u/aussiereeltalk

I loved the first game, and I'm not even that much of a 'Rick and Morty' guy. The talking guns, ridiculous humour, and weird sci-fi worlds were a true novelty (for me) and the game felt fresh. I was excited to hear that there was a sequel, but worried about the lack of hype and staggered release dates.

The game definitely feels like High on Life, and I came to enjoy the skateboarding mechanic as it gives the game much needed energy. Some of the new Gatlians and side characters are fun additions, especially Travis and his whole sequence on the cruise ship. And there are also several missions that I thought were really clever and lived up to the innovation of the first like the boss fight in the Pause Menu.

HOWEVER, in my opinion as a casual gamer, a lot of the humour feels recycled from the first game, except less funny the second time round. Characters like Knifey become painfully overused, and the game constantly mistakes “loud and random” for... clever? There are long stretches where you’re just standing still listening to characters dump exposition on you, and the final act is one last boring blow to the face. I finished the game genuinely angry that I was forced to wait through that court scene. I didn't find it clever or meta or funny.

I bought it on PS5 (hard copy) the day it released. Technical issues galore. I had frame drops, frozen loading screens, broken prompts, and multiple moments where I had to reload checkpoints because triggers wouldn’t activate the next sequence. Honestly one of, if not the buggiest experience, I’ve had on PS5. I read the digital release MONTHS AGO was also shocking.

It’s frustrating because there are moments of creativity and fun (like the cult missions), but they are few and far between in a pretty bland game overall (compared to the first).

I've seen some really positive reviews praising the humour and story, only identifying the bugs as the primary weakness. I was a bit surprised by this, but maybe I'm way out of the loop? I'm curious what others here think.

My full thoughts if interested: High on Life 2 (2026) - Game Review

It's becoming less and less likely that Alan Ritchson will be James Gunn's new Batman, so we'll have to settle for his pseudo-Predator/Terminator/Aliens hybrid instead! War Machine is exactly what you'd expect, a straightforward, safely structured action/sci-fi movie that leans heavily into violent, bloody action sequences that are entertaining and exciting to watch.

Ritchson fits his role perfectly, not just physically, but he has some strong emotional moments tied to a traumatic past that drives his story and character motivations forward. Unfortunately, most of the other actors play characters that are very two-dimensional, classic military grunt types. As an Australian, there were some moments of cringe when Aussie actors struggled to maintain the American accent in conversations.

The action scenes are filmed really well with some surprisingly tight cinematography, and the film's score matches the genre and overall tone. Character development (other than Ritchson) is negligible, as a lot of his squad are really just stand-in "redshirts" (heaps of blood and gore instore, this alien doesn't mess around).

The story is very predictable, the characters are basic, and there are plenty of plot conveniences BUT...it's a streaming movie...and you're watching Jack Reacher fight a giant alien robot. That's surely why you're clicking play, and that's definitely the fun the film delivers. It's not going to win Oscars, but it's certainly not boring, and I'm sure many out there will enjoy it for what it is.

Full review War Machine (2026) - Movie Review