I believe Hollow Knight is a very nice experience that sadly contains many flaws. It looks gorgeous and does a great job with atmosphere and the combat, while simple, is fun to master. However, the areas are way too large, making it take far too long to get anywhere, whether going back to previous areas or getting back to a boss you died at. It's extremely annoying that tough bosses rarely had a checkpoint right before them, because the fights are fun to learn otherwise. While I wanted to see more major unlockable abilities from the game, I liked that there are instead a ton of charms that allows for lots of customization. Only thing is that I wish the game didn't take things such as the map or compass and make them unlockables or equipables. It took me 28 hours to beat, which is much longer than I believe a metroidvania should be, but I still enjoyed my time with the game.
"The Dynamics of Design, Verisimilitude, and Anachronism in the Video Game 'Hollow Knight': A critical examination of Cacophony and Sanctimony in Achieving Narrative Dynamism."
ABSTRACT
Hollow knight is a badass game. It didn’t just pull me out of my gaming slump, it pulled me by the collar and threw me onto the subway tracks. But the subway tracks were abandoned so I explored the tunnels and it turns out there’s a whole area down here behind a hidden wall I only found by shooting a fireball at a bee and hitting behind it. This is all metaphorical. The research methodology used in this study is a qualitative analysis of the selected media forms, including critical textual analysis and thematic analysis.
Lost your attention? Sorry I’ll stop doing the fancy word essay gimmick. I know you’re not here for that. Let's be real; I’m the realest reviewer on backloggd. That’s why you always come to me. That’s why you read my reviews. That’s why every time I meet a fan in public and they ask me for my autograph, they also tell me I am the reviewer they wait for until they play a game. It’s been 6 years since Hollow Knight came out and unfortunately I’ve been keeping my fans waiting for way too long. But worry no longer, Elksters. You can finally stop telling people that you haven’t played hollow knight because you’re waiting for the Elkmane review. It’s here. And I permit you to play it. Go ahead! If you haven’t already. But you probably haven’t, cause you all listened to me when I said don’t play games I haven’t tested and approved, right? You know why I do what I do? I taste test these games and warn of poison. You elksters are the kings and queens and rulers and I am the poison tester jester. You haven’t played it yet? Good! But I hope you finish it soon because I’m gonna go in depth and there's gonna be some spoilers.
So … it’s been a while since I've done a proper ass review. Hm. I guess we can start with how every good thing in the universe starts.
A lot of people ask me… stupid fucking questions. A lot of people think that … what I say in a review. Or what I talk about in a review. That I actually… do in real life. Or that I believe in it. Or if I say that… I wish that fangirl bug you rescue and bring to Dirtmouth had a more indepth romance path… I actually want them to do it, or that I believe in it. Well shit. If you believe that… then I’ll kill you. You know why? Because I freaking love the gameplay! I love the gameplay!
The gameplay is very nice. It’s 2D and you can move around and attack and stuff. Yada yada. But every action game is made or broken with its healing system. That's why Dark Souls is the GOAT and Skyrim sucks dicks. What do I think of hollow knight’s healing system? I think it’s good. It’s a little forgiving, especially with certain charms equipped like the shape of Unn and quick soul or whatever it’s called but it’s fine because some bosses can be very unforgiving. The whole battle can be trying to not get hit until you stagger or get them to do the one move you need so you have enough time to get off 1 heart of healing. It’s a super cool system that is also balanced by the magic system which draws off the same soul. I do think there's a problem with the extra soul canisters taking a second to reload and go into your main, usable soul canister. There’s also a second of input delay after you finish healing so it’s hard to pull off last millisecond jumps. But that’s probably all about balance. If they took it out it would probably be unbalanced. Who knows.
