Saira and her friend Bobo? Ha, quite a funny name but ok.

Hopefully this will fill the void that Night Game left on my Wii-less soul.

Downloading. The character and some elements look very Please Say Something (not a bad thing).

A new Nifflas game? Excellent.

Greate graphics and sound!!

Yes, Bobo.
Bobo. Hm. It almost enhances the beauty and mystique of "Saira", just by being a contrast. Saira is said to have many meanings, "explorer/traveler", "princess" and "happiness".
I fully believe Nifflas was aiming for the "explorer" and not the "princess" meaning of her name.

I absolutely love Nifflas's games, and while IMO this can't hold a candle to Knytt or Knytt Stories, which were probably some of the most perfect games ever, it's still great :)

Nifflas never dissapoints. A great exploration game.

I like Knytt Stories but jeez louise this wasn't as good. the art seems quite amateur too. It's a nice change of style but I hope he goes back to pixels.

What a disappointment.

Knytt Stories is great. This, not so much.

A new nifflas game? Bought it at once.

I was watching the video thinking it looks like a simple exploration game. As such, it looked kind of dull, but I didn't like Knytt Stories.

But, the art and sound in this game are awesome!

The file is too big for me to download, but why don't people like this game? It "feels" just like KS.

I played the demo for a half hour or so earlier today, and I don't know why people are having such negative reactions towards it.

I absolutely love Knytt and Knytt Stories and just about all of Niffla's games. This game was no exception. I was having a lot of fun playing it and have every intention of purchasing it.

I adore Knytt Stories, and in general all Nifflas' previous games, but this just doesnt have the same pixelart charm and simplicity, mainly due to the graphics. They do look amateur and unpolished, as someone pointed out, and remind me of flash games. Kind of like Fez made with mediocre 3d models instead of trixels.

Nonetheless, a decent game.

Most of these comments don't really elaborate on what they dislike. Some say they dislike the art but what about the gameplay?

I thought the puzzles were great. The platforming was fun and fluid. It seems like the only logical direction to go after Knytt Stories.

i think everyone thinks they have to like or dislike a game. why not just give up comparing games to other games and whether they're better or worse and just enjoy the game you're playing at the moment? it seems so much simpler to just enjoy games, like you did when you were a kid and got a new game to play. did you sit there playing mega man 3 and stroke your chin saying "not as good as mega man 2. yup."?

Saira is very pretty and has a neat interface, but it suffers from two really big - and surprising - problems.

My first issue with this game is the lack of responsiveness to button commands. I don't know if Nifflas intended to slow the response a little, but this thing feels like molasses, which isn't exactly a quality you look for in a platformer.

The second big issue is level design. It's just plain awkward sometimes,and without many visual cues to assist with gauging jumps. Compounded with the lack of responsiveness this makes for a really frustrating experience.

What surprises me is that Nifflas exhibited such mastery over level design in his previous three attempts. They all respond very quickly and fluidly, too. Maybe the control issue can be fixed in a later release, but until that changes I think I'm gonna let this one go.

As a person who is very interested in psychology, I've been thinking about the origin of negative reactions for a while now, and I don't think it has to do with eschewing enjoyment or even assessing enjoyment.

The reason kids do not react negatively to games is because they are kids. They don't have other commitments and can totally give themselves over to the game. As a person becomes older, more and more commitments pile up.

The root of "fun" is to have control over commitments. If there are too many games to commit to, there has to be a way to dump the attention games are demanding. But how to do this? If a person says "I don't want to" or "I don't like it," a reason is demanded.

The answer is, the same way impulse purchases are rationalized, but in reverse.

A while ago, I rented out a NASCAR game. I don't like NASCAR. But I had a blast playing the game because I engaged it, turning it into something acceptable. Not everyone can afford to expend the energy necessary to do this. So they reject certain games that seem like too much of a hassle to accept. It can be any reason: "Bad-looking graphics," "the music is annoying," "costs too much."

It gives them a reason, for others and for themselves, to avoid committing to a game. They can also save face at the same time.

Just to clarify exactly why I didn't think it held up well in comparison to Knytt/Stories:

The art style, although having a charm of its own, for me was nowhere near as evocative as the very minimalist graphics present in Knytt, and although Saira is a well-designed character, I think the move to a more detailed and realistic style has robbed her of a lot of the personality and charm of Nifflas's other characters. Basically, as the game has moved towards a more realistic style, there is now less for the player's imagination to fill in, and therefore it loses a certain amount of character. I realize this was probably a conscious decision on Nifflas's part, perhaps to reflect the photographic element of the game, but it's just my personal preference.

