Knack Reviews
Check out Knack Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 21 reviews on CriticDB, Knack has a score of:
Knack may well get a lot of flak for not seeming to be a "true" next gen game, but what it is is a lot of fun, and those who are nostalgic for the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter should at least try it out as Knack follows along their path faithfully.
Simplicity and pretty colours. That’s about the easiest way to sum up Knack in a quick few words. While I actually enjoyed my time with the game I have to admit that it never really advances past a one button puncher that’s easy on the eyes. Sony and Japan Studio had the chance to come out of the gate on the PS4 with a system seller and console mascot and unfortunately the game doesn’t quite live up to that billing. I have to stress though that despite its simplicity it’s still a heck of a lot of fun. The only real issue is that apart from the ooh and aah moments of shiny things we’ve easily seen almost everything Knack has to offer more than one time before.
“Take away the expectations and graphical power, and you’re left with a simple, but often charming button masher.”
Republished on Wednesday 31st January 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.
Knack is a great game that is full of nostalgia and old school gameplay. However its mediocre story telling and main character's voice acting stop it from achieving perfection.
It’s not the next blockbuster platformer you’d want out of a launch title, but you need a break from shooters or want something with some personality, Knack is worth a look.
Some say critics just don't appreciate Knack. Well, there's a reason.
Knack is perhaps being judged unfairly, but this was chosen to be a launch title for the PlayStation 4’s attempt to usher in of the next generation of console gaming, and it’s just not up to that task. Knack feels like an action platforming title we would have been happy with a couple of generations ago.
Knack is a PS4 launch title developed to fit a very specific role. It's a showpiece for the next-gen console's power, and has some impressive visuals to boot. But aside from that the title is a bit of a mess, a lesson in tedium that lasts for far too long and challenges the player in ways that seem unnecessary given the family-friendly approach. With the difficulty dropped down to easy, Knack might find a place among younger gamers/new PS4 owners, but it's a tough recommendation otherwise.
Knack desperately wants to be the 3D platformers of old, but dull combat and a half-hearted story leave it difficult to recommend.
Playing Knack is like watching a dull movie on a plane – it's tolerable if all you want is a way to pass the time, but it's not something you'd seek out for its own sake. I finished in about 11 hours and, challenges, co-op, and secrets aside, there's just not much here worth recommending. Sure, some individual elements show potential, particularly when the scale of the encounters changes as Knack grows, but it never moves beyond playing it safe with the concepts or the characters.
Knack is an action adventure game revolving around "The Doctor, " a not-so-mad scientist who studied ancient relics from a long-lost civilization for many years and finally found a way to bind them together and give them consciousness.
Graphics: 5.2 Gameplay: 5.7 Sound: 5.4 Control: 7.5 Replay Value: 4.3 Overall Rating: 5.5 Online Gameplay: Not Rated Publisher: SCEA Developer: SCE Japan St ...
A frustrating ordeal marred by lack of ambition and unrelenting difficulty.Knack is the type of game I really appreciate on paper. Despite being a launch title for the [...]
Its eponymous hero is a super-powered entity built out of magic relics, and he’s out to deal with marauding goblins that have been stealing relics from human outposts.
Knack is not only a miserably boring action game, but it features one of the worst heroes ever made. Knack is easy to kill, stupid looking and part of an adventure that will never end. This PlayStation 4 game is too difficult for kids and too generic for adults. It's a disappointing failure on just about every level.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America responded to the mixed reviews of Knack by stating that “it was intentionally designed to be simple and accessible and to show that the PlayStation 4 isn’t all about shooters”. I think this is an excellent and completely accurate statement. Knack delivers perfectly on this regard, with its easily accessible gameplay, simple control layout and the ease of the drop in/out co-op. It may not be the most technically refined game but its charm and heart easily outweighs those flaws, which is a fact that I think was unfortunately missed by a lot of people. With his cute statue and surrounded by a world full of charm, Knack will certainly keep you coming back time and time again.
There’s some great design here, but it’s joined by some poor choices and visuals. While children may have a blast, the difficulty and controls are a bit strange, as if they weren’t designed with them in mind but everything else was. It’s just utterly average and repetitive, despite there being an underlying potential for something superb.
Knack has too little going on over its 12 hour length. The core concepts are strong - it’s fun to watch Knack grow bigger and smash things. The incredible imagination promised by the dawn of new hardware is on display in Knack. But the moments of payoff come too infrequently to make plodding through another three dozen frustrating enemies any less tedious.