You need to create a new VM, make it Other-64bit.
Now set the memory to at least 4gbs.
Set number of processors to a minimum of 2.
Set the cdrom to sata.
Click finish to finish the VM. The click on Edit Virtual Machine Settings and delete the ide hard drive and
add a SATA drive, choose use existing Virtual Disk. Navigate to where you unzipped the HighSierra.vmdk
file and select it.
Now power on the virtual machine and choose HighSierra to boot. This will boot you to initial setup.