High on Lifeintroduces players to a colorful galaxy full of unique and interesting characters, and then has them shoot the same faceless grunts for around 10 hours. They will face off against weird-looking aliens with slight variations, and thenoccasionally face one ofHigh on Life’s bossthat uses some unique abilities. After they finish a bounty, they will head off to do the same exact thing repeatedly until the game ends.
WhileHigh on Lifehas some strong writing from the mind of Justin Roiland, the game seems to have a major problem with enemy variety. This means that players will have to fight through the same scenarios repeatedly, and it makes a good case for why shooter games need a bit of variety to really stand apart.
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High on Life Has Very Few Enemy Types
High on Lifecontinuously throws the same enemies at the player throughout the story. Players fight humanoid ants, gross mytes, and an assortment of aliens covered in yellow goo. They will encounter smaller, weak goo-covered aliens named Gruntbacks, giant goo-covered aliens named Hunks, and medium-strength goo-covered aliens named Merks. There is also the occasional flying alien known as a Grentin. Beyond the powerful bosses, players will have to fight these same enemiesover the course ofHigh on Life’s 10-hour journey.
The lack of enemy variation inHigh on Lifeis one of its biggest downfalls, as players see almost everything the game has to offer before they make it halfway through the story. Each goo-covered alien is not that different from the others, and the ants are practically just Merks without goo. This leads to many rinse-and-repeat missions, and the game can sometimes feel like a bit of a slog after players have spent hours shooting the same foes across the same environments.
Shooters like High on Life Need More Enemy Variety
A lack of enemy variety is not exclusive toHigh on Life,as there are many games that have players constantly shooting the same foes.Call of DutyandBattlefieldplayers spend hours shooting faceless soldiers, zombie games are notorious for swarming the player with the same exact monsters, and games likeFar Cryconstantly have the player clearing outpostsinhabited by the same grunts. This repetition is fine in short bursts, but it can hurt player’s enjoyment of the title after a while.
High on Lifeis just the latest example of why there needs to bemore enemy variety in shooter games. Lack of variety can lead to a far less engaging experience, but adding more variety can keep things fresh. It can keep players on their toes as they have to constantly implore new gadgets and strategies to take out opponents. This is often reserved for boss fights that require players to adapt to new mechanics, but standard grunts should also be able to mix up the gunplay as well.
The lack of enemy variety inHigh on Lifedoes not completely ruin the experience, as Justin Roiland has filled the game with laugh-out-loud moments, but it is a major flaw. Players do not want to shoot through hordes of the same exact enemy; there needs to be more variety within the genre to stay fresh andkeep players coming back for more shooting mayhem.
High on Lifeis available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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