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In defence of KNACK, the review-proof game

EL CUCO said:
Last time I posted a Knack/Mario Gif I got banned for a month.


Knack will not be denied
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I think that was because it was not relevant for the thread, i.e. it came off as a troll.

Here it is what the OP's article is kind of discussing, so I think it is okay (as long as posts have content and aren't just a bunch of random images).

Knack seems like one of those games that is lucky it came out in the launch window. I would think it would have bombed horribly if it was (say) a year 2 release.
 
Holy shit, that GIF is amazing. I still need to get around to playing Knack. I was watching a stream yesterday and some of the fights seemed pretty brutal/unforgiving. Going to wait for it to drop down to a budget/greatest hits title because I already have too many games to play.
 
Knack felt like it was designed under laboratory conditions by a crack team of the worlds greatest scientific minds, tasked with producing the most charmless, sterile, monotonous and flat-out un-fun game ever devised.

And it was a great success.
 
And Knack be like:
iBEdLUskP2UiJ.gif
 
Eh, he's not entirely wrong, Knack is decent enough to actually play, but it is very repetitive.

He's wasting his time trying to defend it though. Minds are completely made up about the game one way or another by this point. Any narrative that isn't painting it as the worst game of 2013 is probably not going to be received with anything but hostility by many.

It does make me smirk a little to read it's been successful though, I will admit.
 
Dynedom said:
Conversely, given the oncoming salt:

"Kid's idea of fun is not real fun"
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Well kids, especially young kids, view anything with an interaction and a screen as crack. If all you have is Knack, they will play a shit ton of Knack. Drawing conclusions from that ignores scarcity. Kids don't have access to every game like an adult does. Young kids will play pretty much any game quite a bit if the parents allow them too.

I am not saying Knack isn't fun or good, but you can't draw broad conclusions about the quality of any game based upon the behavior of kids, which are really just making the best out of what limited choices the adults allow them to have.
 
I was actually in defense of this game after my short burst of play at a Sony Store prerelease. Nothing great, but I didn't think it was horrible. Just average. I ended up renting it and...couldn't make it out of the tutorial. This game is sloppy, runs bad, looks semi bad, and had loads of awful design.

The fact that it sold more than anything at all(let alone Mario) shows that proper timing and exposer can be enough for a title's success, regardless of quality.
 
Knack really has something for the kids.
My niece and nephew finshed Mario 3d on Wiiu, and loved it.
I didn't introduce them to Knack, cause I thought they wouldn't like it after Mario.

Well they played it, and damn, even more hooked than they were on Mario.
 
Mister Zimbu said:
Surely this is attributed not to the merit of the game, but to the fact that Knack was a launch title for a highly anticipated console owned by millions of people, whereas Mario 3D Land was released over a year after its console, which maybe only a dozen people in the world own?
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Don't forget the console is in short supply, especially solus. Chances are if you find a PS4, its a Knack bundle. Chances are if you see someone buying a Knack bundle, they open it in store and trade Knack in.

What am I saying I mean trolololo Miyamoto retire already nobody wants your Mario junk no more. Everythings coming up Knack.
 
I have no doubt in my mind that the new Mario is way better than Knack, and granted the appeal of the game really went down for me on the story around the middle-last half of the game, but Knack was pretty good with all things considered. It was a beautiful launch title that deserved a little more credit than it was given, not GOTY worthy but definately not even among the bottom half of titles I have played.
 
When my kids were little and starting out with GBA they had just as much fun with Barbie Secret Agent and Disney Princesses as they did Super Mario. Kids don't fret over resolution and frame rates. They play a game and enjoy it for what it is as opposed to what it isn't. Some older gamers could learn from them.
 
It's a solid but basic game, with a terrible framerate and a difficulty that prevents it's intended audience from playing it well.

It is a strange thing to exist, but I'm glad I've got it.
 
how is the uk smoking knack in 2014

Seriously though, the only thing this tells me is that many people bought a game I think is absolute throwaway garbage. 3D World might be as well but I actually played Knack and my experience was absolutely dreadful. I couldn't find a single worthwhile thing about that game except for the nice particle effects. But this isn't the first time and it won't be the last. I don't really see what to do with this information.
 
Those review scores were uncomfortable for Sony to see on launch day but they haven’t made a blind bit of difference to sales.
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LOLWHAT??

Knack is being outsold this week by Ryse, Aliens:Colonial Marines (48 metacritic) and a physical PC game. I highly doubt it is selling well and to say that reviews have no part of that is ridiculous.
 
I don't get it. It's stating the obvious. People will buy and consume what they want. That's always been the case. Why is this point being stressed about Knack like this game has redefined the status-quo?
 
I'd like to think it's that people are desperate for something to play on PS4 that they couldn't otherwise. Not worth celebrating especially when Puppeteer and Tearaway flopped even without dragging Nintendo into this.

Also, UK has bad taste.
 
Zarovitch said:
In this case the game must be bad.
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I've played plenty of bad games, and Knack isn't one of them. It's polished, challenging, and surprisingly fair. It has the understated charm of a Tintin comic, emphasizing subtlety over flashy art or story elements. And yes, it's also too simplistic and some chapters are padded beyond reason, like not enough butter spread over too much toast, to borrow a phrase.

It's not a brilliant game but it was reasonable launch fare.
 
I picked up Knack right after Christmas from Best Buy as part of a DS4 bundle deal they had. Wasn't interested in the game at all, but for $100 I got Knack, a DS4, $40 in BB gift cards and a $10 PSN card. Figured I'd play it, hate it and trade it, but ended up enjoying it more than I thought. Nothing Earth-shattering, but not the horrible game I'd come to believe it would be.

R dott B said:
I loved it until I hit chapter ~7 then that love dissolved.
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I'm part way through Chapter 5 myself. Why does it fall apart? How many chapters are there?
 
