As of late, video game companies, as a whole, are beginning to feel more and more like money hungry companies that simply leave you feeling drained, tired, and frustrated, such as the more recent battle royale- type games or multiplayer games that have this pay wall before you can actually have that fun experience. But what if I told you there was a game that wasn’t just fun, but compelling, emotional, epic, funny, cheap and thrilling? What if I told you that the closest video game to the title “perfect game” was a game called “High on Life”?
High on life is very well worthy of the title “perfect game” despite the silly name. High on Life is a game where you play as a nameless teen bounty hunter who is paired up with a talking gun, traveling the universe, and attempting to free humanity from an alien crime syndicate that wants to use humans as drugs. Along the way, you’ll use your chattering gun’s abilities to solve traversal puzzles in a Metroid Prime sort of way, while doing lots of shooting. There are some genuinely nifty and thoughtful combat options, like a ricocheting saw blade, that you can bonk back at baddies, or a shotgun that removes protective slime from your foes.
This game immediately throws you into chaos but gives you the time to understand what’s happening around you. It jumps into action by giving you a difficult tutorial, having a gun instruct you on what’s happening, and what to do with him. The gun swears, whines, screams, gets upset, and tries to encourage you along the whole journey. You find out that the gun’s name is Kenny, and that he is a Gatlien, a breed of alien that doubles as a gun. He is presumably the last of his kind, or so he thinks.
You spend the game completing bounties, looking for your parents, and finding more Gatliens, while having a talking gun yell, joke, and guide you the whole time. High on Life is a game that knows it’s a joke, throwing in puns and funny references with comic reliefs between every intense moment, including the emotional ones. Yet the game makes you hyper aware that everything you do matters. When you pause the game too long during a fight, Kenny begins cursing you out and trying to get you to play the game once more. When you stand around for too long, Kenny begins trying to make small talk. The game constantly interacts with you while keeping you engaged throughout the whole ride.
The NPC’s even have minds of their own, occasionally getting upset or emotional when you make certain decisions. They also call you out or even insult you. They can encourage you or just spew utter nonsense. Kenny even interacts with the enemies; in fact, he does most of the talking for you. Aside from that, each of the other Gatliens you encounter have different mechanics when it comes to shooting and personality. They each have their own way of interacting with you and the world around them, while giving you different, new ways to traverse the world.
The game brings so much to the table. Every conversation with one of your weapons is a fun one. Small interactions between the guns and certain events usually end up being jokes. The game has life in every interaction, pushing the plot forward and establishing the guns’ relationships with each other.
When you find a new gun, you’re not just finding a new way to navigate the world and play the game, you also find a new friend. The character known as Gene, a retired bounty hunter who seemingly gave up on life, tries to take care of and manage the main character and his sister, becoming a father figure for the both of them. Meanwhile, your sister goes through this weird love story with an alien boy who Gene ends up hating immediately.
Every single character has their own opinions, thoughts, as well as presenting new compelling origins that are all small pieces of the same puzzle. When you unlock a new bit of story or beat a boss, your blade begins screaming on how it wants to tear through the target’s flesh to collect a sample. The thought process in that moment is simply how absurd it all is, but that’s what makes this game so fun. You feel rewarded for every bit of content you unlock. It’s simply fun, whether you’re killing aliens or choosing to sit on the couch with Gene and watch old 1920’s movies.
The reason High on Life is possibly the perfect game is because it embodies what a game should be. A game should be fun; you should never feel bored after just a few minutes. You should be engaged the whole time and care about every character. You should feel rewarded and challenged, but not overwhelmed. A game should have you itching to see where the story goes and what happens to the characters you’ve come to know and love. High on Life does all of those things in a way that’s so different, it’s truly wonderful. The game really does make you feel like a happy kid again, while also making you feel like the sick bounty hunter you are. That’s what video games are meant to be, fun. So if you want to have fun and play a game that has everything for cheap, then High on Life is the game for you.
