High on Life is the perfect example of not buying games based on the Metascore. The User Score on Metacritic for High on Life for both PC and Xbox Series X beats the Metascore considerably. High on Life is also one of the most successful games on the Xbox Game Pass. It also stands firm in the top five of Steam’s global most-sold games more than a week after launch.
High on Life was released for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Microsoft Windows on the 13th Dec 2022. Squanch Games develop the game. The game takes place in a Sci-Fi world, with the main attraction being a talking game. High on Life is an FPS with adventure and Metroidvania elements.
High on Life’s Metascore for PC is 68, and the User Score is 7.9 (equivalent to 79). Websites like Digital Trend, Twinfinite, and Tech-Gaming rated it below 70. However, the worst rating comes from TheGamer, which gave the game a mere 40, and LonestarBR gave the game a zero. The Metascore for the game on PC is based on 20 top critics, including the PC Gamer, which also gave it a 40 rating out of hundred.
However, this is not even the worst; the contrast in the rating is even more when considering the Xbox Series X version of High on Life. The Metascore for the game on Xbox Series X is 64, whereas the User Rating is 8.2 (equivalent to 82). 26 review websites were considered to come upon the Metascore, with the Guardian, NME, Pure Xbox, and Buy Who Tho rating the game as the worst. Here are their ratings:
Guardian – 40
NME – 40
Pure Xbox – 40
Buy Who Tho – 30
The issue with review websites is that the reviews are based on the personal experience of one or few journalists, who may or may not like the game and only represents part of the player base. Therefore, game reviews should always be taken lightly and not as a proven facts. User reviews, on the other hand, tell a much better story about a game (when not altered by false review bombing)