The nail combat is also great. It feels nice and some charms can make your nail faster or longer. But overall it’s basic. Nothing wrong with it I guess. It’s like urinating. It’s simple and you get used to it so you never realize how practical and easy to pick up and use it is. There’s a parry system that sometimes makes me feel super cool. I also got into some areas early by hitting the nail downward on an object and getting height. Nail arts though. Those kinda feel tacked on and I barely used them. But the real appeal of the combat isn’t really mastering parry timing or some shit. It’s no sekiro. You don’t really need physical reaction time mastery much. You just need to know the enemies and their moves and how to move in the air. And the more upgrades you get the easier the combat gets, but man the enemies get harder too don’t they? Some of the top tier bosses are so hard and you literally die within seconds. Then you keep practicing and doing it over and over til you know all the moves and how to dodge em so it's just a matter of doing the right dodges at the right time and hitting when they’re open. So much variation and so many different moves for these dudes it’s very fun and sometimes catches me off guard in new areas seeing new enemies.
I’m always on my guard while exploring but at the same time exploring can be a relaxing time cause you can get soul and heal up. Doin some cool traversal. The platforming aint bad for the most part considering platforming is the worst part of any game it’s in. Except the white castle place I could reasonably do any of the platforming without issue. Jumping and dashing and super dashing and shit. Made even funner by hitting your sword downwards. There were some creative platforming areas, like hitting the long metal worms to stay afloat etc. I loved how there was never a time in the game when I was lost because I could just go in one direction absentmindedly and just explore shit cause there's always gonna be something in that direction. And then as you keep getting more and more shit like more jumps and stuff in normal metroidvania fashion but there's so much cool stuff that u find by backtracking.
Now, I wanna take a quick detour to discuss something. The song Music Box by Eminem on relapse is a beautiful track. And yet, oxymoronically, the lyrics are gruesome and describe various murders and cannibalistic acts as well as name-dropping JonBenét Ramsey. Yet it’s hauntingly beautiful. It invokes a sense of familiarity, of love, of nostalgia, and it can clearly be seen within the eerie yet comforting chorus. If I may; it goes a little something like this; “when the lights are off, i see the girls asleep, I hear my music box playing a song for me, though we’re worlds apart, you mean the world to me, so when you call i will answer” Punctuated repeatedly with Marshall repeating the title of the song over the chorus at haphazard intervals. Look closely at the imagery presented within the verse. “Lights are off, girls asleep” Evokes thoughts of seeing your daughter and/or wife asleep, late at night. Which could be seen in that way or, geniusly, perhaps through the eyes of a serial killer. And it follows with “music box i hear it calling me” A music box could be a sentimental or melancholy gift. Often associated with love and family. This song’s genius use of contrast helps so well with the horror atmosphere. And it follows; “though we’re worlds apart, you mean the world to me” fully going in on the love aspect. Everyone’s had a long distance relationship and everyone knows how it feels to want to hug the person you love so much but the best you can do is send a gif with a cartoon bear that says “SENDING VIRTUAL HUG” which isn’t nearly as nice for either party. “So when you call I will answer” and he finishes out the chorus by reminding his long distance girlfriend that he will accept the discord call instantly whenever she calls. But another interpretation could be that the music box and the girl calling are two opposing forces: if we look at it through an eminemian lens, the music box could be metaphysically symbolizing the music industry. The girls could symbolize the 38 daughters that guy has. So much meaning, symbolism, interpretation, and thought packed into one single tiny little chorus on a bonus track most will miss. Why? Because he’s the greatest musical artist of all time. Pusha T’s up there too but Eminem is awesomer IMO.
Now, how can we apply this lens to Hollow Knight? We cannot. Thank you for reading.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, March 10). Eminem. Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem
ABSTRACT
Hollow knight is a badass game. It didn’t just pull me out of my gaming slump, it pulled me by the collar and threw me onto the subway tracks. But the subway tracks were abandoned so I explored the tunnels and it turns out there’s a whole area down here behind a hidden wall I only found by shooting a fireball at a bee and hitting behind it. This is all metaphorical. The research methodology used in this study is a qualitative analysis of the selected media forms, including critical textual analysis and thematic analysis.
