High on Life 2 review: Silly sci-fi sequel is perfect for Xbox Game Pass

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

High on Life 2 is available now, and it’s a great addition to Xbox Game Pass. It’s not a groundbreaking game, but it’s perfect for Game Pass subscribers looking for some lighthearted entertainment this Valentine’s Day weekend.

If you enjoyed High on Life from 2022, you’ll have a good idea of what this game offers: guns that talk, straightforward missions, and a similar type of wacky humor that fans of Rick and Morty tend to love. Just to note, the creator of Rick and Morty, Justin Roiland, wasn’t part of making this game.

The game begins a while after the events of the first one. The player character, who remains silent and unseen, has become famous as a bounty hunter after defeating the G3 cartel. However, an opening montage shows that this celebrated life isn’t as glamorous as it seems.

Like many sequels, this game starts you off with fewer weapons than you had before – it’s amusing how they remove certain elements from the story. While it’s a bit annoying at first, it makes room for some exciting new weapons to be introduced.

The voice acting is a real highlight of this game. Ralph Ineson perfectly captures the grumpy personality of Sheath – think of a Halo battle rifle mixed with the character Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy. And Ken Marino is fantastic as Travis, a divorced character who’s introduced with a lot of humor.

These new weapons add to the already great arsenal from the first game, creating exciting combinations and visual effects during both combat and puzzle-solving – which, personally, I’ve always thought was a strong part of this series.

Skateboarding is a surprisingly fun addition! It makes getting around feel smooth and fluid, and it’s cleverly integrated into both battles and the game’s puzzles.

The game’s story and overall structure aren’t its strongest points – surprisingly, one of the most memorable parts doesn’t even connect to the main plot. At times, the game slows down to a standstill, forcing you to simply wait for the next mission. This can disrupt the flow and diminish the immersive experience.

Honestly, the story had a few interesting moments and a couple of surprises, but it felt like the developers focused more on the conversations with characters than on the overall plot. It kind of felt like as long as they gave me a reason to go after someone, that was good enough, and they didn’t really need a super compelling story beyond that.

The constant back-and-forth between characters will really appeal to dedicated fans of Rick and Morty and High on Life. However, I occasionally wished I could reduce how much they talked. It sometimes felt like the game was explaining puzzles right after I figured them out, and characters kept repeating information. There were even times when characters would talk over each other, discussing completely unrelated topics.

I did encounter a few minor issues while playing – the game crashed once, and I occasionally had to restart from a saved point to fix problems. However, these weren’t serious enough to discourage me; I was always eager to continue, even staying up late to do so, which is high praise considering how much I tend to procrastinate.

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I also wasn’t completely thrilled with the game’s large open areas. While they looked good and even included a reference to Halo, I felt like there wasn’t much to actually do within them – they felt a bit empty.

While the game offers collectibles, including retro games, and even lets you watch full-length movies, I often found myself aimlessly skateboarding around, unable to find meaningful activities to engage in.

Despite any drawbacks, this game is genuinely enjoyable, especially when playing through the main levels. Each level feels like its own unique bounty hunting job, and it’s clear the developers intentionally created over-the-top, surprising scenarios for players.

I don’t want to give away any key plot points, but the big reveals and satisfying conclusions of each major quest are definitely worth experiencing, especially if you’re a Game Pass subscriber!

High on Life 2 is now available on Xbox Series X/S, PC, PlayStation 5, and through Xbox Game Pass. We tested the game on Xbox Series X, and you can purchase it today.

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Authors

Rob LeaneGaming Editor

Rob Leane leads gaming coverage at TopMob, managing news and features for games on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, mobile, and VR platforms. He creates content for TopMob’s website, social media, and video channels, and also puts together their weekly gaming newsletter. Before joining TopMob, Rob worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional, and Dennis Publishing.

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2026-02-13 18:06