Why High on Life 2 added skateboarding, explained by the developer

by

High on Life 2, the upcoming game from Squanch Games, is expected to be a major release early next year. But how long ago did the creators of the original High on Life, a funny sci-fi shooter from 2022, begin planning the sequel?

According to executive producer Matty Studivan, who spoke at Gamescom last summer, it happened almost right away.

In our conversation, available as a podcast or video, Studivan discussed many of the new and unexpected features coming in High on Life.

So, the story behind this sequel is pretty cool. Our CCO and art director, Mikey Spano, has actually been thinking about this franchise for ages – like, a really, really long time! He’s had all these ideas brewing in his head, and now we’re finally getting to bring them to life.

The downloadable content served as a bridge for us while we were already planning the direction of the sequel.

We used the power-slide mechanic quite a bit in the downloadable content, and it was essentially the first version of what eventually became our skateboarding technology.

Want to see this content?

This content is blocked because of a security measure called reCAPTCHA. To see it, please sign out of your Contentpass account.

Sharp-eyed viewers have spotted the main character skateboarding frequently in the game’s trailers. So, how did the developers come up with that idea?

Studivan mentioned that Mikey was likely a skateboarder. They have many animators who skateboard, as the flowing motion of skateboarding naturally complements the style and atmosphere of their game.

Our designers are prioritizing smooth and fluid movement throughout the game. Erich Meyr, our design director, previously worked on Sunset Overdrive, known for its fast-paced, flowing combat and movement. He’s been applying that same philosophy to the skateboard, making it a key part of that experience.

Explaining how skateboarding evolved, Studivan said they went through many versions, but everything clicked when the team started thinking of it as a replacement for sprinting. Once they had that idea, progress really took off.

Skateboarding isn’t the only new thing coming to the game! The Gamescom demo also revealed a new weapon called Sheath – voiced by Ralph Ineson and designed with inspiration from the Halo series’ battle rifles – and a new villain, a slippery senator played by the hilarious Richard Kind. We discuss the stories behind these casting choices in our complete interview!

Want to see this content?

This YouTube video isn’t available while you’re logged into Contentpass. Please sign out of Contentpass to watch it.

Okay, so this is wild! I just found out that the old “Bible Adventures” video game from 1991 is in “High on Life 2” now. Seriously?! I have to know the story behind that – how did that happen?

Studivan explained that the first event featured a wide selection of popular movies, and it was very successful. They then wondered how to make the next event even better by bringing back more films.

We realized we could bring classic games into our project, so we started looking at licensing options. Mikey immediately suggested Bible Adventures as the first game we should try to get.

We usually assume we won’t land our first choices, but surprisingly, Ben Moore, our business development director, secured the license for ‘Bible Adventures’ within a week.

Initially, we were really excited about the idea and encouraged the team to move forward. As the game developed, this element naturally became part of a challenging boss battle. Players can find Jamba boards hidden throughout the game and then use them on arcade machines back at their base.

This sequel seems really ambitious! We also discuss the new settings and the story in the complete interview. Listen to the podcast now for all the details.

High on Life 2 will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S starting February 13th. Pre-orders are available now.

Authors

Rob LeaneGaming Editor

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

  • Visit us on Twitter

Read More

2026-01-12 18:05