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Review: Knytt Stories
Author: AndyUK
Added: 08/05/2008
Overall:
Average:8.6/10

The game opens in a small wide window with a few buttons at the bottom.
Besides the buttons and some rotating dots there is very little going on in the window.

Some gentle music plays in the background

Clicking on the buttons takes you instantly to whatever you want which is nice and there is no waiting through any logos which i feel is always a good idea for the impatient gamer of today.

The levels themselves are categorized although there is only one level to start off with and a tutorial level.

Getting into the game itself, controlling a Knytt you have to run about the non scrolling screens collecting small basic powerups that allow you to get to new places in the map. Ultimately saving the world or whatever the designer decides to make happen. The controls are simple and easy to control. Since Knytt gradually gains new powers you aren't given too much to learn at once and as such you can dive straight in. Most of the baddies are relatively simple to avoid meaning you're rarely at risk of getting a game over. Although you actually just restart at the last save point when you die anyway.

The graphics too are simple. With basic square floor tiles and similar backgrounds usually with a gradient. Knytt and all the enemies are small too to the point where you don't even look at them when rushing past, if it moves avoid it! um there isn't a lot i can say, there is a large variety of tiles but they're all very basic so you don't really feel like you're seeing anything new. Although it is nice to progress to a new area, it wont be to see the new graphics...

Music? well there are more sound effects. You'll mostly hear nothing but footsteps, although some screens will have sounds depending on what the level maker has included. Water, Wind etc. Well ok there is music on the occasion. It depends on the screen and wont last long unless you stay on the same screen for more than 5 second, Which you probably wont.

Potentially the game can last forever given that there is a well made level editor and a sizable fan community. But as with most games if you like the game it will last longer than if you don't like the game. I can't say if you'll play it for long but i got fed up before i had finished the level that comes with the download.

Knytt stories is one of the most well known and popular games ever made in the Click community. Perhaps even the indie games community too. I hadn't played it until a few weeks ago and to be honest i feared it had been a little over hyped by it's fans. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately after playing it i still can't see what all the fuss is about. It's a well made, but basic platform/puzzler.

Presentation:
Gameplay:
Graphics:
Sound and Music:
Lastability:
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Download This Game

Posted by Zoglu 8th May, 2008

Did you never pay attention to the atmosphere? Knytt Stories is one of these rare games in which the gameplay is not so important. The "fun" comes mostly from exploring the levels, so maybe you don't like this sort of game... Also, you gave only 6 to the music and sounds? That's low...
Perhaps you're used to play "classic" platformers.
 
Posted by Knudde (Shab) 8th May, 2008

"games in which the gameplay is not so important."

You need to work for a game publisher, like now. They'd love you.
 
Posted by Zoglu 9th May, 2008

I mean, the atmosphere is more important than the gameplay.
 
Posted by Odeon Marik 10th May, 2008

i think the game has a great atmosphere. the music matches perfectly. The sounds are very few, but are set very well, so the atmosphere is not destroyed by useless sounds.
Personally i dont really like platformers, but i found this one quite special.
Something to fight would be nice.....
 
Posted by Zoglu 10th May, 2008

This game is special, partly because there's nothing to fight.
 
Posted by alastair john jack 11th May, 2008

If you want to fight something play nearly any other game.
 
Posted by Dr. James MD 13th May, 2008

I like the exploration but that alone doesn't hold my attention. It's just no fun past the first few hours play. I've still got it on my computer, I'd love to play some new mods but Nifflas made finding a good level so impossible. Last time I checked there was no rating system, no database. Just random forum threads with dead links to them crappy storage sites.

To beat my dead horse I requested some kind of built in download system that would list the most popular levels and his army of fans went mental at me!
 
Posted by AndyUK 13th May, 2008

So the game has nothing to fight, nice atmosphere (which is an overrated feature Imo) and very little interaction.

I don't see that as special Zoglu.
 
Posted by grickmin 22nd May, 2008

This game is one of the best indie games of all times.
It seems like the reviewer didnīt find the point with this game - it isnīt a new Super Mario Bros or any of the other "normal" platformers.

I totally agree with Zoglu; this game is special in a lot of ways. The way the sounds and the gentle music fits together with the graphics makes the gameīs atmosphere amazing.

Knytt Stories is not about fighting goombas. Itīs about to relax and feel the atmosphere.

Itīs not a surprise that Knytt Stories became
Gamasutra's Top freeware game of 2007
 
Posted by AndyUK 22nd May, 2008

I think generally a game needs more than good atmosphere to become a great game. But since i wasn't overawed by it and looked at everything the game had to offer. I judged the game fairly rather than giving it 10/10 for one thing...

I didn't say it was a bad game anyway, 7/10 is pretty good by anyone's standards. Just because i don't agree with the majority of people, some people feel the need to jump in and defend it lolz.

of course you're all welcome to do so. Just don't expect me to change my mind, unless someone can come up with a better reason than 'you didn't get the point'

also why mention Super Mario bros? you start talking like you see right through my reasoning but you're really just making stuff up. I made no mention of liking 'fighting goombas'
 
Posted by Steve Hallam 31st May, 2008

Dis game is shit.
 
Posted by ~Zigzag~ 1st June, 2008

Dis game be awesome. Graphics, music and sound all contribute to an awesome atmosphere. Gameplay is an area which may need work if Nifflas intends to keep an avid audience, because atmosphere is not enough for a game to be fun. Unfortunately its lastability is next to none.
 
