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Knack |OT| Playin' Knack in my Tub!
- Thread starter Tsundere
- Start date
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Funny; the high point of the game is how thoughtful and precise the design is for enemy encounters and the combat system.
It's simple, a bit too simple. But mastering the encounters is being pretty rewarding, for me at least. Just like how a lot of people are complaining that it's not like Katamari where you control your size at all times by sucking stuff up - Knack's size is used to shape the combat. Health, reach, attack power, all tuned to the particular combination of enemies at hand to make a unique scenario.
I think one could grind to the end of the game being frustrated if it didn't click for them. But I cannot say the game is thoughtless. It's the opposite.
So is there a way to go back to earlier levels without voiding your progress? I'm one part away from both the Time Dilator and the Double Sunstone Battery, but unfortunately the game decided around Chapter 7 or 8 that I was only getting Detector parts and Crystals from now on.
Again, you said this:
I don't mean to ride you too hard, but it's really not quite right to say there was no thought put into the combat if you were replaying checkpoints over and over and over again, by your own admission, instead of learning how to approach the combat situations properly. The game is designed to punish you by rushing into it with no thought, just as you experienced, including what you called "lag" after dodging. It's a deliberate design decision to let you know that you are not invincible and cannot rush into encounters and expect to dodge out of the way multiple times without punishment.
Haven't gotten into COD yet, but the other two are baaaaaaad SP campaigns. Thats a low bar.
SlasherJPC
Banned
I'm finding it interesting how some folks are just completely hating this game (on GAF and other places). I've not seen a more polarized game in a good while. Seems very 50/50 at this point.
Mehhhh
I don't hate it. I just wish I hadn't dropped 40 bux on it. It should have been half the length and 20 bucks. The combat is cool, but the game wears on you. I was waaay higher on it around mission 3,4, but the more I play the less I like it.
I think its the kind of game you enjoy best in short spurts.
Neuromancer
Member
If I finish the game on normal can I play new game + on normal? or do I have to play it on hard?
So if I'm going to pick a chapter to farm crystals can I do it without losing progress as long as I stay on the difficulty I finished the game? I've finished the game twice now but I still have 3 incomplete sets (including Diamond) and I really don't want to play it a third time on Hard.
Doctor_Thomas
Member
Gave it a bit of a play earlier. Definitely one of the harshest rated games of all time. I think the combat works really well, it punishes you for not being able to overcome both the single enemy as well as the entire encounter. I like it.
gutter_trash
Banned
I 100%ed the game tonight.
Got my 1st PS4 Platinum
ooh yeah
Got my 1st PS4 Platinum
ooh yeah
gutter_trash
Banned
unlocked characters are available for any New Game type of any difficulty.
Be sure to farm for crystals in one save file. Then when your unlocked character is saved, you can then create a New Game and select the Unlocked character.
The thing that does not carry over is inventory and Gadgets.
AbandonedTrolley
Member
Nice one, I made the mistake of playing through on Normal first time around, finished it last night. Will start a Hard play through soon and then Very Hard.
Quite enjoyed the game, didn't feel too long either. Some areas were frustrating and in all honesty the combat if you can call it that was repetative. But I liked the story and characters and look forward to a sequel if they decide on one!
Finally finished! Long-winded review incoming:
Gameplay
Liked it a lot. The combat is simple, but always pretty satisfying. My only real complaint is that some of the moves (dodge and jump-attack in particular) have a bit of a delay after executing them that I could really live without. A little more complexity in future would spice things up I think, even if it's only a new move or two.
The platforming could use a little work; it'll often look as if one jump should be enough to reach a ledge, but that frequently isn't the case. If they can polish things up, I'd probably be up for a little more platforming in general with a bit more variety to help break things up.
Actually, more variety in general would be great. Stealth Knack was a lot of fun to use, and the moments where Knack picked up new materials were some of the most exciting, even if they often didn't amount to much. So for next time, more alternate Knacks, and more things do do when we get them.
Story
So for the most part, I thought this was pretty decent. It's basic stuff, but no worse than most other game stories these days.
Visuals
Overall, pretty happy. Technically I think it could benefit from being locked to either 30 or 60 fps, but I didn't have serious issues with the unlocked framerate other than a few dips. IQ was pretty good, though I feel like they might've been using FXAA or similar, which resulted in a little fuzziness here and there. Overall though, I think they did well. Levels are often huge and colourful with a great sense of scale, and the mix of environments was pretty good.
Artistically, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The best analogy I can think of is that it looks as if they let the builders do their stuff, but then forgot to call in the set decorators. Levels feel fully constructed, but they rarely feel lived in. In the factory levels, where are the monitors playing propaganda videos and the posters with safety information? In the city levels, where are the advertising billboards and the market stalls? Games like Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus might be a generation behind Knack, but the environments pack a ton more detail and character. I'd love to see this addressed if we get a Knack 2.
Sound
I tend not to notice music in games a great deal, but I enjoyed what I heard here. The voicework was all up to scratch too, with Knack's (divisive) voice being a particular favourite.
Length
Yeah... it's too long. Well, it's too long given the amount of content, anyway. By the time I reached about Chapter 9 I was starting to get fatigued with it, even when only playing a bit each day. There's really too little content stretched across too many hours here, with lots of areas including very clearly cut-and-pasted corridors and rooms so as to include more enemy encounters.
If it was up to me, I think I'd probably snip two such encounters from every sub-chapter in the game. Variety needs to arrive more quickly than it does now, and reducing the length of every sub-chapter by about 20% would result in a leaner, less tiring game IMO.
Final Thoughts
I like Knack a lot. I like the character, I like the brawler gameplay and I like the potential of a character who can be varied in both size and composition. I feel like this game is the ultimate example of the "Good game, amazing sequel" scenario - I look at Knack, and I see huge potential for a more varied, better paced follow-up. I really hope that wish comes true, but in the meantime, Knack is great fun, and easily my favourite title in the PS4 launch lineup.
7.5/10
Gameplay
Liked it a lot. The combat is simple, but always pretty satisfying. My only real complaint is that some of the moves (dodge and jump-attack in particular) have a bit of a delay after executing them that I could really live without. A little more complexity in future would spice things up I think, even if it's only a new move or two.
The platforming could use a little work; it'll often look as if one jump should be enough to reach a ledge, but that frequently isn't the case. If they can polish things up, I'd probably be up for a little more platforming in general with a bit more variety to help break things up.
Actually, more variety in general would be great. Stealth Knack was a lot of fun to use, and the moments where Knack picked up new materials were some of the most exciting, even if they often didn't amount to much. So for next time, more alternate Knacks, and more things do do when we get them.
Story
So for the most part, I thought this was pretty decent. It's basic stuff, but no worse than most other game stories these days.
There is one area where I thought they totally goofed it though, and that was with Charlotte's character. She barely does or says anything during the time we're with her, and in her time off-screen she's building weapons for the Gobins (a fact which is conveniently forgotten or ignored by pretty much everyone for the rest of the game). I can't really think of a good reason for her to be there at all, besides explaining away the Goblin weapons (which I kinda always assumed were going to be Viktor's doing).
There's some really fertile ground laid here for a sequel, however. I thought the way various characters allude to Knack being a tool of the humans, and his own admission that he "gets big, breaks things, can't help it" were both really interesting thoughts. I'd like to see some exploration of who he really is, besides the Doc's "creation" in any future titles.
There's some really fertile ground laid here for a sequel, however. I thought the way various characters allude to Knack being a tool of the humans, and his own admission that he "gets big, breaks things, can't help it" were both really interesting thoughts. I'd like to see some exploration of who he really is, besides the Doc's "creation" in any future titles.
Visuals
Overall, pretty happy. Technically I think it could benefit from being locked to either 30 or 60 fps, but I didn't have serious issues with the unlocked framerate other than a few dips. IQ was pretty good, though I feel like they might've been using FXAA or similar, which resulted in a little fuzziness here and there. Overall though, I think they did well. Levels are often huge and colourful with a great sense of scale, and the mix of environments was pretty good.
Artistically, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The best analogy I can think of is that it looks as if they let the builders do their stuff, but then forgot to call in the set decorators. Levels feel fully constructed, but they rarely feel lived in. In the factory levels, where are the monitors playing propaganda videos and the posters with safety information? In the city levels, where are the advertising billboards and the market stalls? Games like Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus might be a generation behind Knack, but the environments pack a ton more detail and character. I'd love to see this addressed if we get a Knack 2.
Sound
I tend not to notice music in games a great deal, but I enjoyed what I heard here. The voicework was all up to scratch too, with Knack's (divisive) voice being a particular favourite.
Length
Yeah... it's too long. Well, it's too long given the amount of content, anyway. By the time I reached about Chapter 9 I was starting to get fatigued with it, even when only playing a bit each day. There's really too little content stretched across too many hours here, with lots of areas including very clearly cut-and-pasted corridors and rooms so as to include more enemy encounters.
If it was up to me, I think I'd probably snip two such encounters from every sub-chapter in the game. Variety needs to arrive more quickly than it does now, and reducing the length of every sub-chapter by about 20% would result in a leaner, less tiring game IMO.
Final Thoughts
I like Knack a lot. I like the character, I like the brawler gameplay and I like the potential of a character who can be varied in both size and composition. I feel like this game is the ultimate example of the "Good game, amazing sequel" scenario - I look at Knack, and I see huge potential for a more varied, better paced follow-up. I really hope that wish comes true, but in the meantime, Knack is great fun, and easily my favourite title in the PS4 launch lineup.
7.5/10
I'm only on 6-1 and it's taking me ages to get through this. I went for Hard on my first playthrough, and it's a great challenge. The checkpointing, level design and difficulty remind me an awful lot of Crash Bandicoot, while the gameplay (for some reason) makes me think of Mega Man. Probably because it's all just attack pattern management, I dunno.
The challenge feels well weighted on Hard. There's times I can just get in the zone and go 10 minutes without even getting hit, while others, I get annihilated over and over again on the same enemies I was breezing by before, just due to my concentration slipping. Any time you fuck up, it's basically your fault.
And the Katamari-esque progression of growth is neat. Being able to one-shot guys that previously took 2 or 3 really gives you a sense of empowerment. It's a pity they kneecap that so often (using relics to open doors/power up elevators always feels disappointing), but I suppose how rare being huge is made adds to the joy of finding a big stash of relics. When Knack first walked in to that room in the fortress, it put a wide grin on my face, which stayed there the entire time I ran about fucking shit up.
I understand that Knack is an acquired taste. I had a theory that the reason Knack was so poorly received was because it'd be the Worst. Fucking. Game. to play to a deadline. Maybe it outstays its welcome by Chapter 13, I don't know, but I do know I'm having a blast playing it, and right now the low-low scores just don't seem right.
The challenge feels well weighted on Hard. There's times I can just get in the zone and go 10 minutes without even getting hit, while others, I get annihilated over and over again on the same enemies I was breezing by before, just due to my concentration slipping. Any time you fuck up, it's basically your fault.
And the Katamari-esque progression of growth is neat. Being able to one-shot guys that previously took 2 or 3 really gives you a sense of empowerment. It's a pity they kneecap that so often (using relics to open doors/power up elevators always feels disappointing), but I suppose how rare being huge is made adds to the joy of finding a big stash of relics. When Knack first walked in to that room in the fortress, it put a wide grin on my face, which stayed there the entire time I ran about fucking shit up.
I understand that Knack is an acquired taste. I had a theory that the reason Knack was so poorly received was because it'd be the Worst. Fucking. Game. to play to a deadline. Maybe it outstays its welcome by Chapter 13, I don't know, but I do know I'm having a blast playing it, and right now the low-low scores just don't seem right.
If you don't utilize thought when you're playing, you can't really talk about the thought put into the design of the game.
Be like playing Demons/Dark Souls the same way. Sure you could probably eventually progress to a certain point, but it's going to make the game seem crap if you constantly mash away at it instead of actually thinking during encounters.
Knack is thoughtful in design, because without thinking you're not going to get through the game very easily on normal or higher.
