as someone who plays/keeps up with a lot of new indie releases, a constant feeling that I get with a game is that its really scraping at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to originality or content. most indie games nowadays are either a ripoff of some old game that the developer played as a kid (e.g. cyber shadow) or just some really tepid audiovisual experience with very little value or artistic meaning (e.g. sunlight).

Ynglet feels like a very rare but incredibly refreshing instance of a developer designing a game around a core mechanic, sticking to their guns, and making the best and most original game they could. on first glance one may really question whether this counts as a platformer or not but once you actually start playing it that feel becomes really palpable. levels are fluidly and intricately designed, utilizing interesting design mechanics to didactically communicate the games core ideas wordlessly; movement and flow are effortless, and the lack of any real notion of momentum or speed allow for the game to operate solely on this basis of gravitational feel and slip. every movement feels like its placed under hyper-control, every jump, every leap, every dive coordinated under the twitching flick of a control stick.

platformers have always fascinated me because they're one of the only game genres that is so involved from a gameplay perspective but uses minimal controls. Ynglet is a fantastic instance of this--using only a single button and a control stick, with very little written language, it manages to communicate its design elements solely through mere play. the way that traditional mechanics like wall-jumping are integrated into the game despite this unique control setup allows for this kind of transliteral communication between the player and the game--neither is fully able to really understand the other, but they can both feel the point, the purpose, the thesis.

its a bit of a bummer that the best way to play this game (the "too difficult" difficulty) is locked behind two entire playthroughs but the levels and movement here were so effortlessly engaging that i ended up 100%ing the entire game three times in a row in one sitting. Ynglet is a truly special game, and the kind of indie game that only comes along once in a blue moon.

As the first review of this on Backloggd I hereby give all users permission to mark this "Mastered" at 100% even if you don't get 101%. I have this authority. (I also command you to not spoof the achievement. What is there to gain from that?)

Let's talk about "short games," which have kind of become a meta-genre by now. If you follow as many indie devs on Twitter as I do you probably see a lot of them, including Nifflas, arguing that games should be shorter and easier, and that action-focused ones should have highly configurable difficulty settings. Whether or not you like Ynglet will probably depend a lot on how much you agree with that. Personally I think I do agree with it, at least in the abstract. Then I play a game like this that consumes my attention for about 90 minutes, and then it's over just as it felt it was getting started.

I'm not sure how much that is a criticism. It should be a common courtesy to assume the game is exactly as long as the creator wanted it to be, right? It's extremely reasonably priced, the art is beautiful and the controls are pretty much perfect. If expanding the scope of the game would have had an impact on any of those things then this is certainly the balance to aim for.

So I guess this is a case where "I wanted more" is high praise. If I were still in college doing speedrunning streams on Twitch then I would absolutely be doing some Ynglet runs starting tonight. That would give me more. But because I'm a working adult I'm probably going to put this down for a long time, and in a year I'll remember the visual aesthetic more than I remember how many collectibles there were.

I didn't have very much experience with Nifflas' games, but Ynglet caught my eye with it's really distinct visual style. After playing it, I'm definitely going to be checking out his other work. Ynglet has a really meditative feel to it, even on the highest difficulty (literally called "too difficult") it still manages to not strain the player the same way many "hardcore" platformers can. I think the nature of the game being a platformer without much in the way of tight precision movements, instead being more about placement and understanding of the puzzle-like stage design, contributes heavily to the relaxed nature. There's also the element of the game not exactly being a "platformer" you actually travel through these kinds of water bubbles and bounce off walls to get where you're going. The closest comparison I can make to Ynglet is something like...NiGHTS Into Dreams floaty aerial movement, give it a dash move like Celeste, and place it inside the context of deliberately designed puzzle platformer, it's a really unique concept and I think the game really runs with it. The main game highlights the explorative factor of the mechanics and controls, while the bonus world goes real hard on challenging short levels. Both worlds offer the chance to get a lot of mileage out of it's unique mechanics, I really like the walls and floors that you pass through with a dash, but when ran into normally will bounce you off instead, I've used those to get some crazy height to skip major chunks off of levels. The music is another highlight, it's all extremely reactive to all your inputs, apparently it was made using algorithms (tho don't ask me to explain how) it gives a very interesting structure to the soundscape of the game and adds a lot to that meditative quality. I'd really recommend giving it a shot, it's super fun to 100% and it's pretty short while still having a lot to do, high recommendations here.

Ynglet is a short, fun little platformer with some interesting mechanics. I liked it quite a bit.

