High on Life 2 is Squanch Games newest game, a sequel to the first that came out in late 2022. The first game marked a positive sign for Squanch Games being able to make bigger games and captivate a bigger audience. It captured humor similar to Rick and Morty but also felt very fresh. The sequel does its job of expanding on the first game in a lot of ways to create a really fun and worthwhile follow-up to its predecessor.

First, High on Life 2’s story is set roughly a few years after the first. It also leans heavily into expecting the player to know the story and characters from the first game. For anyone who hasn’t played the first, they will likely be lost with not knowing the importance of key characters that show up from the first game, both major and cameos. The opening of the game also focuses on showing the character you play as going from a hero to an outlaw. Why that is, is best left as a surprise. The game is full of fun twists throughout the entire story.

The premise of the story is that humans are being used as drugs by a pharmaceutical company, so the hero has to stop the company from using humans as drugs throughout the galaxy. While that sounds similar to the story of the first game, it also shows that the humor from the first has not gone away. Never once does the story get dull. It begins with a very memorable opening and all the way to a very fun final boss.

The next element that stands out is the world. There are a good variety of areas in the sequel, including both open areas and linear levels. Just like the first game, there is a city hub. However this time it is much bigger. This means there is more to explore, leaving more collectibles to find, such as cosmetics or weapon upgrades. However with the areas being notably bigger, it would normally be a drag to keep on running around a city hub of this size.

Skateboarding

Luckily, the biggest new mechanic of the game, riding on a skateboard, makes traveling around all the areas a lot more enjoyable. Say goodbye to sprinting. It feels fluid and allows for both grinding on rails and riding on the side of walls. It also makes for some fun platforming segments, especially in some of the linear missions, where it is focused on an epic experience for what is happening in the story. Such as one part where you go from one convention to another. First, you begin at parking con, where you do a lot of platforming, and then later end up at murder con, where it’s a convention all about using those talking guns.

Gatlians

The talking guns, known as Gatlians, are the main characters to join the player in their journey. Knifey the knife is back as the murderous melee companion, along with both an even mix of Gatlians that return from the first game and new faces. There’s a total of six main guns that provide a diverse weapon pool. The first two are the returning characters Sweezy, an SMG-like pistol, and Gus, the shotgun with big eyes. There are also new Gatlians, such as the new pistol buddy Travis or a burst rifle voiced by Ralph Ineson.

All weapons bring a good variety of play styles and make swapping between guns a lot of fun. You can skate into a battle, shoot the enemy with a shotgun, then go grind on a rail and switch to the bow and kill another from across the other side of the room. Each gun also has a special ability, which helps with both exploration, such as being able to slow down time to get past a fast-moving fan, or an ability to help in combat, such as electrocuting a group of enemies.

What also makes the guns fun is that they can talk, just like in the first game. The voice options in certain conversations or snippy remarks during combat leave a grin on any player’s face when playing. The returning voices from the first game, such as Betsy Sodaro (Sweezy) and J.B. Smoove (Gus), do a great job at voicing these fun characters as well as new additions for a well-rounded cast.

There are other characters in the cast that are not guns but also join the adventure. Most notably, Gene, the once-famous bounty hunter, and Lizzie, the main character’s sister. This helps the journey by giving direction on what to do and having characters you, as a player, work with and want to protect, thus giving the story even more stakes than random humans turning into drugs.

Final Reaction

Overall, any fans of the first game will enjoy this new addition as it takes all of what made the first one great and adds new additions to make it all even more fun. Shooting enemies while riding on a skateboard makes for a fun, unique experience. However, for anyone who hasn’t played the first game, go play it, then come back to fully enjoy this game’s skateboarding action.

High on Life 2 is available for Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.