One of the new games that launched this week is actually quite an old game: Knytt Classic, a remake of the 2006 cult classic (no pun intended) Knytt which is currently available for free on PC via Steam and GOG. The remake surprise-launched from Bit Kid, the studio behind Chasm and Wolfhound, and was a passion project on behalf of its CEO James Petruzzi.
The original Knytt was the work of a single developer, Nifflas. He has since made social posts in support of the remake, on which he served as a consultant. Nifflas followed up with sequels, Knytt Stories and Knytt Underground, the latter of which received several fan-made levels. One of them, Brutally Unfair Knytt, is included as a mode in the Classic release.
In that same spirit, Knytt Classic features several additional modes and bonuses. In addition to being playable on Mac, Linux and Steam Deck, it has a new Knytt XH (Extra Hard) mode created by Baba Is You developer Hempuli, as well as the Bit Kid-developed UltraTough mode. It also has multiple aspect ratios and filters inspired by CRT monitors and LCD handhelds.
Speaking with GamesBeat, Petruzzi described the process by which this remake came about, and why he wanted to make it. “The original Knytt was a very influential game for me. Long story short, I had just started in game development, trying to figure out how to make games, what I could make; when Knytt came out. It was one of those things that connected with me right away. It felt more like the NES/SNES games I grew up with.”
Remaking a classic for modern audiences (and machines)
According to Petruzzi, Knytt — a game with a very singular platforming mechanic and little else — was the game that set him on a path towards game design minimalism. “When you first start out, you’re all about making your dream game. “What’s everything I could pack into this game to make it the most ultimate game ever?” I would have these crazy design documents that could never be made… I had to set my sights down and try to figure out what made that game work.”
Petruzzi added that he was inspired to remake Knytt while speaking to a game designer who didn’t know what it was. He redownloaded the game and realized how poorly its software had aged in 20 years since it originally launched. “If you got to play the original game now, you would have no idea what it was originally meant to play like. So I thought, ‘Hey, I have a game engine that runs cross-platform. It supports 2D worlds. How much work could it possibly be to get this game into it?’ Well, it turned out to be a lot of work.”
When I spoke with Petruzzi, one topic that kept coming up was how scrappy the game development scene was at the time. Nifflas made the game with help from people on forums whom no one was able to contact, using resources that are no longer available. This punk-rock-style underground gaming scene doesn’t exactly exist in the modern day, and Knytt Classic almost feels like an attempt to bring that forward to the new generation.
Petruzzi said, “It’s very nostalgic for me to remember how things were back then, and my original inspirations and motivations. After the decades, you get so focused on stuff you forget where you started. I felt a full-circle moment, being able to complete this. There was this counterculture vibe to all this because, back then, nobody was expecting to make money off of any of this. Back then, it was all just done for the passion.”