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Remember the first time you played Metroid? You were dropped inside this massive planet
with no direction, no information, no idea what to do. You had no choice but to explore...the
tunnels, the caverns, the twisted maze of stone and soil. And the whole thing had this
genuine sense of adventure.
Well, this is like 1986 all over again. Get out the grid paper.
Now, I’m not sure exactly sure how it’s pronounced, but we’re going to go with Knytt
Underground. Anyway, the pronunciation’s not important. What’s a lot more relevant
is how awesome it is. Just released to the PlayStation Network, Knytt Underground is
a flashback to the times when playing games was about more than headshots.
It was about a very real sense of discovery.
You can go 15, 20, even 30 minutes between seeing what you might call “enemies,”
and it’s precisely that time in the interim that makes Knytt Underground such an absolute
joy.
You play as a girl named Mi Sprocket. Actually, she’s a kind of sprite, and she spends most
of her time exploring the dark and perilous depths that surround her...much to her mother’s
dismay. But her adventurous spirit is driven by much more than just a love for spelunking.
See, the sprites live deep inside a post-human Earth, and to learn more about their own origin...learning
more about those extinct humans is a key.
Maybe it’s just my perspective as a human, but...Knytt Underground has this dark atmosphere
that pervades the experience. It’s the story, of course, but it’s also the setting. The
underworld is beautiful, even serene at times, but just a few caverns over...things can seem
a lot darker. There’s almost a sense of foreboding.
And that’s what makes the exploration so enjoyable.
Of course, the gameplay also has something to do with that. And controlling her is a
delightful experience. The core platforming mechanics are rock solid, and her weight and
physics are just right...in fact, they’re not that dissimilar from the original Super
Mario Bros. for the NES, which is obviously a very good thing. In all you do, from platforming
to climbing walls, she always controls well.
Which is very important for a game like this.
And so is size, for that matter. And that’s another area in which Knytt Underground delivers.
There are 1,800 individual screens to explore. That’s insane. And thankfully, you don’t
actually need grid paper. You can bring up a map any time that only displays what you’ve
discovered...so there’s no spoilers or getting lost, and that’s awesome.
There’s so much more you could praise in this game. Its art, which is fantastic. Its
gameplay, which eventually throws in fairies with transformative powers. That’s the thing,
in fact...there’s so much here. And if you grew up adoring that Metroidvania experience,
you’re going to love every square inch of it in Knytt Underground.
A game with no shortage of square inches.