Sony Japan Studio: 28 Best Games They Helped Create

Let's get this out of the way: Knack is not a good game, however, for a number of reasons it is a notable Japan Studio product.

After Japan's experimental phase during the PS3 period, Knack was set as a Triple-A PS4 launch title (also a passion project for the designer of the machine, Mark Cerzney), assigned to take advantage of the new consoles impressive tech, and a clear-cut effort to get the dev into a similar tier-space as other PlayStation compatriots (e.g. Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch).

But the game flopped, not helped by its vanilla nature and meme-worthy status ("Knack Baybeee!"). All that aside, the game is a pretty harmless action-platform aimed at kids...even if much of the fun is hampered by frustrating difficulty spikes.

Knack 2, was a big improvement, adding in co-op and a more enjoyable campaign and plot.

Knack's failure left Japan Studio in an odd place, somewhere between a PlayStation low-key art studio and a sub-par blockbuster maker. They would have to find their foothold over the next generation.