Rick and Morty have surged to become one of the most popular adult animation shows around right now, often discussed alongside the likes of South Park and Archer. In the UK, it arrives on two fronts. New seasons are first shown through free-to-air TV station E4, and later, they get passed on to the streaming platform Netflix.
Having run since 2013, the show has developed quite the following, with creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon steering it through one-off adventures, serialised plots, and far-out concepts.
Now, amid Season 6 of Rick and Morty showing in the UK, Roiland has his biggest video game project to date ready to launch. From his studio, Squanch Games – which takes its name from a Rick and Morty planet and side character – Roiland’s Rick and Morty fingerprints are all over High on Life, which will be the 2016-established developer’s fourth release.
The first-person shooter will be a much larger-scale game than Accounting, Dr Splorchy Presents Space Heroes and Trover Saves the Universe, and early reviews from those given a preview have been very good. So, what’s all the hype about High on Life, and will it join other games in the Rick and Morty universe?
High on Life arrives on Xbox and PC on 13 December
Ever since the launch of the ill-fated Xbox One, Microsoft has struggled to get high-quality exclusive games from first-party studios or elsewhere, while PlayStation has only become stronger in this regard. High on Life looks to buck that trend. It may be coming from a relatively small and inexperienced studio, but the production value, the associated names, and its early reviews all bode well for the Xbox exclusive.
A sci-fi, biopunk first-person shooter infused with the Rick and Morty aesthetic and sense of humour, at the very least, High on Life will be the most novel FPS released in 2022. While its general sale release date is set for 13 December, with an RRP of £49.99 on the Microsoft Store, several video game news outlets have been given demos and hour-long gameplay windows to see what they make of the game. With expectations high for the comedy side, as would be assumed from the co-creator of Rick and Morty, most seem taken aback by how strong the FPS elements are.
The extended gameplay video above, which runs you through 25:19 of the crazy-looking creation, gave fans a quick feel of High on Life, but critics have been given more of a hands-on preview. As explained by PCMag, the game is certainly funny and even vulgar, but the gameplay itself certainly isn’t a joke. It was described as shaping up to be “satisfying” and has combat that “feels like a homage to [Doom].” Others have also cited the difficulty of the challenges posed by various boss levels, and how immersive the wacky game is when playing.
Will High on Life join the ranks of Rick and Morty games?
The big question on the minds of fans of Rick and Morty looking at this game because of its creator is: will High on Life be a part of the Rick and Morty universe? The series does love to jump around realities, timelines, themes, planets, and everything in between, but as Den of Geek explains, it doesn’t look as though High on Life is a direct part of the Rick and Morty universe.
Given its animation style, comedy, and voice actors, you’d be forgiven for thinking that High on Life could easily be part of the universe – especially as the episode A Rickle in Time features a kind of floppy, organic, sentient gun wielded by a Fourth-Dimensional Being. However, nothing’s been said yet that it’ll be a Rick and Morty game, joining the ranks of the virtual reality title and slots. Of course, the key here is that these entertainment products are officially licensed by Adult Swim.
If anything, if Roiland wanted to get the appeal of the Rick and Morty brand, he could easily put the name on High on Life. Still, for now, it’s the Betway slots Rick and Morty Megaways and Rick and Morty Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!! that are the most accessible forms of Rick and Morty entertainment beyond the show. Both slots are loaded with quotes and quirky characters from the adult animated show, utilising its antics like portals as the basis of its features. The new Megaways slot also brings in over 100,000 ways to win.
While still a relative niche way to the game, virtual reality also has a Rick and Morty game, but not from Squanch Games. Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality is available on PSVR for £24.99 and comes from developers Owlchemy Labs. The slots and VR games represent the main Rick and Morty leaps into casino entertainment and video gaming. That said, Squanch Games studio director Mike Fridley has reportedly said that fans of the show’s Interdimensional Cable should pay close attention to High on Life.
While Roiland could have made the most of the huge IP that is Rick and Morty, as the slots and VR games have, he’s never been afraid to step into a theme or setting even while sticking to his signature stylistic inklings.
The prime example of this is Solar Opposites, which flips the Rick and Morty formula. Rather than hyper-intelligent humans exploring the galaxy, it’s about aliens stuck on Earth, using their tech to try to get used to their new surroundings. High on Life looks to vault players well beyond Earth and into a distinctly goopy, alien, and squishy setting.
High on Life may not be a part of the Rick and Morty universe, but it’ll certainly appeal to fans of the show and anyone who wants to explore a unique and creative FPS in 2022.