7 Things Knack 2 Doesn't Tell You

The levels in Knack 2 are mostly straightforward and easy to understand. However, sometimes the mechanics and exploration need a bit of explaining. Below are a few tips left unexplained by the game to help give you an edge.

One of the most helpful skills in the game, Knack has the potential to raise a shield at the last second to parry an incoming projectile back at the attacker. This move arrives very early in the game. However, the game fails to explain thoroughly how to successfully parry. Unlike most games, Knack 2 requires you to hold L1 in order to execute a perfect parry. If you’re having trouble nailing the timing, make sure you hold to parry. When done correctly, parrying can be one of the most valuable assets while brawling, taking out enemies in one or two hits.

EditTreasure Chests are Random

The game hints at this but is not very clear. In fact, each treasure chest you find in Knack 2 is random. No one item is tied to one chest. Each treasure chest may contain one of two items: an item part or a crystal relic. Although which item part or crystal relic a chest contains is random, you’ll usually find all the item parts in one set within a couple levels or so. If you plan on collecting enough crystal relics to unlock a Crystal Knack, you’ll need to strap in for the long haul. Although each relic you acquire is presumably ‘random’, the game keeps track when you’re getting too many of one relic and starts giving you another. The end result is the last four chests being 4 different crystal relics. So, you'll need to find almost every treasure chest before unlocking your first Crystal Knack.

During your playtime, you’ll begin to notice several nonaggressive creatures in each level. Usually, these come in the form of ladybugs. And although they are completely harmless, you’d do well to attack them when you can. Especially in the early stages, these ladybugs and beetles contain a fair amount of relic energy. These little guys may be the difference between winning and losing when unlocking the right skills. If you just can’t stomach the monstrosity, suit yourself. But you would be missing out on a great deal of help.

While searching for the most valuable artifacts in the game, you’ll notice a simple counter on the menu screen. Here, it shows how many treasure chests you’ve opened and how many you have yet to find. Although it may come as no surprise, these chest icons are in order of their placement in the level. So, if you open a treasure chest and you see only the second treasure chest open out of three on the pause menu, that means you missed an earlier chest. A simple tip, no doubt. But this could save a lot of time when running through levels looking through every nook and cranny.

After acquiring 1 Relic Energy, you gain access to the ‘Way of Speed’ in the Power Up tree. Although the game tells you to unlock skills in order to gain access to more, it doesn’t say you must complete each “Way” before moving onto the next one. To complete the Way of Speed, unlock each basic skill, excluding the top skill. Only then will the other “Ways” be unlocked. Since these power ups are not strictly tied to a tiered system, you can pick and choose any skill in whichever "Ways" are available. However, be sure to unlock each basic skill before unlocking the top skill, for this cost considerably more relic energy. This way you can continue to unlock other abilities in the other “Ways” moving forward.

There is no over the shoulder camera in the game. Instead, there are several angles the developers have placed to help you see the action. Because of this, you might find yourself in several situations where the camera isn't your friend. If you are on the hunt for collectibles or just have your eye on something and the camera is giving you a hard time, chances are there isn't anything in that direction. This mindset comes in handy when you have convinced yourself that the last treasure chest in the level is over on that ledge, but you just can’t seem to maneuver to it.

Although the game does a decent job telling you through gameplay, it's not quite clear which boxes contain the relics Knack needs to grow in size and strength. There are the chrome boxes with the red edges, which are found in the first level. However, you’ll soon find orange boxes placed within the levels. These also contain the relics Knack needs to grow. Unlike the Lego games Knack 2 resembles, there is no purpose in destroying every box in your way. Instead, keep an eye out for boxes that are highlighted by red or orange.

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