Lost your attention? Sorry I’ll stop doing the fancy word essay gimmick. I know you’re not here for that. Let's be real; I’m the realest reviewer on backloggd. That’s why you always come to me. That’s why you read my reviews. That’s why every time I meet a fan in public and they ask me for my autograph, they also tell me I am the reviewer they wait for until they play a game. It’s been 6 years since Hollow Knight came out and unfortunately I’ve been keeping my fans waiting for way too long. But worry no longer, Elksters. You can finally stop telling people that you haven’t played hollow knight because you’re waiting for the Elkmane review. It’s here. And I permit you to play it. Go ahead! If you haven’t already. But you probably haven’t, cause you all listened to me when I said don’t play games I haven’t tested and approved, right? You know why I do what I do? I taste test these games and warn of poison. You elksters are the kings and queens and rulers and I am the poison tester jester. You haven’t played it yet? Good! But I hope you finish it soon because I’m gonna go in depth and there's gonna be some spoilers.
So … it’s been a while since I've done a proper ass review. Hm. I guess we can start with how every good thing in the universe starts.
A lot of people ask me… stupid fucking questions. A lot of people think that … what I say in a review. Or what I talk about in a review. That I actually… do in real life. Or that I believe in it. Or if I say that… I wish that fangirl bug you rescue and bring to Dirtmouth had a more indepth romance path… I actually want them to do it, or that I believe in it. Well shit. If you believe that… then I’ll kill you. You know why? Because I freaking love the gameplay! I love the gameplay!
The gameplay is very nice. It’s 2D and you can move around and attack and stuff. Yada yada. But every action game is made or broken with its healing system. That's why Dark Souls is the GOAT and Skyrim sucks dicks. What do I think of hollow knight’s healing system? I think it’s good. It’s a little forgiving, especially with certain charms equipped like the shape of Unn and quick soul or whatever it’s called but it’s fine because some bosses can be very unforgiving. The whole battle can be trying to not get hit until you stagger or get them to do the one move you need so you have enough time to get off 1 heart of healing. It’s a super cool system that is also balanced by the magic system which draws off the same soul. I do think there's a problem with the extra soul canisters taking a second to reload and go into your main, usable soul canister. There’s also a second of input delay after you finish healing so it’s hard to pull off last millisecond jumps. But that’s probably all about balance. If they took it out it would probably be unbalanced. Who knows.
The nail combat is also great. It feels nice and some charms can make your nail faster or longer. But overall it’s basic. Nothing wrong with it I guess. It’s like urinating. It’s simple and you get used to it so you never realize how practical and easy to pick up and use it is. There’s a parry system that sometimes makes me feel super cool. I also got into some areas early by hitting the nail downward on an object and getting height. Nail arts though. Those kinda feel tacked on and I barely used them. But the real appeal of the combat isn’t really mastering parry timing or some shit. It’s no sekiro. You don’t really need physical reaction time mastery much. You just need to know the enemies and their moves and how to move in the air. And the more upgrades you get the easier the combat gets, but man the enemies get harder too don’t they? Some of the top tier bosses are so hard and you literally die within seconds. Then you keep practicing and doing it over and over til you know all the moves and how to dodge em so it's just a matter of doing the right dodges at the right time and hitting when they’re open. So much variation and so many different moves for these dudes it’s very fun and sometimes catches me off guard in new areas seeing new enemies.
I’m always on my guard while exploring but at the same time exploring can be a relaxing time cause you can get soul and heal up. Doin some cool traversal. The platforming aint bad for the most part considering platforming is the worst part of any game it’s in. Except the white castle place I could reasonably do any of the platforming without issue. Jumping and dashing and super dashing and shit. Made even funner by hitting your sword downwards. There were some creative platforming areas, like hitting the long metal worms to stay afloat etc. I loved how there was never a time in the game when I was lost because I could just go in one direction absentmindedly and just explore shit cause there's always gonna be something in that direction. And then as you keep getting more and more shit like more jumps and stuff in normal metroidvania fashion but there's so much cool stuff that u find by backtracking.
