One of the first patch updates for High on Life added a feature to make the game’s sentient guns talk less, but the shooter truthfully needs the Gatlians to speak up more often. Though High on Life is a competent first-person shooter, the unique identity of the game comes from its humor. There are absurd character designs and ridiculous events in the game’s story, but the bulk of the jokes derive from its steady stream of dialogue. Players can still enjoy dialogue from Blim City’s various television monitors and NPCs, but the talking guns need more chatter to fill the occasional silence with the game’s distinct style of humor.
While some players were eager to learn how to mute guns in High on Life, doing so reduces the game’s charm significantly. High on Life has a relatively short campaign, which combines FPS combat with some interesting exploration elements. The game is certainly Squanch Games’ most ambitious product, but its massive popularity is not simply because it gives players another venue to shoot aliens. Some note that the Rick and Morty-style humor of High on Life is an acquired taste, and even hardcore fans of the show’s style would agree that not every joke lands. Having the Gatlians speak more often might better emulate the Rick and Morty experience.
High On Life Falls Short Of Rick And Morty's Jokes Per Minute Ratio Due To Silences
Many fans of Rick and Morty are familiar with the “Jokes Per Minute” calculation, where every sixty seconds of the show might average eight to ten jokes. This densely written joke structure has the obvious merits of getting a lot of potential laughs out of a short cartoon episode, but it also maintains the show’s energy. In a longer Rick and Morty-style video game, however, it becomes almost impossible to sustain. In its present state, High on Life players may encounter noticeable lulls during which the Gatlians simply do not speak, even at their highest dialogue frequency setting.
The notion of avoiding repeating lines, like some of the chatter during combat, is reasonable. During sequences of exploration, however, the lapses in banter from the guns becomes noticeable. Completing the main story campaign of High On Life takes more time than a Rick and Morty season, and the game cannot approach the show’s Jokes Per Minute rate without more snarky, often fourth-wall-breaking commentary from the player’s Gatlian allies.
The sheer amount of dialogue recorded for the game is impressive, spread across skits that play on television screens, story-mandated sequences, and situational gun chatter. High on Life uses established voice actors, paired with Justin Roiland’s unmistakable voiceover work. The content runs the gamut from legitimately heartfelt exchanges that are central to the story, to various ad-libbed ing characters and television sketches. Turning down dialogue frequency is counterintuitive to High on Life’s identity, as taking away the distinctive dialogue makes High on Life just another in a sea of alien shooters.
More Dialogue From The High On Life Guns Keeps It From Feeling Generic
Apart from the overpowered final gun, Lezduit, each of the Gatlians have unique personalities and viewpoints they share. If all the guns simply repeated their own name, like High on Life’s answer to the Doom series' BFG weapon, an option to decrease dialogue would be appropriate, as that would erode almost anyone’s patience. The Gatlians in High on Life serve the same function as NPC allies in an RPG, a substitute voice for the silent player character, and an ongoing commentary on gaming itself. If there is a follow-up to High on Life, like the secret ending teases, it needs to lean towards truly nonstop dialogue.
Source: Squanch Games/YouTube
