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High on Life 2 Review: Creative Skating, Uneven Combat and Early Bugs

High on Life 2’s skateboarding and mission variety make it distinctive, but February 2026 reviews found combat and comedy uneven. Early bug reports were platform- and build-specific, and later patches do not confirm current performance.
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High on Life 2 is most compelling when its skateboard turns a firefight into a moving spectacle and its missions take an unexpected detour. Reviews published in February 2026 praised that creative variety, but were less consistent on combat and comedy; early technical complaints also varied by platform and build. It is a mixed-positive sequel for players who enjoy its irreverent style, with an important caveat: reports and fixes from launch do not establish how every platform performs today.

What changed in High on Life 2?

Squanch Games released High on Life 2 on February 13, 2026, for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, according to its launch announcement. Xbox Wire specifies Xbox Series X|S and Xbox PC, day-one access through Game Pass Ultimate, and Xbox Play Anywhere support in its interview with narrative director Alec Robbins. The US PlayStation Store lists a PS5 edition released the same day: High on Life 2 for PS5.

The sequel retains talking alien guns and irreverent humor, while making skateboard traversal and shooting its signature new idea. The board gives encounters a faster, more mobile rhythm, and reviewers also singled out bespoke levels and unusual mission formats. PC Gamer described a single-player FPS with set pieces including a murder-mystery sequence; GameSpot praised the creative expansion and sharper satire of corporate pharmaceuticals. (See PC Gamer’s review and GameSpot’s review.)

Is the skateboard gameplay good?

It is the sequel’s clearest point of distinction, and several reviewers liked how skating blends movement with shooting rather than sitting apart as a simple travel mechanic. Push Square praised that combination in its review, while TechRadar also highlighted skating and mission variety in its review.

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#1 Best Overall
High on Life 2 - PlayStation 5
  • An intergalactic conspiracy threatens the fate of humanity! Team up with a wide cast of talking alien guns as you shoot, stab, and skate your way through the exotic locales to take down the bad guys and save your favorite species (humans)!
  • Kickflip alien cops in the face and grind your way to freedom with your brand new SKATEBOARD.
  • Get up close and personal with an eccentric cast of bizarre and subversive lifeforms voiced by an ALL-STAR COMEDY CAST.
  • Wreak havoc at the galaxy’s biggest convention, an alien zoo for humans, and a luxury futuristic cruiseliner on your cosmic quest to TAKE DOWN BIG PHARMA.

That praise is not unanimous in its degree. PC Gamer found the board’s speed and progression limited, so the feature may feel less transformative over time than its premise suggests. The practical takeaway is that skating makes the sequel feel more distinct, but it does not by itself guarantee consistently deep combat.

How satisfying are combat and comedy?

Combat has variety, but not always depth

Reviewers appreciated the larger cast of expressive talking weapons, yet PC Gamer argued that enemy variety and combat depth do not make the full arsenal consistently satisfying. GameSpot’s review likewise identified combat as middling. TechRadar also noted weapon impact as a drawback. The result is a game whose ideas and set pieces can be more memorable than the moment-to-moment shooting.

Rank #2
High on Life 2 - Xbox Series X
  • FEATURES BLAST your way through enemies with an arsenal of charismatic alien firepower in high-octane hyperactive combat. Kickflip alien cops in the face and grind your way to freedom with your brand new SKATEBOARD. Get up close and personal with an eccentric cast of bizarre and subversive lifeforms voiced by an ALL-STAR COMEDY CAST. Wreak havoc at the galaxy’s biggest convention, an alien zoo for humans, and a luxury futuristic cruiseliner on your cosmic quest to TAKE DOWN BIG PHARMA.

The humor depends on the player

GameSpot found that jokes land inconsistently and sometimes revisit earlier material, while also recognizing sharp, topical moments. That is one reviewer’s response, not a universal audience verdict. Xbox Wire’s February 13 interview offers a glimpse at the studio’s approach: narrative director Alec Robbins said, “If it makes us laugh, nine times out of ten it makes it into the game.” That describes the creative filter, not whether a given joke will work for you.

Is High on Life 2 still buggy?

Published reports document early problems, but they are tied to particular platforms and builds. PC Gamer’s February 13 review identified its version as a pre-release PC build and reported bugs, overlapping dialogue, and scripting problems during that playthrough. Push Square reviewed the North American PS5 Pro version on February 17 and reported visual-quality and frame-rate problems on PS5 and PS5 Pro. These findings should not be generalized to every PC configuration or treated as a measurement of later versions.

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Rank #3
High on Life 2 (Playstation 5)
  • BLAST your way through enemies with an arsenal of charismatic alien firepower in high-octane hyperactive combat.
  • Kickflip alien cops in the face and grind your way to freedom with your sick-as-hell new SKATEBOARD.
  • Cut it up with an eccentric cast of bizarre and subversive lifeforms who all think you’re HOT AS HELL.
  • Wreak havoc at the galaxy’s biggest convention, get lost in the mysterious woods of a medieval planet, and slash your way through the belly of a sea beast on your cosmic quest to take down Big Pharma.

Squanch Games’ official release-notes archive records Patch 1 on March 3, 2026, with performance optimizations, crash fixes, many progression-blocker and soft-lock fixes, and visual corrections. Its March 13 Hotfix 3 entry documents further performance optimization, stability improvements, and progression fixes. That update history shows the developer addressed reported issues; it does not establish that every issue was eliminated or that the October 2026 version runs well on each platform. Current performance was not directly verified here.

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Is High on Life 2 worth playing?

It is a reasonable fit if you want an offbeat single-player shooter with unusual missions, a distinctive movement mechanic, and a deliberately irreverent tone. The case is weaker if consistently rewarding gunplay, dependable joke density, or confirmed current performance on a specific platform is essential to your decision. The February reviews point to genuine creativity, but also to uneven combat and humor rather than a sequel that improves every part of the formula.

Rank #4
High on Life 2 (PS5)
  • Shoot your way through hordes of opponents with a whole range of charismatic alien weapons in fast-paced, hyperactive battles
  • Join the alien cops in the face and grin yourself into freedom with your mega-crass new skateboard
  • Fall into a crazy life with an eccentric troop of bizarre and subversive creatures that all find you right sharp
  • Contents: the game and a bonus weapons Skin DLC (code is included in the box)

For access, Xbox Wire and Squanch Games document Game Pass Ultimate availability; the PlayStation Store lists the PS5 edition. The US PlayStation Store page showed a live rating of 4.28 out of 5 from 3,737 ratings when accessed October 8, 2026. Metacritic showed a 71 Metascore from 29 critic reviews and a 6.2 user score from 177 ratings on that same access date. Both services’ figures are snapshots that can change, and they are different kinds of ratings rather than direct performance measures. See the Metacritic listing.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
Bestseller No. 2
Bestseller No. 3
Bestseller No. 4
High on Life 2 (PS5)
High on Life 2 (PS5)
Contents: the game and a bonus weapons Skin DLC (code is included in the box)
$49.50
Best Value
High On Life 2 Standard - PC Steam [Online Game Code]
  • BLAST your way through enemies with an arsenal of charismatic alien firepower in high-octane hyperactive combat.
  • Kickflip alien cops in the face and grind your way to freedom with your brand new SKATEBOARD.
  • Get up close and personal with an eccentric cast of bizarre and subversive lifeforms voiced by an ALL-STAR COMEDY CAST.
  • Wreak havoc at the galaxy’s biggest convention, an alien zoo for humans, and a luxury futuristic cruiseliner on your cosmic quest to TAKE DOWN BIG PHARMA.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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