Knee Deep - Season One Reviews

Knee Deep - Season One is ranked in the 17th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
4 / 10.0
Oct 6, 2018

A really confusing title that struggles to find an audience.

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6.2 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2017

I'm a huge fan of drama, dark humour, blues country music and the theatre. There were many moments in which Knee Deep had all of these going on, and I really enjoyed it. However, some elements seemed rushed, or as if they were put in as an afterthought, and the pacing was sometimes too slow. There were also times where I felt the dialogue was disjointed and left me confused, and there was no real cause for me to really be worried about the choices I made through the game. For the first title from Prologue Games however, it's a strong start, and I hope for more like this from them in the future.

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Feb 11, 2017

An experience that is satisfactory for a single playthrough but becomes repetitive and boring across multiple playthroughs, which is something that the achievements encourage.

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Digitally Downloaded
Brad L.
Top Critic
Feb 7, 2017

All in all, Knee Deep isn’t a terrible game, nor is it as ground-breaking as it wants to be. It definitely gives a unique spin on the interactive drama genre, and it does tell a somewhat dark, noir inspired tale. Folks who approach this as anything other than a slightly more interactive Visual Novel are going to be disappointed, though, and given that it was more pitched towards adventure game fans, I think there might be a few people that are disappointed with their purchase here.

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7.5 / 10.0
Feb 6, 2017

The ultimate frustration is that I was left wanting to play more of the game and get wrapped up in the story again, but the choices around skipping text and saving made that an unexciting experience. That coupled with the voice audio issues and narrative still being on a mostly locked path means that I probably will never unlock all the mysteries of Cypress Knee.

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3 / 10.0
Feb 4, 2017

Knee Deep is a game that certainly tries to bring its world to life, but overall, doesn't make it past the first hurdle. A narrative focused title that isn't gripping nor riveting, Knee Deep shows us the negative side of storytelling.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 3, 2017

An altogether gripping tale of corruption and deceit, with a thoughtful twist and a historied setting. Knee Deep’s characters are likeable enough, from the enigmatic head of The Church of Us, to the disgraced professor who did time for getting high, and sleeping, with a student he thought was 18. While there's a fair view tropes and clichés, the writing and acting is generally of a high enough standard for me to let it slide. If it wasn't so slow to play, it'd be a damn near flawless example of how to sell a game based purely on story and dialogue.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
7 / 10
Feb 3, 2017

If you want something actively engaging, then this isn’t the title for you. But if you’re happy to let yourself relax and get lost in an intriguing, dark, sometimes funny and always mysterious narrative, then Knee Deep is definitely worth picking up.

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Feb 3, 2017

As far as story-driven games go, Knee Deep is certainly ranking high in terms of original concepts and the story itself is chock full of suspense, over dramatisation and mystery. Almost every character has something about them to be memorable, whilst the locations set the scene well without ever looking brilliant. After a strong start, a rocky middle that almost lost me and an unforgettable finale, Knee Deep is a great overall experience.

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75%
Feb 3, 2017

An unusual game, Knee Deep is entertaining while it lasts, its offbeat, Twin Peaks-inspired murder mystery taking in some strange twists and turns to reach its unexpected conclusion. Cypress Knee is certainly a place worth visiting.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 2, 2017

Knee Deep takes the traditional narrative adventure and turns it on its head, presenting the action as if it were a stage drama. A few poorly designed mini-games prove to be more of an annoyance than gameplay variation, but the story is strong enough to c

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2 / 5.0
Feb 2, 2017

Knee Deep is a Telltale-style game that is entertaining but does not fit in most of the sections. Besides, it's too easy.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 1, 2017

Knee Deep tries something new with its awesome stage play style but just falls short of being great due to poor visuals and simple gameplay style. I enjoyed the story throughout and it did keep me playing until the end. If Prologue Games can improve on the technical faults of this game and make the gameplay more varied and your choices more meaningful then Knee Deep could become something great in the future. As it stands it’s a good adventure title worth checking out at some point.

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7 / 10
Feb 1, 2017

Knee Deep's swampy noir mystery play is one of the most interesting and entertaining ways to frame a game you'll ever see. Just a shame the final act doesn't rise to the humid, neo-gothic heights of the rest.

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3 / 10
Jan 31, 2017

Knee Deep isn’t an adventure title worth playing, lacking any real hallmarks of the genre. The few puzzles essentially solve themselves, there is very little player participation outside of dialogue choices, and the plot is so bloated with forgettable characters that you lose track of who is who. It seems like the best ideas were poured into the design of Knee Deep, creating a well made digital stage show with voice actors who put in a decent performance. Unfortunately if Knee Deep was a real theatre show I would assume that the final curtain would fall quickly.

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8 / 10.0
Jan 31, 2017

Impressively single-minded in its aim, Knee Deep strips everything back from aesthetics to player agency to fashion a non-linear narrative adventure quite unlike any other. Fans of well-written adventures would do well to not sleep on Knee Deep.

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70 / 100
Jan 31, 2017

This game’s strength is in its writing – the snappy dialogue and quirky characters will make you forget its flaws.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
8 / 10
Jan 31, 2017

Knee Deep is just as flawed as the souls who traverse its story. The important thing to remember, though, is that it's worth it. The story is original, the gameplay is exciting for how simple it is, and moments rarely feel dull or meaningless. Its wrinkles don't detract from the game enough to keep it from being an absolute must-have for any adventure fan. Hopefully, it'll get the attention it deserves.

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6 / 10.0
Jan 31, 2017

While not as genre-bending as perhaps one might expect a video game portrayed as a interactive theatre show to be, Knee Deep does provide an entertaining, if rather silly, distraction while it lasts.

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3 / 10
Jan 31, 2017

Knee Deep makes a decent attempt at telling a dark, mysterious tale, but underneath lies a bland game with little interaction. The cast of characters aren't particularly likeable and the story they tell makes some bizarre missteps. Perhaps the murder mystery fans among you could get a small kick out of this, but we'd say that most of you can safely ignore this title, knee deep in problems as it is.

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