High on Life is the most played game on Game Pass, according to an image shared by industry insider Benji-Sales that shows Squanch Games’ new sci-fi shooter at the top of Microsoft’s most popular list, besting out other acclaimed games that include Minecraft and Playground Games’ latest open-world racer, Forza Horizon 5.
“This ended up hitting way bigger than I (and probably they) anticipated,” Benji-Sales said, noting that High on Life is probably the biggest day-one Game Pass launch of 2022 and how Microsoft would be wise to work with Squanch Games on an exclusivity deal for a sequel, similar to the current game, which is available to play exclusively on Windows PCs and Xbox consoles.
High on Life has passed Minecraft to become the #1 Most Popular Game on Game Pass. Incredible result given the staying power Minecraft and Forza Horizon 5 have at the top of the chart
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) December 19, 2022
I'm pretty confident now High on Life is the biggest Game Pass "Day 1" launch of 2022. pic.twitter.com/KU7AXSRon8
Squanch Games announced High on Life on June 12, 2022, describing it as a hilarious sci-fi shooter from Justin Roiland, the creator of Rick and Morty, who founded the Burbank-based video game studio in August 2016.
“From the mind of Justin Roiland comes High On Life,” reads a description for the game that counts talking alien guns as one of its chief features. “Humanity is discovered by an alien cartel, and it turns out we’re the strongest drug in the cosmos. It’s up to you and a group of charismatic, talking guns to take down the G3 alien drug cartel and save humanity.”
“The guns in High On Life are […] sentient life forms from another planet,” Mike Fridley, Studio Director, Squanch Games, elaborated in his announcement post. “They have their own cute faces, and they can talk out of those cute faces. It’s not just random talking, either. Your companions/guns have distinct personalities, and they’ll share their thoughts about what’s going on — even weaving their thoughts and opinions into the story in important ways.”
Aside from talking guns, many High on Life players have also praised the game’s colorful visuals and the way that it starts, pretending to be an old-school FPS before taking players to a surburb that’s later attacked by aliens.
High on Life has a Metascore of 68 and a User Score of 7.8 on Metacritic, where it’s listed as the 14th most discussed PC game of 2022.
Gamers who aren’t subscribed to Game Pass can buy High on Life for $59.99, according to its listing on the official Xbox site.