Knack 2 Review

The first Knack launched on the PlayStation 4 back in 2013 and it was a decent title that was geared more towards kids than adults. That’s not a knock on the title, as the PlayStation 4 isn’t breaming with triple AAA titles that you can play with your kids (the younger ones, not the teenagers). That’s not to say there aren’t a handful of indie games out there that would do the trick, but big time kid-friendly titles with big time budgets usually reside on the Nintendo (pick one).

Anyway, I enjoyed the first Knack, as I have a bajillion kids at home, but understood the complaint that it felt more like it was showing off the PS4’s power in some areas, rather than delivering a solid game that brought memorable characters and a replayable adventure. It was very thin in the gameplay department, but certainly visually interesting and, as stated above, kid-friendly.

This time around Knack II hits for the PlayStation 4 and it’s $20 less than its original title. What does that mean to you? It means quite a bit. It brings a bigger game with a storyline that hooks you and options that will prolong your experience with the Knack and Lucas. Is it still for kids? Absolutely. You keep up an element of uniqueness through the kid-friendly gameplay To boot, the game is also fare more attractive, especially on the PS4 Pro (which this was reviewed on). A bigger adventure with better gameplay elements and far better visuals for $20 less? It’s a good package to sell to gamers.

That said, let’s dig right into this.

The gameplay of Knack II has the core fundamentals of the original. You collect blocks to grow a bigger Knack and you break yellow crystals to replenish Knack’s energy, so he can avoid literally falling apart. Along the way you also get a few moments of quick time events (QTE) that break away from the action to give players a breather, which is a good strategy for kids out there. In addition, you can also add elements to Knack to get him through certain levels. These include metal scraps, ice and crystal. Each element helps to progress Knack on whatever level he is on. It was something featured in the last game and it hasn’t been removed for this one. Anyway, all of this was present in the original Knack and all of this is still there in the latest version. If you liked what the game had to offer the first time around, then just know you won’t be missing anything.

Now, taking that core and adding to it is what makes Knack II work so well. Let’s start with the upgrades. You’ve got a skill tree this time out that comes in four sections. Within each section there is a set of bubbles and each bubble has a particular skill you can upgrade. To upgrade these you’ll have to earn XP. Every time you dispatch an enemy, you collect a blue bubble that equals out to some XP. There is an XP gauge in the bottom right of the screen, which is represented by a circle with a diamond inside of it. When you complete a full circle with the XP, then you get a piece of the four-wall diamond shape filled in. When all four walls are filled in, then you earn a skill point. These points can be used to upgrade Knack and make him better. Be it speed, power or recovery of blocks quicker, there’s a lot of reasons to go ape on tons of enemies. The skills actually do improve Knack and makes a considerable different during fights, especially bosses. For example, late in the game there is a point where you can do a three barrage punch sequence that ends in a giant two-fisted punch. This is a powerful upgrade that can dispatch quite a few baddies.

Outside of just collecting XP through dispatching enemies, you can also collect these blue bubbles from boxes laying around. When you’re running around maps you will find blue glowing boxes that contain XP. Some have a little, while others have a lot. The addition of XP gathering and the skill tree makes Knack incredibly replayable after you complete the game. I was just about to start a ‘very hard’ mode before forcing myself to write this review. The first time around I didn’t necessarily want to replay the game, but this time around I want to complete the skills tree. Speaking of which, you probably won’t earn all the skills in the game, which kind of forces your hand to replay it, but it will certainly be worth your time to go back and get them. Maybe on a different difficulty? Probably a good thing. *hint, hint*

Other new things that you’ll encounter along the way include special moves for glowing red/yellow crystals for Knack to break. Once those crystals are broken, Knack goes into a special moves mode where you can have him swing a crystal sword, fire crystal bullets or just knock the heck out of enemies. It’s a neat thing and they make the game a bit more fun, though the time you have to be a complete bad-A is limited to a timer in the middle of the screen.

