remember playing this a while ago and never finishing it.

love the art style. every other playthrough, there was always a new experience, different creatures, different house layout, and the radio and gramophone can play haunting music on its own...

Knock Knock is a unique experience that takes monsters from Russian folklore and makes them a legitimate threat. You play as a paranoid shut-in called The Lodger, guiding him throughout buildings in his dreams and turning on lights in order to keep guests out. However, they frequently appear, with his only defense being to hide behind whatever objects are available and waiting for spirits to leave. If furniture doesn't exist, then he takes a moment to remember where it was placed. Occasionally Lodger will venture out into the woods, searching for a mysterious girl who appears to be the main antagonist. It's either her you find, or a gigantic demon that grows closer to his home with every passing day towards the end. Nothing is really explained, as this game was apparently inspired by an email sent to Ice Pick Lodge describing unique concepts an anonymous creator had. While it's debatable that this actually happened, it certainly makes for an interesting story that tries something new. The art style is especially fun to look at, with 2D animated graphics that look as if they could be at home in a Laika or Tim Burton film.

However, there are a lot of flaws that bog down the experience as a whole. Having to hide so much gets repetitive after awhile, even if there are occasional unique scares that shake things up. Attempting to find the girl in the woods takes longer than necessary; the player might end up spending hours just traveling through the area only for her to not appear, or she disappears thanks to spawning behind something in the environment and being inaccessible. But you have to find her during each of these sequences, activating a cutscene in order to get the good ending. Knock Knock's story is also too ambiguous, and not many loose ends are tied up, leaving its audience with more questions than answers even if they are able to follow it.

I'll still gladly recommend this game to anyone looking for a unique title that doesn't quite fit in with modern horror titles. Knock Knock could definitely benefit from an update; maybe content mentioned on the Kickstarter could be added as DLC to generate interest, if the developers are still interested in working on it. However, maybe remaining in relative obscurity is best in some cases.