High on Life is an an offbeat first-person shooter, with Halo-style combat mechanics, acrobatic platforming, and acerbic humour voiced by major American comedians. It stands out in a world of games that take themselves all too seriously, making for a compelling experience when it launched last year on Xbox consoles and PC. After eight months of Microsoft exclusivity, the game’s finally come to PS4 and PS5, bringing along major game updates that have fixed long-standing flaws. Do these new versions do High on Life justice, and do the game’s UE4 visuals hold up across seven distinct console platforms?
High on Life isn’t a complicated game at its core, though it does have some interesting gameplay flourishes. Combat is built around a few distinct weapons, which come packed with a mix of zoom modes and special actions. Encounters tend to be quite dynamic, with floaty jumps and dashes enabling the player to mix it up at a variety of ranges with enemy squads. The gunplay isn’t quite at the same level mechanically as Halo or Destiny, but it can feel satisfying, especially once you unlock later firearms. Encounters are often separated by platforming challenges and simple puzzles to break up the pace, making for a breezy little shooter.
Beyond its mechanics, High on Life leans heavily on a metatextual sense of humour to keep the story moving. This isn’t going to appeal equally to all players, but I found it amusing enough. A lot of gaming stories are pretty forgettable and while High on Life isn’t completely my cup of tea, it kept me more engaged than most titles. Plus, I doubt the scope of a game like this could warrant the kind of carefully-crafted cinematics needed to pull off a dramatic story anyway.
