High on Life 2 Devs on the Art of Making a Comedy Game Sequel – IGN First

As portion of our ongoing month-long exclusive sum of High connected Life 2, the upcoming first-person shooter, I sat down with Squanch Games Chief Creative Officer Mikey Spano and Chief Design Officer Erich Meyr to sermon the creation of making a drama crippled sequel. Is it immoderate easier to propulsion disconnected than the drama movie sequel, which doesn't person a large wide way record. All that and much are covered successful the interrogation you tin ticker successful the video supra oregon work successful the transcript below.

High connected Life 2 volition beryllium released connected February 13, 2026 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S – including launching connected time 1 into Xbox Game Pass.

IGN: I've got a 100 questions here, not virtually 100, but there's a batch I privation to inquire you guys. And I thought I'd benignant of commencement here. And that is, I don't cognize if you'd agree, but successful my opinion, drama sequels, astatine slightest successful the movie broadside of entertainment, don't person an awesome way record, truthful however bash you attack doing a drama crippled sequel to debar immoderate of the aforesaid pitfalls that drama movie sequels look to autumn into?

Eric Meyer: I consciousness similar a batch of movie sequels successful wide aren't amended than the first, right? But crippled sequels are usually similar a refined mentation of the archetypal game. And yeah, we decidedly took a batch of large ideas that we couldn't bash successful the archetypal crippled and enactment them successful this one, truthful hopefully we'll flooded that.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, with the archetypal one, I don't deliberation we truly knew what it was until it was successful the hands of reviewers and we were like, "Oh, this really turned retired beauteous cool." We were conscionable truthful heads down connected it, it was a caller IP for us. So I deliberation for this one, we had a bully spot to start, truthful we're truly hoping that it's a positive up of the original. I mean, there's decidedly much jank successful the archetypal than this one, which is simply a batch of amusive and keeps things funny, but I deliberation we'll inactive person plentifulness of conscionable fun, weird, unexpected stuff, truthful I'm hoping radical similar it conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic the first, if not more.

IGN: Mikey, tin you talk a small much to that? Because I've ne'er made a game, I don't person the endowment oregon skills for that, but I've talked to a cardinal developers, reviewed, covered a cardinal games. And I've heard that a batch wherever games are specified a unsocial creation signifier wherever often, they don't truly travel unneurotic until the precise extremity and past abruptly you've got a game. So tin you benignant of speech maine done not the improvement of the archetypal game, but much benignant of the precise extremity that you're referencing determination erstwhile it does travel together, and past erstwhile it comes retired and you commencement getting feedback from players and from reviewers? Did thing deed otherwise with players successful the nationalist than you thought it would, oregon did things astonishment you versus what you'd intended oregon planned?

Mikey Spano: Yeah, definitely. I mean, there's a batch of angles we tin look astatine for High On Life successful particular. We're beauteous unfastened with our squad astir letting them enactment successful worldly that they're funny in. And past usually they'll conscionable scope retired and say, "Hey, is this chill oregon does this work?" But towards the end, we person radical we spot a batch that conscionable tin spell successful and bash worldly if they want. So from a position of adjacent conscionable the dev that was moving connected directing the game, we saw stuff, oregon astatine slightest I tin accidental I saw worldly that I didn't adjacent cognize was successful the game, and I americium successful there.

I saw things successful immoderate streams wherever I'm like, "Where did that adjacent travel from? Oh my God, that's awesome." That benignant of worldly was truly astonishing and amusive and that was intentional connected our part. And past there's conscionable a clump of worldly that benignant of breaks successful comic ways oregon things that idiosyncratic approaches it a antithetic mode than I would've approached it oregon idiosyncratic present would've approached it. And truthful you get this benignant of emergent drama that's based connected the players' actions and not needfully what we intended the players' actions to be.

Eric Meyer: Yeah, successful the archetypal game, determination was a bug wherever radical were getting stuck successful Applebee's and that became an net gag for a while. And we're like, "Sure, we'll ain it. Yeah, you get stuck successful Applebee's forever."

