[dessgeega]

towards the end of the previous incarnation of the forums there was some talk of "icebergvania", a game with so much hidden content that most players would never get to see all of it. knytt is icebergvania.

knytt is the latest release from the freeware author nifflas, whom some of you may remember as the author of within a deep forest. that game is all about messing with tricky ball physics to explore a network of gorgeous, incredibly difficult videogame places, trying to accquire abilities that will let you explore more gorgeous, incredibly difficult videogame places.

knytt, on the other hand, isn't difficult. there are no tricky physics to mess with and no abilities to gain (maybe). there's scarcely any challenge at all, in fact. your little pixel creature shimmies over and around any obstacle you come across, and the few "enemies" you encounter rarely seem to even react to your presence. there are a bunch of items you're asked to hunt down, but they're really just an excuse. the real goal of this game—which names ico, shadow of the colossus, cave story and seiklus as inspirations—is to explore.

the world of knytt is lovely (lonely?) and huge. it spans over 170 screens of beautiful 16-bit landscapes with trees that rustle in the wind and fireflies that glimmer in lightless underground caverns. some of these scenes are easy to find, others are carefully hidden. there are places in this game which exist for no purpose other than to reward the player who is clever enough to find them. there are vast swaths of this game that most players will probably never see. and that makes discovery an exhilerating experience.

there was mention, during the initial icebergvania discussion, of the unlikelihood of commercial developers spending resources on content that most players won't see. well, freeware developers are at liberty to do just that. and we here at selectbutton.net approve of that sort of thing. visit here to download knytt.

(thanks to lovable curmudgeon internisius and lovable general jeff garneau for alerting and re-alerting me to this game's release.)
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[internisus]

Glad to be of service, miss -- and a very nice little write-up that's come of it!

Now that the general consensus seems to be that the game's meat has nothing whatsoever to do with collecting those red herrings, I rather wish a different version was available that cut out those items, the item tracker, and the thin but cute plot frame.

Essentially, I think it should have been released as Seiklus with nothing to collect. It would have been much more pure, and, as a result, my feelings wouldn't be as mixed.

[Mr. Toups]

I still haven't had a chance to play this. It sounds like just what the doctor ordered.
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[ajutla]

This game has some really neat environments. Not just because they're pretty, even though they are, kind of ridiculously so, it's just that they're just so expansive and vertical and they have this pastelized childhood dreamscape kind of feel which is hard to put into words without sounding like some kind of pretentious fuck. It's kind of like Yoshi's Island crossed with and tempered by Another World's feel - it doesn't come across as cutesy to me, just otherworldy and compelling. It reminds me of Myst, too, but Myst was never this fucking vertical. This is awesome.

[Mr. Mechanical]

This is a great little experience. I've found a few of the items I'm supposed to be looking for but I've pretty much given up actively searching for them because I have too much fun just seeing where all the paths lead to and trying to grasp just how big the world of the game is.

I love how it's replete with all these little secret passages too, some of which actually lead to places and others that just loop back to areas you've been before. It's quite relaxing to just explore the world for the sake of it.
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[Zebadayus]

I got all the items, and on my way back to the crash site, I stumbled upon one of these secret passages. Then I went back into my mind and recalled all sorts of other nondescript spots like that one which quite possibly were secret passages as well. At least now I have reason to play through it again!

Also, it's very relaxing. Sort of like a Mario game, it's fun just to control the little guy.

There should be a game with similar controls that stars a ninja. It would need combat, though.


Also, I just noticed that Knytt and his little village are in the beginning of Within a Deep Forest (the tutorial mountains).

[Shapermc]

Quick question here: looking at the comparison shots to the inspiration can I assume this game is a widescreen game? I am really looking forward to it if it is, I'll play it on my TV with a Saturn pad. It will be exciting (with atmosphere).
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The bad sleep well at the Gamer's Quarter

[Elder Toups]

I can confirm that this runs in Linux under Wine (ok, actually I am using Crossover Office, but it should be runnable under Wine also.)
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Who dares limit our lifestyle?

