Excessive on Life seemingly had one guiding query that fueled each design determination: What is the funniest factor we will do right here? It is the form of over-the-top, wildly left-field humor that is in step with Rick & Morty, as you’d anticipate, and Excessive on Life 2 takes these concepts to new heights.
I performed it a couple of weeks in the past at a Microsoft occasion throughout PAX West weekend, the place we additionally chatted with Squanch Video games COO Matty Studivan about this sequel that takes issues to extra radical locations (in additional methods than one).
In Excessive on Life 2, it’s essential to use your intergalactic hitman talents to take down a sci-fi-comedy metaphor for large pharma. The speaking weapons from the primary sport return, although some new ones have joined the fray. Most apparently, nonetheless, is that you would be able to’t dash on this sport. As an alternative, you skate.
Excessive on Laughs
Should you performed the primary sport or have watched Rick & Morty, you may know precisely what to anticipate with Excessive on Life 2 when it comes to its narrative and character moments. A primary instance from the demo I performed is after I was infiltrating an space to assassinate my goal.
After all, the entrance door was guarded, so I needed to sneak in by another means. In most different video games, you’d discover that vent or elevator shaft and easily use it. Congratulations, you reached the following checkpoint.
In Excessive on Life 2, I simply went barely to the appropriate and located an elevator being labored on by upkeep. I approached the employee, heard slightly of his spiel, after which walked previous him to get within the elevator, which instantly broke.
From there, he requested if I may assist him repair the elevator by hitting some buttons inside. Sooner or later, he asks me to carry one button for 20 seconds, then whereas holding it, hit one other button. Astute avid gamers would possibly notice that there is solely, in actual fact, one work together button.
So even when you comply with the charade of counting to twenty, you’ll be able to’t do it. And the employee says one thing that factors out that you do not actually have the capability to hit two work together buttons.
In different phrases, it is meta comedy all the way in which down. That meta humor comes into play throughout a boss struggle within the demo. I will not spoil it an excessive amount of, however let’s simply say that it surpassed my expectations when it comes to simply how a lot Squanch Video games is devoted to obliterating the fourth wall. If this would not danger authorized hassle, I am positive they’d joke about deleting system32 to resolve a puzzle.
Even the premise of Excessive on Life 2 lives on the road between absurd and ridiculous. My mission was to search out a fictional senator named Muppy Doo, who was giving a speech at a conference. So I needed to go to the Conference Planet and undergo Parking Con and Con Con (once more, meta) to get to his conference. After all, it was not possible to search out parking at Parking Con.
Love It or Skate It
This type of humor may be fairly polarizing; typically it is both extremely your factor or completely not your factor. Regardless, what’s laborious to disclaim is that the core gameplay itself is enjoyable, amid all of the jokes and jabs.
This primary-person shooter feels extra energetic and frantic than its prequel, and what actually contributes to the frenetic tempo is the brand new dash mechanic. As an alternative of operating, your character whips out a skateboard, instantly altering the trajectory of how you progress.
It takes a bit to get used to only as a result of it actually does really feel like using a skateboard as a substitute of sprinting in one thing like Name of Obligation. When you get the grasp of it although, you too can leap onto partitions and journey them for a bit. Rails may be grinded on, including an alternative choice for cruising round an enviornment.
The speaking weapons make a return right here, as anticipated. They’re arguably the guts and core of Excessive on Life, offering each comedic aid and narrative development. Every has an alternate fireplace mode as effectively, which might doubly be used to resolve sure puzzles within the atmosphere.
The brand new weapon I discovered within the demo was a three-shot burst rifle named Sheath, and he is voiced by the buttery-brutal tones of Ralph Ineson. His alternate fireplace shoots out a large spike, and you’ll chain it to a number of enemies to make all of them collide into one another. It provides a pleasant quantity of crowd management that is useful, particularly while you get slightly overwhelmed.
Excessive on Life 2 Preview | Remaining Ideas
On the finish of the day, I feel lots of people taken with Excessive on Life 2 already know precisely what they’re signing up for. This can be a comedy sport before everything, which is each its best energy and best weak spot. Should you like quirky meta humor, you may like this, however the equal and reverse can be true. On the very least, the tone appears constant within the demo, and it’ll all the time stand out from the pack relating to all of the first-person shooters on the market.
Over the long run, I am curious how effectively the narrative will land. Joking the complete time can probably get outdated, and I personally ran out of steam partway by the primary sport. However with extra thrilling gameplay, perhaps Excessive on Life 2 could have sufficient juice to maintain issues radical all the way in which to the tip.
Excessive on Life 2 was previewed at an Xbox occasion in Redmond, WA, courtesy of Microsoft.
