This entire game takes place in one night(watch the clock when you have the lantern) in spasms of sleep walking and brief bad dreams. I loved it, but it made me angry, and I am sure it'll make you angry, too.

My girlfriend and I played this together, off and on for three days, trying to get the "good ending." Two things: One, it deliberately obfuscates its own systems. As in, learning the rules and dying in the process is part of the game. Two, it is about general tension and anxiety-- the atmosphere of absolute ick, not shock scares but pervasive questions about what you accept as real. It is a strangely gross-feeling game that manages to put you in a completely agitated state. Not terrified, not disgusted, not creeped out. Just agitated. To the extreme. You know, like an insomniac. Which is the point of the game. That skin-crawly, nothing-is-quite-right feeling. A world out of place.

-IF- that kind of tension and weirdness appeals, and you think it might be a cool experience to live through/conquer/think about, this is an excellent game. But I also get the feeling it'll piss a lot of people off. Whether you'd like it or not, worth experiencing.

After playing for some hours I may be somewhat stuck in Knock Knock. The game is not clear on what you must do or how you must do it. It's okay, many games do this and it's nice for us to discover on our own (Dark Souls). However I reached one of the last levels and it seems that if you do not proceed to the next level/room/dream/nightmare whatever you want to call it, you may be getting a "Game Over" screen the next time you will try to advance to the next level just like you normally would do.

Knock Knock have a very creepy and depressive atmosphere. Seems to be a great game to play in the upcoming Halloween. You will always feel that you are surrounded by someone or something, yet, you feel alone at the same time.

Now this is very clever: There are things that really help to create a tense mood in the game with such basic gameplay elements. Let's say something is approaching you. You hide but you are still visible. It's okay, because it does not matter if they can see you since it's you that can't see them, because, if you see them/it then it means they are real and if you believe they are real, then you must be hallucinating meaning you are losing it.

The game have more than one way to end, or to not end at all, in fact. Depending on some actions across the game, when you proceed further a larger enemy may be something for you and a very different one for me.

Immersion tip: In this game the sound of doors opening and closing are quite regular. If you have a sound system with a Subwoofer, placing the Sub below your desk near one of the corners gives you a much more real feeling that something or someone is really knocking a door in your house. This adds to the atmosphere giving you a more intensifying experience especially when everything is silenced and then "BAM!", someone shuts a door, and you feel the vibration.

In my opinion you don't get those jump scares we sometimes see (faked or not) on Youtube videos from games like Amnesia. In this game instead of "AAAH, Oh my God & Buddha, that is scary!!!" I got something more of: "That is creepy... go away, please, I don't want to look :( Just... leave me alone... :( " and that, is really rare in a game.

Knock-knock is a deeply unnerving game that manages to succeed at what it sets out to do.

From the start you get to meet the charming Lodger as he briefly teaches you just how things are in his home. From there it's up to you to figure out the rest. You have six days and nights to adjust and learn, and then from there the game really begins. The time limit is pretty strict, so if you haven't figured out what you're doing by then, don't expect to survive. I barely managed on my first time with just a teensy bit of time left. Overall that stress of time and all the things out and inside your home coming after you is something that sticks with you for quite a while. Though the game does begin dull, once things speed up it truly feels like a game and all those horrifying things out there become all the more horrifying. I'd rather not say much since there are some great ideas in place and it's better to experience them for yourself than not. That's what the first six nights are for after all, just experimenting and figuring out the most effecient way of doing things.

There are flaws though, this game is heavy on RNG. Though skill can help you through most of what you're trying to accomplish, exploring the forest on a time limit is a bit much since there's no easy way to find your way home again rather than just go forwards and hope for the best. There's no guarentee that you'll figure out just what you're supposed to be doing out there without a hint or two either, though thankfully there are enough hints to make people explore the forest at least once or twice early on. Even worse, once you enter the night phases, enemies can and will spawn near you and remain there for long periods, often trapping you in a corner. Or worse, a roaming enemy will follow with it. Touching a solitary enemy is a minor time loss while touching a roamer will set you back a massive amount, but even a minor time loss is a lot here. The game's pretty well designed however and you figure out just what you should be doing before long, though there's little room for error so a few hints are always welcome.

So yeah, Knock-knock surprises though you need to give it a bit of time to shine and be patient through the less enjoyable segments. Not recommended for those who are effected by surrealistic imagry as half of this game's horror is based on that with the other half being existence and dementia based. If you think you can take it, pick it up.

I can recommend this game only to those who are not afraid of experiments: few gameplay, lots of reflection and, perhaps, a pinch of horror.

