Knack Review - Knack is an awful and badly designed game! | ScrewAttack

Knack is a very bad game, one of the worst designed in a long while and hard to review because of it. While its obviously an interactive tech demo for the PS4 much more then it is a game it really doesn't even show of much of the PS4's potential.

Featuring bad controls, twitch based game play that the controls and movement options don't support and a difficulty level that its beyond hard to the point the game gives you free power ups to skip through fights you don't seem to be intended to complete unless your a very good gamer and inconsistant art quality.. this game did not deserve to be the first game revealed for the PS4.

[Cindy-rella]

Knack is actually a good game in my opinion. Good graphics, good story, good gameplay which i enjoy. I contemplated getting this game because i saw some negative reviews but after playing i was shocked to see that its actually a good game despite all the negative reviews. It shows me that i shouldnt listen to reviews and try things myself

[MrSec84]

I totally agree, I feel that this was the most underrated launch game on PS4, next to Killzone (which is also a solid shooter, with great gameplay and an interesting story).
In my experience the hate and stabbing at this game comes from people that irrationally hate Playstation and they feel that just because it isn't an Xbox game (yes it's largely Xbox One fanboys doing the hating) that it's cool and perfectly fine to bash it, even though they never have and never plan to give the game a try.

It was one of the choice of games I had when I got my PS4 at launch and the minute I started to play it I was hooked, wanting to keep moving forwards and learning about Knack. The gameplay is very Crash like, brawler and platform style. Personally I hope that the game's good numbers will mean that Sony will have Studio Japan and Mark Cerny develop a sequel in the not too distant future.

[bouzebbal]

Funny.. I think exacty opposite of the title.
I love this game and i still play it

[vongruetz]

I love Knack and it was the first PS4 game I ever played. I couldn't stop playing it.
I think the reason it got a lot of hate is because the game can get very repetitive at times. If you play for a couple hours and then take a break, you're good. But when the game was reviewed, it was played as a marathon because there were so many games coming so fast. They rushed the experience, which can make it seem not as good.
But say what you will, it was the only next-gen game that my daughter and I could play together and have a blast doing it. For that alone, it ranks high in book.

[Why o why]

Not on the levels of ratchet n clank but still had some good elements. I grew tired in the last 3rd and just wanred to complete the damn thing... Like most games, I strongly suggest playing it on hard mode. ... anything less kills any challenge imo.

@Razjin

True

[Razjin]

What gets me is if the game is so badly design I have yet to see these flaws because my whole playthrough I didn't experience anything game breaking that most games have now. This is why reviews are nothing to really go off anymore.

[espioSilver]

I'm curious how you think bad design has anything to do with bugs.. did the video say anything about the game being buggy?

[C-H-E-F]

Agreed, this Author need to be banned smh. Knack was definitely a gem. My Fiance and I have had tons of fun on Knack and Marvel Legos. But Knack was sooo fun I beat it about 6 times still have a few more play throughs for a platinum.

[C-H-E-F]

Ehh double post, so on a second note I would say this is the ONLY game i've played that didn't have glitches or anything that was 100% complete upon release.

[espioSilver]

I didn't remember the review mentioning any bugged game play at all, flaws with design are seperate from bugs.. Sonic boom.. example of a game that's hard to play because its broken, Knack is hard to play because its been designed badly in regards to how unbalanced it is with more then one enemy around

[StarLord_Who]

Why are there always a thousands comments underneath the review that are there solely to disagree with the review?

If a reviewer sees the flaws and you don't, it means that you are doing something wrong with your brain. Reviews are subjective but if a game has bad level design, it cannot be ignored. It is the difference between being enjoyable and badly designed, the favourite or the best etc.

If a reviewer catches something technical and you don't, it means you know less than the reviewer.

Why can't we have more underrated categories than overrated?

[miyamoto]

No worries...no clicks for this click bait review.

[DivoJones]

Just an opinion here, but the voice acting for Knack himself (itself?) seemed odd. Like the voice didn't match the character. But I only played it part of the way through, then traded it in.. maybe someday I'll gamefly it back and finish it but I've never quite had the impulse or desire to do so.

[hkgamer]

yeah. i did feel that. everytime he speaks im thinking its someone else offscreen talking. maybe the game would have been better in japanese.

knack is definitely a game you should try again. this timee be prepared for what you are getting into.

i thought it was a lego style game when i bought it then i noticed how harsh the enemies can be.

[hkgamer]

wow so many agrees. defintely thought you would get destroyed for saying that.

knack isnt a bad game at all, it just isnt really that great. its just an overall average game.

controls were decent, enemies were decent graphics were decent and story was decent. nothing really stands out but thats not a bad thing.

i personally think that lots of other games i played are worse than knack.

[harrisk954]

This is literally the entire review so no one has to give any clicks to screw attack:
_____________________________ _____________

"Knack is a very bad game, one of the worst designed in a long while and hard to review because of it. While its obviously an interactive tech demo for the PS4 much more then it is a game it really doesn't even show of much of the PS4's potential.

Featuring bad controls, twitch based gameplay that the controls and movement options don't support and a difficulty level that its beyond hard to the point the game gives you free power ups to skip through fights you don't seem to be intended to complete unless your a very good gamer and inconsistant art quality.. this game did not deserve to be the first game revealed for the PS4."

