Knack Review

Very little was known about Knack when it first debuted at the PlayStation 4 reveal show. All people knew was that you played this robotic-looking thing that could grow and shrink in size. It resembles games like Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank. Now, if only the game could live up to those heights.

Gameplay

Abilities

Knack is different from a traditional platformer, which is what many people initially thought this game would be. Knack is more like Lego games than anything else, which isn’t a bad thing considering how successful those games are. He has a special ability to collect relics, allowing him to grow and become far more powerful, or shrink in size to navigate through tiny spaces. The scale of this power is one of Knack’s greatest strengths, as there is a massive difference between being big vs. being small. Knack can take more damage and deal more damage when he is large and has an extended reach. It’s the transition between these that doesn’t go so well.

Little Choice

With a game like Knack, you would think that growing and shrinking would be up to the player, allowing them to play the game in the best way possible. This is rarely the case with Knack; the game is designed to be played in a certain way and doesn’t give you much room to do things your way. Most of the time, the developers make you trade in your relics to open a door at the end of a level or give you a big chest when a big boss fight is coming. This same problem applies when Knack absorbs different materials, such as ice; they are only available when the situation calls for them, not just because. There are also alternate versions of Knack to add replay value, but it didn’t give me the incentive to go back and play again.

Enemies

The enemies are a surprising bright spot in Knack. Numerous creative enemies attack in loads of different ways, all moving around in various patterns, making it difficult for you when there is a cluster of multiple enemies. While this is a family-friendly game, it becomes challenging at times and frustrating, as some enemies can be defeated with a single hit, while others have shields. Seeing different enemies rather than the palette swaps in most games is great.

Personality Crisis

I don’t understand why this game is called a platformer. I’d much rather call it a brawler than that. There aren’t many environmental challenges; you’re just fighting your way through the level to the end, not exploring different routes. Yes, there are collectibles and other features, but at its core, this game is essentially a point A to point B game with little in between. It feels mindless.

Story

There are short cutscenes that serve little purpose other than to take away from the gameplay you could be playing. Even the main cutscenes would be better left out. The story isn’t anything spectacular. The whole plot is to fight off goblins from fighting back after kicking them out of the cities. Why, you ask? Because they said so. There’s no real reason humans are supposed to be the protagonists, and goblins are supposed to be antagonists other than to follow a traditional way of thinking. The story doesn’t fill these plot holes, and I doubt it would matter if they did. The story just isn’t good.

Final Thoughts

It’s hard to say what I feel about Knack. It almost feels unfinished; it feels like I’m playing one part of a bigger game, yet that’s the whole game. For $60, I expect more value for my dollar, and this doesn’t provide it. I could see it doing better as a $30 budget title, but to ask full retail for this is just too much. Knack has a lot of decent ideas, but ultimately falls short due to the limited control given to the user over how to play the game. The PlayStation 4 is capable of much more than what we’ve been shown here.