Some games start slow, taking their time to teach you the controls and establish the world. High On Life 2 takes a very different approach. It tosses you into the world at 1,000 MPH, cracking jokes and having a blast. And you know what, it’s a great way to start a video game.
High On Life 2 doesn’t assume that you’ve played its 2022 predecessor. Instead, the intro to this comedy-filled sci-fi FPS about humans being turned into drugs provides a crash course on what happened in the last game. It does this via an intro that is structured as a series of vignettes and moments seamlessly stitched together into one extended opening montage.
At one point you’re fighting a giant monster, then you’re on a talk show, a second later you’re back in a limo with your mentor-turned-agent from the original game, then back to the monster fight. A quick cut later, you’re doing a commercial, then you’re zipped away to an obstacle course, back to the talk show, and so on.
This introduction sequence isn’t just fun and funny; it also does a great job of teaching you the basics of High On Life 2. You know, how to jump, move, shoot, grapple stuff, melee people, etc. Learning how to jump and run on a Wipeout-like televised obstacle course and then seconds later, though possibly years later in-game, using those skills to climb across buildings as you chase a giant monster not only taught me the controls, it also quickly established what the main character has been doing since the first game. On top of that, it’s all technically impressive and fun to behold as the game hops between wildly different scenes in a few frames without hitching up or breaking.
And yes, as already pointed out by Polygon, there is a joke about deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the intro sequence. It happens during a bit in which you kill a bunch of different targets in a hyper-fast murder montage that teaches you how to melee while also showing how bored the main character has become with their life as a celebrity bounty hunter. You can kill these people instantly, or let them ramble on for a bit and learn more about why they are marked for death. In the case of one character, they trafficked humans, but not for “sex stuff” like Epstein. They just sold humans to be smoked as a drug by aliens. They want to be clear; they are bad, but not as bad as Epstein.
This is when I’d show you a clip from this awesome intro, but I can’t do that. High On Life 2 has a lot of embargoed content that I’m unable to talk about ahead of its February 13 launch. And we aren’t able to share video or record clips of the introduction sequence at all. It’s a shame, because I don’t think it spoils much, and it’s one of the best parts of High On Life 2.