A decently entertaining, but surprisingly short DLC, which also ends well-
After nine months of lying full of dark, serious stories in games of Diablo IV by Psi was more than a little impatient to dive back into the stark contrast of sillyity and dirt that is high in life with the release of his first DLC: High on the Knife. But while it certainly delivers the usual silly gags, funny, boring characters and a few good laughs, this ride abruptly stops after only two hours and ends before I’ve even settled back into a crazy world where I really want to spend more time.
In addition, the emphasis on Knifey, one of the most one-dimensional friends in your arsenal, does not make a particularly good story (although he is usually a reliable source of laughter), and a lack of strikeouts or performance improvements are also disappointing. I’m really glad that developer Squanch Games is doing more adventures in life, but this short second course doesn’t have enough meat on its bones to justify dusting off and reinstalling my copy.
As you might expect, High on Knife focuses on the one-dimensional character Knifey: the execute, rude Australian instrument. He unexpectedly receives contact from the homeworld of the Knives and forces them to conduct a low-stakes search to reunite him with his people. This short odyssey will take you to Peroxis-a salt-covered desert planet inhabited by an extremely annoying, constantly sick species of snails who can not figure out what is causing their health problems.
Although there are many pleasant parts to be found in this barren world, this is not the most coherent story. In addition, it was a gag to hear Knifey talk about how he wants to stab everyone and everything, which has already taken a long time in the grassroots campaign, so to double the stake here, to put it mildly, is a bit uninspired. Without going into spoilers, the whole journey ends in the most abrupt, unsatisfactory and unusually funny way.
By the way, this ending comes much earlier than expected, which is one of the biggest (and most literal) shortcomings of High on Knife. I reached the end credits in just over two hours, just when I thought the story was about to begin. Once you arrive on Peroxis, you’ll do a handful of short quests before actioning a boss, and… That is all. Don’t get me wrong, you can definitely spend more time talking to ridiculous characters, taking part in a handful of smaller side quests and searching for collectibles, but with only one new area to explore and very little history to invest in, there was little of value for me to be excited about. After looking under every rock, I could only find five hours to do; Just when I finally felt comfortable in this universe and with all the controls and action mechanics after such a long absence, it was done. At least the credits, in which Knifey mercilessly roasts the entire development team, are entertaining to watch.
The good news is that even though it’s way too thin, the things they do are mostly the same ridiculous and funny shenanigans that this over-the-top universe is known for. They are being coughed up by sick slugs, helping a great naked alien to remove parasites from his butt, and invading some kind of Amazon space warehouse with even more questionable business practices than the Earth equivalent. There are also real highlights, such as a part where you can opt for a parody episode of Cheers, with Frasier Crane being used lawful, probably for no reason. Some of the side quests are also worth the effort, such as one where you have to collect rough Pokémon-like trading cards and then face a nerd with them. As these moments struck, they reminded me of why I loved this silly universe so much – it’s so incredibly short that there’s not much to enjoy.
The best thing about High on Life has always been the weapons, called Gatlians, which serve you as trustworthy companions, and this is certainly always true. The extra dialogue and time spent with Gus, my beloved frog-like strikegun, and the creature, the socially awkward spinner, were welcome, making the sometimes lackluster striking easier to look beyond. Unfortunately, the new weapons are not so interesting. For example, Harper, a former military weapon with a dark past, replacing Kenny as a standard pistol, is a poor substitute – or at least she did not have enough time in the spotlight to really shine. Worse, the biggest addition, called B.A.L.L., doesn’t do that much for me as a character – it’s a weapon operated by a group of sapphire Men-an adjacent trio of three miniature aliens whose gibberish language can’t add anything at all to the conversation. Unlike all other weapons, striking is more fun than listening.
Fortunately, the new weapons and abilities are definitely among the strengths. B.A.L.L. turns the actionfield into a pinball game where a metal ball bounces back and forth until it explodes for serious damage. You can even use bumpers with the turret hole function of the gun, which allows you to automate and accelerate the rebound. Knifey also gets a new chainsaw ability in the second hour, which allows him to break through environmental obstacles, work his way through certain surfaces and perform smooth sliding movements. Unfortunately, this ends so soon after acquiring this ability that there is very little space to play.