Better that knack stands on its own qualities, than having the fact it outsold the highly regarded Mario 3D World, become the focal point to why it should be praised.

Just saying, to avoid....problems.
 
I played both Knack and 3D world and 3d world is definitely the better game in every conceivable way and by a significant margin. There is no comparison. Knack only got the sales it got by being a launch title. It should have been a free with PSN type of game.
 
Birbo said:
I'm part way through Chapter 5 myself. Why does it fall apart? How many chapters are there?
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I have not beat the game yet, but my problem is that it is way too long without much variation in gameplay. I enjoy the game in small doses, but need to stop after about an hour max, which is why it is taking me so long to finish it.
 
Moral Panic said:
LOLWHAT??

Knack is being outsold this week by Ryse, Aliens:Colonial Marines (48 metacritic) and a physical PC game. I highly doubt it is selling well and to say that reviews have no part of that is ridiculous.
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Knack moved 10 places up the charts this week.

A:CM sold well last week because it was available for under £5.

Santiako said:
Imagine if they released Knack for vita, that thing would be saved in the UK.
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You can play Knack over remote play. That's the reason 65% of the copies were sold in the first place.
 
My son loves Knack. He was the reason I bought it. Every time in the store he played with the demo of it, and just giggled when he'd explode.

He's almost got the game beaten. My wife (who does play games), likes it a lot as well.

It's not a bad game. It's not the best game in this style, but it does have a certain charm. I don't understand all of the hate for it honestly. (I think back to the Nintendo days where we'd be happy to get any game, and would try to beat it even if it was bad. Now, with so many games, and the Internet for reviews, quicklooks, etc, you don't have to do that as much I guess).
 
abstract alien said:
I was actually in defense of this game after my short burst of play at a Sony Store prerelease. Nothing great, but I didn't think it was horrible. Just average. I ended up renting it and...couldn't make it out of the tutorial. This game is sloppy, runs bad, looks semi bad, and had loads of awful design.

The fact that it sold more than anything at all(let alone Mario) shows that proper timing and exposer can be enough for a title's success, regardless of quality.
Click to expand...

I played it at Best Buy for a bit and I asked myself, am I having fun? Then I put down the controller.

The game is boring as hell and looks so sterile. The combat is just so so blah. The design is by the numbers in the most basic way.

I played Mario at best buy when they had the event and I was having a blast and looking forward to more.

That is just me I guess.
 
in the future when nintendo have folded and microsoft are only making office, you'll be playing killzone: cliche title 16 and knack 8: xtreme big titties and ass edition and you'll all rue the day that you pretended you were ironically making fun, but were not-so-secretly really happy of the fact that knack outsold mario

then you'll pop the last of us 19: this time it's aliens into your playstation 8 and cry yourself to a bad night's sleep
Jacobi said:
The kids will be later like DID ANYONE ELSE PLAY THIS GEM WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG
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well it worked wonders for crash bandicoot
 
Somnid said:
I'd like to think it's that people are desperate for something to play on PS4 that they couldn't otherwise. Not worth celebrating especially when Puppeteer and Tearaway flopped even without dragging Nintendo into this.

Also, UK has bad taste.
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Agreed. Imagine if I jumped up and down shouting about how X 3DS game outsold X Vita game. I'd be pathetic because it is pathetic. Games sell. Sometimes good games sell well and sometimes they don't and in light of the amazing games on Vita and other platforms flopping you'd think people parading Knack would feel more 'sympathetic'. All's fair in love and war I guess.
 
I had only beat a couple of chapters when one of my almost eight year old twins asked me if he could try it on his own with his own save. I have four sons, oldest is all about minecraft, the other twin is mario and pokemon and the youngest is a racing fan. This is my one son who hadn't been interested in games much. I said sure thinking he will burn out on it pretty quickly.

He ended up beating the entire game and did it completely on his own, I couldn't believe it. This was a major accomplishment for him he was so proud. He even asked afterwards if we could send a letter to the person who made it. It really sparked his interest in gaming, a couple of days ago he beat Super Mario Wii U on his own. I was standing behind him, he kept having to pause to whipe off the sweat from his hands lol and was shaking after he beat him. It was his Darks Souls O & S moment.

I beat Knack myself, it was fun. Was it something that was a completely new experience for me? No.. but like the article mentions I'm an old fart as well. I've seen a lot of games it takes a lot for me to go wow anymore. For my son though it was an amazing ride and a huge sense of accomplishment.
 
but in the very first line of his article he says
"The charmless characters, the repetitive gameplay, the lack of features"
I haven't played Knack, but this sounds like a succinct review of the game
 
I played the Knack demo about two months ago. First time I've wanted a demo to end as soon as possible while playing it. It didn't help that the demo is actually kinda long. It's soooo boring.
I think it's telling that its sales have become it's focal point, cause the game itself is completely unremarkable.
 
Insaniac said:
but in the very first line of his article he says
"The charmless characters, the repetitive gameplay, the lack of features"
I haven't played Knack, but this sounds like a succinct review of the game
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Even the reviewer thought the game was bad I guess.
 
Rhazer Fusion said:
Everyone who thinks Knack is a legitimately horrible game must not of ever played any 8 bit Nintendo games in their life.
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Why's that?

I've been gaming since around 1984 and played a lot of 8-bit games. Some of them were great, but a lot of them I would never actually choose to play again. Knack stands shoulder to shoulder with the latter for me.
 
Knack does have one huge advantage over SM3DW - you can choose your difficulty level. Thanks to being able to crank up the difficulty, I found Knack moderately entertaining for its entirety, whereas SM3DW was mildly sleep-inducing for most of the main game due to its low difficulty curve (thankfully, it picks up in the bonus worlds).
 
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