MVI Knytt

This entry is about the original version of Knytt. Info about Knytt Stories should be placed in its own page. Pretty sure Knytt Mod: Brutally Unfair Knytt should be in its own page as well, assuming anyone feels like making it.

User 1's Notes
Add anything you feel like adding here.

Dejiko's Notes
I really enjoyed the hell out of Knytt. To me, it was how to do simplicity right. It didn't quite feel like a "faux-retro" game like you see so many "indie" devs pulling. It felt "independent" and yet concrete enough. The graphics were simple, sure, but there were also times where there was action, movement, and occasionally "life" in them. It felt kind of spread about though. Understandably, but also somewhat believably. Naturally, you wouldn't expect to see lots of people where there were monsters or dangerous environments. It pulled this off rather nicely. At the same time, you could see things happening even in an area devoid of people, like the beautiful castle with flowing water about. Speaking of which, the world was intricately designed as well. The nature-filled areas were untamed and almost chaotic in pathways, since there was no direction they had to take, and the constructed areas, such as the machinery and buildings, were all made like they were to be entered and used or at least at once in one time or another by someone or something. I was both intrigued and bothered (in a good way) by that factor about Knytt. The world was yours to explore, but you couldn't really "interact" with any of it, save for the ship parts. As such people lived their lives, the machines did whatever they were meant to do, and you never learned who lived in that castle or what it was made for. The sense of mystery and simultaneously isolation created a curious combo that I hadn't really experienced since. The player might want to know about these instances and objects, but they aren't allowed to. You are solely meant to track down the items and return to the ship with them. Nothing else matters. I remember someone once asked me if games needed to be have lots of violence. I think Knytt is a pretty good answer to that. The "enemies" are mostly just natural creatures who see you as a threat. The "stage hazards" are mostly natural occurrences or, at least, seemingly not made with the intent to kill someone. In addition, players have no means of fighting or protecting themselves. All you can do is simply avoid, dodge, or find a way around anything dangerous. Your only "abilities" are everything you have to begin with. Climbing, running, jumping, and searching for parts. You never get nor need any upgrades. The game is even built around that fact. A distant jump is either a tough jump, or something you can't reach (if only not from the direction you're jumping from). That leads into yet another reason why I like Knytt. It's a non-linear action-adventure platformer without any need for upgrades. Those aren't exactly common. Just the fact that you can go anywhere and get the parts in pretty much any order is just great. The game didn't last that long, and I did have some trouble with a few enemies and jumps, but I found it built very well. Save points were placed just enough distance between each other as well, which was nice. I really enjoyed the music and for the most part, felt it was very ambient, mood-filled, and fitting, and this was without solely relying on cliche stock stuff either. This is the sort of game that can potentially let you just step back for a second and reevaluate just how a game could and SHOULD be designed, without being an artsy mess with some ham-fisted message. No, I don't mean that all games have to be non-violent or follow the same formula as Knytt either, but they should be able to really make the player feel like everything in the game just works. You should be able to feel like an aspect is made to be utilized for the genre of game your playing and never think something like "man this sort of thing just doesn't work for this kind of game", since even I've played a number of games where the latter case happens more than I would like (a prime example: stealth sections in games not made for them).

Knytt is one of those games I think everyone should give it a chance, even if they don't end up liking it.