Knytt Underground

Knytt Underground
Nicklas "Nifflas" Nygren
Publisher(s)	Flyhigh Works, Gamer's Gate, Ripstone, Steam
Released	December 2012
Genre	Adventure, Platformer
Platform(s)	Linux, macOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, SteamOS, Wii U, Windows
Input	Gamepad, Keyboard

Knytt Underground is a 2D adventure/exploration game by Nicklas Nygren, combining the features of Knytt and Within a Deep Forest with some RPG and rapid-reflex arcade elements. It was released in late 2012, with the PlayStation platforms seeing the first launch.

Underground offers two playable characters (with others being available in side-stories separate from the main game), non-linear gameplay, multiple endings and a large number of side-quests and secrets.

Gameplay

The main menu presented as a playable section of the game, with secrets of its own.

Knytt Underground's gameplay fuses the mechanics of Nifflas' earlier games:

From Knytt it borrows the freedom to climb vertical walls as well as being able to safely fall from any height (barring hazards like lava and acid, but unlike Knytt water is not hazardous.)

From Deep Forest it incorporates the ability to transform into a bouncing ball. However, there is only one ball "material" and different abilities must be gained from flowers that bestow temporary power-ups which are only usable in Sprite form, a new future introduced in Underground.

There are no hostile characters or antagonists in the story except for robots that either follow a preset path or react to the player's movements, and are confined to the rooms they spawn in.

The player can interact with various characters (NPCs) and undertake quests bestowed by them, most of which are optional to completing the game but may affect the ending. There is also an inventory for storing items found throughout the world, used for trading with the NPCs or required for completing quests and gaining access to certain areas.

Traveling companions join the player at the end of Chapter 1. When initiating conversations with other characters the player can choose which companion to send. They may influence some quests and entry into some areas may depend on which companion is with the player at the moment.

World

The beginning of Juni's Story, one of the secret chapters.

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic subterranean world, taking place in the future of Deep Forest, where the surface has been rendered uninhabitable and the surviving creatures all live underground. Humans are assumed to have gone extinct or have abandon the planet, leaving behind some of their technology.

There are different factions such as the mystical Myriadists and a group called the Internet dedicated to salvaging human artifacts.

At first glance, the mini-map of the game world appears divided into 49 rooms across by 29 rooms down, for an apparent total of at least 1,421 rooms. However, the two rightmost columns are unused, and there are many secret areas that exist outside of that matrix, off the map, leading to over 1,800 rooms in all.

The world is divided into various regions with different visual and ambient themes, some of which are analogous to Deep Forest levels, such as The Crystal Path and Utopioca, and shortcuts between them can be found via the alternative dimension of the Disorder.

Plot

A Sprite named Mi Sprocket sets out to make a wish at the Fairy Springs, but due to her inability to speak, she is misunderstood and eventually recruited into a quest to save the world.

Two of the fairies, dora and Cilia, decide to accompany Mi and provide the majority of the dialogue throughout the game, speaking on Mi's behalf. Each fairy has her unique attitude and can influence which quests the player may take, and they may even affect the outcome of those quests depending on which fairy Mi currently has chosen.

Mi's main quest, necessary for completing the game, involves ringing the Six Bells of Fate, a task which falls upon a member of the Sprocket family every six hundred years and is required by prophecy to prevent the destruction of the world. There are also numerous optional side-quests and most may of them can be completed in multiple ways, awarding the player with different achievements and endings.

Underground often breaks the fourth wall, with Nifflas himself making appearances as an NPC and various characters that make remarks on common video-game clichés, including the apparent pointlessness of the main quest.

Themes

The story of Knytt Underground touches on several religious and social themes such as religion vs. atheism, magic and superstition vs. science and facts. This themes are potray in the the rivality of the two social groups and some of the characters.

This themes are touched feuther with the players participation choosing the two fairies that go along with you and your adventure.

Characters

Main article: List of Knytt Underground characters

• Mi Sprocket - The player's character, a mute "Sprite." She and her siblings are named after the musical syllables (solfège) do, re, mi, fa, so, la...
• Cilia - A Moon Fairy. Cynical and untrusting.
• Dora - A Sun Fairy. Kind and empatethic.

Development

In July 2012, Nifflas announced that he was working on Knytt Underground, and that it is his biggest game yet. It was released on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in late December 2012, and the console versions include extra content. The game was released on Steam on October 25, 2013. A Wii U version of the game was confirmed in August 2013, and was being ported by Nygren's colleague Mathias Kærlev. The game was released on December 19, 2013 in both North America and Europe.

Underground was Nifflas' biggest project at the time of its release, encompassing the biggest world and the most characters, sub-quests and secrets of any of his games thus far.

Soundtrack

Besides Nifflas' own songs, Knytt Underground includes music by D Fast, David Kanaga, Fredrik Häthén, LPChip, Jonas Mattebo, Stephen Ascher, Void Pointer, and Yann Van Der Cruyssen.

The soundtrack is available as a free download.

External Links

• Official page and demo downloads (Windows, Mac, Linux)
• Official forum
• Official website for the PS3 and PS Vita versions
• Steam store page
• Soundtrack download (free)
• Ask Us Anything (AMA) thread on Reddit 2013
• An early preview of the game as "KnyttWaDF" on the Nifflas' Support Forum, 2010