Visually Ynglet looks amazing. The style is unique and well realized. Everything is rendered as simple lines which draw and erase procedurally in a very satisfying way. All of the mechanics in the game are also well represented with simple colors and shapes, which makes understanding those mechanics easy and natural.
The "world map" in this game is cool, as it is a stylized representation of Copenhagen and each level takes place at a landmark in the city. This is a cool conceit that gives the game a bit more personality than it might otherwise have.
The audio engine in Ynglet is also cool, it is very dynamic and matches what is happening on-screen perfectly.

Ynglet only has a few inputs, but it does a lot with them. You have minimal air control on a "jump" and an air dash that interacts with obstacles in the environment in interesting ways. The platforming is very floaty, but it feels great to control.
New mechanics are introduced in very simple introduction levels and then expounded upon in longer, more challenging levels. They all feel familiar, but are unique in this implementation and are used in interesting ways.

This game is really charming and great little platformer. It is fast to play through and does some cool things with its mechanics. Definitely worth checking out!

Ynglet is the rare, perfectly iterative experience. The platforming adjacent gameplay is impeccably tuned to always feel good and the difficulty always perfectly balanced to offer achievable challenge. Couple this with the hypnotic art style and mesmerizing soundtrack and Ynglet becomes something special.

Yet, perhaps Ynglet’s greatest attribute is its frantic iteration on its core mechanics. Every level plays with what you assumed you could do and adds its own twist. And then, after a couple hours, it’s done, having fully investigated the ideas it was playing with.

I can offer no suggestions for improvement. I cannot recommend it enough. It is, perhaps, the one of the most surprising and delightful ways to spend five dollars.

Finally got around to this after buying it around release and it's the shot in the arm I've needed re: 2021 games. The pleasing flow-esque aesthetic perfectly accomodates an incredible and creative platforming challenge, taking a familiar "floating water" mechanic seen in many games before it and just putting it through the design wringer to squeeze out so much previously unseen value over its 1-2 hour runtime. It is 100% the capital-G capital-D Game Design I crave, and it's so smooth to control. Unbelievably legit.

É difícil conseguir explicar Ynglet e conseguir fazer jus ao quão bom e diferente é a experiência de jogá-lo.

Ele é um jogo de plataforma que ao mesmo tempo não tem plataformas, você "nada" entre formas e usa a gravidade a seu favor fora delas. O jogo parece ser sobre seres microscópios, mas ele também é sobre um mundo abstratamente urbano, com formas, cores e sons saltando aos olhos.

Não sei se há um jogo como Ynglet e fico feliz que ele exista pra ser este jogo.

Ynglet is a stunningly beautiful platforming game without platforms, and by golly, it is quite something to play. The concept sounds incredibly counterintuitive on paper, but once you start playing the game you immediately discover the creator's fully encompassed vision.

So instead of working as a traditional platformer, the game instead takes a top-down perspective and features tiles that your character can essentially flow from one to another. It is incredibly smooth, one of the most satisfying movements you'll find in a game, and truly feels like water gliding through the air. As the game goes along, additional gimmicks are added to the game, and most importantly a dash function which many of them play on. These ideas work together so well that it seems like a jigsaw puzzle that's continuously being completed; it all starts from a humble beginning and continues into a dramatic finish. I think my only complaint is that the dash seemingly cannot be canceled when activated, it might help the flow even more if you could do so.

Now when I say this game is stunningly beautiful, I absolutely mean this with sincerity. It's probably one of the most gorgeous games I have ever played and truly feels unique in its presentation. The art style I guess you could somewhat refer to as evolved minimalistic sketches, and as they come together it creates something truly remarkable to look at. Alongside the visuals comes a stellar sound design that works well with the movement, which is of course highly important for a platformer.

Overall, Ynglet is one of the most impressive indie platformer games that I have seen, I would definitely recommend it both for the completely unique gameplay, as well as the absolutely mesmerizing art.

Fantastic little game! The platforming is actually unique, and it features just the right amount of levels, always introducing new mechanics at exactly the right time. This is already great, but combined with the absolutely gorgeous minimalist visuals and sound design and music, all of which are engineered to pair with the flow of the gameplay!? Genuinely astounding work. It's small and simple, but every detail is crafted to perfection.
The only actual complaint I have is that the difficulty in the post-game levels is a bit all over the place, and could've used a bit more work. But it's still fine, and is optional, so it's not as bothersome.
Highly recommend!