Here's What Happens If You Stab Gene In High On Life
"High On Life" offers players plenty of opportunities to engage in ridiculous and shocking violence. These moments — like being able to shoot a child – represent Justin Roiland's style of humor, which has come to define his show, "Rick and Morty," and have critics divided over his new game. Another moment like this, which actually offers players a choice in whether or not to play along, comes when Knifey, the sentient knife, is acquired.
Shortly after claiming Knifey, who, as one might expect, has a fondness for stabbing, players will pay a visit to Knifey's former owner, Gene. The alien, Gene, actually gives gamers a reason to dislike him. He quickly reveals that he didn't expect them to survive the last mission he sent them on and assumed they were dead.
As it happens, Knifey doesn't care about any of that. He just wants to be used to stab something and encourages the player to target Gene. Players can approach Gene as he lies on the couch, and a prompt will pop up, informing them that they can press the appropriate button to engage in some knife-based violence. However, it's entirely up to the player if they follow through. For those who chose not to take out their anger on Gene and are curious or want to know the consequences before making the decision, here are the results of listening to the homicidal knife.
Stabbing Gene earns an achievement and a fourth wall-break
To gamers' relief, or maybe disappointment, stabbing Gene doesn't cause him much harm. He's tougher than he appears, and while he reacts with a cry of pain, Gene seems to recover quickly from the attack. He also responds, however, with a bit of self-referential humor that breaks the fourth wall in true Justin Roiland fashion.
After taking a hit from the player and Knifey, Gene yells that they "don't have to do everything the f***in' UI tells you to do." While not as dramatic and meaningful as that one scene from "Bioshock," it does make a similar point about player agency and gamers' tendency to mindlessly follow instructions.
As if this wasn't enough, stabbing Gene also earns the achievement "don't knife the hand that feeds." So, players may want to thoughtlessly follow instructions in this case. An achievement and a joke are fair rewards, after all.