Now, I wanna take a quick detour to discuss something. The song Music Box by Eminem on relapse is a beautiful track. And yet, oxymoronically, the lyrics are gruesome and describe various murders and cannibalistic acts as well as name-dropping JonBenét Ramsey. Yet it’s hauntingly beautiful. It invokes a sense of familiarity, of love, of nostalgia, and it can clearly be seen within the eerie yet comforting chorus. If I may; it goes a little something like this; “when the lights are off, i see the girls asleep, I hear my music box playing a song for me, though we’re worlds apart, you mean the world to me, so when you call i will answer” Punctuated repeatedly with Marshall repeating the title of the song over the chorus at haphazard intervals. Look closely at the imagery presented within the verse. “Lights are off, girls asleep” Evokes thoughts of seeing your daughter and/or wife asleep, late at night. Which could be seen in that way or, geniusly, perhaps through the eyes of a serial killer. And it follows with “music box i hear it calling me” A music box could be a sentimental or melancholy gift. Often associated with love and family. This song’s genius use of contrast helps so well with the horror atmosphere. And it follows; “though we’re worlds apart, you mean the world to me” fully going in on the love aspect. Everyone’s had a long distance relationship and everyone knows how it feels to want to hug the person you love so much but the best you can do is send a gif with a cartoon bear that says “SENDING VIRTUAL HUG” which isn’t nearly as nice for either party. “So when you call I will answer” and he finishes out the chorus by reminding his long distance girlfriend that he will accept the discord call instantly whenever she calls. But another interpretation could be that the music box and the girl calling are two opposing forces: if we look at it through an eminemian lens, the music box could be metaphysically symbolizing the music industry. The girls could symbolize the 38 daughters that guy has. So much meaning, symbolism, interpretation, and thought packed into one single tiny little chorus on a bonus track most will miss. Why? Because he’s the greatest musical artist of all time. Pusha T’s up there too but Eminem is awesomer IMO.
Now, how can we apply this lens to Hollow Knight? We cannot. Thank you for reading.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, March 10). Eminem. Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem
Truly masterful. A challenging game dripping with atmosphere, full of varied environments, and absolutely packed with content for its price. The combat is simple but tight, there’s plenty of interesting boss fights, and the world-building is excellent.
What Hollow Knight does especially well is its sense of exploration and unique map system. It’s easy to set off in any direction and end up in huge new areas you can just get lost in. It does take some time for it to open up in its early hours, but the level design is top notch.
The platforming was a bit less precise than I would’ve liked though. The positioning of obstacles could be frustrating at times, and movement felt a bit stiff to start. But it does improve with better traversal abilities later on so it’s a minor complaint.
What Hollow Knight does especially well is its sense of exploration and unique map system. It’s easy to set off in any direction and end up in huge new areas you can just get lost in. It does take some time for it to open up in its early hours, but the level design is top notch.
The platforming was a bit less precise than I would’ve liked though. The positioning of obstacles could be frustrating at times, and movement felt a bit stiff to start. But it does improve with better traversal abilities later on so it’s a minor complaint.
minha nossa que mapa confuso da porra, fiquei 2 horas perdido sem saber pra onde ir, tankei nao
Guys, guys, guys…
It has all the dlc
What’s not to love
110% baby
God home is next to impossible
It has all the dlc
What’s not to love
110% baby
God home is next to impossible
This is genuinely my favorite work of art of all time. Fantastic combat and level design, compelling and likable characters, a deep and emotional story, and incredible boss fights combine to make a real modern classic.
Um jogo que mudou a perspectiva de como eu via Metroidvania. Hollow Knight definitivamente é o mais polido, o com a melhor música e os melhores bosses, e eu sinceramente diria que pra mim, esse jogo tem vários bosses que são melhores que 80% dos bosses da franquia soulsborne
I really don't understand why people enjoy this game. I like Metroid because of the movement upgrades that makes backtracking fun. I like Castlevania because of the RPG aspects that make you feel significantly more powerful with each upgrade and the variety of drops from enemies makes it fun to go back and see what you can get. This game has neither of those qualities. The way you move and attack at the beginning of the game is basically the same as at the end of the game. There are some RPG aspects like a currency system but there's no point where you feel powerful or any enemy weapon drops. I wanted to like it but sadly did not at all.
After a push to replay this game, I've grown an immense amount of respect for it. The gameplay EVENTUALLY gets incredible despite is starting off a bit too simple for me personally. However when it does get there it is top tier in that regard. However, what surprised me most is how much I cared about the story this time around. A fallen kingdom in a state of stagnation with only the tiniest bits of memories scattered around. A hero choosing to fight against it all despite its original function, past and dark origin. To create the change and end this stagnation. Not falling victim to the lack of will shown by its citizens that led to the fall in the first place, manipulated and needing a higher being to command them.
