High on Life 2

High On Life 2 is a fun sequel that expands on the original’s best ideas, but an underwhelming story and even sloppier gunplay means it also takes a step backward in plenty of areas.

High On Life 2 may falter in a few key areas, and not everything connects--whether it's a drawn-out gag or a timid shotgun blast--but it stands out in a genre where the self-serious shooter is usually king, by offering an outlandish, comical, and creative alternative. The addition of a skateboard is a literal game-changer, and there's plenty of joy to be had seeing what exactly each mission entails. Its influences are overt, yet it has an identity all its own, and there are definitely worse ways to spend a weekend.

The sequel to Squanch Games' detestable FPS demonstrates significant improvement, though its biggest features remain its weakest - and technical issues hinder the progress made.

Squanch's FPS sequel has more creativity in its left shoe than most entire games, but High on Life 2 falls short of excellence.

Jumps from silly to cynical to satirical to surprising.

This is the kind of game that you can put on, laugh at for a while, and forget what's troubling you, even though reminders might slip in through the pointed social commentary. High On Life 2, despite being a battle against Big Pharma, is just what the doctor ordered.

High on Life 2 is a great sequel that sticks to its guns and refines the best parts of the first game. The skateboard-shooting concept works excellently, elevating the gunplay and creating a more engaging and enjoyable moment-to-moment experience. But all of this is ruined by incredibly poor visual fidelity on PS5 and PS5 Pro that distracts from the release's overall artistic achievements.

High on Life 2 is a sequel that takes meaningful steps forwards with its storytelling and variety, but also many steps back with its gunplay, level design and lack of refinement. It's an ambitious sequel that's fun in doses, but this comedy bit off way more than it could chew.

High on Life 2 evolves its chaotic formula with sharper writing, even stronger performances, and some major upgrades across the board.

High on Life 2’s Nintendo Switch 2 port has all the ingredients for a winning formula, but I wasn’t hooked. At release, I would expect games to be fully optimised, with only minor fixes as needed.