The first Knack released with the PlayStation 4 in 2013 and has since gone on to sell over a million copies, but the critical reception was low and it’s currently sitting at a 54 on Metacritic. Speaking with IGN recently, Creative Director Mark Cerny revealed that they’re making a sequel because the team at Sony Japan Studio had many more ideas leftover:
Well, the reason we are making a sequel to Knack is just that the team had a whole lot of ideas that they just didn’t manage to get into the first game. So, in a very real sense, what you’re seeing with Knack 2 is the items that ended up on the cutting room floor.
Lead Level Designer Kenji Sakai added that they really love Knack, and after completing the first game, “we knew there were so many things we could have done with this unique character made of parts, so we did all of these experiments. Some of those ideas were really great, and we wanted to share those experiences with users. That really motivated us to keep going with Knack 2.”
In fact, they were so excited to work on a new Knack that “work started even before we had gotten official approval for Knack 2,” Art Director Yoshiaki Yamaguchi said.
Because it was a PS4 launch title, the first Knack had incredibly tight schedules and, as Game Director Takamitsu Iijimae explained, “That meant we had a limited amount of time, and the deadlines came before we could figure out how to implement some of the ideas we wanted to include. So I’ve always had a strong desire to revisit the Knack IP with a sequel.” Things were so tight that, as Yamaguchi revealed, “the movie production schedule for the previous title was really packed, and we barely finished before going gold.”
Knack 2 releases on September 5 for PlayStation 4, priced at $39.99 USD.
[Source: IGN, Metacritic]
