Knytt Underground Review (PC)

For many years Nifflas has been developing games on the PC. The two most notable of these titles are Within a Deep Forest and Knytt. Within a Deep Forest had players taking control of a sentient bouncing ball that had to save the world from a bomb. The game focused on the bouncing physics of different types of balls of different weights and materials.

Knytt focused on a little hero of the same name needing to find parts to fix a crashed spaceship so that he could get back home. The mechanics here dealt with the notion of climbing and sticking to walls. Both of these games have now been combined to create Knytt Underground which marks Nifflas’ first move into the realm of console gaming.

Split into three chapters, Knytt Underground has players take on the role of the mute Mi Sprocket as she explores a huge environment. Her aim is to look for human artefacts and complete quests in a Metroidvania style. The first two chapters act as short tutorials to help players understand the mechanics of how Mi and then Bob the ball handle. By chapter three the two characters have magically been morphed together allowing players to change from Mi to Bob at will.

This allows for some situations requiring lightning reflexes as you change from Mi to the bouncing ball mid-air to cannon off the landscape at all sorts of weird and wonderful angles in order to reach new areas. As well as the bouncing and climbing there are different coloured plumes of smoke which give temporary abilities. These range from turning Mi invisible, making her jump higher or turning her into a set that can shoot horizontally or vertically.

Everything is designed as a means for you to get to another locations and this is where Knytt Underground really works well. Nifflas games before this have always focused on short bursts of quick reflexes and skill. When Knytt Underground asks players to do the same it comes to life in a flurry of ever changing physics and colourful plumes of smoke. (Note to developer – a colour-blind filter would really help with those plumes of smoke)

However, in Knytt Underground there are often long stretches of exploration through empty screens to reach these areas. Sometimes the beautiful graphics and sound create a haunting and ambient environment which you don’t mind trekking through. At other times it can all be a little dull as you wander through empty screen after empty screen. This was an issue on the PS3 version but strangely, seems to be much less of an issue on the PC. Maybe we’ve mellowed a bit, or maybe it just fits the system a bit better.

When Knytt Underground works it works well but when it doesn’t it can feel a bit  empty. This isn’t helped by the seeming lack of progress you make. There are numerous quests and items to discover but on completing or collecting them it doesn’t seem to mean much. Of course it all adds up in the end but the game could do with tweaking its risk reward system to help players feel a greater sense of achievement after they have overcome some of the incredibly fiendish screens.

It is worth highlighting just how lovely the game looks and sounds. This game is beautiful and the music is of the highest standard. We expect no less from a Nifflas game and in that department Knytt Underground can never be faulted with a stunningly ambient atmosphere created throughout. The spaced out save points also seem less of an issue in the PC version, even though some of them are still some distance away from tricky sections of the game and back tracking is something that can begin to hinder the experience. We lost count of the amount of times we trekked along a tunnel for five or six screens only to reach a character telling us we needed to bring a certain item to them. This then meant trekking back through all the screens again. There really isn’t a need for this and you wonder if the game would have benefitted from a slightly smaller, more focused, map without many of the empty screens - or at least the ability to teleport between save points.

Overall, Knytt Underground is another promising game for Nifflas. The look and sound of the game is gorgeous and easily rivals the best 2D artwork out there. The game itself gives players a huge world to explore but many may well feel that it lacks focus and a real sense of rewards for the skill you need in order to progress. Those looking for an adventure set at a slower pace will love it, while others will be left wanting a bit more excitement.

7/10

Knytt Underground Review (PS3/PS Vita)

For many years Nifflas has been developing games on the PC. The two most notable of these titles are Within a Deep Forest and Knytt. Within a Deep Forest had players taking control of a sentient bouncing ball that had to save the world from a bomb. The game focused on the bouncing physics of different types of balls of different weights and materials.

Knytt focused on a little hero of the same name needing to find parts to fix a crashed spaceship so that he could get back home. The mechanics here dealt with the notion of climbing and sticking to walls. Both of these games have now been combined to create Knytt Underground which marks Nifflas’ first move into the realm of console gaming.

Split into three chapters, Knytt Underground has players take on the role of the mute Mi Sprocket as she explores a huge environment. Her aim is to look for human artefacts and complete quests in a Metroidvania style. The first two chapters act as short tutorials to help players understand the mechanics of how Mi and then Bob the ball handle. By chapter three the two characters have magically been morphed together allowing players to change from Mi to Bob at will.

This allows for some situations requiring lightning reflexes as you change from Mi to the bouncing ball mid-air to cannon off the landscape at all sorts of weird and wonderful angles in order to reach new areas. As well as the bouncing and climbing there are different coloured plumes of smoke which give temporary abilities. These range from turning Mi invisible, making her jump higher or turning her into a set that can shoot horizontally or vertically.

