After a long stretch of serious and dark game stories, from Diablo IV to Lies of P, I couldn’t wait to dive back into the world of silliness and vulgarity with High on Life’s first DLC, High on Knife. While the DLC delivers its usual dose of silly jokes, gross characters, and laughs, it falls short by ending too quickly and lacking in improvements to gameplay and performance. Although I’m excited for more High on Life adventures from Squanch Games, this second course is too short and lacking to make it worth my time.

In High on Knife, the focus is on the one-dimensional character Knifey, a foul-mouthed Australian stabbing implement. He unexpectedly receives a message from the knife homeworld and sends you on a quest to reunite him with his people. This quest takes you to Peroxis, a salt-covered desert planet inhabited by annoying and perpetually ill slugs who can’t figure out the source of their health issues.

While there are enjoyable moments on Peroxis, the story lacks cohesion. Furthermore, Knifey’s constant talk of stabbing everyone becomes repetitive since it was already overused in the base campaign. Without giving away spoilers, the journey’s ending is abrupt, unsatisfying, and surprisingly unfunny.

Speaking of the ending, it arrives much sooner than expected, which is one of High on Knife’s major downsides. I reached the credits after just two hours, right when I thought the story was just starting. The quests on Peroxis are short, with only one boss fight. There is the option to spend more time talking to characters, doing minor sidequests, and collecting items, but with only one new area and a lack of engaging story, there is little to be excited about. After searching every nook and cranny, I only found five hours of content. Just when I was getting comfortable and reacquainted with the controls and combat mechanics, it all ended. The only saving grace was the credits, where Knifey hilariously mocks the entire development team.

According to our review of High on Life, it is an absurd and irreverent shooter that shines with its outrageous humor, silly setting, goofy guns, and unique alt-fire abilities. While the combat may feel sloppy at times, once you acquire new tools and movement options, the game becomes more enjoyable. Not every joke lands, but with memorable boss fights and plenty of terrible movies to watch, the wacky journey is worth your time. (Travis Northup, December 15, 2022)

Score: 8

Read the full High On Life review

The good news is that the activities in High on Knife are mostly the same ridiculous and amusing shenanigans that the universe is known for. You’ll encounter sick slugs, help a giant naked alien remove parasites, and explore a questionable space Amazon warehouse. There are standout moments, like a parody episode of Cheers and a side quest involving collecting gross Pokemon-like trading cards. However, these moments are overshadowed by the brevity of the content.

The best part of High on Life has always been the guns, known as Gatlians. The additional dialogue and time spent with unique guns like Gus and Creature make up for the sometimes lackluster shooting mechanics. However, the new guns introduced in High on Knife aren’t as interesting. Harper, the replacement for Kenny as the standard pistol, falls short, and the new addition, B.A.L.L., operated by tiny alien characters, lacks meaningful contributions to the game.

Thankfully, the new weapons and abilities are some of the highlights. B.A.L.L. turns the battlefield into a pinball game, bouncing back and forth before exploding for massive damage. Knifey gains a chainsaw ability, allowing him to carve his way through obstacles and perform impressive slide moves. Unfortunately, the DLC ends shortly after gaining these abilities, leaving little time to fully enjoy them.