Knack was a PlayStation 4 launch game and it wasn’t great. If you don’t get why Knack 2 is a persistent internet joke, that’s it. The entire joke is that Knack wasn’t much fun, and somehow there’s a Knack 2. Turns out the sequel is actually pretty OK, and maybe even kind of fun. All that means for internet denizens is more Knack 2 jokes.
Knack was a passion project for game designer Mark Cerny, who was the lead architect behind the PlayStation 4. It is a puzzle-platformer kids’ game that didn’t grab many people. Instead of being a flash in the pan, during the launch of the PlayStation 4 people waiting for games to come out on the platform would pretend that Knack was not only a good game, but a great game. Game of the year, even. This was popularised, if not outright started, by YouTuber Video Game Dunkey, who made a lot of cracks about the original Knack in his very funny video, “History of Gaming”.
When Knack 2 was announced during E3 in 2016, Dunkey also made this sarcastic tribute to the completely unexpected sequel this unremarkable game was apparently getting.
The clarion call of “Knack 2, baby,” has persisted. Look at virtually any video about Knack 2 on YouTube and you’ll find comments sections that look like this:
In the lead up to Knack 2, which was released yesterday, these jokes got more frequent, especially because it shared a release date with a sequel people are pretty excited for, Destiny 2. The funniest part is, Knack 2 is apparently kind of good. It has a 71 on Metacritic, compared to the first Knack‘s 54, and Kotaku editor in chief Stephen Totilo liked it. This doesn’t mean the internet has stopped joking about the game. If anything, Knack 2 being good has made the joke funnier. For some, I guess that ironically looking forward to the game has made them actually invested in it.
Congratulations on your purchase of Knack 2!
— CEO Kaz Hirai (@KazHiraiCEO) September 5, 2017
my neck
my back
my PS4 and my Knack
— Thom @ Inkopolis (@ColdmanHot) September 5, 2017
KNACK 2 KNACK
MARK CERNY ‘RIVIN ON A MIDNIGHT TRAIN
KNACK 2 KNACK
GOT ME SCREAMING TIL THE ENNN-ENNNN-EENNDD pic.twitter.com/K7MstRIlMA— Matt Leslie (@Lesmocon) September 6, 2017
Turns out Knack 2 is a NICE game pic.twitter.com/41UeoZqRQB
— Nibel (@Nibellion) September 5, 2017
knack 2 is out and damn look at those review scores pic.twitter.com/obOAg3l1zU
— W O K E (@jamesthepancake) September 5, 2017
You cannot spell Knack 2 without Game of the Year
— Certus. (@ScenicVangod) September 5, 2017
Wow, can’t believe Knack 2 is as good as Super Mario All Stars! And All Stars has 3 games in it- each games is 23%. Knack 2 wins with maths! pic.twitter.com/f8WToKF16R
— Chinner (@Chinnerdomain) September 5, 2017
Heaven is real. And Knack lives there. Don’t forget to buy Knack 2. pic.twitter.com/s9Xjg2MJ7v
— Alex Brow (@rippeh5000) September 5, 2017
Kinda weird Destiny 2 coming out on Wednesday? Was Bungie scared of Knack 2? ……. pic.twitter.com/laSrcFlzd3
— Erica (@ericutz4thewin) September 5, 2017
Knack II’s scores are much higher than Knack’s. Our scientific projections show that Knack IV will be the greatest video game of all time: pic.twitter.com/vZHT75DmqP
— CEO Kaz Hirai (@KazHiraiCEO) September 5, 2017
The most confusing part of all this is I basically don’t have a clue which people are ironically excited for Knack 2, and which ones aren’t. Maybe I’m actually getting played here and everyone’s excited for it. The irony has come full circle. Knack is back, baby.
Comments
4 responses to “How Knack Became The Internet’s Favourite Punchline”
Thats essentially every internet joke nowadays.
Being ‘ironically’ anything as an attempt at humour or in the case of hipsters, a way of life; is lame as fuck
GET. OUT.