'High on Life' launches you into space with potty-mouth guns and interplanetary bounty hunting

High on Life space game
High on Life from Squanch Games released Dec. 13, 2022. (Image credit: Squanch Games)

A potty-mouthed space-themed game has industry watchers abuzz.

Helped along by a co-creator of Rick and Morty, new space game High On Life launched today (Dec. 13) for Steam, Xbox Series X | S and Xbox One for $59.99. The game is already bringing in high reviews, despite its adult content. It has 9 out of 10 stars on Steam and attention from big gaming sites like our sister website, PC Gamer.

"High On Life takes all of our creativity and weird ideas and delivers something truly unique," said Justin Roiland, co-founder and CEO of Squanch Games, in an e-mailed statement; he was previously co-creator and voice actor of the space-themed sitcom Rick and Morty. 

You can view a swear-free trailer for the game below, but we advise only letting preteens and older kids watch. Before letting your kids loose on it, be aware the ESRB rating on High on Life is M for mature (recommended for ages 17+) due to violence, blood and gore, drug use, strong language, crude humor and other reasons.

Related: Best space games 2022: Outer Wilds, No Man's Sky, Kerbal Space Program and more

The first-person shooter will bring bounty hunters across the universe, with locations including a jungle world and a city inside an asteroid. 

"Alien weirdos" and "dangerous local wildlife" are everywhere. But Squanch reassures us that you will have the tools to deal with them because "your guns talk," meaning that the guns are literally sentient and have character voices, which sounds incredible.

"High On Life follows the misadventures of an unmotivated high-school graduate who becomes Earth's last hope following an alien invasion," Squanch Games officials added in the statement.

"These interstellar creeps are on a constant search for their next intoxicating experience, and, unfortunately, they discover that humans provide an exquisite high. The only solution is to become a bounty hunter, tracking down the kingpins in the alien cartel to stop their horrifying harvest."

This is not the first foray into space for Squanch, as their past titles include Trover Saves the Universe and Dr. Splorchy Presents: Space Heroes.

Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace