As many will remember, Knack was a launch title for the PlayStation 4, the brainchild of director Mark Cerny, and partially existed as a tech demo to show off the raw power the new console provided. The main character, Knack, was designed as a collection of assorted wooden ‘relics’ that could float together to form his character model, and could explode and shatter like particles, making Knack larger or smaller. Knack II has been built to deliver on the promise of the original game, making a more confident and solid platforming game for all audiences, that retains the visual style and tech behind it too.
The E3 demo was actually fairly straightforward in terms of mechanics, showing the game off as an action platformer rather than relying on any kind of gimmick. Instead of starting at a small size and slowly growing bigger as you progress, collecting relics to make Knack expand, Knack starts off at a mid-range size, which is quite capable of battling bad guys with ease. However, he can also shed many of his wooden particles to shrink down to his doll-like fun size, which allows him to sneak into crevices and find secret collectibles, or creep along narrow walkways. You can swap between the two forms with ease by holding down a button.
Another ability Knack now has is the ability to form a shield with his wooden particles, to block incoming projectiles, and also to parry them back towards the enemies who fired them. It’s often simpler just to beat the snot out of them, but for out of reach enemies, it’s an effective strategy, and one that requires some precise timing. Much of of the demo was simple platforming, climbing up along wooden planks in a quasi-2D fashion that was actually quite reminiscent of the Crash Bandicoot games.
Perhaps the biggest new addition in Knack II, that unfortunately I didn’t get to try, is drop-in drop-out co-op play. This works much like the Lego games, where a second player can jump in at any point and join the action, appearing as a blue version of Knack who can help you take out enemies.
The original Knack didn’t necessarily capture the hearts and minds of critics and fans when it came out with the PS4’s launch, but all respect to Sony for having another crack at it with Knack II. It’s another attempt to make a more cohesive game, that offers a good balance of combat, platforming and family friendly hi-jinks. I only saw a small portion of what Knack II promises, but it flowed well and was easy to pick up and play. Whether it can hold its own against other consoles’ upcoming platformers, like Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey and Xbox’s Super Lucky’s Tale remains to be seen when Knack II launches on 5 September, 2017.
