NEED TO KNOW
What’s it A singleplayer FPS with jokes on jokes on jokes.
Launch date February 13, 2026
Count on to pay $60
Writer Squanch Video games
Developer Squanch Video games
Reviewed on RTX 5090, Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz, 64GB RAM
Multiplayer None
Steam Deck Untested
Hyperlink Official website
I am sorry Squanch, I wasn’t conversant in your sport.
Excessive on Life 2 immediately feels completely different with out him. It is nicer, calmer—nonetheless very a lot violent and referential and fourth-wall demolitionist in its humor, however not entertained by cruelty or allergic to being real.
An early second within the first sport, whereby a toddler blocks your path and the joke is which you can kill a child and is not that tousled, would really feel misplaced in Excessive on Life 2.
It is a sport that is unabashedly a fan of gross stuff—of squishy bits and “trick holes,” of physique horror and buckets of blood, and of the occasional fart joke—however would not imagine that is a pretense to be unbearable. It leaves behind an obvious embarrassment of being business artwork that permeated Roiland’s previous works and is basically comfy being a enjoyable shooter and serviceable ship up of huge pharma.
Outlaw king
You play because the Outlaw, the bounty hunter from the primary sport who spun their killing of a infamous galactic cartel into B-list superstar standing. You are quickly catapulted into one other hunt that is much more applicable for the world we reside in: assassinating the higher-ups of a significant pharmaceutical firm main the cost to legalize human drug manufacturing—that’s, the observe of actually turning people into ache drugs. You be part of a band of freedom fighters led by your sister (who has her personal Gatlian speaking gun), graduating from random gang killer to outlaw folks hero.
The intro is a small triumph: an interactive montage that takes us by means of the years that’ve handed by means of speak present appearances, fading friendships, relationship struggles, and the lonely monotony of bounty work whereas concurrently educating the fundamentals of motion and taking pictures. It is inventive, surprising, and efficient—an impression that I might preserve returning to all through Excessive on Life 2.
It leaves behind an obvious embarrassment of being business artwork that permeated Roiland’s previous works and is basically comfy being a enjoyable shooter.
Like, I did not count on this motion shooter impressed by Doom Everlasting to characteristic a stage the place the climax has little taking pictures. An early contract takes the Outlaw to a cruise ship owned by your goal. Disguised as a VIP visitor, you partake in an elaborate homicide thriller with a listing of suspects, clues you possibly can miss, and a bespoke software for handwritten notes that embeds in your swimsuit UI. Each stage has curveballs like this, and the perfect half is nothing prefer it ever occurs once more.
Excessive on Life 2 has a hub metropolis the place you come back to purchase upgrades and pursue little sidequests, however the meat of it’s an elaborate, galactic tour of weirdos in unusual locations. The place a contract says it’s going to take you is never the place you find yourself.
It is uncommon to see so many bespoke belongings and mechanics created for a fleeting second in video games (particularly a singleplayer-only FPS) that do not have bajillion-dollar budgets. It comes from a relentless need to make ranges unique and memorable—a trait that I affiliate with Double Fantastic, Nintendo, and now, Squanch.
Gat gat
I want Excessive on Life 2’s fight might sustain. Regardless of Squanch making a bunch of fantastic, subversive selections for a contemporary FPS, like ditching a standard dash for a skateboard that turns each struggle right into a two-hander to search out clear skating traces whereas blasting, I by no means managed to have greater than a medium quantity of enjoyable killing aliens.
The Outlaw’s Gatlian arsenal is unbelievably effectively made, flexing each essentially the most and greatest first-person animation work I’ve seen in ages, however they do not sound as cool as they give the impression of being, and all of the goopy globs begin to run collectively because the weapon wheel fills out. Past a number of outliers, like Creature’s sticky grenades (which might be truly his kids) and Bowie the bow, there is not sufficient complexity in Excessive on Life 2’s threats to justify its varied flavors of pistols and rifles. Even on the toughest problem, I by no means felt pressured to depend on the Gatlians’ secondary talents, and infinite ammo meant I might solely ever swap off my favorites out of guilt.
The skateboard by no means evolves both, which is a disgrace. Maybe to protect the consolation of our controller-gated console pals, I used to be disenchanted Excessive on Life 2 by no means let me rise up to thrilling pace. There are some motion upgrades, like a pair of air dashes, however the Outlaw’s high pace, even whereas grinding on rails, is disappointingly gradual. I am not anticipating Echo Level Nova ranges of unhinged locomotion, however I needed greater than the skateboard equal of these rails you hold from in Bioshock Infinite.
Sloppy touchdown
Past a number of outliers, there is not sufficient complexity in Excessive on Life 2’s threats to justify its varied flavors of pistols and rifles.
Excessive on Life 2 is, I am reluctant to confess, filled with nitpicks that I willfully ignored for almost all of its 10-12 hour story, however ultimately left a wound. My pre-release construct began buggy and grew progressively busted with every stage, culminating in a movement-focused sequence towards the top of the sport completely breaking down in entrance of me a number of instances. Dialogue will even overlap usually and it is too straightforward to momentarily break scripting once you do issues quicker than the sport anticipated.
Squanch can also be the newest sufferer of our wonderous Unreal 5 future, the place video games look so detailed and realistically lit that they’ve by no means been more durable to really parse. There are formally too many graphics for video games that depend on readability and, ya know, goal acquisition, to be good at both of these issues. It is also putting how usually a believably vibrant mild casts a believably darkish shadow that makes the present dialogue scene I am standing in look horrible as a result of I am unable to see the faces of who’s speaking. Finally issues like which might be Squanch’s to repair, not Unreal, however it has all of the markings of a UE5 sport that allow Lumen do an excessive amount of of the work.
It’d definitely clarify the entire efficiency points gamers report on launch day. The streets are saying Excessive on Life 2 is a tough experience on even good {hardware} proper now—issues that this RTX 5090 and 9800X3D construct managed to energy by means of, however weren’t resistant to. I averaged round 90 fps at excessive settings and 1440p, however one stage specifically ran like crap the complete time it doesn’t matter what settings I modified. Not nice! You’d hope patches will clear these things up, however Squanch’s brutal beneficial specs (RTX 4080, i7-13700KF, 32GB RAM) recommend to me that optimization is extra of a smooth aim right here.
Nonetheless, I stroll away from Excessive on Life 2 championing what it stands for. It is enjoyable, goofy, and unashamed of kinds of good-natured humor which have fallen out of vogue. Not each joke lands, and possibly the weapons nonetheless speak a little an excessive amount of, however it would not persist on gimmicks. Excessive on Life 2 is a barrage of actionable concepts and first rate bits hooked up to a good FPS and a shakier technical basis. It is a nasty, cool, and uneven dose of a sport we simply do not get sufficient of nowadays: a singleplayer FPS marketing campaign with a beating coronary heart.
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