacing between bounties feels well managed, giving you time to explore and upgrade before pushing into the next major encounter.
The boss fights themselves are highlights. They are creative, varied, and built around using your full arsenal rather than relying on one approach. A few of them are genuinely memorable as standalone experiences.
Where the Game Falls Short
No game is without its weaknesses, and this one has a few worth knowing about before you start.
- Movement traversal can feel clunky in certain areas, particularly when platforming over gaps
- Some sections feel padded and slow the momentum of the experience down
- The humor will completely disconnect you from the game if it is not your style
- Enemy variety outside of boss encounters is limited and gets repetitive over longer sessions
- The story wraps up in a way that feels abrupt compared to the buildup
None of these issues are severe enough to ruin the experience, but they are noticeable and worth factoring in depending on what you are looking for.
Is It Worth Playing
Yes, with the right expectations.
High on Life is not trying to be a technical showcase or a mechanically deep shooter. It is trying to be a funny, weird, and entertaining experience from start to finish. On those terms, it largely succeeds. The weapons are creative, the world has genuine character, and the comedy hits more often than it misses for people who are on the right wavelength.
It is also a fairly short game compared to most RPGs or open world titles, which means the experience does not overstay its welcome. You can complete the main story in a reasonable amount of time and walk away feeling like you got something worthwhile out of it.
If you have Game Pass, this is an easy recommendation. If you are thinking about purchasing it outright, knowing whether the humor style works for you is the most important factor. Watch a few minutes of gameplay first and trust your instincts on that.
High on Life is a genuinely original game in a genre that rarely takes risks on tone. That alone makes it worth paying attention to, and for the right audience, it is one of the more enjoyable shooters to come out in recent years.
If you want a High on Life Weapon of your own, Check out our Collection!
