Knack 2 Tries to Fix the Original’s Shortcomings

“It’s hard to believe you saved the world. All you know are three punches and a kick.”

By Andrew Goldfarb

The original Knack received some mixed reviews. It was colorful and worked well enough as a showcase for what PS4 was capable of, but it ultimately felt more like a tech demo than a fully fleshed-out game.

Knack 2 is trying to fix that problem. The game openly acknowledges the shortcomings of its predecessor (one character says to Knack, “it’s hard to believe you saved the world. All you know are three punches and a kick”) and has actually added a pretty robust moveset for combat and platforming.

Knack does still have the aforementioned punches and kick, but he’s also learned a few new tricks. He can switch between a small version and large version of himself at any point (which comes in handy for platforming sections) and he has a shield for deflecting incoming projectiles or generally blocking damage. His other abilities include a dash, body slam, multi-punch, jump kick, and a few other basic combat moves.

What makes the system more robust is a skill tree for upgrading any individual move or ability. Throughout Knack’s levels, you’ll collect Relic Energy, and you can spend that to increase power, range, or several other variables depending on your play style. You can also pick up additional, more advanced moves for Knack, like the ability to stun enemies from a distance or pull them closer to you from afar, Scorpion-style.

Moves are also augmented when used in tandem with your co-op partner. If you use the multi punch while facing your partner, for example, it becomes a machine gun move, sending bits of your partner Knack flying toward enemies. Landing a body slam on top of your partner will cause them to detonate and hit enemies within an area of effect. These combinations are immensely satisfying and help to mix up fighting wave after wave of enemies.

These moves also help in the platforming sections, which often involve switching back and forth between large and small Knack to get by, and also offer several hidden areas, where you can find extra Relic Energy or parts to build devices to earn new abilities or augments. The linear paths from the first game are now reserved for Easy difficulty, while the Normal and Hard paths are a bit more complicated. You’ll actually pass blocked off sections where the Easy path would be as you play through on higher difficulties, which is a smart way to literally divide the game into a version for younger or less experienced players versus one for people looking for a challenge.

Knack 2 isn’t necessarily going to reinvent the platformer, but it’s definitely trying to fix a lot of the problems that were present in the first game, and it’s clear that Sony’s Japan Studio has paid attention to player feedback. The demo we played showcased some early sections of the game, but more diverse environments like an ice area were shown in the announcement trailer, which may also help to mix things up when the game launches in the second half of 2017.

Stay tuned to IGN for more from PSX, and find everything so far on our 2016 PlayStation Experience hub.

Andrew is IGN’s executive editor of news and wishes he could get taller on command like Knack. You can find him rambling about Persona and cute animals on Twitter.

Let's block ads! (Why?)