I’ve been a fan of Nifflas’ work since someone linked me to Knytt Stories, saying “it’s like Metroid or Castlevania: SOTN without all the killing.” I never minded the killing in those games, but the exploration aspect of those games are what make them unique enough to deserve their own genre, Metroidvania.

Saira is Nifflas’ first commercial release, and it combines the exploratory platforming of the Knytt series with puzzles and space exploration. It’s the story of a girl separated from humanity, searching for the last few parts of a transporter she hopes will beam her to a place where people exist.

Gameplay

Saira is pretty evenly split between a platformer and a puzzler. She moves from planet to planet on her ship, which needs to be charged by battery stations located in most solar systems. So there are three things to find on any planet: A transporter piece, a charger or a clue. When you find a clue, which usually come in the form of a word or series of numbers or symbols, Saira can take a picture of it with her camera. This is a great idea in theory, but it’s usually just as easy to write down the clues on a piece of paper, which is what I ended up doing after the first few puzzles.

I never got completely used to controlling Saira. She handles like a real person, so it makes sense that she can’t stop on a dime. I loved running and jumping across platforms, but I ran her into lasers up till the end because I never got a hang on stopping. But the controls are mostly competent, and though the end gets cruelly difficult — the last piece of the teleporter is a pain to get — that’s the way it should be.

Puzzles are usually what stand between Saira and the charger or the teleporter pieces. Some are self contained, but many require information that’s on a different screen or a different planet. There’s a slight cognitive dissonance that arises from finding a puzzle on one planet and the solution on another, but all the parts are contained in the same solar system, so getting stuck on one planet doesn’t stop you from visiting another.

Most of the puzzles are given with few hints, and it’s up to you to figure out what’s being asked. But there are a few places where you have to solve the same kind of puzzle a few times to advance, which really slowed me down without giving me the sense of accomplishment that comes from overcoming that stumped feeling that puzzles give me.

I do like that the vast majority of the creatures in Saira are not a threat. While this is common to most of Nifflas’s games, it’s still refreshing to play in worlds where everything isn’t out to get you. I died a lot in Saira, but it was usually to a bottomless pit or lava, not aliens.

Style

The art is gorgeous. Background images are based on real-life photos, and whatever effect Nifflas used to turn them into otherworldly environments is fantastic. Saira is smoothly animated and most of the animals you find on the worlds, familiar to anyone who’s played Nifflas’ Knytt or Knytt Stories, look and move beautifully. But the two art styles don’t really mesh while playing the game. On one hand, that makes it feel like Saira is lost in alien worlds, but on the other, there are clearly two styles at odds in Saira.

The styles work much better during the cutscreens. The views of Saira taking pictures of life in the galaxy are breathtaking, and I love Nifflas’ animal design. It reminds me of the Muppets.

Story

The story is simple. Saira first lost everyone, then lost a friend, and now she’s searching for a way back. It’s told through scenes that appear when you leave a planet after finding a part you need. Some have dialogue and some don’t, but they’re pretty powerful.

There are six endings to find. Once you find a targeting system, a power source and a fuse you can try to use the teleporter; the better parts you have, the better ending you’ll get. But it’s easy to see which planets still have items you need, so I didn’t to go back to the starting planet to test my parts until I had gotten them all. But if you’ve gotten all the parts, you can try the different combinations to see the endings all at once. One of the endings has a bit of crossover from another Nifflas game, and the best ending leaves room for another episode.

Everything Else

While you’re traveling between star systems, you can listen to a few radio stations on your ship or play a pinball game. There’s no reason to do either, but they’re there for the easily distracted.

Is Saira worth the asking price of about $18? Well, it’s a solid platformer and puzzler with gorgeous, if competing, art styles. And it comes from Nifflas, who’s been giving away quality titles for a long time. And if you have a friend, a second copy is only $2, effectively halving the price if you go in together. And it’s got a demo, so you can try before you buy.

[Nifflas' Games provided a review copy for DIYgamer.com. This, in no way, affected the outcome of the review]