Mikey Spano: Yeah, the different happening we conflict with is, we telephone it dev eyes, wherever it's similar you've conscionable been looking astatine the crippled for truthful long. All the jokes you've heard a 1000 times, they might've been comic the archetypal time. And truthful you ne'er truly cognize astatine the end, what's going to onshore with radical due to the fact that for you, you're truthful numb to this stuff. So you benignant of springiness it to a person to play oregon we'll get immoderate radical successful and we'll ticker them play and evaluate, "Oh, that's surprising, this was their favourite part." And it's thing we've seen truthful much, we weren't adjacent reasoning astir it.

Eric Meyer: Yeah. That happened with america with our demo, wherever we enactment successful truthful galore bully jokes passim it. And past the happening that resonated the astir was taking Sheath and turning him into a weapon and that full bit, the full gag of that bit. And I don't deliberation immoderate of america expected that to beryllium the biggest hit. We were like, "Oh no, it's going to beryllium this portion oregon this part." But I mean, the net doesn't lie, right? That was the portion radical watched the most.

IGN: What yet then, were the lessons that you took retired of the archetypal crippled erstwhile you're talking astir benignant of much hitting the crushed moving present with High On Life 2? What are those lessons that you took from the archetypal 1 that are helping this one?

Eric Meyer: I mean, we decidedly knew the look we wanted to do. We knew however a batch of jokes worked. We knew however we did an interactive gameplay with them, and we could instrumentality that and beryllium like, "Let's bash that benignant of happening here, that benignant of happening here," or, "Let's 1 up that one." So it gave america a truly bully level to basal connected arsenic acold arsenic figuring retired what each of our antithetic moments would be, what our jokes would be, truthful that was truly great. That helped america tremendously astatine the beginning.

And past besides just, determination was a full tin of worms astir however bash you grip having each these antithetic guns and each 1 tin beryllium retired and each 1 tin person its ain small drama furniture to a mission? And truthful we learned a batch of lessons from that and we're capable to conscionable similar each ngo now, we're like, "Yeah, we tin absorption connected this weapon present and we tin bash this here." It truly helped america recognize however to conscionable physique our game.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, for sure. We had the foundation. I mean, successful the archetypal game, we benignant of instrumentality for granted that we were figuring retired the gameplay, too. It's a archetypal idiosyncratic shooter, but extracurricular of knowing that it was a archetypal idiosyncratic shooter, we had to fig retired everything from the crushed up, which is simply a batch harder than you would think. Starting with that instauration helped america crippled play-wise to truly absorption connected the things that were working, effort not to alteration those excessively much. And past the things that weren't working, gathering connected them, and past besides conscionable bringing successful immoderate caller worldly that we wouldn't person been capable to bring into the archetypal crippled due to the fact that we were conscionable figuring retired the basics.

And that goes crossed comedy, too. I mean, we are ever trying jokes that don't land. We're trying ways to archer the jokes that don't ever work. And we extremity up with the best, but a batch of that worldly didn't enactment for 1 crushed oregon another. And truthful we person that worldly near implicit for the adjacent crippled that we tin effort again. And we're ne'er truly starting from zero per se, with this sequel. I mean, conceptually, there's a batch of worldly that's from zero, but successful presumption of our systems and everything, we had a bully starting point.

IGN: A batch of developers I cognize these days conscionable propulsion a ton of telemetry from players erstwhile they're playing. So erstwhile it's retired determination successful the wild, benignant of gathering connected what you guys are saying, did immoderate peculiar telemetry leap retired astatine you guys, similar radical watching a amazingly precocious magnitude of the in-game TV oregon hardly looking astatine it astatine all, past possibly you instrumentality that and you either treble down connected thing oregon standard backmost connected thing for the sequel?

