If you’re like me and never played Squanch Games’ 2022 action-comedy-science fiction shooter High on Life, but want to play the sequel, you’re in luck! High on Life 2 picks up five years after the original and throws you into an intro that recaps all the important backstory in a very fun way. What’s usually a tedious way to learn the controls, you instead here watch a fun montage of scenes, then switch to you battling, then back to the montage, then back to more action. Through all of this, you learn how to play the game quickly, and then you are ready to dive into High on Life 2.
After the intro, you are launched into an intergalactic conspiracy, and instead of being a bounty hunter tasked with simply saving humanity, you team up with your sister, Izzie, and a ragtag team of aliens to take down an evil pharmaceutical conglomerate and save humanity once again.
The gameplay is fast, fun, kinetic, and very funny. Let’s talk about the weapons you will be using. They aren’t the normal guns that you might see in Halo or your standard FPS; they are living aliens that shoot, grapple, etc., in addition to talking to you. Whether it’s giving you advice along your journey, making jokes, they are always talking. Maybe sometimes a bit too much. And each weapon has its own voice. It’s kind of like the guns in David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, except they are living, breathing aliens. In addition to the weapons, you also get a skateboard to travel around on, unlike the original game. This allows you to get around faster, and it’s kind of like Jet Set Radio Future, but instead of tagging walls, you are blasting away monsters and bizarre creatures. It’s a lot of fun.
The story is pretty straightforward, but it kind of takes a backseat to all of the characters and talking weapons you encounter. The gameplay also changes up throughout the game – yes, most of it is an FPS, but then there are missions where you have to solve puzzles, and at one point, you are in a murder mystery and have to collect clues and solve the murder at a lavish intergalactic party. There are even arcades where you can play full games. There’s a lot going on in this game. It’s fast and vibrant, but it will slow down here and there to let you catch your breath.
Now you might be asking yourself, why is the horror publication FANGORIA writing about this game? Well, outside of all of the monsters, aliens, and bizarre creatures (*wink*), there are plenty of nods and easter eggs to the horror genre. Not to spoil them all, but there is a character who is obviously a nod to Pyramid Head from Silent Hill, one who's wearing a Jason Voorhees mask, and at the beginning, there’s even a vehicle painted up like the utility Jeeps from Jurassic Park. Just wait till you get to MurderCon – I will say no more. It runs the gamut on nods to other genres, too.
Oh, and the soundtrack is a banger. It’s by the artist TOBACCO, who you might know from their work in Silicon Valley or touring with Nine Inch Nails.
It’s a very silly and funny game, and if you’re a fan of Adult Swim cartoons and especially the Harley Quinn animated series on HBO, you’re going to have a blast with this game. High on Life 2 is now available on PlayStation 5, XBOX, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
