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The humor is High on Life 2’s main attraction and it is worth reiterating how the complete and utter lack of Justin Roiland makes the game dramatically funnier. There’s no more incessant stuttering interrupting the flow and the meandering diatribes don’t always end with the same poop or semen “jokes” Roiland would almost inevitably end up at while improvising. Although he was the big celebrity name behind the game, he was an anchor.
Rating: 3.5/5
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Many of the jokes are pretty funny and aided by clever premises or excellent performances | …But it takes too long to get those tools, making half of the game’s combat arenas less than ideal |
| Its story changes many of its characters and provides a silly yet worthy commentary on the pharmaceutical industry | Hubs are too big and have too much empty space |
| Combat eventually finds its stride once players get enough tools… |
With that anchor lifted, High on Life 2’s humor is able to breathe more, an aspect buoyed by its stacked cast. Tim Robinson’s charmingly aloof Creature shines with his painfully stupid observations. Ken Marino’s Travis is a pathetic sack with misplaced confidence, something that’s only further highlighted by his wife who is also an alien pistol, making for the only game where players dual-wield weapons that are actually a married couple who fire off laser blasts and insults at each other in almost equal measure.
High on Life 2 Is Funnier Than the Original
It’s a silly and clever idea that demonstrates how well High on Life 2 leverages wacky ideas for its humor and, occasionally, gameplay. A decent portion of these japes get by on their concepts, punchlines, or performances — and sometimes all three — like the Jar Jar Binks-related setup and payoff or the protagonist’s mother’s goofy new romantic partner.
But a few of these intermingle with the gameplay for added effect, such as its obsession with the real-life 1991 NES game Bible Adventures, the boss fight that partially takes place in the pause menu, and its jump cut-heavy intro that acts as a tutorial and setup for the story. There’s even a trophy or achievement that dings if the player draws a crude approximation of a penis in one of the drawing sections. While the references to other games like Silent Hill 2 or Disco Elysium are cute, they’re fleeting and pale in comparison to the more well-integrated ones that fuse directly into the gameplay and show off how the medium itself can be used to enhance a joke.
However, this isn’t to say High on Life 2 is a constant riot. The game relentlessly spews jokes out of every possible orifice and hardly gives players the chance to rest. The locals almost always have something to say, as do the player’s arsenal of talking guns and non-gun allies, and all of this dialogue tries at least a little to be funny. A decent portion of these gags are just lame or go on for too long without a quality ender, showing the downsides of trying to be crack wise nearly every second. Improvisation can be beautiful, but it can also lead to meandering monologues that don’t go anywhere or have any actual meat. Ideally, these, alongside the other bad goofs, would be cut to allow for a better good-joke-to-bad-joke ratio. The highs are higher in High on Life 2 and the lows are not as low, but they are still present.
High on Life 2‘s Combat Takes Time to Find Its Rhythm
Similarly, its shooting also bests the first game while taking a few lateral and backwards steps. As demonstrated by the underrated classic Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath, living weapons leave a lot of room for personality and that’s always on display here, as having guns belt out insults while on a killing spree is a novel thrill. Firefights are chaotic enough as it is, but this is often both a drawback and a benefit.
Aside from the slight yet bothersome frame rate issues that persist throughout the entire game, a lot of the combat in the first half or so is discordant and doesn’t fully come together. The pathetic shotgun, woefully inaccurate small machine gun, and meager pistol make it hard to do any real damage — especially when considering their ineffective alternate fires — making battles drone on longer than they should. The skateboard, which replaces the sprint function, also further highlights this problem since it’s almost impossible to dispatch foes while riding on it; players simply go too fast with guns that are too weak to be able to smoothly move from grunt to grunt.
