5 Games To Play High – Press X To Get High

Weed and video games go together like peanut butter and… weed. This magical combo is what inspired the creation of Press X To Get High, the live show that streams every Wednesday on our brand new Twitch channel. The three hosts of the show have each chosen five games that they have deemed the “5 Best Games to Play High” or “The High Five”.

5 Games To Play High: SNAKE’S HIGH FIVE

So here I am. Growing older all the time. Looking older all the time. Feeling younger in my mind. It’s nostalgia time bitches!

Do you ever take a hit and you cough super hard and then you have this taste in your mouth and you look to your friend like “Holy shit dude. This weed tastes like high school”? It can’t just be me. If you ever get that taste in your mouth, quickly pop on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

Assuming you’ve played this masterpiece when it came out, the soundtrack will take you right back and you’re gonna be singing every word. We’re singing the Superman song by Goldfinger. We’re singing Primus. We’re singing Dead Kennedys.

Now I’m not talking about THPS2 or 3 or 4 or Underground or American Wasteland or Downhill Jam or any of that bullshit. I’m talking OG Kush. I’m talking Ichiban. Number 1. We can argue all day about which one was the best, but we can’t argue about which one came first and took the special place in my heart forever. I want you to get into THPS and forget that there was a time when you couldn’t manual. There was a time when the craziest special move was a Darkslide. I want you to get into that time, and remember what it was like to have fun with weed and video games.

Shit, I totally peaked in high school.

This is a game that we played live on Press X To Get High, and we LOVED it. Those familiar with the series know this is a challenging game that relies heavily on your problem-solving skills to find your target, learn about the environment, devise a plan to kill the target, execute the plan. Just like Dark Souls III, this game may sound overwhelming. But unlike Souls, the fun part of this game is not to get high on accomplishment but instead you will find endless amounts of fun in finding new creative ways to take out your opponent because some of them are HILARIOUS.

Remote mines, assault rifles, tampering with machinery, or just old fashioned strangulation are some of my favourite ways to end digital lives. If you choose to look at Hitman as sort of a dark-comedy, you will have so much fun with this game while you’re eating way too many edibles on a Sunday night.

For best results, play this game with a friend or two. Pass the controller around after every death or every mission and see how your friends try to tackle the same problem you did. Many people will die and you will have many laughs.

Also, for the record, I’m a lot better at this game now.

Are you the type that likes to get a little deep sometimes? You’re the stoned philosopher who reads articles about Nietzsche alone with your pipe? You wanna question what it is to be a human while you stare at colourful visuals? This is the one for you, you little weirdo.

NieR: Automata is an Action RPG with hack’n’slash combat but wait, it’s also a Shoot ‘em Up sometimes? It’s like Zelda but also Galaga but then it’s also got one of those stories like Metal Gear Solid that makes you say to yourself “I don’t know what’s going on in this game but I think I love it with all of my heart.”

That probably didn’t explain it very well.

Let me try again.

The game is called NieR: Automata and it’s Japanese even though the title sounds super Latin, or maybe… I don’t know, Greek? German? …Ok I looked on Google. An “Automaton” is a moving mechanical device made in imitation of a human being. Which makes sense because this game’s narrative is full of robots. But what’s a NieR?

Oh that’s just the protagonist’s name from the first game. Is he even in this one? No, it’s set in a different time when alien machines invaded and took over the world so humans built androids which are just blindfolded Japanese kids with giant ninja swords and they send them back to Earth to kill the alien machines so the humans can eventually move back to Earth from the Moon…

…is that confusing?

Oh yeah, and the game has 26 endings, all of them unique. If you play the game a second/third/fourth/etc time, the events of the story will change and you’ll be able to play as different characters from the first playthrough.

If that makes you a bit confused, but intrigued, then go see what this shit is all about. If you aren’t gonna check it out then at least check out the soundtrack – it is beautiful as fuck.

You think this is weird choice don’t you? This series is known for being exceedingly difficult. It tests your reflexes, your motor skills, your problem-solving skills, and your determination to complete tasks. These aren’t things usually associated with getting high, I realize that, but hold on doggy I’m getting there.

You die A LOT. You will die so many times and you will be so frustrated that you might break your controller in a dramatic fit of rage. The game is cruel, unfair, dark and depressing.

