Knock-knock

About Knock-knock

Knock-knock is a horror game by the Russian studio Ice-Pick Lodge, the makers of Pathologic, released on Steam in 2013 and on Nintendo Switch in 2018; on PC it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.

There is an unusual cabin deep in the woods that has served as a laboratory and home for three generations of Lodgers. Lately the latest Lodger has noticed things changing: objects go missing, there are noises and rattling, and something odd is coming out of the woods. At night, someone seems to have made himself at home in the dim rooms, attics and cellars.

Your aim each night is to reach dawn while still sane. The Lodger wanders the house, hiding from the Guests in a game of hide-and-seek, fixing the house up and keeping it in order, since the house helps him. The store asks you to watch and listen carefully, and warns that you must first understand the game being played with you before you can follow its rules.

What frightens is the uncertainty. The Lodger cannot sleep, the Guests may be figments of his imagination, and the answers to what is happening to the forest and the cabin can only be found at night. Like Ice-Pick Lodge's Pathologic games, it is strange, deliberate and does not explain itself, which suits patient players who like their horror unsettling and puzzling rather than loud.

How to play Knock-knock

1. Buy it on Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux), GOG or the Nintendo eShop for Switch.
2. Each night, walk the Lodger through the cabin's rooms, attics and cellars.
3. Hide when the Guests come, and avoid looking at what you should not.
4. Fix up the house and keep it in order, since it helps the Lodger.
5. Hold out until sunrise while still sane, and search for what the Lodger has lost.

Tips

• Watch and listen closely; the store says paying attention is much of the game.
• Expect to spend time working out the rules; the game does not spell them out.
• Play with sound on, since noises tell you what is happening in the house.

Questions