koolcast
Legacy Member
PS4 review - hands on preview | Expert Reviews
Our hands-on time with SCE Japan Studio's Knack was riddled with problems. Aside from having some serious frame rate issues, this linear action brawler felt sluggish and repetitive compared with the fluid action of Killzone, and we had hoped that there might have been some tactile distinction between fire-hydrant sized Knack and three-storey hotel-sized Knack. Sadly, both are just cumbersome to move and fight with as the other, and defeating enemies always devolved into the same 'punch him twice in the face' routine.
This was a real shame, as there were moments of great promise. One demo level in particular spiced things up with a few short stealth sections and these required Knack to repeatedly shed the various relics absorbed into his body and slim down to his crystalline shell. These transformation moments were delightful and really showcased the powerful physics of the Unreal Engine 4 as each individual object acted differently as it hit the floor. Crystal Knack also looks like he belongs in a Pixar film with the way light bounces off him, but we'll have to wait and see whether these moments outshine its so-far uninspiring combat sections.
We were hoping for more from Knack, though there's still some months to polish the title