Eric Meyer: Yeah. I mean, this is simply a small spot anecdotal from conscionable proceeding it everywhere, not needfully a much qualitative thing, but conscionable the galore radical who emotion Tammy and the T-Rex from that. You particularly spell done Steam reviews oregon immoderate and yeah, there's definite things similar that, that we did not expect to deed truthful strongly. And past yeah, I mean, conscionable similar immoderate different crippled too, you benignant of spot wherever radical fell off, similar however galore radical played astatine the beginning. And for us, we were connected Game Pass, truthful a batch of radical tried the game, which was great. And we could spot however far... Like immoderate game, you person the curve of a batch of radical get done the opening and past you don't person arsenic galore radical who really decorativeness it, but adjacent radical who didn't decorativeness it inactive truly enjoyed it. So it's chill to spot that.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, we benignant of had a unsocial concern wherever we had truthful galore players. We were not anticipating that, but I deliberation we're implicit 20 cardinal players astatine this constituent connected the game, which is insane. So beauteous overmuch each small country of the crippled was poked astatine successful a mode we didn't expect and it was truly amusive to ticker that happen. I mean, you're stressed about, "Oh man, idiosyncratic recovered this bug," or, "Somebody exploited this thing," and you get stressed astir it. But past you recognize astir radical are retired determination conscionable benignant of having amusive and laughing astatine it. And with 20 cardinal people, determination was rather a fewer variations of things radical were hyper focused connected oregon laughing about. I mean, immoderate of my favourite worldly that came retired of it is conscionable the weird Hentai instrumentality creation of the guns, there's conscionable truthful much. We deed each facet of weird net civilization and I emotion it, I couldn't beryllium happier astir it.

IGN: That's awesome. I mean, connected that note, I wanted to inquire you guys astir Game Pass due to the fact that I deliberation Game Pass has been successful the quality lately for astatine slightest possibly not players' favourite reasons recently, but I deliberation much broadly than that, and I adjacent would accidental this from wherever I beryllium arsenic idiosyncratic that covers Xbox and talks astir Xbox connected an Xbox podcast each the time, there's a batch of confusion, I think, from players astir the concern broadside of however Game Pass works. Now, I'm not asking you guys to stock the presumption of your woody with Microsoft oregon thing similar that.

But intelligibly the archetypal game, arsenic you're talking about, Mikey, that was a immense occurrence for you guys connected the backmost of launching consecutive into Game Pass. So tin you speech astir what worked for you with that deal, what you got retired of it, basically? Obviously, you mentioned 20 cardinal players, but bash you spot Steam income spike erstwhile it hits Game Pass oregon worldly similar that? I don't cognize if, again, without possibly opening up the company's books oregon anything, which, I cognize you're not going to bash that, but tin you benignant of talk to the fallout, if you will, of being connected Game Pass?

Mikey Spano: Yeah. I mean, I look astatine Game Pass arsenic a mode to get radical who are funny astir your game. It's astir similar a mode to conscionable demo games that are connected Game Pass, wherever it reminds maine of those aged PlayStation Underground CDs you utilized to get successful the mail. Game Pass to maine is benignant of that feeling. There's truthful galore games that I'm funny in, but it's improbable I'm going to bargain each azygous 1 for a assortment of reasons. So with Game Pass, it's similar I'll cheque this crippled out. And typically I autumn off. I person truly atrocious ADD, truthful I'll autumn disconnected aft an hr oregon something. And I deliberation with High On Life, we had a batch of radical that emotion Rick and Morty oregon hated Rick and Morty, but either mode they knew astir the crippled for that crushed and possibly they wanted to hatred play it. And past they ended up really liking it. And past you benignant of physique this buzz around, "Have you guys heard of this brainsick game," wherever idiosyncratic mightiness not person taken the plunge and bought the afloat terms game, truthful the online sentiment wouldn't person been arsenic big. It wouldn't person been specified a large speech astir the game.

I deliberation that truly helped america with selling the game, particularly arsenic a caller workplace with a caller IP and everything. Without Game Pass, we would've had precise small visibility, truthful it was beneficial successful that way. And I deliberation there's immoderate ways present that Game Pass has evolved a small wherever they're allowing radical to travel retired simultaneously time 1 connected PlayStation oregon travel retired connected Steam. And that benignant of stuff, we person nary thought however that's going to enactment out, but based connected what happened with the archetypal game, I'm reasoning it's going to beryllium truly large for america due to the fact that we inactive get that speech astir the crippled from radical playing Game Pass. But past radical connected PlayStation, they don't person to hold a twelvemonth and past benignant of hide astir it and past restart the conversation. I deliberation Game Pass is going to beryllium adjacent amended for america this clip than it was for the archetypal game.

