A unique game with lots of good and plenty of questionable/bad, that I still recommend everyone to check out. And "checking it out" is all I can really recommend, because whether or not you like it will simply depend on one thing, and that is the humor. I'll get to that, but first I want to say the following.
The game is so unique in its presentation. I am always a big fan of games that try to do things differently, not scared of whether it is reviewer friendly or not. Hideo Kojima for example created, in very shallow terms, a delivery man simulator and he did not give a damn whether that game is for everyone or not. And it isn't. But games like that stick with those people that absolutely are the target audience. Or take my most recent review of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. Not my cup of tea, but I can see how it's the dream game of the right audience, and ONLY of the right audience.
Meanwhile, so many games, even in the indie scene these days, don't shy away from what many games before theirs have already done, since it is already known that those games are well received. In the AAA scene, this is of course a very known issue, none more well-known than the Ubisoft open world games.
Anyway, you all already know this stuff, but my point is, game devs should have more balls to be creative, especially those that have the financial ability to do so. Rick & Morty creator Justin Roiland and his team I assume do have just that, and even if they don't, they certainly have the balls.
High on Life is unapologetically Justin Roiland's work, for both good and bad. More good if you enjoy the humor, more bad if you don't. So let me give my thoughts on the humor here. Quite a few times in this game, I actually did laugh out loud. Most games make me exhale out of my nose if they attempt to be funny, but few get me to laugh. Not because it's not funny, but because that's how I just am. Anyway, in High on Life, there was the funny intro that had me laugh, there was some of the dialogue between my guns and random NPCs that made me laugh, a certain conversation between two guys arguing in traffic, and in particular, there was something near the end of the game that had me actually crying laughing, though I do not wish to spoil that here.
But in between, I didn't really laugh at the monologues of my guns or the conversations between NPC. I certainly was intrigued by Roiland's style of comedy (have only watched a couple episodes of Rick & Morty in my life, so unfamiliar overall) and how vulgar it is. However, I was also intrigued by how explanatory his jokes are. Let me explain. A lot of the times, his characters feel the urge of why the things they say or the way they act is supposed to be funny. Or how funny their situation is supposed to be because it apparently is so ironic. And to me, this wasn't that funny. Considering that this is what happens a lot here, the middle parts of this game from time to time turned into a slog, if too many jokes didn't land in a row.
And here is why you won't enjoy the game if you don't enjoy the humor. The combat - this game is a first-person shooter - is certainly simple, in a good way, and works well, but it's also very repetitive and simple, in a bad way. If the humor doesn't stick in between these gun fights, the flaws of the combat do become more apparent. I'd say it is certainly good enough to warrant an 8-hour playthrough (without side content) and leave you mostly satisfied, but that's the thing. You'll either be very satisfied, if the humor hits or not satisfied if it doesn't, because the gameplay is not the focal point, it's the humor. The devs didn't build a script around the gameplay, they've built a game around the script and on that alone. So it doesn't matter that much, whether the gameplay it's great. It's simply good enough to not be a negative distraction in between of all the humor.
One thing this game does really well, whether you like the humor or not, is the visuals and the worlds they have crafted, especially Blim City. Whether it's in the small area that can be traversed or the rest of the city that you can't go to, but admire from afar, Blim City looks colorful and vibrant. The other worlds that you visit for your objectives look good, though a couple didn't seem different enough for my taste. Considering that there aren't that many worlds and that some are reused for multiple bosses, I feel like there could've been more done here.
The soundtrack gives off relaxed, laidback, lofi vibes and is definitely a highlight for me here. The voice acting is pretty good as well and the characters just sound untraditional, if that makes sense. It feels like you're watching a TV show rather than playing a video game, which often can have characters sounding too bland and robotic, though here, similarly to the South Park video games, the voice actors have treated it just like another episode of Rick & Morty.
And also regarding the characters, this game actually accomplished something that many games don't. I actually cared about some of the characters in this game, because the game spent an adequate amount of time on them and to develop their personalities, which are almost all unique and quirky from the start.
So yeah, all in all, I would really suggest to give this a try. You won't have played a game quite like this a whole lot in your life, and trying it out won't cost you a lot thanks to the fact that the game is on Xbox Game Pass. I don't think it's worth the full asking price right now, unless you KNOW that you will enjoy the humor, in which case you can have fun for two dozen hours if you go completionist and do two playthroughs (which in your case I'd recommend due to a lot of choices this game gives you) and likely feel like you got your money's worth. For me, I'm glad I played it, though I wouldn't have paid full price, if I knew what my thoughts about the game would be after I played it.
