Rick and Morty was already tired by the time High on Life came out in 2022. Limping off its sixth season, the burping nihilist scientist and his clumsy teen grandson had lost their wit and meant the involvement of Squanch Games co-founder and Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland was beginning to be more of a liability than an asset. High on Life was mostly engaging despite his worn-out schtick, but his unceremonious exit from the studio following troubling accusations felt like it was an opportunity for the team to forge ahead with the inevitable sequel. High on Life 2 is, indeed, a more hilarious game than its forebear, and while stronger in a few other notable areas, it still needlessly handicaps itself in a few places.
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The humor is High on Life 2’s main attraction and it is worth reiterating how the complete and utter lack of Justin Roiland makes the game dramatically funnier. There’s no more incessant stuttering interrupting the flow and the meandering diatribes don’t always end with the same poop or semen “jokes” Roiland would almost inevitably end up at while improvising. Although he was the big celebrity name behind the game, he was an anchor.
Rating: 3.5/5
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Many of the jokes are pretty funny and aided by clever premises or excellent performances | …But it takes too long to get those tools, making half of the game’s combat arenas less than ideal |
| Its story changes many of its characters and provides a silly yet worthy commentary on the pharmaceutical industry | Hubs are too big and have too much empty space |
| Combat eventually finds its stride once players get enough tools… |
With that anchor lifted, High on Life 2’s humor is able to breathe more, an aspect buoyed by its stacked cast. Tim Robinson’s charmingly aloof Creature shines with his painfully stupid observations. Ken Marino’s Travis is a pathetic sack with misplaced confidence, something that’s only further highlighted by his wife who is also an alien pistol, making for the only game where players dual-wield weapons that are actually a married couple who fire off laser blasts and insults at each other in almost equal measure.
High on Life 2 Is Funnier Than the Original
It’s a silly and clever idea that demonstrates how well High on Life 2 leverages wacky ideas for its humor and, occasionally, gameplay. A decent portion of these japes get by on their concepts, punchlines, or performances — and sometimes all three — like the Jar Jar Binks-related setup and payoff or the protagonist’s mother’s goofy new romantic partner.
But a few of these intermingle with the gameplay for added effect, such as its obsession with the real-life 1991 NES game Bible Adventures, the boss fight that partially takes place in the pause menu, and its jump cut-heavy intro that acts as a tutorial and setup for the story. There’s even a trophy or achievement that dings if the player draws a crude approximation of a penis in one of the drawing sections. While the references to other games like Silent Hill 2 or Disco Elysium are cute, they’re fleeting and pale in comparison to the more well-integrated ones that fuse directly into the gameplay and show off how the medium itself can be used to enhance a joke.
However, this isn’t to say High on Life 2 is a constant riot. The game relentlessly spews jokes out of every possible orifice and hardly gives players the chance to rest. The locals almost always have something to say, as do the player’s arsenal of talking guns and non-gun allies, and all of this dialogue tries at least a little to be funny. A decent portion of these gags are just lame or go on for too long without a quality ender, showing the downsides of trying to be crack wise nearly every second. Improvisation can be beautiful, but it can also lead to meandering monologues that don’t go anywhere or have any actual meat. Ideally, these, alongside the other bad goofs, would be cut to allow for a better good-joke-to-bad-joke ratio. The highs are higher in High on Life 2 and the lows are not as low, but they are still present.
High on Life 2‘s Combat Takes Time to Find Its Rhythm
Similarly, its shooting also bests the first game while taking a few lateral and backwards steps. As demonstrated by the underrated classic Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, living weapons leave a lot of room for personality and that’s always on display here, as having guns belt out insults while on a killing spree is a novel thrill. Firefights are chaotic enough as it is, but this is often both a drawback and a benefit.
Aside from the slight yet bothersome frame rate issues that persist throughout the entire game, a lot of the combat in the first half or so is discordant and doesn’t fully come together. The pathetic shotgun, woefully inaccurate small machine gun, and meager pistol make it hard to do any real damage — especially when considering their ineffective alternate fires — making battles drone on longer than they should. The skateboard, which replaces the sprint function, also further highlights this problem since it’s almost impossible to dispatch foes while riding on it; players simply go too fast with guns that are too weak to be able to smoothly move from grunt to grunt.
Combat picks up more when players start getting upgrades and weapons that can pack a punch. Getting a second pistol that doubles damage output and precise bow and arrow, for example, better fulfill the combat’s potential that’s bubbling just under the surface where players can wreak havoc at a steady clip and feel like the outlaw ex-bounty hunter they have become. This type of experience shouldn’t be relegated to the latter half when players have scrounged together more upgrades and viable armaments. The power level eventually gets there, but it takes too long and starts out too low.
High on Life 2‘s Large Hubs Pad Out Its Runtime
High on Life 2, despite being a first-person shooter, isn’t always about shooting, though. The aforementioned skateboard allows for some surprisingly engaging (and underused) platforming sections, races, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-esque challenges, which yield a modest amount of variety that makes it hard to go back to just simple walking and running. Players can also poke around the many hubs, take on side missions, find loot crates with various rewards, or fish with a sentient fishing rod that seems to get a sexual thrill from catching fish. Some of these aspects are more just vessels for comedy above all else and a few of them are great enough to justify their inclusion.
These hubs are just too big, though, and water down the appeal of exploring. This leads to too many collectibles and puts too much space between the jokes, making some of them easy to miss. Is that whole section of the city just there to be there or does it house some killer bit waiting to be found? It’s hard to say, and this sentiment is illustrated well through one of its secret endings that relies on players completing a side mission in a rather innocuous building. It’s a hilarious way to wrap things up, but stuff like this shouldn’t be this hard to find.
High on Life 2‘s Story Is More Than Jokes
Large hubs add unnecessary padding to the story that is otherwise pretty decent. Its commentary on the pharmaceutical industry is often stuffed with made-up buzzwords and presented with a ridiculous sci-fi wrapping, but it still manages to make well-deserved jabs at the lecherous cretins who uphold these unfair systems, be it corrupt politicians, vampiric billionaires, and clueless elites who put money above the common good. The parallels are incredibly clear and give the story more meaning than it would appear to have from the outside.
High on Life 2 recycles its main villain — a surprise that falls flat — but this highlights how well the game otherwise changes the status quo and pushes forward. Many of its characters have their own arcs (although, disappointingly, not everyone does) or transform throughout the campaign. This is a worthy narrative trick that centers its cast and keeps the story moving, but it also improves the gameplay since many of these changes lead to new toys and abilities. Some of the more unexpected mechanics come from these radical shifts, showing the upside to having such a harmonious marriage of gameplay and narrative.
Not everything in High on Life 2 is as symbiotic, but it’s still a quality experience that’s a clear step up from its promising predecessor. Like that original, not every attempt at humor lands, however, enough of them do and make for a sequel that is both funnier and more consistent. Gunplay isn’t able to keep up with this consistency, as it requires more than a few upgrades and stronger firearms to more accurately fulfill its potential. Perhaps another follow-up could smooth out these rougher patches and be a more powerful dose of Squanch Games’ signature comedy shooter blend, but High on Life 2 is still a potent enough high.
A PS5 copy of High on Life 2 was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
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