Developer: Prologue Games
Publisher: Wales Interactive
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4
Code Recieved.
Knee Deep puts you center stage in a three act episodic point and click adventure. Pull back the curtains and jump into the secrets of a small Florida swamp town where every choice you make can lead to a break in the story, an unexpected encounter further down the road, or even a character’s demise.
Story
Knee Deep starts you on the set of a theatre play. As the acts unfold, Knee Deep allows you to give your “actors” their own identity and backstory through dialogue choices. The play takes place in Cypress Knee; a small town in the swamps of Florida. You start by investigating an alleged suicide committed by Tag Kearn; a washed up actor that mysteriously hung himself at a roadside truck stop. You play as one of the three main protagonists; the edgy gossip blogger for “Fanrage”, Romana Teague; a divorced local reporter, Jack Bellet; and a skeptical private investigator, K.C. Gaddis. You slowly uncover the secrets of Cypress Knee including deception, political corruption, a cynical and eerie church, and much more that ultimately add together to form the conclusion to your screenplay.
The mystery of Cypress Knee and it’s disturbed townsfolk keep you wanting to uncover more. I can’t give any more details without taking away from what absorbs you into Knee Deep. The writing isn’t spectacular, but it is unusual and unpredictable.
Gameplay
Knee Deep makes it clear in the beginning that there is no right or wrong way to play, there is no way to lose. You don’t move your player, and the entire story is played out by selecting a series of responses. The first two acts of the game are heavily focused on building up the top three protagonists and their link into the mystery of Cypress Knee. You create your own personality for each by selecting a series of dialogue choices and interacting with the townsfolk. All three characters are tasked with periodically uploading reports onto their blog, newspaper, or email based on the information they uncovered. You then choose to report as cautious, edgy or inflammatory.
There are multiple factors to consider when making choices. For instance, as Romana, do you want to stay edgy and still have that hot topic on your blog without upsetting your employer? With that choice, how will the next person respond to you so we can keep getting inside information? There are always multiple story choices to report on and I found myself spending most of my time in the game analyzing my possible outcomes. The choice and consequence aspect of Knee Deep is fantastic. It really gives you a feeling that every decision and choice you make will have an impact on how your story unfolds.
Aside from dialogue choices, there are a few minor puzzles or quizzes you will encounter. But all of them are so simplistic that I didn’t see why they were there to begin with. For example, at one point I had to piece together fingerprints. You move the fingerprint fragment over the board and it would light up yellow if it was in the right position. The game itself answers each puzzle for you so to me, they were a short waste of time. The puzzles seemed pointless and that took me away from the more intriguing aspects of Knee Deep.
Graphics and Audio
If you’re looking for amazing graphics, you won’t find them in Knee Deep. The graphics feel a bit outdated and unpolished, but they honestly aren’t missed when the rest of the presentation is considered. The bluesy soundtrack and stage play sound effects add a backwoods Florida ambiance to the play. The stage changes in front of you by placing characters in spotlights and sliding the stage props to the next scene. While playing Knee Deep, you are always keenly aware that there is a story theatrically unfolding before your eyes. What it lacks in graphics, it makes up for in atmosphere.
Conclusion
It is difficult to review the positive and negatives of Knee Deep without giving away the mystery of it. The gameplay is lacking challenge and the writing could use a boost, but if you enjoy dialogue choice and consequences in your games, I recommend you pick it up. Every choice is significant, the atmosphere is well crafted, and the story stays unpredictable. It also comes equipped with an easy Platinum for any trophy hunter.