Secondly, I'm in agreement with Angry Dan that the controls are not nearly as responsive or intuitive. Some of the actions, especially those involving turning into the ball of light thingy were really awkward to get to grips with, and for me really break the sense of immersion in the game, whereas every action in Knytt was simple and completely intuitive. In short, you never, ever had to think about button combinations.

For me, Knytt/Knytt Stories worked really well as exploration games because they were very simple yet really, really deep. And while Saira has depth by the bucketload, for me, it just isn't quite there with the simplicity.

I'll say again though, that in spite of these grumbles I have with it, it's still damn good, and will definitely persevere with it.

I fully beat the game today. I do have to agree with everyone... although overall I liked it:

1) $17 feels too much for a game that is Knytt and WADF without the cool platforming. And although the story is nice, the characters, animation, and level design do not have the same amount of charm. I think I'm one of the few people that did like the photography elements.

2) I did enjoy the platforming, but the majority of your time is spent figuring out Flash-like puzzles on the machines... except for two parts of two levels, it felt like a casual-game compilation disguised as an exploration game. I wish I would have known the entire game would be like this before dropping money on it. If I wanted to have to play 4 or 5 robot-programming puzzles I would hop onto one of the millions of free flash portals online. I expect more from a product I'm expected to shell out money for.

I'm with Paul, dude knows what's up. Thinking about games in a binary "like/don't like" fashion is empty and meaningless.

I'm Sam! Dan's my cousin.

If i enjoy a game, then that means i like it. If i dont enjoy it, i dont like it. Being an adult and having limited time i have to decide which games i can play based on whether i like them or not.

And its not all about gameplay either, graphics are a part of the game too and impact my enjoyment, as do other aspects.

So if i dont like a game, and play only the games that i enjoy, im empty and meaningless? That sounds extremely pretentious.

Personally, I find this game charming in a certain regard to its presentation - the animated background and foreground and effects really do draw the eye into the contained worlds you explore. The promise of multiple endings once the game is purchased is very pleasing if you are driven to discover every single secret to the main story of the game. There is a lot of polish to this game, yet there are some nagging issues I will get to later.
The promise of an editor, if it is on the scale of Knytt Stories will really open up the game - especially if the fanbase of this game is as vibrant as that of Knytt Stories. If one can create their own expansive story lines then I really see Saira taking off.
There are problems with the game, and I mean technical issues that will rob a few fans of Nifflas from enjoying this game from the get go. I've seen a few complaints about 'delayed reactions' from those that have enjoyed Knytt, Knytt Stories, and Within a Deep Forest. I've only experienced the 'delayed reaction' issue on a computer that did not have a decent video card, something that this game seems to really require. In the past you could simply play Nifflas game on any machine, but it seems that older systems that don't have a dedicated video card, but the basic model on their motherboard will come across some major slow down which results in the game playing like 'molasses'. If there was a way to turn off some effects this may help a few of those individuals to enjoy the game. But there is not. Also for those that have a 'killer' rig, there is no way to really up the resolution in fullscreen. If there were more options in this area I think it would really improve the gaming experience.
The platform jumping, exploration, photographing #if you are not suffering from the sluggish gameplay issue on a computer that just needs the extra horsepower# is very pleasing though at times annoying with the default keys. Thankfully you can change this under the settings option in the games program folder. Though from my point of view the 'fly' button should have been made dedicated to a different key than sharing one.
Graphically the game has polish, but maybe not enough for those that have become accustomed to Nifflas previous games. with all the slightly blurred background and foreground elements and the high resolution images the sharp and extremely flat landscape really takes away from the overall experience for some - you see the polish, but you don't see it in the key areas that you expect them to be. I like the effects of crumbling from areas in the landscape, but overall the world that our character actually runs and jumps through is rather flat in details. The character has her unique details - stretching her leg, the little details in her clothing etc. These extra details and animations are a nice touch.
The extras within the UFO are a nice touch, traveling long distances you have games to play and a virtual radio to toy with. The UFO can be seen as a pitfall for the game though, you have to keep it charged up so you can travel from place to place. Yes you can recharge it, but at times this will become too much 'stepping and fetching' for those of us that enjoy a simple exploration platformer that Knytt Stories was.
The minigames for opening locked laser doors are enjoyable to a certain extent. Yet they do take away from the enjoyment when you have to learn how to do them on the spot or deal with the frustration of redoing a puzzle completely simply because you shot the wrong arrow or collected the wrong letter. Minigames are fun in all games I have played, but they have also been very annoying as well when they become a key component in the gameplay.
Nifflas biggest issue will probably be those people that loved Knytt Stories simplicity. The puzzles and timed runs will grate on those people that simply want a "Knytt Fix". The fact that this game isn't free may irk some as well. But really 17 dollars isn't that much. Though I must admit I'm pinching a lot of coins lately with the way things are today.
That being said, I can see why some people are disappointed or make comparisons to previous games. Its new, its different, and at times it seems to be asking a lot from the player who is used to the simple joy of the previous games. The game does have a few issues, but I really don't think it would constitute anyone truly 'hating the game' or just dismissing it without giving it a chance.
I always found Nifflas games challenging and overly relaxing at the same time. That exists in Saira - and the promise of making your own adventures once again gives me hope that this game survives to become one of Nifflas classics. The short taste that we have with the demo does want me to experience everything. And I will recommend this game to others, but I'm not simply going to recommend this game to Knytt Stories fans - it has the elements but it is a departure from that world.

