Shh, don’t tell anyone about High on Life’s legally dubious Frasier joke

By Giovanni Colantonio Published December 15, 2022

The recently released High on Life is full of hilarious pop culture references, from nods to Metal Gear Solid to fully watchable 90s movies. My favorite joke, however, comes from a legally dubious Frasier joke (that I probably shouldn’t be drawing attention to).

The gag is easy to miss, as it’s tied to a hidden collectible. Throughout High on Life, players can find Trash Bag Babies trading cards. As you might have guessed, these are a not-so-subtle riff on Topps’ old Garbage Pail Kids trading card line. Each features a different alien kid with their own name and flavor text describing their whole deal.

A trading card in High on Life shows Frasier. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The most notable card in the series is #6: Frasier from Frasier. There’s no clever, veiled reference here; it’s literally just a card depicting Frasier Crane from Cheers and Frasier. At first, you may wonder if Squanch Games is even allowed to include a drawing of Kelsey Grammer in its game. The card’s flavor text implies that the studio doesn’t really know either.

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“We’re not allowed to do this one,” the card reads. “This card is gonna get us sued. It doesn’t even really fit into the set but we forgot to change it so yep, this one’s just Frasier from the TV show Frasier.”

If you want to find Frasier and put him in your own collection, you can find the card in the Old Town location. Once you exit the portal, you’ll find it on one of the rooftops in the town (use the zipline above your head to get to it). Just make sure not to tell anyone once you find it. We wouldn’t want Squanch Games to get sued.

High on Life is available now on PC and Xbox via Game Pass.

Giovanni Colantonio

Senior Gaming Editor

As Digital Trends' Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…

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Gaming

I don’t need Starfield because I have The Outer Worlds

The spacer looks out over a vast horizon in The Outer Worlds 2 key art.

Starfield will be one of the biggest games of 2023, but I'm not that excited to play it yet.
While Starfield's spotlight at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase this year highlighted some impressive features, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd already gotten everything I'd want from a traditional sci-fi RPG like this from another game: The Outer Worlds from Obsidian Entertainment. Ironically developed by another Microsoft-owned studio, The Outer Worlds showed that bloating up a sci-fi game with thousands of planets isn't necessary when a "less is more" mentality can still result in an expertly designed sci-fi RPG.
Although The Outer Worlds might not be as nearly as grand as Starfield in scope, it still leaves an impression every time I revisit it. It's a focused, replayable, and hilarious adventure without much bloat, which is what I want from my RPGs. It does this while emulating Bethesda's classic The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games too, beating Starfield to the punch.
Starfield could impress me when it launches, but what I've seen of it hasn't got me that eager to play it when I'm so content with replaying The Outer Worlds while avidly waiting for its sequel.
Starfield: Official Gameplay Reveal
Fewer worlds, more fun
From the moment your escape pod accidentally lands on a bounty hunter that's supposed to help you, it's clear that The Outer Worlds is a tongue-in-cheek, satirical take on capitalism, colonization, and the sci-fi genre as a whole. While Bethesda Game Studios' narratives have their fair share of humor, much of its writing tends to be more serious and dryly written. We haven't seen enough of Starfield's dialogue or narrative to get a sense of its thematic identity yet.
Starfield's narrative could be more playful than we've seen so far, but the game's massive scope is what really worries me. During the Microsoft showcase, Todd Howard boasted that there are over 1,000 planets to explore. Because Starfield is so huge, I worry that it risks feeling unfocused. Will I get bored on planets that aren't very handcrafted and don't have as much to do? It's the same potential issue that infamously plagued No Man's Sky at launch.
Meanwhile, The Outer Worlds and its upcoming sequel are intentionally designed to avoid those bloat issues, according to former Obsidian Entertainment Narrative Designer Nitai Poddar in a 2019 Game Informer interview. "There is a lot of value in having an open-ended game that is still structured around individual discreet levels," he said. "It also tends to be easier to develop, and I'm always a fan of making the most of a budget that you have."

The Outer Worlds' developers didn't have a huge budget, and kept the game small but very tightly designed as a result. You might not be able to explore entire planets or fly between them, but you'll definitely remember what you did on every single one you visited. This smaller scope allowed the studio to make the world more reactive to each dialogue choice and player decision.
Playing a combat-focused build in The Outer Worlds gives you an entirely different experience than a dialogue-driven playthrough. You can also murder or scorn everyone you meet in The Outer Worlds, and the game accounts for it in tangible, narrative ways. This makes The Outer Worlds a great sci-fi roleplaying experience, and I'm hopeful its sequel will be too. I'm not as hungry for a sci-fi RPG on such a potentially problematic large scale anymore when The Outer Worlds and its handcrafted worlds and narratives are so enjoyable moment-to-moment, just like classic Bethesda games.
Where both games will boldly go
As far as sci-fi experiences go, Starfield can stand out from The Outer Worlds with its combat, base-building and shipbuilding, and space combat. But when it comes to the core tenets of Bethesda's best RPGs -- compelling characters, well-written narratives, and lots of reactive and choice-driven moments -- The Outer Worlds beat Starfield to the punch without any additional fat. I already have the Bethesda-like sci-fi experience I always wanted.

Gaming

Where to find the cartographer in Emerald Stair in Avowed

Environmental shot of Galawains Tusks Slumbering Fields in Avowed.

You will probably have a good grip on all the tips and tricks needed to beat Avowed by the time you reach the second zone, Emerald Stair. However, no matter how many abilities you have or how good your gear is, finding a missing person with just a vague hint never gets any easier. We already helped Sanza find a missing cartographer in Dawntrail, but he has lost another in Emerald Stair and needs us to track them down. Like last time, the Avowed won't tell you where to go so we explored the entire region to show you exactly where to track them down.
Where to find the cartographer in Emerald Stair

The first cartographer quest at least gave you the general direction to find them, but this time we are only given the name of the area within Emerald Stair. The area in question is called Naku Tedek and is the isolated island on the south end of the map.

Gaming

3 PlayStation Plus games to play this weekend (March 14-16)

The PC version of Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut.

The beginning of March was light in upcoming PS5 games, but the long-delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows is right around the corner. But we still have an entire weekend to fill before it comes out, which is where your PlayStation Plus subscription pays off. The Essential games for March were incredibly strong, but the back catalogue of Extra and Premium games has the perfect selection to get you excited for all the biggest upcoming video games, like Death Stranding 2. Or, it could be the perfect way to find a fun, bite-sized game to hold you over until next week's releases hit and dominate your time. As always, I have hand-selected only the best games in PlayStation Plus for you to play this weekend.
Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut - Announcement Trailer | PS5, PS4

Even before Shadows was announced, Ghost of Tsushima was touted as being the Japanese AC game that Ubisoft should have made years ago. While that is a reductive way to frame it, there's no denying there are similarities, and the two will be directly compared. Whether you plan on playing Shadows or not, Ghost is a magnificent game that still boasts some of the best graphics on PS5. Exploring the vibrant island of Tsushima as you follow the wind and animals rather than waypoints gives you a deep appreciation for the world you're fighting for. If you missed out on the Director's Cut content, jumping back in for the Iki Island DLC is perhaps the best part of the experience.