Today PlayStation 4 launches; you might say that “next gen” has officially become “current gen”! Game creators have been hard at work, and I think game players have a lot to look forward to.
One of the launch titles is of course Knack, the game that I and the internal Japan Studio have been hard at work on for the last three and a half years. I love character action games, and over the years I’ve helped create a number of them, including Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation, and Jak and Daxter and Ratchet & Clank on PS2.
Our goal on this project was to bring back that kind of classic gameplay, but with a next-gen twist. Knack has the ability to pick up pieces of the environment and grow larger, so over the course of a level he can grow from a three foot tall “mascot” type character to a thirty foot tall rampaging monster. This is a kind of gameplay I’d never tried to create before, it gives a very unique feel from the game. We’ve also focused on the narrative that drives the action – there is a full CGI film worth of story embedded in the game.
We’ve kept two types of players in mind while creating Knack. One is hardcore players who like the old school challenge present in Crash Bandicoot and the like – those were tough games, and even on a Normal difficulty setting Knack will definitely keep you on your toes.
The other type of player we had in mind was light or beginner players. As lead system architect for PlayStation 4 I knew there that the launch lineup would include Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Killzone Shadow Fall, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 and other amazing AAA titles for the core gamer, but I wanted to be sure there would be something for the rest of the family – sons, daughters, spouses and the like. So on an Easy difficulty setting, Knack is a game that pretty much anyone can play. It can even be someone’s very first video game ever!
We’ve also added in style of local co-op play where an experienced gamer can help that beginner get up to speed – just pick up a second controller and play as Robo Knack. You can fight side by side with Knack, clear out enemies together, and if you build your strength far enough you can even heal Knack when he gets into trouble.
Another goal we had with Knack was to bring connected gaming to the character action genre. Scattered throughout the game are secret rooms with treasure chests – these hold parts of gadgets that can help Knack in his quest, as well as rare crystal relics. As you find these rooms and open the chests, you’ll be able to see items your friends have found there as well, and choose which item you want as your reward. As a result, the more friends you have playing the game, the faster Knack can gain his special abilities!
We’ve also worked to push the boundaries of play past the living room – we created Knack’s Quest, a free “match 3” puzzle game for iOS. An Android version will be coming soon. By playing this game on your smartphone or tablet, you can pick up these same gadget parts and crystal relics, and send them over via your PSN account for Knack to use in the PS4 title. You can work on unlocking items when you’re away from the console, or even enlist the help of someone else to do it for you.
That’s all for now! You can pick up Knack at your local retailer, or buy the digital version right from your PS4. We’ve been counting down the days until PS4 launches and the gaming world can see what we’ve been working on – really hope you enjoy it!
BTW, the trophy list looks pretty daunting. I occasionally find the Normal setting difficult. I can’t imagine what Hard/Very Hard must be like.
I am seriously having a blast with this game. It is definitely more challenging that it appears, but not frustratingly so. For what it’s worth, since none of my friends have this game yet, if anyone is down for trading Knack parts feel free to send me a friend request with “Knack” in the message so that we can all work together to get what we need.
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I like the game alot, it’s like dark souls for kids! It is punishing enough (like dark souls, stating from further back after death), but not harsh (for kids), learn enemies movement and the combination of enemies in each encounter act as a small puzzle, need to quickly analyze how to take the fight. (like dark souls). I find launch game usually gets harsher reviews because people seems to want a world changing experience with the new console, and more time then not, they are disappointed and the review score suffered. All and all, I’ll say this is a really good game, simple in design, but smart and requires some thinking going into each combat.
Absolutely loving this game! I’m about halfway through it and can’t stop playing. I’ve been real happy with all the launch titles I’ve played so far(Knack, Resogun, Killzone).
I picked up Knack with my PS4 and played it all weekend, and cleared the game on Hard. I loved it. Unfortunately, some design choices have made replays frustrating.
I now want to play on Very Hard, but doing this I don’t keep any of the collectibles/upgrades I earned. I also didn’t unlock everything, so that means doing a second playthrough on Hard for more collectibles. I should just be able to to a second playthrough on Very Hard and keep my collectibles and upgrades I earned previously.
Finally, to unlock everything, you need a lot of gemstones. More than even two playthroughs will collect. Some are very rare, like diamonds, so to collect those, it means many many many many playthroughs.
I don’t have an iOS phone for the app to unlock gemstones that way, and I shouldn’t need to play on a phone to unlock everything in the game.
I hope these issues can be fixed with a patch maybe.
I really like this game, it’s a lot of fun. My girlfriend really enjoys it too. Not a fan of losing the collectibles during a replay tho.
When is the Android certain of Knack’s Quest coming out? I’m anxious to earn items to transfer to my game!
@56
I only cleared Normal so far but yeah, I feel the same way. Unlocking the gadgets really change the pace of the game and makes it way more fun, but grinding through the same difficulty level to unlock more somehow makes it feel less fulfilling.
I’ve got a Vita and an Android phone and it’s painful that I can’t play the app from either one.
I would’ve expected it to be available at least on PSMobile given that it’s a first-party title… :/
Knack’s graphics are neat; story is a bit hokey and not all that believable, especially because the gamer does not have as much influence on the game. I’m truly disappointed in how the “co-op” play is configured. It’s nice to join a game whenever and play along, and I can even handle dying and waiting briefly to return to the game (as player 2). However, it is ridiculous that Player 2 has no impact on the game. For instance, in “co-op” mode, if the 1st player dies, anything that the 2nd player was doing is immediately negated and both players return to the most recent checkpoint. I don’t understand why this game is not inclusive of Player 2 at all. The 2 player mode seems like an afterthought in terms of design and functionality. As it stands, this feature is good for small children or people with short attention spans, but it is extremely frustrating for gamers who were looking for more of a two-person gaming experience (see Rayman, Ratchet & Clank, LEGO, etc.–I’d even say Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sega days offered a more desirable two person gaming experience with the introduction of Tails). This 2-player functionality continues to be a deficit for Playstation console games, in my opinion.
anyone figure out yet how to send items from Knack’s Quest to PS4? there is no SEND function when you look at your collection even though the update history of the app shows that it was added.
My kids love Knack. Its a fun gam for them. One of the features advertised is sharing items others have found in chests. Yes, we though. Share items between themselves. This doesn’t however work for sub accounts which you are forced to do for kids. So, either my kids cant use play knack the way it was designed or i need to set them up as master accounts. Did no-one think to play test the game designed for kids, logged in as a kid? nope didn’t think so. Poor.
The game is alright ,but the random loot in chests is just pure lazy.It would be possible to never collect all of the artifacts due to randomly giving out ones you’ve already completed very irritating.
Please develop a Knack demo. I’m on the fence so far. Would love to be able to experience the first level (or something to that effect) to decide whether it is a game I would like to purchase.
@60 – the send feature is actually not on the iPhone game. Make sure you have knack ps4 updated to the most recent version, then while you are playing go to the start menu. There will be an option that says receive item. As long as you have the app pulled up on your phone it should automatically pair as long as you are signed in on both the ps4 and phone app. It’s quite the hassle and took me a while to figure out.