A Deeper Look at the World of Knack on PS4

Hello, everyone. We’re coming to the final stretch before the launch of PS4, as well as Knack, a game I’ve been honored to be a part of. It has been great working with the very talented folks at Japan Studio, not to mention Mark Cerny, a true living legend.

Our goal with Knack was to deliver a different kind of experience for PlayStation fans at launch, outside of the realm of gritty shooters and mature action games. Knack harkens back to the golden days of Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter, when controls were simpler, but challenges were large enough that those control schemes had to be mastered by anyone intending to finish the games. So, who better to create a game like that than one of the creative forces that brought Crash and Jak to life, Mark Cerny himself?

Knack has a lot to offer, so I’m excited to be able to share some new details on the story, and some of the cool transformations that Knack takes on during the game.

The Story

The story, of course, revolves around Knack, mankind’s secret weapon against the goblin threat. After an initial invasion by the goblins years prior, the two races have been living together on Earth, in separate societies. However, after the goblins invade a human settlement, Knack sets out to find the goblin hideout and discover how these primitive goblins got their hands on advanced tanks and airships.

Aiding Knack on his expedition: the Doctor (the inventor that brought Knack to life thanks to the mysterious power of the ancient relics), Lucas (the Doctor’s teenage assistant), Ryder (Lucas’s uncle, who is also a world-famous explorer), and Viktor (a billionaire industrialist who made his fortune mining the ancient relics that provide power for electricity, machinery, vehicles, and more).

Very early on in the story, we learn that Viktor has bigger ambitions, placing him at odds with Knack and crew. This means you’ll be facing not only the goblin soldiers, with their tanks, mechs, and airships, but Viktor’s own army of soldiers and robots as well.

The storyline will take players through a wide variety of gorgeous stages and environments, from caves to forests, cities to giant airships, all brought to life by the amazing artists at Japan Studio. And of course, no action platformer would be complete without some challenging boss battles. Don’t let the colorful graphics fool you — there’s plenty of challenge to be found within the world of Knack.

There’s a lot more to the story, which is told through a feature film’s worth of fully mo-capped cutscenes (featuring some familiar voice acting talent). You’ll learn more about the origins of the mysterious ancient relics that power everything in the world, including Knack. Deeper mysteries abound that — as certain parties try to harness the true power of the relics — could threaten to put the whole world at risk.

The Transformative Powers of Knack

As you may have seen in our other previews, Knack is made of relics, and by absorbing more and more of them he can grow from his original 3-foot tall size to 6 feet tall, 15 feet tall, and even 30 feet tall. On their way to the goblin hideout, Knack makes his way through an ice cave and, thanks to Lucas, discovers the ability to absorb ice, just like relics, to make himself bigger and stronger.

This changes up the gameplay in different ways. For example, once Knack makes it out of the cave, the ice starts to melt and he’ll have to defeat tough enemies before he shrinks back down to a smaller size. Throughout the game, Knack will find he can absorb different kinds of materials, such as…

• Metal Knack: an extremely powerful form, but being made of metal also means you’re magnetic… which can lead to some interesting problems!
• Wood Knack: one of the biggest versions of Knack in the game. And while wood is easy to find, it does burn easily! That said, if you’re on fire, you can use that to access some extra areas…

We’ll be back soon to talk more about the world of Knack, including how we’re sharing the fun with our local 2-player co-op mode. In the meantime, you can pre-order Knack now via PSN and download it day one.