Playstation 3 and Vita owners may be happy to hear that Knytt Underground has been released for both platforms. In case for those of you who aren’t aware of the series, there are three titles to it. The original game involves a boy who has been abducted by an alien, while the sequel called Knytt Stories is composed of five original stories within this Kyntt universe. Finally, the third is set in the futurewhere hundreds of years after humans have disappeared. As a result, there are various lifeforms including fairies and sprites that populate the underground tunnels. Although Playstation owners don’t get the first two mentioned in the series, they can still know what’s going on with Kyntt Undergrounds without getting lost.
Controls in this game are perfectly designed and implemented here. They work quite smoothly overall with a high degree of responsiveness. The simple button layout pertaining to actions and jumping makes Kyntt Underground easy to navigate right away. That being said, your reaction and timing is key here since missing a certain action such as jumping could get you falling several floors down, thus punishing you for your negligence. Essentially though, the game is simple enough to pick up and play immediately.
Kyntt Underground is made up of three chapters in which case you’ll take control of two different characters. The story behind this game is not that deep, which could be a good thing for players who just want to jump right in. In the first chapter, you play as a sprite named Mi Sprocket who has been chosen to perform a ritual in hopes of saving the world. During this adventure, Mi will acquire special skills and abilities including changing her physical size and traveling long distances. For the second chapter, you control a rubber ball named Bob who is accompanies by a fairy companion named Rob. In the final chapter, the gameplay differs in that you toggle between both Bob and Mi.
From the start, the visuals in Kyntt Underground will take you away with its lush backgrounds and beautifully designed artwork. The animation is amazing and intricately detailed with the various flowers blossoming underground and the trees swaying back and forth on the surface. As you run through this environment, you’ll hear the sound effects of your character running through splashing water and tunnels. The music is also quite astounding and calming at the same time. However, these tunes start playing at certain intervals of the game.
Kyntt Underground is predominately based on platforming as you’ll navigate your character through various environments and obstacles. During your gameplay, you’ll be tasked with a few quests which differ in the types of goals you need to accomplish. But essentially, you’ll be attempting to find certain items as you search from one room to the next. Luckily, you are given a map which will provide you hints on where you should start to look. Considering how there are hundreds of rooms in this game, this is definitely a beneficial feature to have.
While you won’t be performing any attacks in Knytt Underground, there are some dangers you need to avoid. With laser beams, fireballs, and robots firing projectiles waiting to greet you, you’ll have to proceed with caution. On top of that, there are pools of water that can electrify you if you’re not careful. Thankfully, when you die, you’ll be brought back to the same room with unlimited continues. Hence, you do get a challenging gameplay but with a forgiving revival system.
Unfortunately, you don’t get to upgrade in terms of skill levels. Therefore, there isn’t a lot of depth or involvement when it comes to character development. Nonetheless, there is still some degree of satisfaction you get from this game with all the exploration to carry out and obstacles to avoid spanning across hundreds of rooms.
Overall, Knytt Underground has a superb presentation that works well with its platforming game design. And considering how a single purchase will get you both the Playstation 3 and Vita versions, you can’t go wrong with such a great deal offered in the Playstation Network. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the amazing artwork and challenging gameplay that await you in Knytt Underground.
