High on Life: Was Clugg Just a Red Herring?

So … High on Life. It was a lot better than I initially gave it credit for. Sure; the final act wasn’t particularly surprising, but it accomplished what it set out to do, and that’s all we can ask for. Kenny sacrificed himself to atone for his indirect sins, Lezduit … existed, and then all of a sudden didn’t. Garmantuous was defeated and the entire cast had a party (presumably) at Space Applebee’s.

But, something didn’t sit quite right with me. And it wasn’t entirely clear to me until I saw two characters in the credits — the sons of Magistrate Clugg, but not Clugg himself. Just then, it hit me. I realized that we hadn’t seen Clugg … at all … since before we were chased out of Blim City by the G3 cartel. To be honest, I had just assumed part of the game’s climax would be him selling us out to the cartel. But, no …

Clugg always gave me uncomfortable vibes. It could be that I am biased against the overly sanitary politician archetype, but I couldn’t bring myself to trust him. But, they never did anything with him. So, as the credits concluded, and as we were given free reign to do as we will in the post-game, that vibe … never went away. I was left with this feeling of uncertainty. Did I do everything I needed to? Was there something more I needed to unlock by maybe collecting loot boxes, or rescuing all humans?

It was then that I decided to visit Clugg’s office.

Something to Hide

For starters, Clugg’s office was shut tight. There was this eerie, red glow about the entire room. It was kind of like a liminal space in that every other time we’d been here, the window was open and the skyline was visible, but … this time, it wasn’t. I first noticed the Furgle — one of the alien drugs used by Krubis during his boss fight — sitting on the display stand to the right.

It made me think: perhaps Clugg is full of it with his ‘drugs are bad’ persona. Is it possible that he was secretly fueling the drug trade while also funding the elimination of the biggest cartel in the galaxy? I cannot remember if the Furgle was there during the other cutscenes. But, seeing it here strengthened the uncomfortable vibes I got from Clugg. I simply knew he had to be up to no good, even if we wouldn’t see his actions ’til the sequel. In any case, the game was over, right? There was no use scouring the game for hidden content that may or may not pay off in a High on Life 2, right? No. Wrong.

In Clugg’s office, one other thing stood out to me. A keycard, lying on his desk. It wasn’t clear at first what this keycard was for, but I figured it could be used in the Human Haven. After all — that place really hadn’t played a significant role in the story (yet), and it’s thanks to Clugg we had the Haven to begin with. It also helped that that place — like Clugg — gave me the heebie-jeebies.

It was meant as a place we could send our fellow humans to save them from the cartel. But the humans we could talk to in the Haven were all dressed homogenously. They acted funny, they talked funny, and what’s more … they were all still there after we saved Earth. I suppose one could argue that there would be some buffer time between the elimination of Garmantuous and life on Earth getting back to normal. But it still set off some alarms in my head. It was then that, thanks to a comment on a YouTube video, I learned what the keycard was for, and I couldn’t have prepared myself for this one.

Going Where You Don’t Belong

If you look up whilst standing in the Human Haven … there are ledges you can fly to using your jetpack. At the top is a restricted door that opens if you have the keycard. Instantly, my suspicions were vindicated. I was right, there was something off about Clugg, but … it wasn’t until I found the human experiments that were lying across several gurneys that I realized how deep this one went.

I found Clugg, chased him down a hallway and into a large, open observation deck. But … wait … who was Clugg reporting to? It was a never-before-seen character. A scientist, he says. Dr. Gurgula. I had heard that name in passing, but … wait … he’s the one who created the translator microbes that let the Gatlians communicate with us. His name is mentioned in the Hunter Forums and he’s earned a reputation among Blim City’s conspiracy-minded. So, he’s kind of a perfect choice for a big, villainous reveal.

Related: All Achievements in High on Life, Listed

Unfortunately, you aren’t able to fight Gurgula. He traps you in a forcefield, kills Clugg in cold blood, then teleports away after an evil monologue. It’s then that Kenny mentions we’ll have to deal with him in a sequel. I was despondent. As much as I adored High on Life, did they really make me excited for a sequel? Yes. Yes they most certainly did. But, returning to the original question: was Clugg a Red Herring? In a way, yes. But, in a way that I couldn’t possibly have expected until it played out before my eyes, not at all.

OK … now begins the countdown for High on Life 2: The Second One … I guess.