Now you’re thinking “Ok really though, this sounds like a terrible game to play high.” But I disagree. Being lifted is the only way to play this game plus THE GAME ITSELF GETS YOU HIGH! It’s like double shots of dopamine and it’s wonderful.

How does it increase your high? Well, I don’t know, have you ever completed a near impossible task? Have you ever fixed something that was deemed unrepairable? Have you ever climbed a mountain? No, you probably haven’t. But you’re gonna beat the first boss in Dark Souls III and you’re going to feel like a champion. The rush of adrenaline you get from landing that finishing blow on a monster that is 10 times your size is exhilarating. That feeling is the reason why Souls made my list.

The story is confusing and never fully laid out for you, it makes you feel as if you are not the protagonist in this story but an observer of a deep mysterious world that doesn’t care about your fleeting existence as they drop a cutscene on you where some old woman tells you about a magical flame and an ancient war between zombie-gods and dragons and you somehow have less knowledge at the end than you did at the beginning.

And as for that story I was mentioning? The elusive narrative is can actually be learned through heavy exploration and research, but it is best-learned on YouTube! That’s right, the Internet is here to save the day. Go on YouTube, search up VaatiVidya, click on a lore video, take a huge dab and learn the history of a dark fantastical world full of badass creatures and characters.

P.S Shout out to the Soulsborne players who think DS3 would be the wrong place to start because I might agree with you but god damn it, it’s my favourite one in the series and this is my list.

I’ll be honest. Ocarina of Time isn’t the best game to play high – IT’S THE BEST GAME TO PLAY. PERIOD. FULL STOP. I really just wanted to put it on the list because I love the game so much. Majora’s Mask is a little bit more “trippy” if you’re looking for typical stoner stuff but OoT holds the most special place in my heart.

I have played this game probably 420 times (lol 420, weed is tight) and every single time I have enjoyed it more. It’s the perfect adventure game, without too many RPG elements bogging down gameplay with mechanics like grinding for experience points or inventory maintenance. The visuals were groundbreaking at the time, and may not have aged too well but hold on a damn second, they remastered this shit for the 3DS and it looks amazing.

The overworld isn’t too big that you find yourself traveling more than solving puzzles or fighting enemies. The storyline involves time travel and sacred artifacts but it’s not too confusing or pretentious. The boss fights are creative and rewarding to beat for first time players, but never too punishing. If you’re like me and are on playthrough #421 the boss fights are like old familiar friends.

Smoking weed with old familiar friends is one of my favorite things to do.

Everybody loves to spark up and laugh. I feel like there is nothing better than throwing on a stand up special and busting a gut high as hell. These games play exactly like watching a long format south park episode.  Both these games are classic style turn based combat so you can break anytime for munchies or because your dog is being a dick. They are filled with the over the top stupid south park fun that has them on what season now? 22? Holy shit I’m old.  Anyways relax and join up with Cartman and crew, Oh don’t forget to bring a towel!

Sometimes when I’m high I just want to throw on some music and crush everything in my path. Diablo’s dungeon crawling collect-a-thons are jam packed with monsters and bosses to obliterate as you pass the blunt to your buddy. They can be played by yourself or couch style with your favorite demon vanquishing dude or dudette. It’s the low effort button smashing dopamine inducing gameplay that has made blizzard a household name. So as Deckard Cain would say won’t you stay awhile and listen?

You can pretty much pop on any Grand Theft Auto game and have a blast. I’m pretty sure that’s what they are made for. Getting high as hell and ripping GTA is just a heightened experience. I have been too many parties where the roto included a controller as well as the joint and this game series. I have literally cried from laughter while playing this game as I went on a serial punching fest along the streets of San Andreas. Everything is exaggerated in this parody world Rockstar has crafted for us. The soundtracks and in game radio stations are always expertly crafted if you are down to get away from the cops in style. The ragdoll effects are some of my favorite yet. Racing through streets jumping out of an airplane and smashing through this virtual world in a tank can make for some seriously hilarious escapades. I recently learned that GTA 5 is the highest grossing entertainment release ever. You read that right I’m not just high.  It has raked in more than books, concerts, games, or films and for a game released back in 2013 that’s pretty good. It has sold 90 million units and boasts more than 6 billion in revenue. So see what all the hype is about and jump yourself into some crazy action movie scene.

