Knack was one of the dozen or so launch titles released on the PS4, and it immediately with it's game art and design reminded me of Ratchet and Clank. With it's comical designs, animations and dialogue it did remind me heavily of the Ratchet and Clank franchise. As a launch title on the PS4, it does however merit low in terms of quality for the price of a launch title, for £50+ I did expect more from Knack, but it does quell my interest for a while at least.
The story is simple enough, you play as Knack; a creation of a scientist, who has used the in-game world's rare relics to create a living creature, yourself. You through playing the game collect more relics, and use them to grow your size, the strength of your attacks and give you the ability to get through obstacles in your way. You as Knack, must discover why a very comical, and cartoon style group of Goblins are attacking humans, and now have access to powerful tanks in their arsenal. Your journey takes you to the Goblin bases and outposts, as you discover the power of the relics and your own role in the world as a creation of the relics. In terms of storyline, and plot it doesn't do anything spectacular, you get what you expect from Knack.
Graphically, Knack is a wonder on the eyes, and as a PS4 launch title it really pushes the PS4's processing power, and it's visuals. There are no seams, the brightness of environments and the animations of characters and enemies, are stunning. In terms of audio, I have found no real issues, some good effects in particular when destroying enemies and environments.
The system of collecting power to use in special attacks, is really good, in particular once you face a group of armoured enemies it comes in handy, and there are many attacks you can use once your power is fully charged up. Collecting upgrades, that once you have all five or six of them will form a permanent upgrade to Knack, and help in battle which is good as enemies do get stronger over time.
But Knack does hide a darker side to it, and that is it's difficulty; I have died many times on sequences trying to outdo a group of enemies, or one particular one, that requires quick reflexes. Sometimes this can get irritating, replaying the same sequence almost a dozen times before passing it, so in some ways Knack may not in fact be suitable for children, who may get angry or upset over a specific sequence they cannot pass. Knack is good for both children, but also adults playing it who wouldn't mind having a few obstacles thrown at them on a platformer level.
The Good:
- A very child friendly story, but has some comical moments that even adults can enjoy. Nothing too difficult to understand.
- Strong visuals, in particular Knack's animations in movement, and when attacking enemies as well as when he grows in size when collecting relics. They are crisp, and smooth; nothing spoils the visuals.
- As for audio, no issues; solid soundtrack and effects.
- Watching Knack grow in size, and strength when collecting relics is quite stunning, watching them add to his frame and make him look more of a juggernaut and using this against bigger, stronger enemies.
- Knack's difficulty, can become frustrating, but does make you use skills, and tactics before attacking enemies; instead of just running in, and hitting everything in your path, like in most platform games.
The Bad:
- The only issue I have found, is that the story is too simple in form; nothing special which is a disappointment when paying full retail price for it; at least £50 or more. One other issue is of course the downside, of the difficulty level and it can get very frustrating when you must replay the same sequence over and over again.
Knack to some, is far from an ideal PS4 launch title since each title does cost £50 and over at the moment, but being a launch title some would expect the line up not to be as strong, as it will be in later months. With such a short and small selection of titles on the system, Knack is acceptable in my opinion, until newer games are released; and does give you a good few hours of gameplay, and some re-playability.