FOR CLARIFICATION, I DID NOT WATCH THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO.

_____________________________ ______________

Seriously? 2 short paragraphs with no analysis whatsoever. I find it difficult to even call this a "review". It is like a post on a forum and not of the quality that I would expect from an actual gaming website. This is why video game journalism gets such a bad rap.It is written as if it were done by a 10-year old: "Knack is a very bad game, one of the worst designed in a long while and hard to review because of it." We all see a lot of garbage on the internet, but this is at the very top of the trash heap for me.

I would urge everyone to not give this nonsense any clicks.

[UKmilitia]

couldnt agree more, me and my kid loved knack.
while its no rachet and clank or jak and daxter its decent game.

[Magnes]

I agree, with all the back door deals going on with these websites being paid for good reviews or being biased towards a particular console you can't trust a single review anymore.The best you can do prior to buying a game is watch a "lets play" and decide for yourself.

[MCTJim]

Uhh Ohhh...Author dissed Mark Cerney.

But, It may not be a great game and it was more of a tech demo of what the system could show off at the time, I still enjoyed it and find myself coming back to it once in a while just to sit back to just watch what happening. Its an average game of about a 6 out of 10.

[Blashted]

Its a kids game......
Its just an underdeveloped, bland ratchet and clank.
Its not that bad, nowhere near as bad as Ghosts. I beat the game and it was hard. It may be uninspired but is not 4/10 bad

[WeAreLegion]

Badly designed? It's probably one of the most well made games of the generation. It may not be terribly intricate, but it is very well polished.

If Knack had released as a $20 download, it would have gotten much better reviews.

Edit: Nice to see the Xbox fanboys up so early. Good morning, everyone.

[360ICE]

First of all, design does not mean polish.

Second of all, do you really think it's that polished? The fighting feels pretty slick, but there are some weird animations and even frame drops.

I'd actually like to see Sony giving Knack another go, because there's no reason that charming littlebig fellah can't feature in a great game. It just needs a better story, more varied gameplay and less horrendous platforming.

[Baka-akaB]

There is a world of difference between stating truths like the game's potential to be better or about its issues ... , and call it crap and awful like the author .

[WeAreLegion]

I agree that it could be a much better series with some major tweaks.

I misspoke. I think it is a well designed game because the levels are continually interesting, the enemy variation keeps things fresh, and the lighthearted humor ranges from corny to witty. The art style is wonderful, too.

It's like the Kameo of the PS4.

[360ICE]

@Baka
That doesn't really touch on what I said. I'm responding to WeAreLegion's comment which said "It's probably one of the most well made games of the generation."

And I don't agree with that. Think it's badly designed, and that the lack of variation and predictable pacing is one of its biggest flaws.

@WeAreLegion
Then I guess we don't really agree that much on Knack. I thought it was pretty bleak. Not bad, but not good either.

[Baka-akaB]

I dont disagree with you on the game ... i'm just saying you approach got some merits and value , the author's ? Nah

It's obvious to most gamers the game isnt as awful as he claims . The way he writes it you'd believe he's reviewing superman 64 .

[snookiegamer]

What's the point in reviewing this game released over 1 year ago, unless to troll???

Screwattak are reviewing PS4 Knack/Games under the cloak of Xmas/Holiday type games, but really it's to degrade the 1st party games! Whether Knack is good or bad is totally subjective, utterly pointless and troll worthy IMO ;/

[360ICE]

Ridiculous attempt at trolling.

[360ICE]

Snookiegamers comment, I mean. Just so nobody thinks I'm agreeing with him about the author.

[lonelyplayer]

I had a good time playing it with my 4 years old nephew.

[sin7279]

And this site and article also is garbage!

[SamPao]

reviewer died a thousand times(he even said it in the video), now he's crying on the internet. poor review.

how about you play it on easy? ...

wow

[GameSpawn]

Exactly. Hard is just that...HARD. This was a game designed by a man from an era of games that were truly hard because you needed to really master the games' controls and timing.

I'm not going to say Knack on hard is Battle Toads hard (far from it), but it definitely draws inspiration from that era.

[SamPao]

Couldn't agree more

[Dramacydal]

I dug Knack. Adding the iOS game for additional unlockables was nice too. Is it great? No. Is it bad? No. Basically, it's Dead Rising.

[Balsanoid]

This article is so poorly written. N4G should be stricter on what is allowed to pass through. No one is going to take this site seriously anymore if half the articles sound like they're written by 12 year olds.

*On topic: Knack is actually pretty fun in my opinion. It's not nearly as terrible as some have made it out to be. Not groundbreaking or amazing, but fun enough.

[Spotie]

I think it's satire.

.... I HOPE it's satire, cuz that's the only way it makes sense.

[Godmars290]

Thought that it just needed to cook...for a lot more...

I mean, if it were a cake you could pour it.

[Toiletsteak]

I actually enjoyed Knack yeah it wasn't the best but it was still fun.

[goldwyncq]

What a rubbish opinion.

[Gore-Content]

If you don't know by now, screwattack is a bunch of fanboys who favor the other console. Take a look at their older videos. Whenever there's a chance they try to bad mouth a Sony console.

[uth11]

This is a very bad review. The worst written in a very long while!

[nowitzki2004]

A bit late for this review.... Must be Fanboyish

[Rimeskeem]

One of the only games that launched with basically no problems this generation.