It’s no secret that the Smash series is personally one of my favorite video game series to ever be released. But did you know it’s one of my favorites to bong rip and down B my buddies into horrific existential dread?  Well now you do! These games, what can I say about them that hasn’t been said. The fluid amazing controls, the ever ballooning Avenger’s level cast of fighters that continues to grow! That has us pitting all of our favorite fictional characters together in a white knuckle battle to the dea… err side of the screen. Me and my buddies favorite pastime for what seems like a millennium has been passing a bong or pipe around and then handing out beat downs. Sure your reactions are slightly slowed and sure, you just killed yourself off the side because you didn’t use your recovery properly. But it’s the moments when time slows and you have that perfect flow of weed and grease on the joystick and you suddenly move like the flash saving people from a burning building. Nobody can touch you and you keep racking up the wins. Pure bliss. Do yourself a favor pick up a nice hybrid and smash bros and down your best buddies!

P.S Nintendo give us Goku. Let me hit em with that KAME…HA!!

Bethesda has been making incredible games for what seems like my entire life. We know that they are highly addictive worlds full of magic machinery and wonder waiting to be carved out and explored. We also know that they are often full of bugs and glitches. But that’s beside the point DID YOU JUST SEE THAT DRAGON!? These games are about getting lost and forgetting what quest you were even doing and wait, how am I in a Dwemer ruin again. Honestly I have lost so many hours wandering through these worlds and protecting settlements that I lost track; and isn’t that what a great game is?  A thrilling narrative and world we can light up and fall into; forgetting the dreary mundane existence of the fact that we need toilet paper again, I know, I know! So Strap on some power armor or scream your dragon tongue Fus Ro Dah! But don’t forget to enjoy em on high, because when you fall into these memorable worlds, you won’t regret it.

The Elder Scrolls series has always been a collection of games with intense depth and strategy. If your ever looking for fully realized world to lose yourself in then these games are definitely for you. Be it Morrowind, Oblivion or the most recent Skyrim you are always in for a treat. With enchanted swords and huge dragons to fell there is always something rad to do. I couldn’t say with any accuracy how many times I’ve realized 2 hours in, stoned off my face, that I’m in an entirely new place getting my ass kicked by a race of creatures I didn’t know exist. There is always such a huge feeling of self discovery while playing these games which I think help make this an amazingly stoned experience.

The lego games might seem childish to the seasoned gamer who is used to challenging

themselves with difficult dungeons or super strong enemies. These games can be played

both with a completionist’s mind set or in the far more simple straight run through the game.

The game is only asking of you what you want to give it, I suggest picking the LEGO game

based on your favorite movie and seeing where it takes you. It is never frustratingly difficult

and always weirdly satisfying running around and picking up those LEGO bits to buy cool

outfits and secret unlockables. Great game to get baked and just mentally check out.

A great game to play while stoned is Marvel’s Spider-Man. This game was exactly what we have hoped every Spider-man game leading up to this would be. There is something oh so satisfying about the ability to traverse the entire city of Manhattan, Climb to the top of any building and swing like butter everywhere you go. The combat in this game was fluid and just made sense. The amount scenes and moments that were jaw dropping to watch and play makes this a fantastic game to get high AF and play.

2. Katamari Damacy Re:roll

If you smoke pot and play video games but have never heard of Katamari it is time to change that. The Katamari games stand to me as probably the trippiest game on the market. You play as a little “princeling” who is tasked with rolling up multiple balls made up of different objects in the world slowing getting larger as the ball does. Essentially it is a game where you roll up stuff. The themes in the game also lend to an almost flower child view of mass consumption as put forth by the tootsie roll headed ruler of the galaxy.

Just recently I have really started to play around with my Playstation VR. These are the best games to play stoned. Somehow every game I have loaded up has had my jaw drop and I react with, “HOLY SHIT” or “HOW IS THIS REAL?”. With awesome games ranging from cute puzzle platformers (Astro Bot, Moss), to badass shooters (Firewall, Farpoint) all the way to insidious nightmare fuel games (Resident Evil 7, The Inpatient). Though the games that are being released still feel basic as far as graphics and length of game they always feel like an experience unparalleled anywhere else. The VR is a trip that I think every self respecting Pot head must take.