Related to these upgrades and XP, and special moves, is the the actual fighting component of the game. It has gone beyond just a punch/kick system and has expanded to over 20+ moves. Some of these moves can be quite easy to pull off, while others sometimes can be frustrating. For example, there is a body slam (literal slamming of the body) onto enemies, which is quite powerful and requires pushing the square/X button at the same time. That control scheme gets in the way of another fighting move, which I often got mixed up with during gameplay. When I say during gameplay, I mean during the entire game. Yes, right until the end. That’s really the most frustrating part of the game, that one move specifically, as it got in the way of a lot of attacks I was trying to pull off. That said, the overall combat system is still, for the most part, refined and easy to use. The game does a good job of unveiling stronger and stronger attacks as you progress through the story and giving you a variety to choose from to dispatch baddies. Overall, the attacks are abundant and rewarding for the most part.

So, what’s all the above features worth if there isn’t really a good map to use them on? I think the maps are the strongest part of the game. While the early levels are exactly what you have seen before in the previous title, at least by design, as you progress further into the game you will find better and more complicated, yet interesting, level design waiting for you. For example, in the later levels you will have to climb up a robot from the foot to the head — as it’s moving. That’s pretty darn cool and it is impressive to see in motion, as it looks complicated, creative and just plain neat. Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, especially compared to the final big level. I’m not going to ruin that, but wow is it neat. There were several moments from mid-to-end story where I just sat in awe of how complicated, yet beautiful some of the levels turned out to be. There are a bevy of moving parts in some of the later levels that just are wildly creative and impressive in design with respect to how the player must navigate through them. Again, the levels are the highlight of this game, in my opinion, as they should be.

Related, the game also features some good puzzles. While I can’t imagine anyone having issues with the puzzles inside the game, I can see some causing a little bit of trouble for a younger audience. For example, there is a puzzle late in the game where you have to upgrade Knack’s outside (using metal, ice, whatever — not going to give it away) and connect two power lines together to open a door. I will say that I’m not the smartest person in the world when it comes to things like this, but a couple of us here at DC looked a bit baffled by the puzzle. After about 20-minutes we found the solution and kicked ourselves in the butt for it being so obvious. There are less than a handful of puzzles like this in the game, but you get a decent amount of good puzzles as a whole.

Shifting gears just a bit, let’s talk modes. The co-op and single player modes are solid. You will have fun with someone in co-op, but if you like going solo, then that’s fine too. Co-op has its advantages, outside of establishing you like playing games with people, as some things in the game are geared towards two players. Beyond these modes, you need to complete the game to unlock new modes. I can tell you, folks, the new modes are very interesting. They are worth the adventure, which should take you 10 hours to complete, if you truck through the 10+ chapters in the game (some chapters have multiple sub-chapters within them). Anyway, enjoy the co-op, but beat the game for some additional real good fun. Lots of new adventuring.

On the presentation side of the tracks, the actual gameplay is absolutely stunning. The lighting and shadows were done far better than the first title. For example, there is a scene where you’re fighting a robot in an open tunnel and the shadows from the sun fall perfectly off columns in this level, while letting an accurate gauge of light fall between the columns. You’ll find a lot of things in the game like this, where you just want to sit back and enjoy the visuals. I’m not sure if they revamped the engine or not, but it looks a helluva lot smoother than it originally did in 2013. The textures are a bit smoother as well, which is evident during the cutscenes, as the faces and movements of the characters are clear, precise and smooth. That said, the frame rate drops dramatically during the cutscenes, which makes it ugly, even though it is, at least in textures, pretty.

To add another layer of pretty, the voice acting is superb, as is the dialogue. This is a well-written game about a group of heroes trying to fend off archaic robots built by goblin elders. It’s all voiced and performed well, which is important when you’re trying to hook gamers into buying the adventure you are selling. The start of the story is a bit slow moving, but by the second act you’ll find a good story waiting for you.