Is High on Life a Metroidvania? (3 Reasons It’s Not)
Reading Time: 4 minutesHigh on Life, Squanch Games’ 2022 comical sci-fi shooter, is supposed to have Metroidvania elements. But does it, really? After playing the game for over 10 hours, I now know the answer. Here are three solid reasons High on Life is not a Metroidvania.
Who would’ve thought a company named ‘Squanch’ Games would dominate Game Pass in 2022? (Not me.)
If you’re into gaming news, I’m sure you’ve heard of High on Life by now. Yep, the controversial Rick & Morty-esque first-person shooter.
It’s a classic loved-by-gamers, hated-by-critics indie game that has made history. This silly sci-fi shooter is now the most popular Game Pass release of all time, smoking Forza Horizon, FIFA 22, and even Minecraft. (It’s definitely going places.)
But there’s one thing I can’t get my head around. High on Life is supposed to be an FPS with Metroidvania elements. Wait, what?
If you look up the game, you will find this. ‘High on Life is a comedic first-person shooter game with action-adventure and Metroidvania elements.’
Let me explain.
What the Freak Is Metroidvania?
Metroidvania is a subgenre of video games identified with guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration. In plain English, it refers to games that ‘feel’ open-world but are unexplorable until you level up.
A good example is Hollow Knight. Its map seems accessible, but the mines are actually blocked. You are forced to go around, level up, and come back. That’s what Metroidvanias are about. Guided non-linearity and gear-gated paths, which fuels backtracking.
So, here comes the big question: Is there any Metroidvania soul in High on Life, or did Squanch Games play us?
I have the answer.
3 Reasons High on Life Is Not a Metroidvania
What would you expect a pack of potato chips that has elements of Pringles to taste like? You’d want it to taste a little bit like Pringles, right?
High on Life is advertised as a game with Metroidvania elements. But it does not taste like Metroidvania games—not at all.
Here are three points to clarify that.
1. High on Life Is Linear.
You can pick between fighting boss #1 or #2. But your choice has no effect on the gameplay. High on Life takes you from point A to B the whole time. If anything, it’s guided linearity.
In Super Metroid (the game responsible for ‘Metroid’ in ‘Metroidvania’), you are guided through the dungeons. But the influence is so subtle that the gameplay feels open-world.
High on Life, on the other hand, gives you a ‘scanner.’ Every time you press a button, it tells you where to go. And, in case you wonder, it almost never gives you more than one option.
The developers have tried to create an illusion of non-linearity. But they’ve failed.
2. Utility-Gated Exploration in High on Life Is Unnecessary.
Take all the puzzles and obstacles out, and the game’s still the same, a comical sci-fi FPS.
What makes utility-gated exploration fun is meaningful rewards.
In High on Life, stuff is behind obstacles for no reason. Even worse, you’re good without them. Exploration, therefore, is pointless.
The core utilities in High on Life are weapons, Gatlians. And obtaining them gradually opens new parts of the map. But towards the end, and after upgrading your jetpack, you rarely need any of them.
In other words, the game has no utility-gate balance. Most gates—or obstacles—are there to force you to use the utilities. A true Metroidvania, however, would do the opposite. It would find ways to ‘seemingly’ discourage you from passing a gate.
In Castlevania (the game responsible for ‘vania’ in ‘Metroidvania’), exploration is both rewarding and punishing. It promises new, exciting weapons at the cost of fighting more enemies.
In High on Life, the primary utilities, your guns, are a boringly fixed part of the story. You can’t skip them. You don’t pay for them. You just get them. Zero excitement.
In short, after exploring the first few secret areas, you never wonder what's behind the other gates.
Weapons aside, the only other utilities in the game are Lugloxes containing money and collectibles. You’re good without both. The only motive to get them is to complete the game, nothing more.
3. Backtracking in High on Life is ruined by teleportation.
A successful Metroidvania is the one that encourages you to come back when you’re confident enough to cross that one hellish obstacle. High on Life does the opposite. It pushes you to ‘lazy travel’ between the worlds via a teleportation device.
In Super Metroid, walking is your primary transportation means. That suspicious room you once saw is minutes away. And to get there, you must put time and HP on the line. Should you go for it? It’s a life-or-death matter.
That right there is successful backtracking.
High on Life’s version of backtracking is straight-up boring: Go to this device, press a button, and there you are.
Since ‘lazy travel’ costs nothing, you don’t have to make a choice. You go from one place to another until (hopefully) something fun comes up—which rarely does, by the way.
The Dilemma of Being High on Life
In the eyes of a Metroidvania hardcore fan, High on Life is just a cheap replica—like an unknown brand’s Pringles-inspired potato chips.
It seems like the developers were so focused on making a funny game that they forgot about the gameplay’s promises.
Of course, I can hear Kenny’s voice in my head saying, ‘Well, we never said it’s going to be a good Metroidvania.’
But ‘funny’ can’t cover for ‘flawed.’
Although I enjoyed the fourth-wall-breaking jokes, the classic pew-pew shooter style, and the random aliens’ hilarious dialogues, I was disappointed by the lack of the promised Metroidvania elements.
To wrap it up, High on Life is an entertaining sci-fi FPS. But don’t play it for the sake of Metroidvania factors. Play it for fun.
More on Games by Mohsen Baqery:
- ‘Hello Neighbor 2’ Review: An Unhappy Gamer’s Experience
Hello Neighbor 2 is supposed to be a stealth-horror puzzle game by tinyBuild. But it fails to match up to the standards of the genre. It's neither stealthy nor scary. And its puzzles are overly dull. Here's my complete review.
© 2022 Mohsen Baqery
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