Knock-Knock is the proof that video games really can be an art. It is a very deep and complicated game. It is not a horror nor a puzzle game, and critics who blame the game for not being scary or something like that have completely missed the point. Knock-Knock doesn't just tell you a story, it plays with your mind and asks YOU the questions.

Any game that claims to not be a game is throwing up a pretty big red flag right there. Knock-knock does that in the opening splash screen, and if anyone besides Ice-pick Lodge made it, I probably would have taken a pass on it. But the creators of Pathologic and The Void know what they're doing on that front, and the result is an intriguing little journey that definitely has its moments.

You take on the role of the Lodger, a wired little fellow that looks like Calvin ditched Hobbes and took up meth. Something odd is afoot in his isolated home in the woods, and if I get any more specific than that I'm bound to spoil something. Much like all of Ice-pick's games, the actual game is figuring out the rules of the game. You can turn lights in the house on and off, hide behind furniture, force open doors, and advance time with a strangely narcissistic clock. Ostensibly your goal is to survive until morning, but the house and its... inhabitants are randomized every other day, and on the other days you spend a chunk of it in the woods. Even the goals themselves get muddled as you progress, and the game is not afraid of throwing entirely new mechanics at you a few hours in.

Once you understand the pattern to the game, it can admittedly get pretty repetitive. New challenges are introduced the further into the game you get, but the core gameplay of lighting up rooms and wandering the woods does not change. One thing it does do well is introduce new threats over time, and some of them are absolutely terrifying despite the almost cartoony presentation. Information on the story comes from many different places, including the Lodger's diary, notes between days, and the Lodger himself, who talks in a charming nonsense Sims language. Most of the way through the game I'm still unclear on much of the rules and plot, but I admit it's fulfilled its original promise of "interactive meditation" and kept my attention. Definitely worth a look if you are at all curious, but be prepared for the mystery and horror to carry some rather bland gameplay.

Anyone who's ever had trouble sleeping can relate to 'Knock Knock', especially if they live rurally.

Wandering through the darkened house, there is a genuine sense of forboding. Players never know when they open the inexplicably locked doors of the home whether or not there will be some ghoul or apparition waiting on the other side. Another great aspect of this game is that as the game progresses, the situation feels progressively more and more desperate. By the later levels, one begins almost to beg for the time to elapse before day break, especially in those situations where you are forced to take refuge in a single isolated room with no means of exit.

Word to the wise, however, this game can be rather frustrating at times. This is especially the case on those occasions where you are inexplicably sent back to the beginning of the level. This is most likely an attempt to explain the philosophical principal that time as an entity is cyclical rather than linear, but even then it can be irritating when you are nearing the end of the level only to have to start over for no reason.

In a nut shell: Is 'Knock Knock' worth buying? Yes. Definitely. Is it for everyone? Not sure. If you're patient and enjoy genre games as an exploration of profound metaphysical concepts then you'll love it. If you just want a no brainer with cheap thrills, not so much.

http://youtu.be/tT9d98vp-l4


To conclude, Knock Knock is certainly a very different type of slow methodical game that relies on its solitary experience, the unexpected and its simplicity to ram home its point - which it does with an unabashed aplomb. And to think that fixing light bulbs in a game could be considered interesting is well proven here and it's this factor which makes the game a joy to play - even if you don't "get it" right away. For the asking price, the entertainment value is well worth it and a must play game if you like unconventional gems such as this one.

Score 8.5/10 - Review by Robert Cram

Knock Knock is Dark Souls meets The Stanley Parable which plays hide and seek with Amensia: The Dark Descent. According to the game one should play at night in the dark, alone (and most likely with headphones on).

The biggest Steam complaints I found in the reviews was this game was repetitive and frustrating. What RPG game, for example, Dark Souls, is not repetitive and frustrating, and just because Knock Knock has no blood splatter and gut spillage that does not mean one does not die, which happens more often then one is lead to believe. (When one dies, it is done without fanfare.) This of course leads to the entire campaign having to be redone from the beginning which is both frustrating and repetitive just like in Dark Souls (and screaming at the computer scene in utter frustration can occur). Another comparison to be noted between the two is where as the player collects souls in Dark Souls, in Knock Knock the player collects time. Each campaign though not timed until the much later levels is timed based. The player must collect time to reach the dawn of the day either by surviving the night hours by watching the slow moving clock or finding a "clock" which speeds up time (found only by turning on lights and remembering). Running into the monsterous "guests" (some of whom will hunt the player down), let into the house through breaches of the dimensional fabric (which need to be closed or can be walked through) will lose the player time or their life. This whole game is one way, no level can be repeated, only the entire game once an ending is reached.

