Knytt Underground: the third in Nifflas' extraordinary platform series is released on PC

Lots of things happened over Christmas. Via the wonders of 3D, the Queen leapt out of the UK's TVs like a particularly horrifying Ring ghost; I ate all the chocolate, ALL OF THE CHOCOLATE; and Nifflas released the third in his truly wonderful Knytt series. Knytt Underground continues the atmospheric, oft-tricky, exploratory platforming his games are known for, this time with new abilities, a whopping 1,800 rooms, and Dark Souls-style apocalyptic bell-ringing. You'll need $14.99, plus a PC or Mac (the console version's already out, while the Linux one's in beta), and here's that demo you were just about to ask for.

If you're wondering what your character's motivation is for jumping to higher platforms, here's the skinny from the website: "Mi Sprocket is a sprite who develops special powers as she embarks upon a quest to ring the six bells of fate; which if not rung every six hundred years will begin a chain reaction that will obliterate the world!" There seems to be more dialogue here than in the previous Knytts, but just as much atmosphere, this time (mostly) in a series of spooky and beautiful caves. Hark at these yourself in the following video:

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.