Got a Knack to it
Knack 2 is a sequel that many PlayStation fans weren’t too fussed with. The original launch platformer on the PlayStation 4 received less than favourable reviews. I’ll admit, the first time that I played the original, I didn’t like it. I thought for a launch title, it wasn’t good enough. However, I went back to it and completed it, and since then I’ve completed it another 3 times so it definitely grew on me. It was a decent platformer in its own regard. Yes, it won’t beat the likes of Ratchet & Clank or Crash Bandicoot any time soon, but for me personally, it doesn’t have to. With that, I was happy to hear that a Sequel was on its way to the PlayStation 4 and was delighted to get my hands on it for review and whilst again it won’t win any Game of the Year awards, it is a worth sequel and certainly will quell any platforming thirsts you have,
I think it’s a bit obvious to start with, the sequel again revolves around Knack, his side-kick Lucas and his uncle Ryder. If you haven’t yet played the first title, that’s alright as you’ll still get the entirety of the story that is played out in Knack 2. Basically, Knack is here to stop a army of undead goblins from destroying the world. That’s all there is to it. It’s not the best story in the world, it’s not going to pick up any narrative awards but it’s decent enough if you take it for what it is, a few hours of platforming fun.
Visually, Knack 2 certainly improves on its predecessor. It’s really nice to look at and like a typical platforming game, there is a vast amount of environments to go through, such as a underground mine to a forest. It certainly doesn’t get boring to look at and it really animates well too. I also didn’t notice any drop in framerate whilst I was playing the game, which is good as I have played games like this before and when you have a lot of enemies on the screen at once, it can suffer as a result.
One of my favourite things in the game was the overall narrative and voice acting in the game. What is good is that it doesn’t take things too serious, which is exactly what it is supposed to do. Knack’s voice actor is a little on the strange side but on the whole, there is definitely a lot of humour to it, something that I think a younger audience (what Sony has aimed for with this) will appreciate as they play this.
What is good about Knack 2 is that it seems to do something that the original lacked of, and that is add the ‘platforming’ layer to it. The first one to a degree was just hack n slash and whilst it was fun, definitely lacked any sort of variation to it. This time around, there are more parts of the game where it gives you a platforming section, making you think and use Knacks size in order to get through the puzzle. There are times where you will have to lose all of your height and become small in order to get through the gap, whilst there are times where you’ll have to get as big as you can in order to create the weight you’ll need to get through. Like I said previously, it’s that added variation which helps Knack 2 become a more rounded and better game than the original.
Much like the original however, you still have a lot of battling to do with the enemies you come across. What I liked this time around is that throughout the story, you will get access to new powers which adds to the variety rather than just punching all of the time. You can also improve Knack using the progression grid, in order to improve his overall abilities. It’s added depth that the series needed and helps the longevity of the game, and if you are hunting for that platinum trophy, the fact you can do the whole game via local co-op is a great feature and will definitely keep a younger audience busy for a much longer period than if they were playing it alone.
Overall, Knack 2 is a worth sequel, to a growing series. I do hope that more people get behind Knack, as it is a decent game, and the second one adds more depth and more character than the original. Whilst I’m not sure how much demand there will be for a third game in the series, I definitely would welcome one and wouldn’t rule it out in the future.
A PlayStation 4 Review Code was provided by Sony Computer Entertainment
