After nine months filled with dark and serious stories in games ranging from Diablo IV to Lies of P, I was more than a little eager to dive back into the stark contrast of stupidity and smut that is High on Life with the release of its first DLC: High on Knife. But while it certainly delivers the usual silly gags, amusingly gross and annoying characters, and some good laughs, that ride comes to an abrupt stop after only two hours, ending before I’d even fully settled back into a goofy world I’d desperately like to spend some more time in. Beyond that, the focus on Knifey, one of the more one-dimensional friends in your arsenal, doesn’t make for a particularly good story (even if he’s usually a reliable source of chuckles), and a lack of improvements to gunplay or performance are disappointing as well. I’m really glad that developer Squanch Games is making more High on Life adventures, but this brief second course doesn’t have nearly enough meat on the bones to justify dusting off my copy and reinstalling.
As you might expect, High on Knife focuses on the one-dimensional character Knifey: the homicidal, foul-mouthed Australian stabbing implement. He unexpectedly receives contact from the knife homeworld and forces you on a low-stakes quest to reunite him with his people. That brief odyssey takes you to Peroxis – a salt-covered desert planet that’s home to a species of extremely annoying and perpetually ill slugs who can’t seem to figure out what’s causing their health woes.
Although there are plenty of enjoyable bits to be found on this barren world, it doesn’t make for the most cohesive story. Plus, hearing Knifey talk about how he wants to stab everyone and everything was a gag that already ran long in the base campaign, so doubling down on it here is a bit uninspired to say the least. Also, without going into spoilers, the whole journey ends in the most abrupt, unsatisfying, and uncharacteristically unfunny way possible.
Speaking of which, that ending arrives a whole lot sooner than I expected, which is one of High on Knife’s major (and most literal) shortcomings. I reached the credits in a little over two hours, right as I thought the story was getting started. After arriving on Peroxis, you go on a handful of short quests before fighting one boss, and… that’s it. Don’t get me wrong, you can certainly spend more time than that talking to ridiculous characters, going on a handful of minor sidequests, and hunting for collectibles, but with just one new area to explore and very little story to keep me invested, there was precious little for me to be excited about. After looking under every rock I was able to find just five hours of stuff to do; Just when I was finally feeling comfortable back in this universe and with all the controls and combat mechanics after so long away from it, it was done. At least the credits, where Knifey just ruthlessly roasts the entire development team, are entertaining to watch.
The good news is that, although it’s far too thin, the stuff you’re doing is mostly the same ridiculous and amusing shenanigans for which this over-the-top universe is known. You’ll get coughed on by sick slugs, help a giant naked alien remove parasites from his butt, and invade a sort of space Amazon warehouse with even more questionable business practices than the earthly equivalent. There are some real highlights too, like one part where you can choose to partake in a parody episode of Cheers, complete with a probably illegal use of Frasier Crane for no reason at all. Some of the side quests are worthwhile too, like one where you have to collect gross Pokemon-like trading cards, then duel a nerd with them. When these moments hit, they reminded me why I enjoyed this dumb universe so much – it’s just so incredibly brief there’s not a whole lot to savor.
The best part of High on Life has always been the guns, called Gatlians, who serve as your trustworthy companions, and that’s certainly still true. The additional dialogue and time spent with Gus, my beloved frog-like shotgun, and Creature, the socially awkward weirdo, were very much welcome, and make the sometimes lackluster shooting easier to look past. Unfortunately, the new guns aren’t all that interesting. For example, Harper, an ex-military gun with a dark past who replaces Kenny as the standard pistol, is a poor replacement – or at the very least, she wasn’t given enough time in the limited spotlight to really shine. Even worse, the biggest addition, called B.A.L.L., doesn’t do as much for me as a character – it’s a gun operated by a Blue Man Group-adjacent trio of three miniature aliens whose gibberish language can’t add anything to the conversation at all. Unlike every other weapon, it’s more fun to shoot than it is to listen to.
Thankfully, the new weapons and abilities are definitely some of the highlights. B.A.L.L. turns the battlefield into a game of pinball, with a metal ball bouncing back and forth until it explodes for serious damage. You’re even able to deploy bumpers by using the weapon’s trick hole ability, which lets you automate and speed up the bouncing. Knifey also gains a new chainsaw ability in the second hour, which allows him to tear through environmental obstructions, carve his way through certain surfaces, and pull some sweet slide moves. Unfortunately, it ends so soon after you get that ability that there’s precious little room to actually play with it.