Eric Meyer: Yeah, it's hard. I mean, these days, there's a batch of bully games coming retired each the time. I'm perpetually shocked erstwhile I'm like, "Wait, what is this crippled that looks similar everything I privation from the game, but it came retired 2 years ago?" And I travel quality and everything, truthful getting a bully magnitude of attraction to your crippled is critical.

IGN: A large caller diagnostic of High On Life 2 is skateboarding. I'm a large archetypal idiosyncratic shooter instrumentality and I've played a cardinal of them implicit the years, and I'm trying to deliberation if I've ever played a archetypal idiosyncratic shooter that has skateboarding successful it. Where does the thought travel from for that? How does that benignant of travel up and past hone successful arsenic a cardinal caller diagnostic of the sequel?

Mikey Spano: Yeah, this is simply a truly absorbing 1 due to the fact that this is thing some Eric and I truly wanted connected the archetypal game. We had a conception artist, Sean McNally, who, astonishing conception artist. You tin usage his sanction successful present if you want. He's great, emotion the guy, precise talented. We were benignant of coming up, "What are immoderate different things you tin bash with aliens and alien beingness forms?" And helium had drawn this benignant of pill bug that unfolded into a skateboard and we were like, "Ah, God, we got to get this-"

Eric Meyer: Yeah, it was truthful cool. We were like, "We could conscionable propulsion this successful arsenic a happening you could temporarily person for a infinitesimal successful a level oregon something."

Mikey Spano: Yeah. And past successful my head, it was similar the footwear successful Mario 3 oregon something, wherever an force and you usage it temporarily. And truthful erstwhile we started High On Life 2, we started kicking the speech astir again, "What if we had a powerfulness up that fto you benignant of skateboard?" And truthful it was meant to conscionable beryllium a small thing. And we started playing with it and the amusive was there, but determination was truthful overmuch complexity that I got to the constituent arsenic like... I grew up skateboarding, I emotion skateboarding, but I got to the constituent wherever I was like, "It's conscionable excessively risky, we can't bash it." And past Eric was like, "I'm not letting spell of this."

Eric Meyer: In the archetypal crippled erstwhile we were figuring retired a traversal kit, astatine 1 constituent we had this benignant of omnidirectional boost happening and it was benignant of cool. It helped the momentum of the game, but it conscionable didn't person thing grounding it. We converted it into benignant of a powerfulness slide, which was truly amusive the archetypal game. It's my favourite happening to bash successful that game. And past really, we talked astir the skateboard successful our originative meetings and we're like, "Yeah, let's bash it. Let's fig retired immoderate chill happening with a skateboard." And astatine archetypal I was like, "Well, it'll conscionable beryllium powerfulness descent plus. You tin descent now, but you tin spell for longer due to the fact that you're connected a skateboard." And past we did a full clump of refactoring our traversal kit.

We benignant of truly improved each of our question and a batch of things, maine and Carl Glave, who's our programmer for each the traversal stuff. And past we were tagging the skateboard and arsenic we kept going with it, we're like, "Well, yeah, you should beryllium capable to spell up a vert ramp. Yeah, of course. You should beryllium capable to bash this, each the skateboarding things." And we were looking astatine Tony Hawk and a clump of antithetic games similar Session and Skate and worldly that are truly method skating games. And we were like, "Well, we can't bash each that method stuff." There's not capable buttons. You got to sprout arsenic well, you can't conscionable not bash each that. But we started conscionable refining and refining and reducing things, but besides making it conscionable a truly creaseless experience.

I truly conscionable wanted you to consciousness similar you're connected a skateboard, it's doing what you privation to bash portion you're shooting astatine guys, portion you're doing each these different things that are taking up astir of your intelligence space, but you inactive get that feeling similar you're connected a committee and you tin leap disconnected ramps and spell and partition thrust and bash each kinds of chill worldly with it. So we conscionable kept benignant of refining it and making it smoother and conscionable much intuitive, and not ace method due to the fact that that competed excessively overmuch with the shooter aspect.

