Returning to the Gatlian Fray
Squanch Games returns with High on Life 2, picking up with the adventure of the human from the first game; the original High on Life.
Now, those who played the first game but didn’t play the DLC may start the game a bit confused, as it contains important story information to establish this sequel. The player’s sister, Lizzie, has been improved. No longer just the annoying older sister, she is now an integral player in the story and progression of the game after becoming a freedom fighter for the Bleeding Stars group.
Life After Kenny
The other elephant in the room, Kenny the Gatlian, who was the main weapon used in the first game is now absent. This was due to issues with Justin Roiland, the actor who played him, which lead to his departure from the studio. There is a throwaway comment in the DLC that touches on this, but don’t expect High on Life 2 to mention him at all.
Some time has also passed. The first DLC – High on Knife – took place two years after the events of the first game and High on Life 2 takes place some time after that. Now riding high as a famous Bounty Hunter, the opening sequence explores how this life is going for the Bounty Hunter, Gatlians, and Gene. It starts fast-paced and to avoid story spoilers I won’t go into specifics here.
New Gatlians and Investigative Puzzles
The gameplay itself is familiar, but expanded upon. Many of the Gatlians from the first game either return as usable weapons, or at least make appearances throughout the game, and there are several new ones introduced. Each Gatlian also has a special ability that can be used for navigating or puzzle solving throughout the game.
Many of these puzzle mechanics are well spaced out and won’t be used much during the main campaign. These puzzles are also fairly easy for the most part, but that does mean they feel a little more tedious than they need to be. They don’t drag on too long, though, which prevents them from dragging down the experience.
World Building through Comedy
That said, there are investigative sequences which are much more enjoyable as a puzzle element. These involve talking to NPCs and searching the environment for documents and other items that reveal new information about each character. This plays into the comical writing and world building that makes High on Life unique.
But High on Life 2 is a shooter first and foremost. The returning Gatlians play similarly to how they did in the first game, and the new ones come with their own style and abilities. I found myself strongly preferring the new Gatlians once they were unlocked, with several of them being incredibly unique additions and incredibly satisfying to use.
Mobility is the biggest change from the first game, though. At the beginning of the game, the Bounty Hunter receives a skateboard that allows them to navigate half pipes, grind on rails, and pick up speed as they run around wrecking havoc. The world has been designed to make full use of this mechanic, with rails positioned all over the place. It’s also possible to ride on walls, and Knifey also returns with his grapple ability that allows the player to latch onto specific ledges and flying objects.
Dashing on the skateboard boosts the player forward, and a shop unlocks shortly into the game that also allows for upgrades to be purchased for the skateboard. These can improve things like grip and change the board’s styling. That said, these upgrades and changes are optional and it’s possible to get through the game without focusing on them.
Progression and Financial Freedom
There is also a separate store for purchasing weapon, health, and jumping upgrades for the player’s suit. This shop is located at the main headquarters for your rag-tag band of terrorists, I mean freedom fighters.
Some of these upgrades are required for progression, and they do cost in-game money, but when one of these required upgrades is introduced, the game will actually give you the money needed to purchase it if you’re short on funds. This is fantastic because way too many games introduce a required mechanic and make you grind for money or levels to progress. This would be completely opposite of the mentality that a high octane experience like High on Life 2 is trying to offer. It’s great to see that they are making gameplay choices that keep things moving along.
Technical Turbulence
High on Life 2 was obviously made with a lot of passion. There are tons of references throughout the game and the decisions made feel like they were dropped in to give the player a fun experience. While some of the puzzles are a bit lackluster, the self-aware humor and exciting combat and platforming mechanics keep the game fun.
In short, if you enjoyed the first High on Life game, then the second takes all the elements from that one and improves upon them in meaningful ways.
However, the game experience could be a bit smoother and there are some bugs that act as minor annoyances throughout High on Life 2. Most of these issues involve having in-mission animations and progression flags not working properly. For example, when reaching a set of doors where an animation is meant to play, one of the NPCs that is supposed to also be there, though they may not spawn in. This then leads to the main character standing idly by while the game is left waiting for a character to arrive that never does.
Navigating the Glitches
Thankfully, there is a “Last Checkpoint” option in the menus, and the checkpoints themselves are frequent enough where this never results in much lost time. But it was still frustrating, especially in a game that does often use sequences where the character isn’t supposed to move.
I also had issues with the friendly character models becoming invisible randomly and dialogue lines sometimes double played, or overplayed. That last point could just be part of the game though as the first game also struggled with non-step talking to the point where they added a chatter frequency toggle to the game. That toggle makes a return in this game.
Vulgar, Absurd, and Expectedly Unexpected
But the humor, references, and gameplay of High on Life 2 match, and then exceed, that of the first game. The glitches that are there aren’t enough to ruin the experience, with the entire playthrough helped by some genuinely clever and fun sequences. Of course, that humor is subjective, and High on Life’s is vulgar, absurd, and expectedly unexpected, but there is certainly an audience for it.
This is not a game for everyone, but the people who are here for it are certain to enjoy it.
Important Links
The Galaxy Gets Weird Again In High On Life 2 On Game Pass, Xbox, PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-galaxy-gets-weird-again-in-high-on-life-2-on-game-pass-xbox-pc/
Download from the Xbox Store, through Game Pass if you like – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/high-on-life-2/9nf6xpsbttgb
