When it comes to the reception of Knack from critics (we gave it a 6, Metacritic has it at 55), it hasn’t been overly positive, with Shuhei Yoshida saying shortly after PS4 launch, “It’s disappointing to see some of the low scores” and “I was hoping Knack could score in the mid 70s.”
Addressing the Knack reviews now is Game Director Mark Cerny, who said in an interview with Gamasutra, “I’m very proud of the team for creating an original launch title. It takes extraordinary effort to be out on the same day as the hardware and to do with a new brand speaks to the dedication of everyone at the Japan Studio.” But when it comes to the critical response, he replied:
There was definitely a very mixed response to the title. On the plus side, there is some appreciation of the core concept of a creature made from parts – at the same time of course one can see the desire that this concept had been explored further.
Cerny then explained what he thinks lead to this:
Expectations are very high for next-gen titles, and rightfully so! Everyone is looking to see how that factor of ten improvement in performance, or the more connected nature of gaming, is going to change or enhance the core gaming experience. At the same time, it’s pretty clear that the titles that unmistakably take advantage of that performance or connectivity are still well in the future.
Looking into the future, Mark revealed how he’s “looking forward to Ubisoft’s new two IPs, Watch Dogs and The Crew,” with Cerny believing that The Crew’s drop-in drop-out features will work really well with the social aspects of next-gen.
Now over a month since the North American release, what are your thoughts on Knack? Let us know in the comments below.
