There aren’t that many games I can say that caused me to laugh the whole way through, but the first High on Life is definitely one of the few. The comedy fit into my personal style, the shooting did what it needed to, and the story was fun with the whole “humans are drugs” idea. The thing is, though, I’ve never gone back. I’ve replayed so many games because something about them stuck, whether it was the gameplay, the story, or maybe it felt like I left behind something unfinished.
Once I was done with High on Life, I was good, and if I wanted more comedy, I could just watch Rick and Morty. Even though I enjoyed my time with the game, I felt something was missing from the experience. Before jumping into the sequel, I believe any future installments to the series are really going to need to bring something new and fresh to the table for these games to stick with me for the long haul.
Is Comedy Enough to Carry a Game?
I mentioned laughing all the way through my time playing High on Life. That game hit like an in-person comedy show or an episode of Rick and Morty, and for me, that was what I wanted. I couldn’t have been happier with that side of the game, but that also caused a problem. The comedy was so fun that I focused on that and never really paid attention to the gameplay, and found that when the jokes calmed down, the game got kind of boring. I felt myself playing the game to go from one joke to the next instead of enjoying the journey, and once you saw all or most of the main jokes, there weren’t too many reasons to go back through the game.
It felt like the developers of High on Life were so focused on making a funny, comedic experience that they forgot that the whole thing was a game. Unlike other media, such as videos or books, a video game allows the player to put themselves in the shoes of the character and make decisions. For High on Life 2 or any future installments, the developers are going to have to focus on allowing the players to do more and make more decisions. Keeping the game and the universe full of comedy is important, but the game needs to have more than just that. When I get onto a game, I need to be looking forward to the entire experience, not just the fact that eventually, I’ll get some laughs.
Gameplay That’s Once and Done
High on Life was set up to be something special and out of this world, but when you got down to it, the gameplay was just okay. Nothing really felt new. The entire gameplay loop was straightforward, with the main thing to look forward to being suit upgrades or a weapon with a new power. It wasn’t bad, but once you finished an area, you were done. Yeah, you could go grab some missing collectables, but that comedy was no longer a driving factor. Each mission or new gun had a puzzle or two tied to it, but, in general, gameplay was the same from area to area. The best part of that loop was listening to your favorite guns as you used them in combat, but even that got stale when you heard the same complaint from Sweezy or Gus that you’ve heard through who knows how many hours of playing.
Compare this to Sunset Overdrive, where many of the mechanics were similar. You jumped, dashed, joked, and grinded your way to new locations where you fought different bosses, and the comedy was just as important. I’ve played through that game multiple times, and while I laughed a lot, it wasn’t nearly as much as I did with High on Life, so what’s the difference? What makes Sunset Overdrive a better game for me?
One big mention is the weapons themselves. While High on Life has 5 hilarious talking guns and a crazy knife, Sunset Overdrive had over 35 different weapons that you could cause havoc with, and if you didn’t like a weapon, you didn’t have to use it. Not to mention that once you got through some missions, you could go anywhere in Sunset Overdrive, whereas in High on Life, you were tied down to each level. This isn’t to say the levels were small, but once you’ve gone through them once, you’ve seen everything you need to. I don’t think I’ve even come close to being everywhere in Sunset Overdrive.
What’s Missing
In my opinion, what makes a big difference between High on Life and Sunset Overdrive in how I look back on them is choice. You don’t have to use a specific gun for everything in High on Life, but you do have to use all of the guns, whether you like them or not, to beat the game. Each gun is critical. The ability to make story choices, along with the freedom to play how you want, was something I feel was missing from High on Life. Sunset Overdrive created this freedom that made me want to return to the game and do things a different way, where I feel High on life was a fun experience, but it was a one-and-done situation for me. High on Life needed more freedom, along with more choice in how the game was played and what you had to do to succeed. Whether it is High on Life 2 or a potential future sequel, I feel I need not only this freedom, but a gameplay experience to match its impressive humor.