I deliberation the hardest happening for a caller mechanic similar that is it's risky, it's unknown. We looked astatine a batch of antithetic comps and a batch of different games had been doing benignant of akin worldly to effort to get immoderate ideas and it truly was conscionable an accumulation of conscionable hammering connected it and iterating connected it continuously and making immoderate truly bully calls astatine antithetic points to marque it. There was a full radical effort deciding precisely what this needs to bash and what it should not do. And that got america to a truly bully spot.

IGN: And a sequel's boring if it's not taking immoderate originative risks.

Eric Meyer: Exactly.

Mikey Spano: Yeah. And I support thinking, "Did we instrumentality capable originative risks connected this game?" And I'm like, "Oh wait, we wholly changed-"

Eric Meyer: Yeah, yeah. I mean, to maine it's similar the Terminator 2, right? Everyone tin hold Terminator 2 is simply a large sequel. Terminator 1 is large too, but 2, they're like, "Well, we're going to marque a quicksilver Terminator," which could person wholly failed. Could person been like, "No, I privation Arnold Schwarzenegger." But they enactment thing caller successful with what you already had and made an awesome caller experience.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, for sure. The comic small anecdote, Eric mentioned Carl, Carl's an astonishing programmer that we person and helium is precise question sick sensitive. I don't cognize precisely the close phrasing for it, but helium gets question sick precise easily. And truthful putting him connected the skateboard is truthful cool, but helium did specified a bully occupation with it. And I deliberation a batch of the smoothness that you get from it comes from him conscionable being like, "Oh, these numbers marque maine privation to puke. Let maine tweak that."

Eric Meyer: Yeah, yeah. No, helium made definite it's question sick friendly, which, successful archetypal idiosyncratic is insane.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, it's crazy. I honestly thought it'd beryllium a amusive small powerfulness up. There's nary mode I would privation to play a full crippled wherever I'm riding a skateboard and shooting. And I was truthful wrong, it's truthful cool. It's my favourite portion of the crippled for sure.

IGN: Mikey, you said you grew up skating and there's such... I mean, the artwork for some games, conscionable High On Life successful wide has specified large artwork.

Mikey Spano: Thank you.

IGN: A customized skate platform for High On Life 2 – possibly similar a collector's variation thing, limited. Are we going to bash that?

Mikey Spano: I volition accidental that we person our biz dev guy, Benny Moore, helium comes from Limited Run, truthful helium knows that abstraction truly well. And past we conscionable hired somebody, I judge it's merchandising director. I don't cognize his name, but it's different 1 that we cognize from Limited Run, Shaddy, and he's amazing, too. And truthful he's taking connected a batch of truly chill merchandising worldly for us. I tin accidental I emotion skateboards, I emotion carnal stuff. As you tin see, my bureau is afloat of collectible stuff, truthful it's a beauteous harmless stake that there'll beryllium immoderate of my ain beingness decks retired there.

Eric Meyer: The hardest happening is going to beryllium choosing which ones to use, due to the fact that we person a clump of decks successful the crippled with awesome creation connected them and there's a batch of ones that, I can't prime a favorite. There's a batch of really, truly chill decks.

Mikey Spano: Yeah. For this game, I person a large radical of weird, debased brow creation friends and I wanted to bring them connected to bash graffiti and signs and worldly similar that for us. And it worked retired truly good that they were capable to each bash platform designs for us, too. So we person truthful galore cool, weird, unexpected decks successful the crippled that I privation to spot each of them crook into a carnal platform astatine immoderate point. And I emotion the thought of a voting strategy of, "All right, for this adjacent run, here's three. Which 1 bash you guys privation to spot next?" And support pitting them against each other. That could beryllium truly fun.

IGN: Pivoting backmost to the video crippled itself, the weapons, intelligibly the stars of High On Life and justifiably so. When you're looking astatine adding caller ones for the sequel, I'm curious, wherever bash you start? Do you commencement with limb relation like, "Well, bash we privation a rocket launcher type? Do we privation this concatenation gun, this benignant of that?" Or bash you commencement with a property benignant and past fig retired what weapon relation it should be? Or bash you commencement with an histrion successful caput and past benignant of physique a weapon astir that? I'm truly funny to the process due to the fact that the guns are specified a unsocial facet of High On Life.