Posted by AndyUK 2nd June, 2008

I agree with you for the most part Zigzag, but lastability is probably quite high if you enjoy wandering around empty maps looking for powerups. Given there is an actual fanbase making mods i guess some people do enjoy it!
Not for me though.
 
Posted by grickmin 5th June, 2008

It wasnīt meant to be personal, Captain A.
 
Posted by t0nad0 7th June, 2008

To me, Knytt Stories's brilliance comes from the fact that it isn't any other game. If you were to tell me "hey, the goal is pretty much to explore. There's nothing you can kill because you have no attacks, but its a big game so it'll last awhile" I would of thought they're nuts. Play it though and you'll find it's complete true. It takes a great deal of work to make a simplistic game such as this so magnificent, and I can see how people disagree. Games like this almost deserve their own genre to separate themselves, just like an FPS fan isn't likely to enjoy puzzles as much.
 
Posted by Lachie Dazdarian 9th June, 2008

I do find your graphics and music rating Captain Andyman laughable. But good luck with that.

Anyway, I really don't understand why so many people consider this game's weak aspect to be the gameplay. Like t0nad0 pointed it out so well, it's just the different flavor of gameplay. I love so much running Knytt stories every now and then just to feel that wonderful atmosphere and run around beautifully drawn and designed worlds. And playing any world designed by Nifflas for the first time is such a pleasent and enjoyable experience.

On the end, isn't that good gameplay? To play something pleasent and enjoyable?
 
Posted by AndyUK 24th June, 2008

Yeah if you enjoy running about samey screens collecting small objects in order to reach new samey screens.

Games like this exist elsewhere. I own some on some of my older computers and i found them to be a bore too.

The thing I don't get is that face you all need to defend this game. The huge fan base only makes the game more overrated.
 
Posted by MBK 7th July, 2008

A good game, but definitely Overrated.

Nice Atmosphere, but atmosphere isn't everything.

I'd love it if Nifflas taught me how to create some atmosphere like this in my games though. I tend to skip most of that besides picking a public domain song that fits well with whatever my theme happens to be.

 
Posted by Dr. James MD 8th July, 2008

There are loads of ways of making ambience.

Gradients and no enemies are one way. This way.
 
Posted by Codemonkey 20th July, 2008

The simple graphics? How were they simple?
 
Posted by AndyUK 23rd July, 2008

I did explain in the review.

But take a look at them, they ARE simple. They still look quite good though.
The sprites have to be simple since they're so small. So this is not so much a criticism as an observation.
 
Posted by Farmer 16th August, 2008

I'm not sure.. you make some good points, but Knytt Stories has something about it that makes it.. I'm not sure how to describe it. It is the only Click game, if not the only game I've seen that has such an incredible atmosphere. It really feels like you could 'go into it'..

As for longevity, the game has a lot of that, mainly because the first-party worlds for it are enormous. I could play the game simply exploring the furthest reaches of these worlds. I personally have played 'The Machine' several times and am still not bored of it. Knytt Stories definately deserves it's award. This game is one of only two Click games that I've actually hurried to get home from somewhere to play (The other, incidentally was AGwaK2: DA) and I like it to the extent where one such doodle in my school planner, if I remember correctly, has a little picture of Juni with the words 'Knytt Stories Rocks' next to it.

I personally give it a 10, or at absolute least a 9. And that's not just noobish 'OMFG IT IS DA BOMMB 10Z IT', but it is simply groundbreaking in it's field. I can't think of anything like it.

PS. It feels MUCH better with a hand controller than the keyboard. Try it and see if it makes a difference to you.

PPS. I think Nifflas should make a Knytt 3. Go on. You know you want to..
Comment edited by Pixelgeezer (Ghost Toast Games) on 8/16/2008
 
Posted by AndyUK 17th August, 2008

The atmosphere the music created was nice I must say. I still can't see why that atmosphere (that everyone keeps telling me is the best thing ever) alone raises an otherwise simple game with downloadable content to the best game they've ever experienced.
It's just not THAT good.
 
Posted by Farmer 18th August, 2008

It does seem like a simple platformer, and it is. But theres something about it.. It's incredibly polished, I can't think of any glitches I encountered. The graphics are both simple and realistic at the same time, kind of like a painting. Nifflas could sell a game like this. I'd buy it for sure. I guess you have to be a certain type of person to get the most out of it.

Did I mention the sound? That's massively impressive too. It just all works so well.

The game itself is comparable to some of the more abstract dreams I've had. Without sounding wierd, I like dreams, which is probably why I love this game so much.

-James
 
Posted by Dr. James MD 22nd August, 2008

The more simple a game is = the less glitches you'll find.
I didn't find the graphics realistic at all. At most they're an abstract rendition of our world, tailored to suit a game. But that's just it. There's so little to do. Exploration is fun when bundled with a big proper game (like Metroid). When exploration is the core of the game and combat, interactivity are put aside then you've got something that (I find) gets too dull quickly.

I liked the game at first but with the lack of variety I soon gave up.

If someone took this engine and added enemies with AI, weapons alongside the exploration then I'd probably like it more. Just needs something to engage the player. And no I don't like pure all-out combat games like Gears of War and them games.
 
Posted by AndyUK 22nd August, 2008

Thank goodness someone sees it the way I do.

Although it's perfectly playable and has nothing I can really find fault with technically. It just lacks enough to get it from Good to Great.
 
Posted by DaVince 29th January, 2009

There's too much text here. Don't forget, people, that in the end, opinions differ.
 

 



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