If a LinkedIn listing is to be believed, a sequel to 2013’s PlayStation 4 exclusive Knack may be in the works. The platformer beat ’em up original, described by game director Mark Cerny as “a little bit like Crash Bandicoot, and a little bit like Katamari Damacy“, with “a touch of God of War in there”, was released only a year and a half ago. However evidence has already surfaced that Knack 2 may be a reality. NeoGAF readers recently spotted the resume of 3D animator at XPEC Entertainment, Mindy Liang, which had Knack 2 listed among the credits. It stated that she started work on it in May 2015, working on “animated 3D character motions and cutscenes for PS4 system”.
The profile has since been cleaned up to remove the reference to the game, likely in response to the Internet taking note of its existence. However a screenshot of recent Bing results would suggest a confirmation.
As pointed out by Gamespot, it is worth noting that this does not necessarily mean Knack 2 is for certain. Prototypes are often made for games in their early proposal stages and aren’t always approved for full development. It would be interesting if Knack, which debuted to mostly tepid reviews, would be considered financially viable for a sequel. Upon its release, our writer Phil Owen had his own misgivings, saying:
“I’m a little bit confused as to who Knack is supposed to be for. It’s always been treated as a more family-oriented deal that parents could play with their kids, perhaps as a way of excusing shelling out for a new PS4 at launch. It has this Pixar’s Up-style art, and it features a robot dude, and comes from the guy who made Crash Bandicoot.
It’s also super difficult, and while it probably would have fit in with the libraries of my cohort 15-20 years ago, it seems a bit inaccessible to the younger set today which is less used to being pounded to death over and over in a video game.”
Right now there is no confirmation or denial of this news from Sony but we will update you should they chose to make a statement.