High on Life 2 wastes no time reminding you what makes this series stand out. Talking weapons are the stars, Knifey’s grapple returns as a traversal tool, and absurd humor still runs through every line of dialogue. But this time, Squanch Games has introduced a new twist that totally alters the flow of combat: the skateboard.
Skateboarding replaces sprint, and allows you to grind across rails, concrete, and it’s a combination few shooters would pull off. It is not just a gimmick, either, as it ties into Knifey’s grapple to let you chain grinds and pulls into one fluid move.
This is still a very mechanically sharp shooter that’s ultra-responsive and smooth. But it’s also a game that never takes itself seriously, poking fun at every gaming trope it can and keeping the action tongue-in-cheek from start to finish. Comedy is subjective, and some may find the non-stop jokes too much, but great voice acting ensured cringe moments were few and far between.
Skating and shooting is a deadly combo
Movement was a highlight – it is chaotic but controllable, and I liked being able to grind across surfaces in the middle of a firefight, even if I did wish for a little more speed at times on the skateboard. Puzzles broke up the action here and there, but they never outstayed their welcome or distracted from the core of shooting waves of enemies.
The demo took me through several convention-themed levels, including one set at MurderCon, a convention about murder, with a layout that looked and played like a Doom level.
The demo ended with a fun boss fight that was a bit on the easy side, but again, it’s all very tongue-in-cheek. Our arch-nemesis, Muppy Doo, actually took over the literal settings menu of the game, and I had to navigate around the graphics menus and my inventory to defeat him.
It was a novel idea, and a good one at that. The tone stayed light, with plenty of genuinely funny voice lines along the way that caught me off guard.
The voice acting was excellent all around. Ralph Ineson joins the cast to voice Sheath, a new gun-companion introduced in the demo. You acquire him in the most bizarre way possible, by ripping his head off and slotting it into a firearm, and his performance was as memorable as it was strange. His delivery was genuinely funny.
High on Life 2 is scheduled to launch on February 13, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S and will be available day one on Game Pass. Whether you played the first one or not, you will be thoroughly entertained, even for those who are suffering from shooter fatigue.
Because while it certainly plays like a fast, fluid shooter, the humor and personality set it apart, which is timely considering the sea of excellent shooters that tick most of the boxes these days. High on Life oozes attitude and that’s its biggest strength.
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