Just because the combat is simplistic, doesn't mean it's not thoughtful.
Played some more, still really like it. Ice Knack looks boss. Giant Knack is like an angry bear, awesome.
What happened with the cutscenes, though. They feel choppy and don't even look that good, were they encoded at 24 fps or what? Terrible.
PS: if there's a Knack 2 they have to steal Naughty Dog's snow technique for it. UC2 and TLoU snow <3
What happened with the cutscenes, though. They feel choppy and don't even look that good, were they encoded at 24 fps or what? Terrible.
PS: if there's a Knack 2 they have to steal Naughty Dog's snow technique for it. UC2 and TLoU snow <3
I got Knack from Gamefly. It isn't anywhere near as bad as the reviews made it out to be. Had I kept my order for it in the Amazon B2G1 deal I wouldn't have regretted it. The game is more of a strategy platformer than anything. There is a lot of strategy involved in terms of how to get through it and how to kill the enemies without dying. You die very quickly in this game, so that is part of the main part of the game.
The enemies seem to have set attacks so it looks to me like as long as I learn what's going on I should be fine. Then again, I'm only up to 3-1 so maybe things change a lot from there, I'm not sure.
I will say this though. I despise the enemies with projectiles. They can screw right off out of here.
I bet a LOT of parents are going to be in for a shock when they give this game to their little small kids and they end up getting pissed off at it because of the difficulty. It reminds me almost of an old school NES game or something with the entire trial and error thing.
The enemies seem to have set attacks so it looks to me like as long as I learn what's going on I should be fine. Then again, I'm only up to 3-1 so maybe things change a lot from there, I'm not sure.
I will say this though. I despise the enemies with projectiles. They can screw right off out of here.
I bet a LOT of parents are going to be in for a shock when they give this game to their little small kids and they end up getting pissed off at it because of the difficulty. It reminds me almost of an old school NES game or something with the entire trial and error thing.
Really? What's your PSN ID? Because it's not the one listed in your public profile.
So I got all the gadgets on my second playthrough on normal now, should I just go to hard? Or should I keep going (I'm at chapter 7) to farm out crystals as much as possible without gadget interference? I only have two completed. Vampire, or whichever is the 1 star red crystal Knack and Brittle Knack.
Phatosaurus
Member
Thanks mate. I'll give that a try.
I might not be enjoying it that much but I'd like to get my money's worth out of it.
bumpkin
Member
When you unlock the special Knack skins/suits/whatever, can you switch them on-the-fly or do you have to pick one and live with it through the entire game?
...and does it actually show up in cut-scenes?
Fushichou187
Member
You can only choose to use a different "Knack" when selecting a New Game, Chapter Select, or one of the unlocked game modes (Time Trials & Coliseum), and it's with you for the duration of that playthrough. This is fine for sessions that go by much shorter e.g. time trials or going for a chapter specific trophy via chapter select, but you really should only attempt another full playthrough (esp. if it's your final, Very Hard run) once you have unlocked Diamond Knack. DK also makes those trials modes a walk in the park.
Only "regular" Knack shows up in cutscenes which is a bummer, but I skip through every single one of them now anyway
zeopower6
Member
It seems very common. I wonder what the issue is exactly. :/ Hopefully they patch it.
Don't worry, while I took the slow approach my friend just charged into fights with fists flying and got through the game faster than I did.
bumpkin
Member
Ah, cool. Thanks for the info.You can only choose to use a different "Knack" when selecting a New Game, Chapter Select, or one of the unlocked game modes (Time Trials & Coliseum), and it's with you for the duration of that playthrough. This is fine for sessions that go by much shorter e.g. time trials or going for a chapter specific trophy via chapter select, but you really should only attempt another full playthrough (esp. if it's your final, Very Hard run) once you have unlocked Diamond Knack. DK also makes those trials modes a walk in the park.
Only "regular" Knack shows up in cutscenes which is a bummer, but I skip through every single one of them now anyway
Do the difficulty-based trophies trickle down (i.e. beat on hard, get lower diff trophies automatically)?