The responsiveness of the controls doesn't seem to have much to do with graphics capabilities. I've got a six-month-old machine with plenty of processing power, and everything is fluid in a visual sense.

It's not that the game runs like molasses, it's that response is poor in a number of ways. The character jerks when changing direction, you can't quickly turn around and jump, sliding occurs in the strangest situations, wall climbs are awkward, etc. The end effect is that it sometimes feels as though you have diminished or slow-reacting control.

It wouldn't be as much of a problem with better, less cramped level design, and it's really only a frustration in those limited-air levels that devolve into pixel-perfect jumping puzzles as a result of the above issues.

Well the running like molasses and responsiveness being poor seemed to only occur on two systems I tested the demo on - both were depending on an onboard video card from intel. Thus I made my guess that it had to deal with the actual video card, since the two other systems I have that ran just fine contained a Nvidia 8800 series video card and an ATI 4800 series. So Angry Sam, I apologize for generalizing in the long winded post I have above.

Although the ability to turn mid-jump and such did irk me when I first started playing, I came to realize it was intended as a way to force you to employ different exploration strategies. One of the problems I faced when I started was that I thought it was a rebirth of the first Knytt Story or a sequel, which in a way it is. However, it's not meant to be simply a platformer, but to also heavily include a picture-taking puzzle aspect to it all.

I really like the graphics upgrade from his previous games, unlike what most others feel. I thought that it was really beautiful to see trees wave in the wind and to see the world move in the background and foreground as you travel. I thought it was good that a single screen is no longer limited to the size of a single screen and that you see more of the current area as you explore.

I didn't finish the whole demo, but I am liking the game, it just has a few points that irk me and I feel was a bad decision. I liked the idea of having to take pictures to solve puzzles, but I felt that how often the puzzles seem to occur really detracted from the exploring (I have a feeling this is fixed later on in the game). I just wanted to explore more and see more of the beautiful world had to offer before being stopped by the very next area because it wanted me to solve a puzzle to continue. It was this break-up of gameplay that felt somewhat unnecessary, especially because of how often it seems to occur. Another break up is when flying across worlds, which again sounds good in concept... but you are almost forced to play a game or 2 in between. This stunts my excitement and the feeling of fluidity of playing the game.

I can't say whether the puzzles are entirely creative just yet, although they seem to be a multi-world hunt quest as of yet... I just need to play the game more. I think I may buy this game, but I need more time before I decide (and time to finish the other plethora of games I have). I wish the game was a bit more fast-paced, and I hope it proves to be. I'm glad Nifflas is trying out different things. His experiences with working on the Wii games may be helping him evolve gameplay ideas.

Oh! and for the controls. They are a bit awkward. I don't like how to fly you have to press 2 different buttons instead of a double-jump-like setup. The same thing with taking pictures. I guess what I'm saying with that is that I wish there was a universal cancel vs (or maybe with) a universal accept. Pressing the escape key to exit a window is awkward as well. I didn't check out the setup file, so maybe these complaints are an easy fix.

I'm really liking this one, the graphical style is great-- I like that he decided to diverge from the pixel style. Pixel graphics are great, but there are plenty of other styles to be explored and I love to see something new.

Lol. There is a level editor for Saira on Nifflas Support forum!

Liked and enjoyed to play the demo. I really gonna get the full game!

uhg, game runs to slow on my awfull computer. Damn.