High on Life Sequel Review: Skateboard Combat and Ralph Ineson Satire

The Marmite Factor: Squanch Games Doubles Down

If you were hoping for a radical departure from the "Rick and Morty" DNA following Justin Roiland’s 2023 departure, you’re looking at the wrong sequel. Squanch Games has leaned even harder into the crudeness and satire that made the first High on Life such a divisive "Marmite" experience. We found the writing to be sharper this time around, with the satire hitting the mark more consistently. The addition of Ralph Ineson as Galactus adds a layer of gravelly gravitas to the absurdity, proving the studio can still land heavy hits without its original founder.

The narrative picks up right where we left off. You’re no longer a nobody; you’re a high-profile bounty hunter being chased by rivals while trying to dismantle Rhea Pharmaceuticals. It’s familiar territory, but the pacing feels improved, even if the core structure of "explore planet, kill boss" remains largely untouched.

Skate-and-Shoot: The Gameplay Evolution

The real game-changer here is the skateboard. On paper, blending the precise aiming of a first-person shooter with the high-speed momentum of a skate game sounds like a recipe for a mechanical disaster. In practice, Squanch nailed it. The movement feels effortless, and it doesn’t take long for grinding on rails, fences, and balconies to become pure muscle memory during a firefight.

The level design is clearly built around this verticality, making the hunt for collectibles and the navigation of diverse alien locales feel much more engaging than the previous title. We were also impressed by the weapon variety—the game doles out "toys" (including a fire-spewing turtle) at a much more consistent clip, ensuring the combat loop doesn't go stale. The boss battles, particularly the finale, utilize the skating mechanics to create encounters that feel genuinely unique in the current FPS market.

Tech Analysis: A Rough Ride on PS5 and Pro

While the gameplay has taken a massive step forward, the technical execution on Sony’s hardware is, frankly, a mess. For a sequel arriving in the current console generation, High on Life 2 looks and plays worse than its predecessor in several key areas. Despite the "color-injected" art style, the final image is often muddy and marred by poor resolution choices.

The Resolution Crisis

The game targets 60fps but fails to maintain it consistently, even on the PS5 Pro. To try and hit those targets, the resolution takes a massive hit. Digital Foundry reports the game running as low as 720p or 792p on PS5 Pro. This results in a grainy, noisy image that affects everything from the environment to the UI. The upscaling options and render scaling toggles currently available in the menus do almost nothing to alleviate the blurriness.

Unreal Engine 5 Implementation Hurdles

Our biggest gripe comes down to the lighting and reflections. Squanch Games opted for a high volume of reflective surfaces, but they manifest as "blobby," unattractive smears that don't accurately reflect the world. It’s a distracting design choice that worsens the "muddy" look. Combined with aggressive screen-space shadows that pop in and out based on your camera angle, the visual experience can be genuinely disorienting.

It’s a classic case of the tech failing the art. The vibrant world is hidden behind a layer of visual noise and shadow pop-in that makes tracking projectiles during high-intensity boss fights much harder than it should be.

Final Verdict

High on Life 2 is a superior sequel in every way that relates to "fun." The skating mechanics are a revelation for the series, and the humor is as biting as ever. However, we can’t ignore the subpar technical state on PS5 and PS5 Pro. If you can stomach the 720p-tier visuals and some distracting pop-in, there’s a great shooter here. If you’re a stickler for visual fidelity, you might want to wait for a patch.

Pros

• Sharp, hilarious writing that improves on the original.
• Skateboarding mechanics feel natural and elevate the gunplay.
• Memorable boss fights that leverage new movement tools.

Cons

• Abysmal visual fidelity and low internal resolution.
• Distracting shadow pop-in and "blobby" reflections.
• Performance drops below 60fps, even on PS5 Pro.