Everyone loves to smash things, at least that is what Japan Studios assumed when making Knack. This is a classic beat-em up that was designed to showcase the fidelity and physics possible with the PlayStation 4 when it first launched. Although it may be a fairly simple game it certainly does what it set out to achieve. The game looks and sounds great. The gameplay may not be revolutionary but it is fun none the less.
The goblins are attacking human outposts and they now mysteriously have access to powerful modern machinery. Doctor Vargas believes he has a means of fighting back with Knack. Knack was created using powerful relics and he has the ability to grow exponentially as he finds more relics to absorb. The famous explorer Ryder and his nephew Lucas, the doctor's assistant, both decide to help the doctor find the source of the goblins new power. Its not as easy as they'd hope, especially when an ally turns against them in a ploy to expand his own power.
Knack feels a lot like the original 3D platformers, you might even say it is a spiritual successor of sorts to Crash Bandicoot. The gameplay really just boils down to hit and run. This is a very linear game where you just have to get to the end of each stage and beat up everyone you see along the way. There is a range of both human and goblin enemies. All the enemies have patterns and it is essential to learn them if you wish to survive. Knack is quite fragile and it often won't take but two or three hits for him to go down. Knack has just one base attack he can combine with his abilities to jump and dodge. Should things get too tough you can also collect yellow shards to unleash a devastating special attack.
The visuals and score for Knack is definitely a highlight. Both from a sense of style and level of quality the animated cut-scenes look like something you'd except from Disney or DreamWorks. Although it may not it have quite the same level of detail as those studios it is still quite visually pleasing. The orchestral arrangement for this game is fantastic. Each level features its own song on loop and it will continue playing even when Knack dies. The songs are fun and catchy while never feeling overpowering or distracting.
Although it lacks a lot of depth this is a great escape game. Either you're busy smashing up bad guys or you're sitting back to enjoy the story-telling. Even on normal setting the enemies are tough, thankfully the checkpoints are well spaced and forgiving. I feel like Knacks specials are quite overpowered and defeats the purpose of the difficulty curve. Although the game is very linear there are hidden rooms with gadgets that will eventually grant Knack upgrades. Even though it started feeling a little repetitive towards the end this was still a cleverly constructed game. If you ever want a break from the complexity of modern games just smash your way through Knack.