Knytt Classic brings Nifflas' 2006 freeware metroidvania to modern hardware for its 20th anniversary

Nicklas "Nifflas" Nygren has re-released Knytt, his beloved 2006 freeware metroidvania, as Knytt Classic on Steam — a free pixel-perfect port timed to the game's 20th anniversary. Bit Kid, the studio behind Chasm, handled the port.

Knytt Classic isn't just a straight re-release. It adds a new UltraTough difficulty mode and an original mod created by Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari, the developer behind Baba Is You. The core game remains the same ambient, low-combat platformer it always was — you guide the tiny titular creature across strange peaks and mysterious caverns, relying on reflexes rather than any combat ability to survive insects, space lasers, and whatever else the world throws at you.

Knytt was a product of early 2000s forum culture, spreading across the web alongside other freeware classics like Cave Story. It was notable enough to earn coverage in print gaming magazines — a rare feat for a free game at the time. The game's success led to two follow-ups: Knytt Stories and Knytt Underground, the latter of which landed on PlayStation 3 and carries an M rating from the ESRB, which remains a curious footnote in the series' history. Nifflas was one of the defining voices of that early indie scene, alongside the ambient platformer Within a Deep Forest, where players control a magical orb rather than a character.

Nifflas' most recent release was Ynglet, a critically praised abstract indie game. He's currently working on Rhythm Doggo, a technicolor, music-driven project he's described as a space where dogs can hang out with each other. Knytt Classic is free on Steam right now, so there's no barrier to checking out where a chunk of indie game history started.