High On Life has proved to be an incredibly polarizing game. Even from the first clips that were released of it, you either loved it or hated it. Fans said that the game was incredibly witty and funny, while detractors say it drags on with unfunny banter. Meanwhile, opinions on the gameplay are entirely split — not to mention the other drama the game has brought with it.
But, the game does have its fans who truly love the experience for its oddball humor that never stops (for better or worse), for the strange and unique artstyle the studio always has, and the weirder take on an FPS game. No matter what you love from High On Life, there’s a similar game here for you.
FPS games are a genre that hasn’t seen much innovation in recent generations, so new takes like High On Life are a breath of fresh air — and one other fresh take is Metal: Hellsinger. Metal: Hellsinger is an FPS that sees you control a lost soul as you blast your way through the layers of hell to recover your voice and get revenge on the demons.
The main draw of Hellsinger is how it combines the FPS and rhythm game elements, with you having to move and shoot to the beat to deal extra damage, requiring extra strategy and thought in your movement and how to keep the beat going. The game also features many well known metal artists with songs that metal fans are bound to fall in love with.
9 Smile For Me
One of the things that always stands out with the creator’s games is the strange approach to character design and writing, and for those who want a less vulgar take that shares a similar vibe, Smile For Me is the perfect game. Smile For Me sees you transferred to The Habitat, a strange complex housing unhappy people with a manic doctor in charge, where you have to help everyone become happy and try to escape.
Smile For Me is a home run in terms of visual appeal, with a unique 2.5D style to everything, creative use of real pictures, and of course absolutely wonderful character design. Plus the game is charming as can be. While the writing isn’t deep, every single character is super quirky and lovable with their own storylines to follow along with. It’s hard not to smile while playing this game.
8 Superhot
As said before, finding an FPS that is truly unique with its mechanics is a difficult task these days, but the indie scene has been great for experimental FPS games, and Superhot was no doubt the cause. Superhot is a first-person shooter that gives you one idea that changes the entire experience: time only moves when you move.
This one idea changes the entire game from what would be a minimalist take on an FPS to almost a puzzle game as you get to take things slowly and perfectly analyze impossible situations to figure out the right move. Every level is designed as an excellent thought challenge and rewards you with feeling like an action hero as you see your playthrough in real time.
7 Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Humor in games is a hard thing to pull off — most of the time, it’s only done through writing, which means it either has to be sparse or the game has to be constantly chatty. Octodad: Dadliest Catch features another approach. Octodad is a strange semi-platformer game that sees you as an octopus disguised as a human trying to do everyday tasks for your family without raising suspicion.
While Octodad does have lots of funny writing, the main humor comes from the gameplay itself as Octodad is incredibly weird to control and makes for all sorts of hilarious moments with the physics system, almost like real time slapstick comedy. Players beware, however, because those wacky controls can also sometimes make the game frustrating to play if you’re not in the right mood.
6 Monster Prom
While some games can express a lot of comedy through their gameplay, most games rely purely on their writing, and visual novel games have a clear advantage in this regard, such as with Monster Prom. Monster Prom is a multiplayer take on a dating sim that sees you and your friends compete to woo one of your oddball monster classmates.
Monster Prom’s main appeal is its writing, featuring a combination of oddball and somewhat crude humor with the utterly insane world and characters who are hard not to fall in love with. It all comes together to make for a riot of a time. And, due to the game being a dating sim and primarily text-based, it gets to put absolutely all its effort into its charming writing.
5 Jazzpunk
Games can also just be made comedic in other ways, offering strange interactive experiences such as the surrealist Jazzpunk. Jazzpunk is a weird adventure game that sees you as a secret agent for an unnamed organization needing to pull off missions to recover valuable items and intel, going through an insane world to do so.
Jazzpunk is less a game and more a series of really great interactive gags. The game usually drops you into its mission worlds and lets you explore around, each inch having something weird to interact with for a joke. While not everything works, the game goes a mile per minute with how fast it throws jokes at you that it manages to work no matter what.
4 Trover Saves The Universe
High On Life has a unique style of comedic writing that, while not for everyone, certainly has its fans, and those fans are in luck if they haven’t played Trover Saves The Universe. Trover Saves The Universe sees you playing as a nameless alien controlling Trover through your TV as you have to take him on strange adventures to, well, save the universe.
The game has very similar writing to High On Life, with the main character Trover constantly bickering and bantering with other characters in that same casual tone with so many jokes crammed in. While it is a perfect match in terms of writing, the gameplay may prove a little lacking for fans, as while the second person gameplay is interesting, it ends up a little basic. It does make for a pretty great VR experience, however.
3 The Stanley Parable
Games that are purely meant to be funny through writing that aren’t based around reading can easily flop due to a lack of player engagement through gameplay or choices, and yet despite offering nothing new in that regard, The Stanley Parable manages to be an excellent commentary on that. The Stanley Parable is an adventure game that sees you going through your office after all your co-workers disappear, deciding your route all while dealing with a narrator who will sass you if you choose incorrectly.
The Stanley Parable is a game about multiple choices, seeing its various endings is the appeal because each has some form of genius writing and commentary on free will and player choice, sometimes delving into full on existential dread. But, the game is also incredibly funny and charming, all thanks to the narrator who is the sole source of dialogue in most of the game. The incredible performance alone makes this a game that is hard to describe but a blast to play through.
2 Psychonauts 2
High On Life’s art style is quite eye-catching, featuring one of the more creative art styles to come to the video game space in recent years. The often weird and surreal elements are reminiscent of another phenomenal game: Psychonauts 2. Psychonauts 2 is a sequel to the cult classic platformer that sees you delving into various peoples’ minds to explore them and help with their problems.
Psychonauts as a whole is beloved and renowned for its art style and character design, breaking the mold back in the day with a style that was neither realistic nor cutesy, instead having an oddball, misshapen style that reflected its character and tone perfectly. The oddball and somewhat cynical comedic writing should appeal to High On Life fans, as well.
1 Portal 2
There’s a lot of debate on which games are truly the funniest or most witty, with many lists having incredible variation, but in terms of sheer wit, no one can deny Portal 2’s brilliance. Portal 2 is a puzzle game that sees you still trapped in the Aperture Testing Facility after years of slumber. You have to use portal technology to try to escape these test chambers while dealing with manipulative and snarky robots.
Portal 2 has some of the best writing in gaming with a mix of pure comedy — that almost always lands perfectly — and actual heart and drama intertwined with it as you learn more about GLaDOS and the history of the company. Not to mention the game is also just an incredible puzzle game with so many mind-bending mechanics to play around with and real head-scratchers of puzzles — it’s a complete package of a game.
