The original High On Life was released to mixed reception, seen as an interesting first-person shooter marred by its corniness. After the removal of Justin Roiland shortly after release, Squanch Games found themselves in an interesting spot while working on High On Life: High On Knife. So they took the feedback from the original and greatly expanded on these foundations with High On Life 2.
The game explores a new threat to humanity, introducing new worlds and a fresh means of traversal. It expands the Gatlian roster with new faces voiced by notable actors, all while delivering a humorous yet serious plot that remains tonally balanced within its own absurdity. However, High on Life 2 is marred by serious performance issues that undermine any interest in saving the galaxy or committing to a subsequent playthrough.
The Dawn of a Resistance
The G3 Killer achieved popularity and fame after defeating the G3 Cartel and saving Planet Earth. Through a very interactive tutorial montage, experiencing the daily celebrity lifestyle only created a large void. Everything changed after the news broke that a bounty had been placed on Lizzy for her exploits with the Bleeding Stars resistance. She learns of a horrible plot being orchestrated by the emerging conglomerate Rhea Pharmaceuticals. Humans are once again in danger of becoming a drug, but this time as a potential regulated medication called Humanzapro.
During this rescue attempt, the G3 Killer confronted other Bounty Hunters, breaking the code in the process, and was branded as a traitor. It’s now the job of the Outlaw and the Resistance to stop Rhea Pharmaceuticals by targeting their VIPs before the court hearing. The plot is pretty much the same as High On Life, only it’s set against the backdrop of a capitalist entity lobbying to have humans branded as livestock. Along the way, fighting rival factions such as The Good Guys, who are composed of former G3 mercs, and the Button’s Gluttons, a group of bounty hunters who are also eco-environmentalists.
While it does feature Squanch Games’ brand of fourth-wall-breaking, self-referential humor, it’s also less front-loaded and better-paced overall. This time around, the plot has serious stakes, and the characters handle it accordingly. The studio also addressed the Gatlians’ commentary; even on the highest setting, they tend to speak when necessary rather than fill empty space. There’s even a joke about how much they spoke during the first game’s boss battle. There are also optional moments found through the hubs and humorous sections that are funny at first but become repetitive on multiple playthroughs.
A Renewed Shredding
Underneath High On Life was a very interesting and personalized first-person shooter, featuring the Gatlians. A race of talking guns that play differently while also being inspired by other popular franchises. Throughout this journey, the Outlaw encounters new Gatlians that become the highlight of the game for their personalities and versatility. The burst-rifle hitman Sheath, who had to be saved from the verge of death, the messy dual-Pistol marriage of Jan and Travis, and the Robin Hood revolutionary of Bowie. Accompanied by the returning cast of Gatlians, they round out the cast perfectly, especially Travis, who stands out for being involved in far too many situations for his own good.
Shooting with the Gatlians feels great overall, as Squanch Games improved on the moment-to-moment gameplay. Moving and shooting through the different factions doesn’t feel as dull, thanks to each Gatlian having a trick hole. There are also single-use weapons in the form of Alien Animals, and along the way, they meet their half-sibling, hybrid Gatlian named Jeppy, who serves as Letzdoit’s replacement. Jeppy stays inside a capsule, and when he gets excited, he becomes a walking turret that dispatches every threat. Unfortunately, he does suffer from staying in one place and from being unable to be ordered around, and takes a moment to return to his capsule.
While rescuing Lizzy, the Outlaw gets their hand on the Skateboard from a former rival bounty hunter named Reptical. Activated with the sprint button, the skateboard can grind along any rail, briefly ride a wall, boost with the slide button, and perform tricks with the jump button. It also has combat capabilities: it can be launched at an enemy, stunning them for a final shot. Reptical also opens his shop and sells all sorts of skateboard cosmetic customizations, which are paid for with Pesos or Letters. While it feels good to ride, it gets annoying when it collides with objects and then despawns after forcing an awkward stop.
That’s Not a Hub, This Is a Hub
Gone are the days of exploring Blim City as the house was relocated onto the Zoo’s G3 Killer exhibit. To lay low, everyone relocated to the former Bleeding Stars HQ, located in an abandoned amusement park. This is where the outlaw can obtain upgrades from Jorb, interact with other characters, and play unique arcade titles, such as Super 3D Noah’s Ark. It’s here that the briefing for the next targets takes place, along with the looming countdown for the court hearing. The countdown is only a narrative device, so there’s no need to worry about it affecting free-roam exploration.
Due to being banned from using the Hunter’s network, traveling across the galaxy is done through an RV that Lizzy got while dating Tweeg. This is the main fast-travel mechanic, activated by calling Gene on a payphone, who can drive without having legs. Using the RV is also a means of selecting and tracking targets; however, it can select only one at a time. Most of the time will be spent exploring Circuit Arcadia, which connects to the other hub worlds and linear levels. It also features the return of the movie theater and the Red Letter Media cameo that pokes fun at the in-universe B-movies.
Each hub world is rich in content, with unexpected references and chests scattered around, full of collectables and upgrades. Each hub’s map is simply a tourist pamphlet that provides location pointers, with the caveat that it cannot place a waypoint. There is also optional content to find, either through an NPC or even repeatable activities such as the skateboarding time trials. Each hub world is also the setting for a linear level that leads to a boss fight against one of Rhea Pharma’s VIPs. However, these are only done once per playthrough and cannot be revisited without restarting the game on a new save slot.
Uh, Houston, We Have a Problem
While High On Life 2 is fun and enjoyable, I’ve run into serious technical issues during different playthroughs. While pursuing one of the targets, there’s a way to skip the puzzle segment by simply skating through a window, which fundamentally breaks any means of progressing to the next linear level, resulting in a complete softlock. During a second playthrough, which was further along, upon failing a platforming puzzle, the respawn point was located outside, and the autosave registered. There’s no other way to resolve these issues than to manually back up the save files, since the game only relies on autosaving and there’s no manual save option.
Additonally the only way to run the game well is to enable Supersampling and Variable Refresh Rate. It is completely unplayable without these options, and the lack of optimization is absurd, to say the least. During exploration, slowdowns can occur even in non-populated areas and can be completely sudden until loading the last checkpoint. Other Unreal Engine games have more optimization on release that outclass High On Life 2, and it’s unfortunate because there’s so much to find in Circuit Arcadia that it’s better to wait on PC.
Corporate Medling Brats
High On Life 2 is a solid follow-up, expanding on this galaxy by exploring new worlds and exploring through the Skateboard. Squanch Games nailed the balancing act between a serious plot and humorous adventures, finding a renewed purpose. The new cast of Gatlians further enhances combat, even if minor inconveniences exist with the Skateboard and Jeppy.
However, the same can’t be said about the performance; it’s unfortunate that a game in 2026 is releasing in such a state on PC. Even when it’s over-reliant on driver solutions, High On Life 2 has other issues that should be addressed. These are game-breaking, to the point of stalling progression, and the only solution is simply to restart from the beginning. This shouldn’t be the case, as the game is an overall improvement over the first in many ways, and I hope to see more of the Outlaw soon.
Disclaimer: Squanch Games provided a PC (Steam) copy of High On Life 2 for review purposes.
