Theatrical thriller Knee Deep comes to PS4 and Xbox One this week and it’s a flawed but enjoyable affair. My review;
Game #: 3
Name: Knee Deep
Publisher: Wales Interactive
Developer: Prologue Games
Knee Deep is one of those gaming oddities that make you wonder “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?”. It’s a plot driven, choose-your-own-adventure styled noir murder mystery set in a backwater Florida town called Cypress Knee. The catch? It’s framed as if it’s a play in a theatre. It’s a unique prospect with the game’s environments built to look like a stage set and the story unfolding across three acts. It’s a game designed around the magic of the theatre, using many of the tricks used by Broadway to “wow” the audience and for the most part, it works as well in a game as it does for the West End.
In Knee Deep you unravel the story of 3 main characters, each of whom are drawn to Cypress Knee to investigate the mysterious suicide of washed-up actor Tag Kern. You begin the game as blogger Romana Teague who’s being hounded by her editor after a recent transgression and is hoping to get the scoop on Tag’s suicide to help placate him. Next up is divorced, over the hill, local print journalist Jack Bellet. Jack has been there, done that, got the t-shirt and is unphased by almost everything – except for his ex-wife that is. Lastly, there’s K.C. Gaddis, a troubled private investigator who’s brought back to his home town of Cypress Knee to investigate what’s going on, funded by the film studio that Tag Kern was working for. Gaddis is accompanied by his canine companion Monroe wherever he goes, KC explaining “You hire me, you hire the dog” during one of his opening exchanges. Each character comes to investigate the mystery with different aims and motivations but their paths cross and links to their past are revealed as you progress.
In terms of game play, Knee Deep has more in common with Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us than it does it’s more obvious comparison, Kentucky Route Zero. At no point during the game do you actually control the movement of characters. Instead, you control every aspect of the conversations the main characters have with the inhabitants of Cypress Knee. Much like a Telltale title, you’re presented with a choice of 2 to 4 topics or replies which can be selected using a press of the DualShock 4 buttons. Where Knee Deep differentiates itself from any other narrative driven experience is that there is no failure conditions – no “Game Over”, no “You died. Try Again?”, no matter how bad the choices you make are – and the game evolves based on even the smallest of dialogue options. An example – For each of the 3 main characters, you get to decide on their back story at the start of the game. For Romana Teague, this is a choice between what mistake she made to upset her Editor at sensationalist website Fanrage. This choice, lets say between hacking a rival website or taking a bribe to promote a product on her blog, changes how some characters interact with her.
During conversations, information of note is stored in a list for reference and at several junctions in the game, the main characters must report back to their editors/employers on what they’ve found. How and what you report back however, is up to the player. Each instance gives you a choice of what to report back and how to flavour it – whether to be cautious, edgy, or inflammatory. What you report on and how you frame it also influences the behaviour of the people in Cypress Knee. If you open a can of worms or thrust certain characters into the spotlight, they’ll clam up or get angry at you – potentially shaking the tree and seeing what shakes loose. Play it cool and calm and various people will be more inclined to talk to you but you might incur the wrath of your editor who’s after a scoop. The variety of choices and the influences they have is incredible throughout Knee Deep.
There are also a few simple puzzles to solve during Knee Deep. These range from piecing together sections of fingerprints to solving a tile-based jigsaw puzzle. Each can be quite daunting at first but the game highlights when a piece of a puzzle is the in the right place which make each of these sections very simple.
The plot itself has shades of Twin Peaks and X-Files as you uncover secrets, meet colourful characters and twists are thrown at you at break neck speed. There’s tongue-in-cheek references to Scientology, cheeky digs at Hollywood and movie stars, a very real interpretation of print vs web journalism and many “This would only happen in Florida” moments of hilarity. It’s an enjoyable romp through a whodunit mystery that’s as surprising as it is fun. The tempo of the plot fluctuates wildly at times bolting from having relaxed conversations to chase scenes within seconds but it’s seamless and for the most part, makes sense. The voice acting is believable and well executed with hardly a wasted line. It’s not all sunshine and moonshine though. The main trio of characters are all interesting in their own way but do feel a little caricaturistic and stereotypical. The start of the game can also be a little confusing as you move from conversation to conversation with many different characters and unless you are paying close attention, these can start to blend together – at least for your first play through.
The main theme for Knee Deep – it being framed as a stage show – is maintained throughout and often makes for an impressive art direction. At one particular section, the stage is backlit with the characters appearing on stage as silhouettes against a sunset. This makes for an impressive visual display and one that many real stage shows use to great effect. During most scenes, spotlights are used to draw your attention to the particular aspects of the stage – another common convention of stage shows. It’s impressive how much effort developers Prologue Games have put into maintaining the illusion. There’s even the occasional cough soundbite from the crowd and audience gasps during the big reveals.
This doesn’t always work however. There were 2 moments during Knee Deep, both important plot points, that I felt were hamstrung by the facade and lost a lot of their impact. This is in part due to the occasionally fuzzy visuals and poor graphical quality.
For me, Knee Deep falls into this odd category of games that have faults but are thoroughly enjoyable despite them. The puzzles are overly-simplified by its system of telling you when you have pieces in the right place. The start of the game is congested with conversations with little breathing room between them. The stage show setting and the upfront knowledge that the game will continue through to its conclusion, regardless of your choices, limits the tension that the game often strives to build. But even with these issues, Knee Deep has had me enthralled for the past week and I’ve now completed it 3 times, exploring the possibilities and options throughout its 4 hour plot. Knee Deep isn’t going to be for everyone but if you’re looking for a relaxed narrative driven experience that tells a unique, dark, often bizarre tale of mystery, you should consider getting knee-deep in Knee Deep.
7/10
Knee Deep is available now on PC via Steam, will release on the PS4 via the PlayStation Store on the 31st of January and on the 3rd of February on Xbox One.
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