The Therapist Gamer

Knack is a PS4 launch game created by the man who designed the Playstation 4 - Mark Cerny.  Cerny is a very accomplished figure in the gaming industry, working on games such as the Ratchet and Clank series, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog, and was the sole creator of the classic Marble Madness.  His pedigree of old-school gaming shines through in Knack, which, despite it's cutesy appearance, is actually an unforgiving, hard-core game.  

 

The basic premise is that the goblins (bad guys) are waging war against the humans (good and bad guys), and a scientist has been working on a secret weapon named Knack.  Knack is capable of incorporating various objects into his "body" and is thus capable of immense growth and power.  The story isn't really all that engaging, but, like older games, it's all about the gameplay.  

 

The combat is basically hand-to-hand against various enemies across several environments.  The more damage you take, the more pieces of Knack come flying off.  Usually two or three hits will do you in.  Progress in this game necessitates learning enemy attack patterns then dodging and striking accordingly.  Due to it's straightforward combat and no-nonsense approach, most players will die a lot.  However, like Demon's Souls, all of the deaths are fair.

 

The game is long - which I liked - but not enough new mechanics were introduced.  Additionally, at the end of each main level (there are about 9, with 3 or 4 sub levels each), Knack shrinks back down to his tiniest size, which I found annoying and thought it interrupted the great feeling of growing as you progress.  Overall, I liked Knack but thought it got pretty repetitive.