Unfazed by the October games onslaught, High on Life's horror expansion launches next week

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The High on Knife release date has been set for October 3

High on Knife, the horror-themed expansion for Squanch Games' silly shooter High on Life, is out October 3.

The High on Life DLC was first announced back in June with only a promise from the developer that it would be "coming soon." And while October is undoubtedly the most seasonally appropriate month in which to launch a horror expansion, it's still surprising that Squanch announced the release date just a week out.

Even more surprising is the fact that the studio seems to give zero hecks that October 2023 is one of the busiest months for video game release dates in recent memory. Two big games, Alan Wake 2 and Alone in the Dark, were recently delayed to avoid clashing with several other major releases set for October, including Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Forza Motorsport, and more.

The release date announcement comes with a new trailer for the paid expansion, in which the player character tippy-toes around a narrow, dimly lit hallway with horrors hiding behind each door. At the end, a monster called Ripsaur, which looks like it came straight out of the Garbage Pail Kids card game, emerges from behind one of the doors, and it's revealed that it's just one of a collection of monster cards you'll be able to collect throughout High on Knife.

High on Knife is set two years after the events of High on Life, and while there's definitely a shift in tone toward horror, Squanch promises the update is "still freaking hilarious and weird," and just "a little spooky."

"Not like, 'I may never sleep again', levels of terror, but definitely on the 'My dreams are going to be broken for a while', end of things," Squanch Games CEO Mike Fridley said in June. "Think body horror, but you start off with a horrible body and it gets even more horrible. You’ll have to trust us on that for now."

In the meantime, here are the best Xbox Series X games out right now.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.