Knytt Classic

A certifiable classic. While Knytt may not have the breadth of mechanics seen in Within a Deep Forest or Knytt Stories, its exploration of a (mostly) peaceful, eccentric world is still second to none. This port comfortably modernises it without sacrificing any of the original charm; it feels great and looks super sharp on Steam Deck. This would easily be worth your money, but it isn't asking for any, so instead I'll assure you that it's worth your time. Easy recommend.

Over the decades, Nifflas has developed several incredible or just really neat games. And while he has moved away from the exploration focused platformers in the past decade, for me his best collection of works was focused on that “metroidvania” design. The original Knytt, released for free back in 2006, was my personal introduction to these titles (unless my memory is failing me here), and I absolutely loved how simple yet fun the game was. It was followed up in 2007 by the mod-centric Knytt Stories, where the built in story of the game was meant to inspire others to create their own. And then in 2012 the incredible Knytt Underground felt as a culmination of all of the ideas Nifflas has been making – a massive world to explore, with fun movement abilities, lots and lots of secrets to discover, amazing soundtrack and a really good story. For many years, Nifflas kept all of his older projects alive and available for download off his own website, but several years ago he decided to take the site down. And while you still could get the older projects on other websites, the knowledge of Knytt games seemed to start slowly fading away. But now this unexpected release happens – Knytt Classic, an updated re-release of the original game from 2006, but now with additional modes, support for all major PC platforms, modern controllers and other cool stuff. Yet it’s still free and is an absolute must play. The charm of the original Knytt, kept fully intact with the new version, is in the fact that it’s very simple and accessible. There are no “correct sequences” of events. No abilities to unlock. No puzzles to solve. You simply must gather a certain collection of items from all over the game world in any order you want. You can run, you can climb any wall, you can jump. And that’s it. You explore very cute locales, occasionally encounter hazards and, if you want, can hunt for secrets. because, as was typical for Nifflas, there are almost no “holes” in the map of the world, so if you’re seeing one – you might be missing a secret room. You don’t have to get it, but it’s so fun to explore so why not? And that’s basically it. It’s a rather short game, but you can play it again and again, because it’s so nice and pleasant. Plus, if you’re into platforming challenges, the new release of the game now features additional harder modes that add more hazards or change the layout of rooms. And did I mention that this is free? If you love metroidvanias, you absolutely should give Knytt Classic a go. It’s a wonderful update to the already great game.

So far I finished the 'Normal Mode' and quite liked it. The character controls very smoothly, and the soundscape is nice. The gameworld is huge, and there is no in-game map to check; you will run into some dead ends, which will make you backtrack and explore for alternate routes.

While I'm not familiar with the original, it didn't take me very long to become a fan of this! As a cute little dude, you hop around a cool alien planet looking for junk. All you do is move, jump, and hold A for a hint as to where to go. The movement is super smooth and satisfying, the biomes are varied and navigating them is complicated, but not TOO complicated, if you can keep moving in the direction A points to, you'll eventually find the next part...if you can't, there's some way under or over that will get you there, you may even have to go back a bit in order to go forward. Despite the size of the map, I didn't feel lost at any point. There's lots of goofy little aliens wobbling around the world, most are peaceful, but if your Knytt glows red, it means they're hostile. There's no combat, so if you find an enemy just avoid/go around it. I lost track of how many parts I had to get, and I did get stuck for a bit trying to figure out how to get to the gear piece in the lava area under the dark industrial structure...but despite that, I still won the game on normal in about an hour. There's other difficulty modes, and achievements to get, if you're feeling adventurous. Man this was nice! The gameplay is SMOOTH, the graphics are cute and a bit nostalgic, and the general chill vibe of the game is top notch! I had a great time, and if you like good low-stress platformers, you will too!

A true classic from the beginning of the modern era's indie boom. As joyous and charming as it always has been. Spend some time with a bunch of weird little guys!!

Knytt has aged remarkably well after 20 years. Still just as charming, atmospheric, and relaxing. Well worth the time!

Lovely little remaster of a game I haven't played in 20 years. The native Linux client is very appreciated!

an absolute classic. big ups to bit kid for bringing this to steam.

JUEGAZO 😎👍💛🌟