While the first High on Life leant heavily on the humour of Rick & Morty creator Justin Roiland, and at times that humour was grating and felt forced, High on Life 2 benefits from Roiland’s lack of involvement due to outside issues.
It attempts to fix some of the more iffy parts and weaker shooting gameplay of the first game, and for the most part, it does succeed, but it doesn’t always hit the mark as it just tries a little too hard to be meta and be relevant in today’s social landscape.
High on Life 2 Story
High on Life 2 does tell a far more cohesive story than the first entry, and that tighter narrative is the game’s biggest strength.
You continue life as the G3 Killer and the most famous bounty hunter in the world, and you whirl through a montage of what that’s like, but in the game’s first bit of social commentary, it shows that the life of the rich and famous can get boring quickly.
You then get a call that your sister is at the new human zoo, and she is your next bounty. Instead of taking out family, you turn on your bounty hunter friends and join your sister in her new vendetta.
This time, you are taking on big pharma, who are looking to make humans into a new pill, and you have a new set of bounties to go after to stop this inhumane practice (drum kit noise).
Similarly to the first game, you select a new bounty from a white board and then jump in your RV and hunt them down.
Overall, I think the story is tighter, and each mission has layers, though it still feels like a little checklist, but I suppose it would be difficult to make going after these targets not feel like going through a checklist. The humour is a little better and doesn’t just rely on toilet humour, but it still has its stupid moments and makes your eyes roll at times.
Will say that while the humour isn’t too reliant on the grossout stuff, there still are those moments that if you’re playing in a room with a person who is more sensitive to that kind of thing, you will hear the odd “eww” and “this game’s so weird” as you play, so be prepared.
Gameplay
High on Life 2 feels much tighter and easier to get into than the first game.
The shooting is smoother and more responsive. Weapons feel distinct, and switching between them actually matters. Some enemies are weak to certain abilities, so you’re encouraged to experiment instead of sticking with one favourite gun the entire time. Combat feels faster overall, with less standing still and more movement.
One of the best additions is the skateboard.
It’s more than just a faster way to travel; it makes moving around the world feel fun. You can boost, jump, and use the environment to build speed. Exploration feels smoother because you’re not just running from point A to point B.
The skateboard also works in combat. You can quickly escape danger, circle enemies, or create space when things get crowded. It adds speed and freedom to fights, making them feel less static.
NPCs and your weapons comment on it too, which fits the game’s humour. It may sound ridiculous — and it is, but it genuinely improves both traversal and combat.
Boss fights are also stronger this time around. They’re more structured, with clear phases and mechanics to learn. Instead of relying on a single joke or gimmick, like in the first game, they test how well you understand your abilities. They’re still funny, but they’re more engaging to actually play through.
Side missions occasionally drift toward repetition, but they often experiment with modifiers, arena twists, or environmental gimmicks that keep them from becoming entirely predictable. Even optional content tends to carry personality, whether through bizarre NPC interactions or unexpected tonal shifts.
However, I think it’s worth noting in this section that there were a few glitches that I ran into, especially in the immediacy after launch.
The first occurs when you are partaking in the murder mystery mission, when a particular clue did not load into my world, and as such, I couldn’t make the accusation correctly. Also, the conversation option about the trophy didn’t pop up with one character, which again, ruined the investigation.
This also made me miss out on a trophy for correctly guessing the right killer.
Furthermore, as an avid completionist, I wanted to find all the wanted posters scattered around the hub world. Again, upon consulting a guide, I deduced that one had not loaded into my world, again, making a certain trophy unobtainable.
Overall though, the gameplay in High on Life 2 feels more polished, more balanced, and more enjoyable from start to finish.
Graphics
What I will say on the graphics is that they really lean into the overall theme that High on Life, in general, is going for.
The art direction is still a psychedelic assault on the senses that looks like everything was designed during a fever dream. But there’s greater environmental diversity this time around. Each location has its own identity and feels fresh. From Titanic-esque sky ships to the nice beach resort and even the shopping mall hub, the world feels real and lived in.
Following on from that, the worlds of each level do feel like if you weren’t in them, they would be continuing as per normal, well as normal as these alien worlds can be.
NPCs do just go about their lives, and you can hear some interesting dialogue in certain parts, but it is funny when you ram your skateboard into them and absolutely nothing happens.
Conclusion
High on Life 2 doesn’t go for a massive departure from the first game, instead it tries to fix the issues that plagued the first game. With a tighter story and better gunplay, the game definitely has more going for it than the original.
The introduction of the skateboard definitely makes me wish there was a Sunset Overdrive sequel, but hey ho.
This game won’t convert any new fans, but those that loved the first game will appreciate the refinements made to this one, making it an essential purchase. But for the sake of trophy hunters, let’s hope those issues regarding glitches preventing the acquisition of certain trophies get sorted out faster than not.
Developer: Squanch Games
Publisher: Squanch Games
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 13th February 2026
Gaming Respawn’s copy of High on Life 2 was provided by the publisher.
