benicillin
Banned
Knack was a lot of fun. I hope that, in the future, history will vindicate it.
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The reviews were unfair with Knack
- Thread starter Harlock
- Start date
Agreed. Came as a surprise. Got it for $10, too!
Yes. Here's the top list of 2014 : http://www.metacritic.com/feature/best-video-games-of-2014
Nearly all of them are a point different in critic/user scores.
Played this at a friends house when it first came out and i thought it was an average at best game with an awful and boring main character who has a voice that just doesn't belong to the character (he sounds like Michael Jai White). The constant cringeworthy tough guy lines coming out of Knacks mouth got tedious real fast!.
Astral Dog
Member
Do exclusives get hit by reviews that much? Nintendo seems to do fine, ND, God of War, Gears, etc.
I only played the demo, but it was underwhelming, it does seem like a fun, colorful game though.
Square Triangle
Member
Opinions are unfair?
If you enjoy it, awesome!
If you enjoy it, awesome!
Auto-Reply
Member
Life is not fair!
Spieler Eins
Member
yes, strangely enough, they have been unfair with every single PS4 exclusive...a """coincidence"""...I'll leave it to you to decide......
The conspiracy must be real. It can't be the actual games!
Don't worry though, Bloodborne is just around the corner.
firebranded
Member
Got it for ten bucks at the last sale, really liked it. Pretty too with nice landscapes, love the co-op too with drop in/drop out.
Booker Dewitt
Member
I think the core mechanics are fine, but that's all there is. The level design is bland and repetitive, mostly just walking down a path until a group of enemies show, occasionally hopping up on some rocks. While the frailty of Knack initially made for some satisfying combat, the enemies didn't have enough variety to them to keep it interesting.
It was a game I could only play for twenty minutes at a time, until I just gave up on it.
It was a game I could only play for twenty minutes at a time, until I just gave up on it.
Give War A Chance
Member
Nah, that game is just extreeeeeeeeemely basic and extremely average.
I said this about the Zelda 8.8 debacle way back when, but I think it still holds true. People that complain about review scores should just write down the number they think a game deserves and ignore everything else.
Reviews aren't an echo chamber for your personal opinion, they're the exact opposite.
Reviews aren't an echo chamber for your personal opinion, they're the exact opposite.
eXistor
Member
Weren't all these pretty highly regarded at all times? Except for NieR, I know that got like 65-ish, but I think the rest is in the 7.5-8.5 range.
LyleLanley
Banned
I think the reviews were fair, it was average at best and it felt extremely dated. In hindsight I wish I didn't pay full price for it.
lol
lol
Some were, but they were not really on many peoples GOTY lists, and a lot of them got 6/7s because they have pretty large flaws, though if you get past them they're amazing
My point was great games are games that people into games will always want to play, its why loads of people were excited to see Suidoken II come to PSN, if Knack is great and garners a following then that will be reflected in how people see it in a decades time
CharminUltra
Member
I don't know if the full game is better, but the demo I played was awful.
just have to be strong!FairXchange
Member
My nephew and I had a really great time playing through the game together, it deserves top marks just for its playability with younger kids. Kinda like Lego games. On the negative side, it has way too many levels in my opinion. They could have cut that game in half and had the same impact, but its diversity in enemies and areas is still nice.
Trogdor1123
Member
I do kind of agree but I do see his point. Reviews do help guide sales. Obviously they are not the only consideration but they certainly do matter to people. A game with high sales is much more likely to get a sequel as well. I can see a person wanting a game they like to get good review scores for this very reason.
I enjoyed Knack, so much so I finished it twice. Playing on Hard difficulty was challenging yet very satisfying.
Also Knack is significantly better when played in co-op instead of playing on your lonesome.
I would love a sequel or another platformer by the same team. I hope Cerny is currently developing a new game.
Also Knack is significantly better when played in co-op instead of playing on your lonesome.
I would love a sequel or another platformer by the same team. I hope Cerny is currently developing a new game.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
Actually, I think the fact that the game is considered mediocre by reviews is a roadblock for people who may want to play it at launch, where it would only get the sales that matter for its potential success. Games are expensive. People are not willing to take a risk with a $60 dollar game as they would with a a critically panned $10 movie, even if the game wouldn't be mediocre to them. Even though I didn't like it, I think this is precisely the kind of game that would have benefitted from the downloadable demo, but it didn't have one.
Effigenius
Member
I hate this description for Knack. To me its insulting to the amazing ps2 platformers we got. Knack is not an HD jak and Daxter. It's an HD Blinx. Just because it's a platformer that feels dated doesn't mean it should be held in the same caliber as some of the great platformers of all time.
Im glad the op likes the game, but I think the review scores were pretty fair.
The actual games?
Knack is fun, colorful, hard. It's like the Demon's Souls of platformers mixed with God of War and pixar.
MegamanPoweredUP
Member
Kack was really bad and that's a fact. I have an anecdote about that too.
My girlfriend isn't really much into gaming, but her cousins and brothers are. Those guys are teens who enjoy graphics and cinematics. They also were all about Sony consoles since FF IX.
So my GF developed a fondness for graphics and cinematics. She even enjoys little big planet and other shitty games because HD graphics.
Long story short, me and my GF were at a store where Knack was playable.
