About a year ago, my friend and I stumbled upon a game called Knytt. Knytt is a free downloadable 2D platformer for Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, created by Nicklas Nygren. But don't think it lame simply because it's 2D, because it's in fact very good. Since the release of the first version of the game, called "Knytt", it has been updated, expanded upon, and overall just more enjoyable that it already is. The game was created using Multimedia Fusion, an all-visual programming system that makes it simple to make games. In the original Knytt game, your character, Knytt gets abducted by an alien and flies through space. Soon the alien's spaceship flies into a meteor and eventually crash lands on a nearby planet. From here on out, your task is to explore the planet's landscape and collect parts to be able to build another spaceship and return home. Simple and fun.

I've just finished playing Knytt Stories, an expansion to his original Knytt game. In this episode the main goal is to find and shutdown a machine hidden in the depths of the planet which is sucking the life from the planet. The sequel is another dose of the same fun, solid, genuine platforming. New scenery awaits you as your collect power-ups such as high jump, double jump, wall climbing, and the ability to create a hologram of yourself. These abilities are linearly spread out around the vast 2D world. To get a certain power-up, you'll have to have a preceding power-up to help your Knytt reach the location it may be hidden at. The graphics of the Knytt games aren't spectacular, but they don't have to be. The maps are made out of tilesets, harking us back to the SNES era, however your character is free to move around landscapes without being confined to collision-bound squares. The art is rich and colorful and suits the game perfectly. You have the choice of what level of difficulty you want to play on, making it fitting for all ages.

Additionally, on their website you're able to download "Knytt Experiment". Knytt Experiment is not so much a game, but more of a "create your own" exploration adventure. There are no enemies, no goals, just you walking around the environment. You may think this sounds boring, but personally I found it fun and relaxing. The editor allows you to easily create your own landscapes. You can then share them with others by uploading your creations to their online databases. Obviously, you can also download and install levels that others have created, giving you an endless world to explore.

As a whole, Knytt and Knytt Stories have been a huge pleasure to play. They indulge you in what should be focused on in a game, the concept and functionality. The game runs well, with no bugs or glitches. The puzzles aren't difficult by any means, but that doesn't make them boring. It's good old fashion platforming at it's best. So don't be fooled by first looks. The Knytt games are worth the half an hour worth of play time. They put you in a surreal 2D world with ambient background music that matches the settings incredibly well, making it hard to press that quit button. The game isn't long, but with the ability to continually download new levels to explore, it's truly a masterpiece on the two dimensional level.