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Review: Knack

I like Knack, yet it’s often frustrating, bland and repetitive. It’s a next-gen take on a two- generations-old style of game and the only truly next-gen thing about it is its graphics.

But there really is something oddly compelling about Knack that kept me coming back for more. Maybe it’s due to the PS4 having a really thin launch line-up. Maybe it’s due to Knack being an anomaly in this age of shooters, shooters and more shooters. Or, maybe it’s just that I am and always have been a sucker for Saturday morning cartoons. At its core, that’s what Knack is all about.

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You play as the titular KnackA manufactured creature composed or relics. In Knack’s world, goblins and humans are at war. Everything in the human world is powered by relics left behind by a long lost civilisation. One brilliant professor and his young lab assistant have discovered how to bind these relics together and give them sentience, thus Knack is born. Knack’s been described my creator Mark Cerny as a cross between Crash Bandicoot, Katamari Damacy and God of War. I’d say he’s fairly accurate, but Knack is a conglomeration of each in the lightest possible sense.

Crash’s DNA is evident in the linear level design. You pilot Knack down a series of corridors, populated with various enemies until you reach the end of the level. The game never reaches Crash Bandicoot levels of action or excitement though. When you’re not engaged in combat gameplay is quite sedentary. There’s some rudimentary platforming, but it’s intermittent and almost always short lived. The most obvious influence is Katamari Damacy. Knack can grow larger by absorbing more relics. These are strewn throughout the levels, hidden in containers or laying in plain sight. In the beginning, the prospect of growing huge and stomping my way through each level made me giddy. It wasn’t long before I realised that the size Knack grows is as controlled and linear as the levels themselves.

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Because the levels are so strictly controlled, there are certain areas that Knack can only access through a small door or gap between walls. So no matter how huge Knack is at that point, he shrinks down to fit through the gap and you’re stuck as little Knack again until the level dictates you can grow larger. It’s all very tightly scripted and becomes maddening when you realise you have no freedom. Once you accept that the game dictates when you grow and when you shrink you have a better time of things, but for the first few hours it’s almost painful.

I’d say that God of War has had an influence on Knack in only the most superficial of terms. Combat is a focus, but it’s largely a one button affair. Oh, and dodge is mapped to the right stick, so there’s that too. Getting through the levels requires you to pummel dozens of enemies, usually only three of four at a time. Square is your attack button and you’d better be prepared to wear it down to a nub. Most enemies can be taken down in one or two hits, but the same is true of Knack. Learning to use the dodge and attack commands in concert becomes paramount to success. As you get larger so do your foes. They never quite reach gigantic Knack proportions, but they still pose a challenge. In fact, the entire game is quite challenging. Fans of old-school style difficulty will find something to like in Knack. It could even be something that Dark Souls fans find some enjoyment in.

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I mention Dark Souls as there’s an element of trial and error to Knack’s combat and gameplay. It’s often brutal and the checkpoint system just as much so. Often, dying will result in you placed back several minutes and dozens of enemies that you only just scraped past the first time. It can be infuriating, but once you succeed you’re filled with a true sense of accomplishment. Knack may look cutesy, but it’s anything but.

Knack is very much a launch title. There’s some great ideas at play, but everything feels half-baked. The story is never explored deeply enough and the ghostly hand of the developer never lets go of the reins, meaning the experience is shackled from beginning to end. There is something to be said of the difficulty and punishing way in which it puffs its chest out and challenges you to try again after each death. Don’t let the cutesy, colourful graphics fool you. Knack is hard. The graphics are Knack’s other ace up its sleeve. While never reaching astonishing levels — like Killzone — Knack is a great showcase for the power of the PS4. Gorgeous textures and bright colours pop out of the screen. Kids will want to play, just because it looks so great. Just be sure to put it on easy for them.

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