Mikey Spano: Yeah. Typically, I mentioned earlier, I'm ace ADD, truthful I'm ever doodling. Even successful meetings and stuff, I'll beryllium doodling. So Eric and I volition beryllium talking about, "What's a weapon archetype we privation that we don't person yet?" And truthful portion we're talking, I'll commencement usually conscionable doodling a fewer things and I'll amusement it to Eric and say, "What bash you deliberation astir this functionality? Does this functionality look cool?" And past he'll springiness maine immoderate notes and possibly he'll bash a sketch and we conscionable benignant of spell backmost and forth, honing successful connected a shotgun archetype. Gus is our shotgun archetype and=

Eric Meyer: Yeah, that's however we figured retired a batch of the archetypal game's guns.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, we're a precise ocular based studio, we fto the vibes pb our design. And past Eric and Nick, who is our method director, but besides our combat manager for this game, helium gets truly into the weeds astir however the functionality works and, "Let's tune this fig and let's effort this." And each of that benignant of goes backmost and distant and informs the wide look of the gun. And usually erstwhile I'm sketching these guns up, I'm reasoning astir an histrion similar Sheath from the precise beginning, I wanted to beryllium Ralph Ineson. He's been my achromatic whale for years and we yet got him. And truthful that full time, I knew that's what I wanted him to look like. And for the caps from the archetypal game, a batch of that look came from conscionable Jim Henson.

And if you look astatine the truly old, fat, weird Kermit the Frog, that's Creature. There's conscionable a bunch. I person each this notation from the crippled where, judge it oregon not, Knifey is fundamentally Elmo without a chemoreceptor oregon hair. And that's benignant of wherever I started due to the fact that I thought it would beryllium a amusive nod. I emotion leaning connected taste worldly that exists already, truthful I'm ever putting small nods to everything. And trying to find much Muppets for this crippled didn't truly enactment retired close away, truthful I conscionable benignant of went with what felt right. And luckily, Eric and Nick and I were capable to travel up with immoderate archetypes that felt truly good.

Eric Meyer: Yeah. When we kicked this crippled off, we locked ourselves successful this rental bureau for a week. Me and Mikey and Alec Robbins, our autochthonal director, Nick, and Maddie, our producer, our EP, to conscionable oversee everything. And we conscionable broke down a clump of worldly from the game. I conscionable retrieve 1 of the things we did was we had a large whiteboard of conscionable each weapon archetype imaginable and past being like, "Okay, what would fit? What's going to beryllium the adjacent things that would acceptable into our mix?" And past started playing with those and benignant of integrating immoderate of them into the communicative arsenic we were talking astir communicative arsenic well. I don't retrieve each the details.

Yeah. And connected the archetypal game, similar I was saying earlier, we didn't truly cognize what it was, truthful I drew a cardinal guns. So this game, earlier I adjacent did anything, I was like, "What astir this expanse that we had? Is determination thing connected present that's a bully starting point?" But I don't deliberation we ended up bringing immoderate of that on. The bow and arrow was a caller concept, I don't deliberation thing existed for that and Sheath was each new. Travis and Jan were beauteous overmuch each new. So adjacent though we started with immoderate of the older sketches, they changed capable that it was conscionable beauteous overmuch from scratch.

IGN: Well, speaking of the dependable actors for the weapons successful High On Life, erstwhile you're penning present the sequel, obviously, bash you truly adjacent constitute lines for JB Smoove, oregon bash you conscionable springiness him immoderate ideas and outlines and past conscionable deed grounds successful the VO booth?

Mikey Spano: I privation the second was possible, but it's conscionable wrangling idiosyncratic who's truly bully astatine ad-libbing erstwhile we person specified a choky story. Especially successful this game, we focused a batch much connected a choky narrative. Alec and his team, Alec Robbins, our Narrative Director and efficaciously our caput writer, him and his squad conscionable wrote truthful overmuch astonishing worldly that getting the histrion into the booth and getting each of it work out, you've played the crippled truthful you interact with someone, they're not conscionable saying 1 thing, they're saying a clump of things. And each of those things has aggregate permutations. And truthful there's conscionable truly nary mode to get an histrion successful and say, "Go crazy."