[Intentionally Wrong]

The hang glider's pretty cool.
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Obsequious pigs are not welcome in Mulravia.

[negativedge]

Yeah, this game pretty much seems to be made for me. I will check it out with great vigor!

[dmauro]

I thought I would miss the challenge of Within a Deep Forest, but I'm having a blast just running around. It's nice that you glow red when there are enemies nearby because sometimes it's hard to tell between enemies and non-enemies. And when climbing walls, it's much more fun (and fast) to repeatedly hit the jump button, rather than pressing up. Very cool. I just played for about a half hour and picked up three items. I didn't use the item locator much, but it seems to be more fun not to. The super widescreen format of the game is really nice. You'd think it would be a problem for such a vertical game, but it isn't and instead it enchances the feeling that you're really just there to check out the world.
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[Zebadayus]

[Lick Meth]

It feels kind of odd to play. Also, it leaves pining even harder for another (Wonderboy in) Monster World game. Maybe...
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[GrimmSweeper]

The hang glider and balloon are not found in the game. You have to add a command in the .ini file (something like extra=balloon; somebody that lurks the developer's forums please confirm!) in order for them to appear.

After finding everything, I just don't feel like going back to it. Even if I'm missing out on the secrets, the length of time it takes to get from place to place is draining.

[Mr. Toups]

So hey, this game's pretty neat.

I kind of wish there was more... content. Not sure what I mean by that though.
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[internisus]

[Swimmy]

[Intentionally Wrong]

[unhappy days]

i really like this game. it's probably one of my favourite freeware games YES EVEN BETTER THAN CAVE STORY

!

hey guys does anyone know if i could play knytt on a gp2x?

[Texican Rude]

I actually enjoyed this one. I went straight for the goal for the most part, and digged around when I did.

It's the first one of these games that I liked! I'm kind of surprised. I thought about raising the question of presenting previous 2d environments in 3d, but I have decided against it. It's a quaint, short (but expansive) game.
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[Zebadayus]

Yeah, I actually had a lot of fun searching for the items.

Also, I found a map of the game, and it looks really amazing zoomed out.

I also found the ball from Within a Deep Forest.

[internisus]

[unhappy days]

[Levi]

I am stoked about this.

I'm hoping I can get the same 4:00 am soul shattering despair that Cave Story and Seiklus game me from this.

[Laurel Soup]

I'm not feeling that giant spider. Those rare moments of tension really stand out.

And it seems to run flawlessly in wine.

[L]

I found a powerup.

It feels amazing because up to now most of my discoveries were just shortcuts.

[unhappy days]

you found a powerup what the hell

explain yourself !

[L]

I also found a Donkey Kong Country 2 reference!

[L]

There's an area featuring huge, thorny plant stems with wooden planks nailed to them but you need the aforementioned powerup(s) to access it.

[dessgeega]

[Dracko]

It's the kind of game you can pick up and play around with for a few resting minutes. I love it to bits so far, and the main character is adorable. It helps that the controls are so fluid and progrssive.

[Levi]

I'm in love with this girl dangling her legs out over the cold sea in a bleak part of the world. We didn't say anything to each other - I just stood there - but nevertheless I know we will meet again, and words will not be necessary.

[Zebadayus]

[Laurel Soup]

I swore I spotted a nod to Simon's Quest.
Maybe I need a crystal...
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Reporting from Hell

[unhappy days]

has everyone found the powerups yet ?

cause i sure as hell can't

[Zebadayus]

I have.

[unhappy days]

zeb give me a clue

[Zebadayus]

Okay, you know that tall place where you have to go all the way to the right and drop down onto one of the last parts?

Instead of going to the right, go far to the east part of that tall place, and look for a hidden passage. (note: there are two hidden passages. The first you would stumble upon leads to nothing except a long fall)

You must find the rest of your way from there.

[unhappy days]

zeb that sounds like good advice but i don't exactly know which zone you're taling about ?

is it the cactus zone ?

[dmauro]

I collected everything last night. I took a little while. I didn't really find any secrets at all, but it was still a lot of fun. This is what I was hoping Seiklus would be but wasn't for me.
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[dessgeega]