Yeah, difficulty trophies stack
Fushichou187
Member
I don't know how much of it is the game and how much of it is the PS4 itself. Also, if it's more common for disc-based vs. digital versions. I have the physical version and I have never encountered a hiccup or game freeze. I also didn't encounter much of the framerate drops that some people were reporting in certain levels.
Btw I love your avatar! Reminded me that I need to pick up NNK for a friend for a holiday gift.
Yes, the difficulty trophies stack. I did my first run on Hard as well as my "Continue" playthrough for the rest of the crystal collectibles-- got to Chapter 7 when I finally collected/unlocked everything-- then did my final full PT on Very Hard. By that time though, with Diamond Knack unlocked, there were only a few moments that saw me restarting multiple times-- boss fights mostly-- everything else was pretty manageable.
Fushichou187
Member
The chests aren't available by using Chapter Select unfortunately (I know, that blows). You'll need to do your farming during an actual playthrough. There are a number of chests that are very close to the beginning in the early chapters that this is good for. I got zero diamonds on my first playthrough, then did my second run by choosing "Continue" (essentially, Knack's NG+) and farmed every chest that was close/feasible and had all 10 by the beginning of chapter 7. Then I just bailed and started my final real run on Very Hard.
I've heard this a few times, but no I personally haven't had an issue.
Finally put up the review (working on video review once I get my voice back) gave it a 7/10. At times the deaths felt cheap, but the overall old-school feel to the game was a welcome one.
I did experience a few glitches where enemies would fall from the sky, but get stuck on something that forced a restart.
I did experience a few glitches where enemies would fall from the sky, but get stuck on something that forced a restart.
endresults
Member
Knack go fetch this Knack ya know those relics that make you big yeah I need some to power my foot massager Knack i created you im such a genius. Damn that scientist is the worst, even his voice is punchable.
I hope we get to see more of Knack's story. They really played up that he was the Doc's creation in the game, but he's clearly his own creature. I'd like to know more about his origins, and where he fits in the modern world.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I was rather amused that the doctor is really a kind of conceited jerk, to be honest. It makes his kid sidekick mouthing back and showing him up constantly funnier.
pharmboy044
Member
Me trying to save money played knack coop via remote play. I couldn't sense any lag at all.
Dr.Horrible
Member
It hard locked me once or twice. Not any set amount of time into it though, just randomly.
That is over one and a half play through.
zeopower6
Member
Vita Knack prequel, maybe? *_*
Seems like it's Knack-only for some people... like that one CGR guy had disc Knack and had the game freeze up on him SEVERAL times.
And thanks! The art comes from this artist~
http://sky.geocities.jp/alf_kedama/web_yorozu/ninokuni_imagen.html
lowhighkang_LHK
Member
Weird.
When I open a treasure chest, it doesn't give me an option to select what my friends have. Many of whom have played Knack extensively. It says If i were longed in PSN, I could treasure share. But, I -am- logged in? Da fuck?
When I open a treasure chest, it doesn't give me an option to select what my friends have. Many of whom have played Knack extensively. It says If i were longed in PSN, I could treasure share. But, I -am- logged in? Da fuck?
Devilgunman
Member
Just finished the game. Holy shit it is longer than I expected. Also why the hell coudln't I share the clip of final boss fight? When I hit share and went back to see it it was the previous scenario.
I really enjoy Knack. Definitely solid 7/10. Fun and challenging combat, variety of enemies, lots of collectible but the story is really stupid. There is definitely a room for sequel and hopefully they can improve the story. I also like that Knack iPhone game. In fact, I might stop playing PS4 Knack but keep playing the phone game lol
I really enjoy Knack. Definitely solid 7/10. Fun and challenging combat, variety of enemies, lots of collectible but the story is really stupid. There is definitely a room for sequel and hopefully they can improve the story. I also like that Knack iPhone game. In fact, I might stop playing PS4 Knack but keep playing the phone game lol
bumpkin
Member
I've seen that happen occasionally too, but no idea if it's hardware or software related. I played through a majority of the game using remote play, I suspect maybe it's streaming related; that is unless you were playing on a TV and seeing it there.