Everything is designed as a means for you to get to another locations and this is where Knytt Underground really works well. Nifflas games before this have always focused on short bursts of quick reflexes and skill. When Knytt Underground asks players to do the same it comes to life in a flurry of ever changing physics and colourful plumes of smoke. (Note to developer – a colour-blind filter would really help with those plumes of smoke)

However, in Knytt Underground there are often long stretches of exploration through empty screens to reach these areas. Sometimes the beautiful graphics and sound create a haunting and ambient environment which you don’t mind trekking through. At other times it can all be a little dull as you wander through empty screen after empty screen.

When Knytt Underground works it works well but when it doesn’t it feels empty and lifeless. This isn’t helped by the seeming lack of progress you make. There are numerous quests and items to discover but on completing or collecting them it doesn’t seem to mean much. Of course it all adds up in the end but the game could do with tweaking its risk reward system to help players feel a greater sense of achievement after they have overcome some of the incredibly fiendish screens.

It is worth highlighting just how lovely the game looks and sounds. This game is beautiful and the music is of the highest standard. We expect no less from a Nifflas game and in that department Knytt Underground can never be faulted. When transferred to the Vita (Knytt is cross buy), it looks all the more beautiful.

The Vita seems to be the natural home of Knytt Undeground, which makes it all the more surprising that save points are often miles away from each other. There are a lot of them, but instead of putting them at the start of tricky sections (like in Within a Deep Forest ), they are often located away from the area requiring players to back track.

Back tracking is something that can begin to hinder the experience. We lost count of the amount of times we trekked along a tunnel for five or six screens only to reach a character telling us we needed to bring a certain item to them. This then meant trekking back through all the screens again. There really isn’t a need for this and you wonder if the game would have benefitted from a slightly smaller, more focused, map without many of the empty screens.

Overall, Knytt Underground is a promising start for Nifflas in the realm of console gaming. The look and sound of the game is gorgeous and easily rivals the best of the Playstation Network. The game itself gives players a huge world to explore but many may well feel that it lacks focus and a real sense of rewards for the skill you need in order to progress. Those looking for an adventure set at a slower pace will love it, while others will be left wanting a bit more excitement.

7/10

Read our review of Within a Deep Forest.

Within a Deep Forest (PC Review)

The idea of the bedroom coder seems to be making a comeback, Services like Steam and the indy game section on Live Arcade now allows greater access for single person productions than ever before. But this happened people were still developing games on their own. The talented developer Nifflas is one of those people and arguably his most iconic game is Within a Deep Forest.

The plot revolves around an evil Doctor attempting to make a bomb that will freeze the whole world. His first attempt failed and created a sort of bouncy ball; his second attempt, however, was successful and now the clock is ticking down to doomsday. For some reason the bouncy ball takes it upon itself to save the day. Okay, the plot is thin, but it's only a means to an end.What we get is a very clever bouncing game (think Cauldron 2 and you are in the right sort of area). Starting off with one ball, you must make your way around the world solving problems and overcoming some difficult jumping sections.

There are a total of ten balls to collect, each of which has different powers such as being heavy or made out of glass - thus very fragile but able to reflect laser beams. They also all react differently to gravity. Each ball must be used to overcome different puzzles, and finding out where each one is most effective is all part of the fun.

Early levels are okay, but it's some of the later sections that are an absolute privilege to experience. Here there is some level design that truly does seem to come right from the golden age of gaming - fantastic stuff when you consider this is an indie developed game.

Another thing that really helps to make the game stand out is the stunning music. Here we have some of the most atmospheric and enchanting sounds ever. The acoustics really help lift the title to another level, and while the graphics are very clean and artistic, it is the music that simply steals the show.

Length-wise, the title can probably be completed in a few sittings and features a save feature as well as a timed run through mode. There are a fair few levels, but they are normally fairly short and rely more on a short skillful play to get through rather than endless trudging around in order to lengthen the experience. Rest assured, skill is what you will need to proceed here, as some sections of the game are very challenging and require a lot of thought to be negotiated. Frustration is kept to a minimum through the use of frequent checkpoints and the fact you can take any new ball form you find to a training area to try it out.

The title also contains a number of hidden levels to aid replay value, as once you have worked out which ball needs to be used where and managed to get through the game, there is little else to draw you back to it (except any need you may feel to try and finish it in as quick a time as possible).

It is clear a lot of care and attention has gone into the title, from the art style and wonderful music to the borderline genius level design on certain sections, not to mention and the thought and planning that has been used to work out how each of the balls reacts to the world around it. If this game was out on a commercial label, it is doubtful many people would begrudge parting with money for it. The fact that it is available for free means there is no reason at all to miss out, as here we have an absolutely brilliant game that shows that independent producers still have a very important role to play for gamers.

8/10

Within a Deep Forest can be downloaded from Here