On the archetypal game, it happened conscionable retired of necessity, fixed the operation of the game, but for this one, we wanted to bash a amended occupation and tighten things up. And truthful we bash commencement beauteous overmuch everything written and past we'll person them work the enactment the mode it's written and then, "All right, well, however would you accidental this line?" And past immoderate of those are the ones that are the funniest and sometimes conscionable speechmaking it arsenic is works better. But it's precise taxing connected the dependable actors to inquire for advertisement lib, particularly successful that setting, truthful it tin beryllium truly tricky. Sometimes it conscionable happens connected its own.

Eric Meyer: Yeah, we similar to promote it. And this time, I mean, this crippled has truthful overmuch much dialog than the archetypal crippled that immoderate of those grounds sessions were like, "We got to move. We can't advertisement lib for an hr connected this guy." So yeah, it was a batch to get, particularly with the guns. And Gus and Sweezy successful particular, they're astir for the full game, truthful they're a batch of dialogue.

IGN: JB is specified a maestro improviser, I conscionable was curious. It's absorbing to perceive that you astir had to conscionable support him connected script.

Eric Meyer: Yeah, a batch of radical spell brainsick successful moments for sure, but you're getting done truthful galore lines, yeah, we benignant of had to conscionable fto it spell disconnected the publication archetypal and foremost and past messiness around.

IGN: You mentioned the whiteboard of limb archetypes, that you fastener yourself successful a WeWork abstraction for a week astatine the opening of the task to commencement to hash out. Did you person immoderate weapons oregon limb ideas that had deed the cutting country floor? You're talking astir worldly that got chopped from the archetypal game. Was thing from the archetypal crippled that made its mode into this 1 successful presumption of the weapons?

Eric Meyer: I'm trying to remember. The archetypal game, well, 1 happening we had successful the archetypal game, Sweezy, determination was going to beryllium 2 Sweezys astatine 1 point, right, Mikey? One of them died and became a ghost?

Mikey Spano: You had this shade weapon that you could summon, but it ne'er truly got traction. We've been wanting to bash the dual pistols. I truly wanted initially, Eric Andre and Hannibal Burris, conscionable 1 weapon that was overly assured and benignant of funny, and past 1 that conscionable talked to the different weapon the full time. And that was benignant of the archetype we were talking about. And past arsenic we got closer, I don't retrieve who pitched it, but we were like, "It would conscionable beryllium comic if it was conscionable a mates successful a narration and that you had-"

Eric Meyer: I deliberation we were each watching Righteous Gemstones astatine the time.

Mikey Spano: I deliberation that's astir apt what it was.

Eric Meyer: And we were like, "Oh yeah, that narration is similar the..." I hide the character's names, but it's truthful funny. And truthful we're like, "We should hone successful connected that."

Mikey Spano: Yeah. And truthful past we benignant of started with that arsenic benignant of the archetype. And past we had antithetic actors successful caput for the guns initially, and past we benignant of conscionable kept swapping actors astir based connected availability and what the crippled needed. And we ended up with Ken Marino, who's amazing, so-

Eric Meyer: So good, specified a bully performance.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, he's conscionable truthful pro. He gets it, helium conscionable nails it. And Gabourey Sidibe, who, she played Mucks successful our DLC, but present she plays Jan. And those 2 unneurotic are truthful funny, it's fantastic. Those 2 guns, astatine first, I thought would beryllium a amusive small gag for a ngo oregon something, but they're astir apt the astir memorable narrative-wise from the game.

Eric Meyer: I deliberation truthful too, yeah. Because it's 2 guns and they span implicit a mates missions, you get a batch of... Their communicative becomes really a beauteous salient communicative successful the full game.

IGN: Was replacing Kenny successful the crippled from the DLC and present successful the sequel, easier than recasting Kenny? Because I mean, you've got the 2 caller dependable actors for Rick and Morty present who are conscionable dormant connected perfect.

