With the launch of a brand new console, it goes without saying that you want a large variety to play on it once its released. For the release of the Playstation 4, you had your choice of shooting things up in Killzone Shadow Fall, racing in Need For Speed Rivals and last but not least, there’s a “platformer”/brawler hybrid called Knack. Going for a simpler style, Knack got everyone excited at E3 for the promise on an old school style 3D platformer, something that you would find on the original Playstation. After it’s release, did it live up to that promise? Well, while not a bad game, it falls short of being anything special thanks to its combat, level design, story and other problems. Also, I even have to ask; is this even a platformer?
To combat an oncoming horde of goblins, a scientist has found a way to turn ancient ruin relics into a sentient being. This new weapon is called Knack, and he has the power to absorb even more relics around him to grow even bigger and stronger. Other components of the story involve a bland industrialist (who in no way looks like he will turn on you >_>) who is jealous of Knack’s power and other mysterious forces that are never touched on or explained. Instead of developing any of these characters or diving into the world around them, Knack’s story is straightforward and bland with forgettable characters. Hell, Knack has no character outside of acting tough and cracking a lame one liner here and there before charging into battle. Everyone else is a boring stereotype that you see in most stories; the ambitious smart scientist, the strong good looking muscular adventurer and the boy assistant who constantly gets into trouble. I know it’s a kid’s game, but at least put some effort into it.
It’s also a shame when the cut scenes are nice to look at. The character models are so well done, you’ll swear you were watching a Pixar movie……a boring Pixar movie, but a Pixar movie none-the-less. The rest of the visuals also do a fantastic job of showing off what the PS4 is capable of, visually. The environment around you is colorful and vibrant, complete with a nice attention to detail in the textures and lighting. Your surroundings feel alive and it’s interesting to look at. Knack is also nifty to look at thanks to the amount of pieces all over his body. There’s a few dips in framrate but other than those, Knack is pretty to look at.
Focusing primarily on combat is not usually a bad thing. For some games, it works to their advantage and makes for a thrilling ride, especially when they throw curve balls at you and mix up the action. Unfortunately, Knack doesn’t do any of that and the action lacks any depth or variety to hold your attention. In total, you are given about 5 attacks throughout the game, and they’re all introduced to you within the tutorial at the beginning. First is your typical punching attack, and the second basic move is a jump move which kind of works like Sonic the Hedgehog’s homing attack; Knack curls into a ball and hurls himself at a nearby opponent. As for the other 3, they’re special attacks that you use when you collect enough sunstones; a whirlwind, a projectile explosion, and a shock wave. As said, these are special attacks that you will only be able to use every now and then. Until then, you’ll have to rely on mostly punching your way through the next 13 levels and not much else. It sounds like it will get tired and repetitive very quickly, but that’s because it does.
Perhaps one of the more interesting concepts behind Knack is absorbing relics and getting bigger, as well as absorbing other particles like ice and wood. This could have been used in creative ways and really helped change up the gameplay, especially absorbing wood or ice giving you different powers to play with. Unfortunately, that opportunity is once again squandered. Basically, you start every level as a small and wimpy robot but as you progress, you can absorb relics which will add some weight to your punches and even give you more health. Most importantly of all, it makes you bigger, turning you from a tiny weakling to a colossal giant. This part is done well, but the enemies change depending on how big you are. This isn’t a terrible thing but it would have been more satisfying beating up goblins as a weakling and then laughing as you eventually tower over them later in the level, instead of fighting bugs when your small and armored goblin warriors when you reach their height, killing any sense of progression you could have felt. I can see why they went with what they did, but this just makes every enemy you fight feel the same no matter how big or strong you get.
As I mentioned earlier, the game makes you think that absorbing ice crystals, wood and even becoming “Stealth Knack” will mix up the gameplay and offer something new……it does not. Instead of taking advantage of these and giving you cool freezing powers or….well, something wood related, they literally fill the same role as the relics; they make you grow bigger, nothing more. I suppose ice makes you weaker to heat, but that’s it. As for Stealth Knack, it sadly adds the most, but not a whole lot. In one or two levels, you can turn invisible, but it is only used to pass through lasers. It kind of loses its purpose in combat as enemies can still see you, so what’s the point? Even when this game tries to offer some sort of variety and break away from repetition, it misses out on whatever potential this formula had.
So with so much focus on combat, I must ask my previous question again; is Knack really much of a platformer? Personally, I would argue no. There’s some puzzles and platforming, but they’re treated as an after thought and they’re so far and few between. When a puzzle or platforming section does show up, they are easy and over before you know it. Other than those few sections, 95% of the game is more oriented on punching enemies, making me believe that this is much more of a brawler, taking more inspiration from games like God of War or Devil May Cry as opposed to something like Crash Bandicoot. This isn’t such a bad thing at all, but if you’re expecting a platformer, I would look elsewhere. It doesn’t help that, even ignoring the fact that this isn’t a platformer, the level design is kind of bland. Not to mention each stage, or chapter, plays out the same; start out small, grow big as you punch your way through enemies, and then shrink back down at the end for the next level. Sure, there’s collectables, but that’s only if you care about collecting all the trophies. There’s no other point.
At least the game can have some moments of difficulty. Yeah, surprisingly, there’s challenge to be had in this game, especially a hard mode for you daredevils out there. When you’re small, you die more easily, only taking just a few more hits when you’re big. Death will come often, so don’t let its charming look fool you. A good challenge is nice, but not when the combat is so uninteresting and boring the first time. Of course Knack has to be one of those games with infrequent checkpoints, too. I’m not complaining about difficulty, but with this bland combat, the game just feels like it overstays its welcome thanks to these checkpoints.
Lastly, there is a co-op mode. There isn’t too much to say here, it’s the same levels as before but now, you have a buddy playing as Robo Knack to help you out. Robo Knack can’t die and is only there as a second hand, much like the co-op in Sonic 2 or 3 on the Genesis. Like I said, there’s not much to talk about here. It’s good if you have a kid who wants to play with you I guess but for everyone else, there are better co-op experiences.
I wanted to love Knack. I really did. The visuals are pleasing to look at, showing off what the PS4 is capable of, and there were some interesting concepts to be explored here. Unfortunately, all of these opportunities are squandered and we are left with a flavorless, boring, nothing special beat em up with unimaginative game design and a flat snoozefest of a story to boot. Perhaps it’s because Knack is too focused on combat over all else but it just feels like so much was missing that could have made this game great. Too bad, because the production value is there as the game is quite clean of bugs and glitches. It just fails for not offering anything interesting. I understand that it was going for a simplistic style, but games like that still exist (like Lego Marvel), and they’re done much better than this forgettable adventure and worth much more of your time.