High On Life 2: High on Life 2 doesn’t try to be a serious or revolutionary game. Instead, it focuses entirely on chaotic fun, absurd humor, and creative ideas. While it’s far from perfect, it delivers enough bizarre and entertaining moments to keep players engaged all the way through. Pros Unique and completely unhinged humor Creative weapons and gameplay mechanics Fun and unpredictable story Cons Combat feels somewhat unpolished Certain mechanics could use more refinement The humor definitely won’t appeal to everyone – NikolaOtasevic
High on Life 2 from Squanch Games immediately clicked with me from the very beginning. While its humor is definitely specific and won’t work for everyone, that style personally landed well with me and genuinely made me laugh quite often. Because of that, I approached the sequel — logically titled High on Life 2 — with positive expectations, but also a bit of caution. Much like in James Gunn films, I expected the rapid-fire jokes to miss as often as they hit.
Thankfully, it turns out I’m apparently very susceptible to this kind of “immature” humor, because I ended up having a surprisingly great time — not just because of the endless toilet jokes, but also because the story constantly throws itself into completely absurd and unexpected situations.
Murder Mysteries, Aliens, and Total Chaos
Early in the game, for example, you suddenly find yourself playing as someone’s wife aboard a luxury cruise ship, only for the story to transform into a full-blown murder mystery where you and a talking gun wearing a hat become detectives straight out of a Benoit Blanc-style investigation. The game is packed with these ridiculous scenarios and never takes itself seriously — and if its humor works for you, you’re in for a fantastic time.
The story continues after the events of the first game, with the player character — now an established bounty hunter — breaking the rules to save their sister Lizzie. In doing so, they not only put a massive target on their back, but also become entangled in her eco-terrorism campaign against Rhea Pharmaceuticals, a corporation using humans to manufacture dangerous recreational drugs.
“Eat the Rich” Satire and Corporate Madness
Despite taking place in a bizarre alien universe, the game carries a very direct political message. Through its portrayal of giant corporations and the billionaires running them, High on Life 2 makes its “eat the rich” mentality crystal clear.
Gameplay That’s Messy but Fun
Gameplay-wise, the shooting mechanics — while fun — definitely have flaws and occasionally feel a bit rough around the edges. Aiming is responsive enough, and hit detection works reliably, but there’s still something slightly “loose” about the overall gunplay that’s difficult to describe precisely.
What truly shines, however, are the Gatlians — the living weapons that remain the core identity of the franchise. They bring huge variety to both combat and exploration, with their unique abilities being heavily integrated into traversal and puzzle-solving mechanics.
Skateboarding and Chaotic Traversal
Skateboarding, introduced as a new traversal mechanic for the larger hub areas, is both a cool addition and a compromise. Grinding rails and quickly moving around the world feels fantastic, but once combat is added into the mix, things can become chaotic in ways that don’t always improve the pacing.
Still, as a method of traversing the world, skateboarding is a genuinely fun feature — especially when paired with the vehicle-based fast travel system that prevents the game from ever feeling too slow.
The Gatlians Remain the Real Stars
The Gatlians remain the true heart of the game, whether you enjoy the concept or not. New additions like Sheath — voiced by Ralph Ineson — and Travis add a lot both mechanically and comedically.
Sheath uses electric projectiles that can transform into ziplines, while Travis can launch a substance capable of levitating objects into the air. The game uses these abilities very creatively, particularly for traversal.
A Visual Style Full of Color and Madness
Visually, the game embraces bright, explosive colors — almost as if the entire universe survived some alien version of a Color Run event. The pastel-heavy palette and bizarre environmental design give the game a unique identity.
That said, the level design can be inconsistent. Larger open areas sometimes feel empty and forgettable compared to the more carefully designed linear sequences.
Final Verdict
While I can’t directly compare it to the first game, it’s obvious that High on Life 2 aims to make everything bigger and crazier. The humor, shooting, and exploration remain the core focus, but they’re expanded through new mechanics and ideas.
In the end, High on Life 2 knows exactly who its audience is. If you enjoy unpredictable humor, chaotic gameplay, and an endless stream of absurd moments, there’s a very good chance you’ll have a fantastic time with it — along with all the ridiculous jokes that come bundled with the experience.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out our other reviews as well.
A review copy of the game was provided by IrisMega
