The Knobbly Crook

About

In the Knobbly Crook, O'Sirus is a simple paper farmer who aspires to be a Knobbcrookian royal guard–a Guffaloon. Stories of their heroic battles against the fearsome Bogold empire echo throughout the Crook. Unfortunately, they're not currently recruiting simple paper farmers. He's going to have to use every dirty trick in his book to cheat his way to the top. Three key elements factor into the …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 170 reviews

graphics24 positive mentions

The Knobbly Crook features a unique and captivating art style that is both surreal and beautifully crafted.
The game offers a humorous and engaging narrative filled with quirky characters and clever dialogue.
It's a free point-and-click adventure that provides a nostalgic experience reminiscent of classic games in the genre.

Players often find themselves confused and unsure of what to do next due to a lack of guidance and clear objectives.
Some puzzles can be overly challenging or illogical, leading to frustration and the need for walkthroughs.
The game's controls and interface can be cumbersome, making navigation and interaction less intuitive.

graphics
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
56%
5%
The graphics of this indie adventure game are widely praised for their unique and surreal art style, which combines elements of hand-drawn visuals, steampunk, and influences from various cultural aesthetics. Players appreciate the intricate designs and vibrant colors that enhance the game's quirky narrative and humor, although some find the abstract visuals can make interactions challenging. Overall, the artwork is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's charm and immersive experience.
- “This indie gem captivates with its surreal art style, dark humor, and mind-bending puzzles, weaving a story that's as unpredictable as it is engaging.”
- “The hand-drawn graphics are crisp and eye-catching, the game ran seamlessly with no problems.”
- “Visually, we have the best-looking game I have ever seen made with AGS, with incredibly intricate mouse-drawn HD graphics that are part Mayan sculpture, part steampunk, part science textbook, and part hardware store.”
- “Also, it can be tough to tell what you might need to interact with due to the unique art style and abstract visuals.”
- “The garishness of the artwork really gets to you after some time.”
- “The artwork feels kind of strange on the eyes.”
humor
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its unique blend of dark and surreal humor, complemented by witty dialogue and quirky characters that keep players engaged and entertained. Reviewers highlight the cleverness of the humor, which ranges from dry and intelligent to slapstick and absurd, making it a standout experience in the point-and-click genre. Overall, the humor is consistently funny and adds a delightful layer to the game's captivating art style and challenging puzzles.
- “This indie gem captivates with its surreal art style, dark humor, and mind-bending puzzles, weaving a story that's as unpredictable as it is engaging.”
- “The unique art style, funny dialogue, and surreal events occurring throughout promise an amazing series.”
- “The overall humor in the game has just the right mix of slapstick, suggestive, and gross-out humor, never leaning too heavily toward one thing or another while keeping the laughs coming at a pretty good pace!”
story
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
6%
The story of "The Knobbly Crook" is a surreal and engaging odyssey filled with dark humor, bizarre characters, and mind-bending puzzles, all set in a uniquely crafted world. Players appreciate the intricate lore and the unpredictable narrative, though some express disappointment over its brevity and unresolved cliffhangers. Overall, the game is celebrated for its creative storytelling and captivating visuals, making it a standout in the point-and-click genre.
- “This indie gem captivates with its surreal art style, dark humor, and mind-bending puzzles, weaving a story that's as unpredictable as it is engaging.”
- “The graphics do a great job bringing this story to life and the characters all have their own language, interesting personalities, and really neat voiceovers.”
- “Excelling in design in multiple areas, notably the visuals and astonishingly creative and original story and characters, plus the free price tag, an open-minded adventure gamer of any persuasion would be crazy not to download the knobbly crook.”
- “It is a true shame there is yet to be a continuation to the story as there are many references to a bigger story and the end is quite the cliffhanger.”
- “Nothing really works in the story's chaotic universe -- catastrophes abound as O'sirus struggles to prove himself worthy of greatness and rise above his lowly image as a simple paper farmer.”
- “When it comes to the plot, the best summary I can come up with is that once-peaceful paper farmer O'sirus is given a mysterious quest by ... someone, to do ... something, for ... some reason.”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
43%
13%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers praising its jazzy, groovy, and folk elements that complement the game's unique art and humor. The soundtrack is described as both chilling and fitting, effectively matching the game's whimsical yet dark themes. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere and is considered a standout feature by players.
- “Combined with its incredible art, febrile world-building, and jazzy music, this sets the game right up there with the best point-and-clicks I've played.”
- “The art is beautiful, the puzzles are interesting, and the music is just plain groovy.”
- “The dialog is very clever in a subtle way and the soundtrack is excellent.”
- “The music feels chilling.”
- “Trash bad controls bad music complicated game avoid even if its free.”
- “The made up voices, the music, the randomness of it all.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay of "The Knobbly Crook" is reminiscent of classic 90's point-and-click adventure games, featuring straightforward mechanics and challenging puzzles that may require the use of guides. While some players appreciate the nostalgic feel and clever language, others find the gameplay occasionally frustrating due to its reliance on trial-and-error. Overall, the game combines beautiful art with engaging, if sometimes obscure, gameplay elements that appeal to fans of the genre.
- “The knobbly crook has beautiful art and understandable gameplay mechanics but reminds me of classic point-and-click games with the difficulty.”
- “The made-up language was so clever and well done; I found the story intriguing and the gameplay fun, though I did have to revert to a guide in some tough spots.”
- “If you're a point-and-click adventure game fan who remembers not just the puzzle mechanics of the 90's golden age, but also their offbeat black humor, this is the game you've been waiting for.”
- “The game mechanics are 90's style.”
- “And randomly clicking to find out what's active or not is not my idea of productive gameplay.”
- “The adventure gameplay itself is the one area where the game doesn't try to break any moulds.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with users highlighting its captivating art, engaging story, and fitting music that enhances the overall experience. Many express enthusiasm for the immersive environment and look forward to future installments.
- “Love the art and the story/atmosphere.”
- “A great little game with an excellent atmosphere, looking forward to the next chapter.”
- “Good music, fits the atmosphere.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Players note that while grinding in the game can be demanding, it remains engaging and entertaining throughout, distinguishing it from other point-and-click titles that may become tedious.
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel earned.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “While many point-and-click games of today tend to get tedious sooner or later, TKC is intriguing (and hilarious, too) till the very end.”