All this said, I hope there is a sequel some day, because this was definitely a fun use of my time overall.
The game is so unique in its presentation. I am always a big fan of games that try to do things differently, not scared of whether it is reviewer friendly or not. Hideo Kojima for example created, in very shallow terms, a delivery man simulator and he did not give a damn whether that game is for everyone or not. And it isn't. But games like that stick with those people that absolutely are the target audience. Or take my most recent review of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. Not my cup of tea, but I can see how it's the dream game of the right audience, and ONLY of the right audience.
Meanwhile, so many games, even in the indie scene these days, don't shy away from what many games before theirs have already done, since it is already known that those games are well received. In the AAA scene, this is of course a very known issue, none more well-known than the Ubisoft open world games.
Anyway, you all already know this stuff, but my point is, game devs should have more balls to be creative, especially those that have the financial ability to do so. Rick & Morty creator Justin Roiland and his team I assume do have just that, and even if they don't, they certainly have the balls.
High on Life is unapologetically Justin Roiland's work, for both good and bad. More good if you enjoy the humor, more bad if you don't. So let me give my thoughts on the humor here. Quite a few times in this game, I actually did laugh out loud. Most games make me exhale out of my nose if they attempt to be funny, but few get me to laugh. Not because it's not funny, but because that's how I just am. Anyway, in High on Life, there was the funny intro that had me laugh, there was some of the dialogue between my guns and random NPCs that made me laugh, a certain conversation between two guys arguing in traffic, and in particular, there was something near the end of the game that had me actually crying laughing, though I do not wish to spoil that here.
But in between, I didn't really laugh at the monologues of my guns or the conversations between NPC. I certainly was intrigued by Roiland's style of comedy (have only watched a couple episodes of Rick & Morty in my life, so unfamiliar overall) and how vulgar it is. However, I was also intrigued by how explanatory his jokes are. Let me explain. A lot of the times, his characters feel the urge of why the things they say or the way they act is supposed to be funny. Or how funny their situation is supposed to be because it apparently is so ironic. And to me, this wasn't that funny. Considering that this is what happens a lot here, the middle parts of this game from time to time turned into a slog, if too many jokes didn't land in a row.
And here is why you won't enjoy the game if you don't enjoy the humor. The combat - this game is a first-person shooter - is certainly simple, in a good way, and works well, but it's also very repetitive and simple, in a bad way. If the humor doesn't stick in between these gun fights, the flaws of the combat do become more apparent. I'd say it is certainly good enough to warrant an 8-hour playthrough (without side content) and leave you mostly satisfied, but that's the thing. You'll either be very satisfied, if the humor hits or not satisfied if it doesn't, because the gameplay is not the focal point, it's the humor. The devs didn't build a script around the gameplay, they've built a game around the script and on that alone. So it doesn't matter that much, whether the gameplay it's great. It's simply good enough to not be a negative distraction in between of all the humor.
One thing this game does really well, whether you like the humor or not, is the visuals and the worlds they have crafted, especially Blim City. Whether it's in the small area that can be traversed or the rest of the city that you can't go to, but admire from afar, Blim City looks colorful and vibrant. The other worlds that you visit for your objectives look good, though a couple didn't seem different enough for my taste. Considering that there aren't that many worlds and that some are reused for multiple bosses, I feel like there could've been more done here.
The soundtrack gives off relaxed, laidback, lofi vibes and is definitely a highlight for me here. The voice acting is pretty good as well and the characters just sound untraditional, if that makes sense. It feels like you're watching a TV show rather than playing a video game, which often can have characters sounding too bland and robotic, though here, similarly to the South Park video games, the voice actors have treated it just like another episode of Rick & Morty.
And also regarding the characters, this game actually accomplished something that many games don't. I actually cared about some of the characters in this game, because the game spent an adequate amount of time on them and to develop their personalities, which are almost all unique and quirky from the start.
So yeah, all in all, I would really suggest to give this a try. You won't have played a game quite like this a whole lot in your life, and trying it out won't cost you a lot thanks to the fact that the game is on Xbox Game Pass. I don't think it's worth the full asking price right now, unless you KNOW that you will enjoy the humor, in which case you can have fun for two dozen hours if you go completionist and do two playthroughs (which in your case I'd recommend due to a lot of choices this game gives you) and likely feel like you got your money's worth. For me, I'm glad I played it, though I wouldn't have paid full price, if I knew what my thoughts about the game would be after I played it.
All this said, I hope there is a sequel some day, because this was definitely a fun use of my time overall.