High On Life is a first person action adventure game from Squanch Games. The title is out now on PC through Steam, and Game Pass as well as Xbox consoles. Unlike Squanch Games’ previous titles, High On Life isn’t a VR title, but still features some comedic writing and a vibrant alien setting. The PC version runs for the most part, but there are a few issues players are running into. If you’re running into the High On Life crash at launch, here are a few things I recommend.
Fixing the High On Life Crash at Launch Issue
As usual, with most new releases players are bound to run into crashing issues. This is mostly due to lack of prerequisites on the user’s end, or some broken game files. Thankfully, for most players, the following recommendations can easily fix this, and you can get into the game.
Verify Game Files
The first thing you want to do is ensure that your files are in order. High On Life is available on a variety of clients including Steam, Epic Games Launcher, and Game Pass for PC. Players can easily verify their game files on any of these clients by following the steps below.
Steam
- Open Steam, and navigate to your library
- Right-click on High On Life in your library
- Click Properties
- Select the LOCAL FILES tab
- Click on Verify Integrity of local files…
After clicking this, a scan will start, and Steam will go through your files to check for anything out of order.
Xbox App for PC
- Launch the Xbox App
- On the left, under INSTALLED, click on the three dots next to High On Life
- Select Manage
- Select the FILES tab, and then click on VERIFY AND REPAIR under Options
Epic Games Launcher
- Open your Library in the Epic Games Launcher
- Now, click on the three dots next to High On Life
- Here, select Manage
- Click on the Verify button next to Verify Files
Update DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables
Ensure that both DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables are on the latest version.
Manually update your GPU Drivers
Make sure that you have the latest drivers for your GPU installed. You can get the latest ones from the links below.
Add an exception to your anti-virus
It’s possible that the game is being flagged as a threat by your anti-virus software. Make sure to add it to the list of exclusions or exceptions.
We have listed some popular ones and their respective FAQ pages.
- Windows Defender
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Malwarebytes
- Avast Antivirus
- AVG Antivirus
- Kaspersky Anti-Virus
- Webroot SecureAnywhere
- McAfee Antivirus (Steam Support guide)
- Bitdefender
Switch to dedicated GPU (Laptop Users)
Ensure that your dedicated GPU is being utilized instead of the integrated one.
Switching to the dedicated Nvidia GPU
- First, open the Nvidia Control Panel
- Then navigate to 3D Settings and then Manage 3D Settings
- Open the tab Program Settings and choose High On Life from the dropdown menu
- Next, select the preferred graphics processor for this program from the second dropdown.
- Your Nvidia GPU should show as High-performance Nvidia processor
- Save the changes
Switching to the dedicated AMD GPU
- First, open Radeon Settings
- Then navigate to Preferences, followed by Additional Settings
- Here, select Power and then Switchable Graphics Application Settings
- Select High On Life from the list of applications
- If High On Life isn’t in the list, click the Add Application button and select the executable from the installation directory. This adds the game to the list, and you’ll be able to select it afterward.
- In Graphics Settings, assign the High-Performance profile to the game.
We hope this guide helped fix the High On Life Crash at launch issue. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
