Get High on Life, and a bit crafty, on Game Pass today

There’s a change of tempo on Game Pass today, as two very different games arrive for you to test-drive. There’s High on Life (Console, Cloud and PC), the first of potentially many collaborations between Microsoft and Rick & Morty’s Justin Roiland, and Potion Craft (PC and Cloud), an alchemy simulator. 

High on Life is the one that’ll attract the most eyeballs. You don’t have to read much about the storyline before it feels very Justin Roiland. Humanity has been discovered by aliens, who are rubbing their hands with glee, as it turns out that humans make a rather potent drug. So, an alien cartel called G3 moves in and begins stuffing us into syringes to make the hardest drug in the cosmos. 

Squanch Games have made an over-the-top, gruesome shooter here, full of talking guns and snot-like projectiles. You are a human bounty hunter, looking to put an end to G3, a mission which takes you to jungle planets, cities carved out of meteors and more. Each gun has a distinct play-style (there’s one that has more than a passing similarity to Halo’s needler), which you’ll need to master to tackle diabolical beasties and the big bad, Garmantuous. 

There’s plenty of challenges to complete along the way, and you get showered with loot as you play. Expect a review from us soon, as we’re eager to see what Squanch Games might bring to the Xbox, and whether Roiland’s humour can translate to a game. 

The other game this month is Potion Craft, which doesn’t make it to Xbox, but can be played on PC and Cloud. It might not have the neon lights and bombast of High on Life, but in its own quiet way, it looks rather gorgeous. It’s an alchemy simulator, where the emphasis is on tactility and authenticity, feeling like you’re handling the ingredients and making the potion yourself. 

It’s got a hand-drawn, cross-hatched look that makes it look rather old-timey, but the effect is perfect for a game that seems to jump out of a recipe book. We’re hoping it arrives on the Xbox at some point in the future. 

We’re approaching the end of December’s first half, so there isn’t much left that has been formally announced. You can play Hot Wheels Unleashed (PC and Console) and Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan (Cloud, Console and PC) via Game Pass come December 15th, but that’s all we know. 

On the same day, a fair few games will be leaving the service. These include Aliens: Fireteam Elite (Cloud, Console, and PC), Breathedge (Cloud, Console, and PC), Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Cloud, Console, and PC), Firewatch (Cloud, Console, and PC), Lake (Cloud, Console, and PC), One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC), Neoverse (Cloud and Console), Race with Ryan (Cloud, Console, and PC), Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Cloud, Console, and PC), Rory McIlroy PGA Tour (Console) and Transformers: Battlegrounds (Cloud, Console, and PC). 

How are you getting high? On life, or with the potions of Potion Craft? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.