Sony could in the process of development on a new Knack game. The console giant recently filed for a new trademark for the Knack franchise, which is a bit surprising since the first two games are not necessarily the most beloved of Playstation exclusives.
Sony Interactive Entertainment filed a trademark for “Knack” on March 17 in Japan. Bandai Namco Entertainment filed a trademark for “Stacky Basket.” Both were made public today.
Knack: https://t.co/7VbxIEo2OA
Stacky Basket: https://t.co/ZMd3vOkvPy pic.twitter.com/Thg8i9naF3— Gematsu (@gematsu) March 28, 2022
The first Knack game was released in 2013 as a launch title for the Playstation 4. Expectations for the game were understandably high for the game as a new IP coming from Sony. Reception of the game was decidedly mixed, however, with Knack selling over two million copies but only managing a total Metacritic rating of 54%. Critics praised the concept of the game but ultimately the lackluster gameplay hurt the game’s overall appeal. Normally, this would have spelled doom for any modern IP, but Sony went back to the drawing board and began development on the next title.
Knack 2 was released on PS4 in 2017 and is generally considered to be an improvement over the first title. Gameplay is was improved and reviews were somewhat better for the second title, though still pretty average. Ultimately, both Knack games, while not horrible, were generally forgettable titles especially when compared to Playstation’s much more successful catalog of PS4 exclusives.
This is what makes this move a bit strange. There are many other franchises in Sony’s catalog that could possibly make a much more high profile and successful sequel or remake, so Playstation choosing to work on Knack is a bit baffling. Of course, it’s not necessarily a bad move either, as the game was not panned by critics and the new power of the PS5 could possibly elevate the gameplay to something a bit more memorable. Of course, we don’t know exactly what this trademark is for, and it might not be related to a PS5 game at all. Either way, with the trademark being filed, it can be assumed that an announcement to will soon be on the way.
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