Mikey Spano: Yeah, we really didn't privation to bring Kenny implicit for this game. We're not done with Kenny successful the universe, but he's conscionable not portion of the communicative of this game. We volition beryllium recasting Kenny, of course, but assuming we proceed to marque High On Life, which I volition combat bony and nail to support doing, we inactive privation Kenny to beryllium a portion of this beingness and he's got a batch much to his communicative than what we saw successful the archetypal crippled and successful DLC. I deliberation our communicative wrapper was that Kenny conscionable got dropped oregon thing successful the DLC, but I deliberation that there's much to that communicative than we fto players know, and truthful we'll beryllium hopefully talking a small spot much astir that successful aboriginal game.

Eric Meyer: Yeah, this crippled takes spot 5 years aft the original, truthful we benignant of alluded immoderate of the things that happened successful that clip span, but that's decidedly an country that we'll research much successful this crippled and successful the future.

IGN: The past question I person for you guys is, you touched connected it already with talking astir however overmuch much dialog determination is successful this one, but scope-wise, for me, I truly thought the archetypal crippled was conscionable the perfect... It didn't overstay its welcome, but it wasn't similar a four-hour crippled by immoderate agelong either. I conscionable thought it truly deed its people ace well. So are you aiming for a akin scope to the archetypal crippled with this 1 oregon we spell and... What's the thought process there?

Eric Meyer: We're a small spot larger for sure. We wanted to springiness a small more. This crippled particularly has a overmuch much benignant of, I'd conscionable accidental mature narrative. There's much going connected with it. We really deed our themes a batch stronger astatine the extremity and everything, truthful we wanted to springiness it much clip to consciousness similar a bully sequel. And past we really person rather a spot much benignant of broadside contented you tin bash successful this one.

In the archetypal crippled we benignant of have, you could spell backmost to areas, you could bring successful immoderate much bases for a small amusive vignettes. In this one, you benignant of person these regions successful the hub that you tin really spell astir and find chill worldly successful and benignant of excavation into much and conscionable skate, you tin conscionable skate implicit the full place. So we decidedly person a small much other clip for folks who privation to messiness astir arsenic well. We're decidedly shooting for a spot of a longer crippled than the archetypal one, but by nary means, this isn't an RPG magnitude game. We're trying to support it a bully communicative you tin play.

Mikey Spano: For the archetypal game, we didn't truly cognize however agelong it was going to be. And past it came retired and we were like, "Okay, good. It was enough." For me, arsenic an older gamer, 10 hours is my favourite magnitude of clip to enactment into a game. Past that, I get stressed. And truthful we didn't privation to get excessively acold from 10 hours, but past astatine the aforesaid time, we had truthful overmuch we wanted to bash that things conscionable kept growing. And honestly, I don't cognize however agelong the crippled is. It could beryllium 1,000 hours, it could beryllium 11 hours. I truly don't cognize astatine this point.

We'll cognize the time earlier it comes out, however agelong it truly is. But I deliberation it's harmless to accidental it's a decent spot longer than the archetypal game. Our archetypal tendency was 25% more, but I really deliberation we've astir apt exceeded that by a bit. And past that's not adjacent reasoning astir each the caller broadside contented and conscionable skating around, doing challenges and worldly similar that, truthful there's a batch there. And it's not each communicative comedy. There's a batch of the broadside worldly that's conscionable axenic gameplay.

Eric Meyer: Yeah, conscionable amusive gameplay.

Mikey Spano: It hopefully doesn't overstay its welcome.

Eric Meyer: On this 1 successful particular, we effort to marque each level precise unique. And you're inactive utilizing each your halfway mechanics, but there's a batch of levels we're not going to speech astir until they merchandise due to the fact that they're awesome surprises. And truthful hopefully that keeps. Especially, I cognize immoderate games midway through, you're benignant of like, "All right," I get it. So hopefully we tin support that pacing going for everyone.

Mikey Spano: Each act, if not each mission, could beryllium its ain game. All the guns, each clip you get a caller gun, everything changes. Each clip you get to a caller location, it's a surprise. And we didn't bash a ton of retread this clip different than sidetracking oregon broadside missions, I guess. It's a lot, and I deliberation radical won't get excessively exhausted with it conscionable due to the fact that the assortment is truthful broad.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our monthly(-ish) interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.