High on Life is the new hilarious sci-fi shooter from the Rick and Morty team

High on Life
(Image credit: Squanch Games)

High on Life, the new first-person sci-fi shooter from the creators of Rick and Morty, made its debut at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, with a hilarious world premiere trailer.

Developed by Squanch Games, who previously worked with the creators on Trover Saves the Universe, High on Life sees you stepping into the boots of a fresh high school graduate. You become a badass bounty hunter intent on taking down the alien drug cartel (headed up by an alien called Garmantuous) that's selling humans as narcotics, with help from a human bounty hunter. 

"The alien invaders in High On Life are on a mission to dominate Earth, but with a particularly sinister twist: Garmantuous and his cartel goons are intent on enslaving humanity and using them as a new drug," the press release reads. "Defeating these powerful aliens isn't going to be easy; bounty hunters will work with (or against) NPCs, collect upgrades, and acquire an arsenal of talking guns on their journey."

The trailer shows a vivid sci-fi world full of odd creatures, including care bear-like critters, insect-looking aliens, and disgusting blobby creatures. But what we enjoyed most from the trailer was the weapons, each of which are living beings and talk to you while you use them. For example, the knife is called stabby and yells "stab, stab" when you stab people. Each weapon will apparently have its own unique personality, gameplay and upgrades, so we can't wait to see what their takes are on the story.

Check out the trailer for yourself, below:

High On Life also includes some familiar voices, with the protagonist voiced by Justin Roiland (aka Morty) and we swear we heard Jason Mantzoukas's voice in there too (though the latter hasn't been confirmed).

"I wanted to make games that I wanted to play, and that was the spark that sort of lit the fire of Squanch Games," Justin Roiland said at the Xbox Bethesda Showcase aftershow. "Then we shipped Trover, we shipped Accounting+, and now we're on this absolute dream game that we were kind of building towards this whole time."

High On Life is an Xbox console exclusive and will release for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC in October 2022. It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one.

Freelance writer

An award-winning games journalist, with seven years of experience in games journalism and a degree in journalism from City University, London, Vic brings experience from IGN, Eurogamer, The Telegraph, VG247, Dot Esports and more to the TechRadar table. You may have even heard her on the radio or speaking on a panel, as she’s previously appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio Ulster and more. Not only is Vic passionate about games, but she's appeared on both panels and podcasts to discuss mental health awareness. Make sure to follow her on Twitter for more.

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