Like The Stanley Parable this game gives the player no real clue as to the "rules" of play, what the game is about, the purpose of the character and his task or why the player should even be playing. The narrative and story line are told through the main character, known as The Lodger (though this is not mentioned in game) but later through diary pages. The Lodger's actual job is world-ology and logging the changes around him. Unfortunately, he is being kept awake at night, and part of his "job" is simply to keep the house. To do this he turns on the lights during early hours of the morning and remembers the room contents. This is not an easy task since the guests break lights and dimensional breaches occur.

The atmosphere of the game is like Amensia: The Dark Descent, yet another game where the player has no clue about what is going on or even how to play. As the player discovers each piece of the story line this only ramps up the psychological anxiety and terror levels. Also the physical horror found in Amensia: The Dark Descent is just as mystifying and just as terrifying as those monsterous 'guests' found in Knock Knock. Though the nightmares of Knock Knock move slowly they are just as relentless in their pursuit and they talk to the player as they play hide and seek. Fortunately they are easier to keep track of. Running and hiding are always the preferred options, and playing hide and seek with them is an intrical part of the game.

Gameplay: In Knock Knock there are three distinct play areas: the house, the forest, and the "eye" house levels. I also suggest playing with a controller over a keyboard but the choice of course is yours. RT I do believe gives an overview of the house and its lay out. The house randomly changes size and layout and gets bigger the further into the game one progresses. This is a great way to find and keep track of certain "guests" since one can see them, almost. Also like Amnesia: The Dark Descent there is a "sanity" meter which comes into play during the timed levels. Once this meter shows up as a lightening bolt across the top of the screen, the player only has until it runs out to finish the rest of the game levels or the player get the super bad ending "GAME OVER" with no resolution and the character becoming quite insane.

During the house play area the goal is to find the clock and start it. This starts time which has stopped and the player needs time to move so the dawn will come. Once the clock starts the house door opens letting in "guests" and allowing the player to leave. The entire point of this level is to start the clock and leave the house. (Turning on lights is optional, I discovered. Lights on makes the character move faster but takes up much needed time during the later timed levels.) In the beginning I suggest taking the time to turn on the lights and remember the rooms contents. Remembering the room contents means one has a place to hide when one needs to. In the later timed levels start the clock and leave the house as quickly as possible. (I suggest not even turning on the lights just leave. Do not wait for the clock or dawn. Just leave and move on.)

The forest: There are four horizontal paths is the forest which can be stepped between vertically. Making it through the forest as fast as possible comes in handy during the late game time levels. Only during these particular timed levels will stationary "guests" show up. Do not touch them for they steal much needed time. Also in the forest the player will find the girl, who possesses reality fragments. (Ignore during the timed levels.) Approaching the girl is tricky business, the player needs to be directly opposite her and have the character facing her. Even then it is still tricky business. Reality fragments are needed for the "Good" ending, the more the better. There are a total of 8. Each forest level yields only 1 reality fragment from the girl.

The "eye" house: Utter frustration, especially during the timed levels and will make or break getting the "Bad" ending. The eye on the map is the house where one encounters breaches and monsterous "guests". Late in the game one also encounters the "weeping one" which gives diary pages and/or steals time. When playing the timed levels for the "Bad" ending I suggest ignoring the "weeping one". The house on this level gets bigger and bigger with more rooms and a harder path to follow to the front door. This is the place where the game of hide and seek is played in earnest so turning on lights and remembering gives the player places to hide as the clock ticks toward dawn. One can not leave this house until dawn when the clock is full of time.

In this "eye" house is where the dimensional breaches occur letting in the "guests". Try to get to a breach before it opens if possible. Closing a breach costs time, but does not allow even more "guests" in. There are moving guests who hunt the player down, and stationary guests who steal time and throw one out of the room if one turns the light on if they are in the room. Running into one also steals time. The player can also go through a breach into endless halls (I found three different ones). According to one guide 2 reality fragments can be found in these breaches per "eye" house level.

Basically this game must be played twice, once for the "Good" ending which I suggest doing first since it will take all the player's skill and understanding of how the game works to make it through the timed levels to get to the "Bad" ending.

I recommend this game to those that want a challenging "horror" game (I would call this Horror-Lite) that has no blood, guts, torture or screaming. Hope one can play Hide and Seek well.

It's essentially a creepy game of Hotel Mario plus hide and seek where the rules are different for each level and you kind of have to figure them out from narration and sometimes failure. If you still don't understand what this game is about, well, join the club. However, half the fun is figuring it out.

And it's really friggin creepy. I know the art style look like something out of a Tim Burton film, but this game scares the crap out of me and stays with me long after I play. That's why this game gets my recommendation.