Knack, an exclusive title especially for the PlayStation 4, was expected to be something big, since it was announced a few months ago. Dreams going as high as this title becoming as big as Little Big Planet, when we have it in our hands we are simply left with a pure disappointment.
The game follows the story of a cute and little character, which is just a simple combination of a few geometric shapes, yet has so much potential. Scientists aren’t able to explain how this creature is living and what makes it move, but it does. You are getting the control of Knack, only to get hold of his special ability. And yes, his ability is quite extraordinary – he acquires power through artifacts and is able to become as big as a three-story building.
And although the story is compelling and quite interesting it has some major loopholes in it. You are following direct orders and are never asked about the humane details of it all. You kill golems, but are they the bad guys? In one cut scene we even see a golem saying ‘you destroyed our homes and kicked us out of our cities’ yet the player is not able to make a choice – Knack just does what the humans tell him to do. Will we be able to see a sequel, where Knack chooses the side of the goblins, or even thinks about what is right or wrong? Well, if we are it hasn’t even been brought up in this game.
The gameplay also has a lack of choice. Although it is nice to smash buildings with tanks and yet be able to become small again and crawl through ventilation tunnels, you are not able to explore the possibilities of Knack. You are not given the chance to get big or small whenever you want and decide on which path is right or wrong and pass the game through trial and error. Every level confine you to a certain mode, the game makes Knack big, whenever the level needs him to be, and small, whenever the opposite is needed. The levels become repetitive and in the end you don’t feel like you’ve experienced something new and innovative. You just sit there playing a game by the rules and follow the path, which the game has put in for you. And although that is always what a game is about – following a path, Knack had a lot more potential and is quite a disappointment. The game doesn’t even let you jump from one level zone to another by yourself, whenever you are between two parts of a level, the game takes control with a small cut scene, just to make Knack jump and gives you back the control, which may not be as noticeable the first two or three times, but becomes rather annoying as the game progresses.
All in all Knack just seems like a great idea gone to waste. It seems unfinished and rushed. And yes, the developers might have been under pressure as the game had to be released with the PlayStation 4, as there is even a bundle you can purchase; however it is just not worth it. Why not let us decide if the goblins are right or not; why not let us use the ability of Knack to get big and small whenever we want. Yes, confine us by some certain borders, but don’t make them so obvious. At the end of the day, the only thing you do in this game is smash some stuff, kill some ‘enemies’ and follow the already written sequences. The potential of the game is just lost.
A major disappointment; All in all it may fun to play; it is not that the game doesn’t have a fun factor; it is just that Knack doesn’t stand out from the crowd. For a next-gen console title and such an amazing story and innovative ideas, Knack is not what it should be. If you want, you can try it yourself, as it is one of the few exclusive titles for the PlayStation four. The game is available via the official PlayStation 4 store and some other retailers. However, at the end of the day Knack is just the next innovative disappointment.