She "cool! The new Playstation! Look at the graphics! I want to try that"
- 5 minutes of playing Knack -
"this is really boring. This Playstation sucks."
The end.
My girlfriend isn't really much into gaming, but her cousins and brothers are. Those guys are teens who enjoy graphics and cinematics. They also were all about Sony consoles since FF IX.
So my GF developed a fondness for graphics and cinematics. She even enjoys little big planet and other shitty games because HD graphics.
Long story short, me and my GF were at a store where Knack was playable.
She "cool! The new Playstation! Look at the graphics! I want to try that"
- 5 minutes of playing Knack -
"this is really boring. This Playstation sucks."
The end.
Melchiah
Member
Bad reviews -> bad sales -> no sequel. That's what worries me with Driveclub and The Order.
EDIT: I didn't personally like Knack, based on the demo I briefly played at an event before the PS4 launch. It's more about its genre than quality though.
God damn. I didn't like Knack very much either but I know people who do. I think it's just a very marmite game.
Kameo was a legitimately good game.
I've never played Knack, but going by the common criticisms, it sounds quite flawed to where the impression of it not being a good game seems entirely valid, at least.
I do think the OP brought up an interesting question though - how would this game be received today rather than at launch? There's a lot of backlash with the cinematic/AAA gaming trends right now(deserved or not) and perhaps this might have felt a bit more fresh if it was released now? I don't quite believe that would be the case, however. I think best case scenario, its reviews would have been a bit better but it still wouldn't have gotten a lot of attention. LBP3 didn't get much attention, after all.
MegamanPoweredUP
Member
Sorry for the double post, but can I ask you something? I'm serious.
Why do you need sequels? Can't you enjoy what you have?
I mean, if you feel like there's something missing or they need improvement, there's no point paying them full price.
Shadow Hog
Member
I think you need to figure out the difference between "fact" and "opinion", even if the opinion is a widely-held one.
LyleLanley
Banned
It's a fact.
Natureboy99
Banned
There are lots of games with way lower user scores too. The point is, user opinion and critic opinion vary greatly.
http://www.metacritic.com/feature/game-critic-scores-vs-user-reviews
Shadow Hog
Member
The only fact here is that neither you nor he seem to know what facts are.
Melchiah
Member
Well, when it comes to the bad reception of DC, I fear it might have been a deathblow for old school track-based racing. The arcadeish racers are on the verge of extinction, and they're the only kind of racers I play. As for The Order, I'd like to see a continuation for the story with a similar atmosphere and improved gameplay mechanics.
KatamariOnTheRocks
Member
It's crazy, it's almost as if there's some sort of correlation between how well a game is received and whether or not it ends up getting a sequel...
Seriously, why do people have to have such a pessimistic attitude when others enjoy a game and would like an additional entry, unless you can prove that working on one game prevents another from being made, the more choices/games we have to play, the more options we have, I'll never understand why people want to limit their options and end up in a space where only games that "play it safe" can be made because experimenting can result in tons of people bashing the game for trying something different even if they don't nail the formula completely in the first game. Alot of people had problems with Dead Island for example, and it seems that Dying Light addressed many of those issues, would people really have been happier if Dying Light was never made, just so they can pat themselves on the back and feel proud for a game/series dying out? No matter how much I dislike any game or genre I can never be happy about seeing one fail, or fade into obscurity, because my dislike or disinterest in it does not mean it no longer deserves the right to exist.
Air Zombie Meat
Member
That's out of order.
But yeah, the buy it so we can get a sequel which will fix any problems argument is a strange one.
petethepanda
Member
I tried my best to enjoy Knack, I'm all for a simple, fun "throwback" kind of game with some new tech behind it, but about 2/3 of the way through I just could not take it anymore. Incredibly boring early-PS2-era level design, overly simplistic and repetitive combat, and a nothing story (albeit with very pretty cutscenes). The game could have gotten by if at least one of those areas were great but it was just bland across the board. I certainly don't begrudge anyone's enjoyment of the game but I fell in line with critics on this one.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
It's an okay game and a decent foundation for a much better sequel. The two major problems are a lack of variety & the poor upgrade system (requires lots of grinding unless you do the social stuff), both of which wouldn't be that hard to fix with a sequel (and in fact, improving the upgrade system would improve the variety).
LyleLanley
Banned
I think all bad games should get as many expensive sequels as it takes to finally fix what was wrong with the original game.
Coffee Dog
Banned
I don't understand how an adult gamer could play through so much of knack's simplistic, repetitive combat without getting bored. The Lego games have a thousand characters to make up for their limited scope, but knack has nothing like that.
Like, if that satisfies you, power to you, but don't be surprised when others criticize it for lacking subtsance.
Like, if that satisfies you, power to you, but don't be surprised when others criticize it for lacking subtsance.
Do we think Knack will get a sequel?
Knack 2: The Knackening
Knack Bandicoot
Back 2 Knack
2 Knack 2 Furious
Knack Bandicoot
Back 2 Knack
2 Knack 2 Furious
And by the same token, the combat sure isn't tailored to the sort favored in popular kid-friendly titles like Skylanders, Minecraft or the Lego games. One-hit-kills are hard to justify, design-wise, in a game for younger audiences. It has failings for both 'masters.'
Should be second post