A stone cold masterpiece. Flawless gameplay, incredible world-building, and one of the most memorable visual designs in the history of gaming.
Rosin bag for sweaty hands recommended.
Rosin bag for sweaty hands recommended.
Super charming, challenging, and visually unique with a great art direction that's somewhere in between Cuphead and Bloodborne. There were times when I couldn't put it down, however...
Good god getting around is the most tedious thing imaginable. An absolute chore to get from place to place, the game either needs far more fast travel spots or just an entirely different fast travel system. ANYTHING different than this.
I will also add that in every element other than gameplay this is the most blatant Dark Souls rip off I've ever played. The overall world lore, story, progression of areas, NPC storylines, etc. All right out of Dark Souls.
Good god getting around is the most tedious thing imaginable. An absolute chore to get from place to place, the game either needs far more fast travel spots or just an entirely different fast travel system. ANYTHING different than this.
I will also add that in every element other than gameplay this is the most blatant Dark Souls rip off I've ever played. The overall world lore, story, progression of areas, NPC storylines, etc. All right out of Dark Souls.
Um dos jogos mais importantes dos últimos anos que vai mudar o jeito que metroidvanias são feitos. Eu gostei MUITO dele e apesar de achar o combate um pouco limitado, ainda o considero uma OBRA PRIMA!!
this game is 15 dollars
15 bucks
15 smackaroos
1500 cents
and id gladly pay four times that for this mastapiece
15 bucks
15 smackaroos
1500 cents
and id gladly pay four times that for this mastapiece
Hollow Knight has been in my backlog for years now. I kept hearing it was good but I had know idea it was good good.
Hollow Knight has dethroned Guacamelee as my favorite Metroidvania game. Pure excellence from start to finish. Everything about Hollow Knight just works together so effortlessly. The haunting and beautiful soundtrack, the extremely tight controls, the gorgeous art and animation. It all helps build an aesthetic and game world that I just want to stay in.
I also have to talk about the bosses. They're so great. Even though I was pretty bad at a few of them, the game never felt unfair. The patterns are a incredibly fun and rewarding to figure out. I found myself constantly getting excited each time a new boss was revealed.
In this incoherent rambling of a review, I'm really just trying to convey one key thing. And it's that Hollow Knight is one of the best games I have ever played. An absolute masterpiece.
Hollow Knight has dethroned Guacamelee as my favorite Metroidvania game. Pure excellence from start to finish. Everything about Hollow Knight just works together so effortlessly. The haunting and beautiful soundtrack, the extremely tight controls, the gorgeous art and animation. It all helps build an aesthetic and game world that I just want to stay in.
I also have to talk about the bosses. They're so great. Even though I was pretty bad at a few of them, the game never felt unfair. The patterns are a incredibly fun and rewarding to figure out. I found myself constantly getting excited each time a new boss was revealed.
In this incoherent rambling of a review, I'm really just trying to convey one key thing. And it's that Hollow Knight is one of the best games I have ever played. An absolute masterpiece.
É tão bem detalhado, tão bem feito e pensado, acho que esto apaixonada
A masterclass in worldbuilding, loveable character writing, and tight combat/platforming segments. I was hung up for a bit on giving this a 5, but looking back at the whole picture, there was nothing less that it deserved. It's one of the first games in years that has made me go out of my way to grind and claw my way towards its secret endings.
A challenging yet hauntingly beautiful adventure.
I'd seen many people on gaming websites giving praise to Hollow Knight, so when it finally came to the Playstation 4 I had to try it. Starting as a Kickstarter project (people fund to pay for the game getting made based on the idea pitch) Hollow Knight became a smash hit now on multiple platforms which in itself is a feat considering Team Cherry the developer is made up of only two people. The main question though is, does it deserve it? is it good?
No it's not good, it's great! Hollow Knight is a metroidvania in style. For those unaware that's a term mixing Metroid and Castlevania, classic 2D side scrolling games designed around exploration and finding new items and abilities to unlock new paths to continue to progress. The exploration in Hollow Knight is superb. Each area is distinct in design with it's own enemies and challenges yet all work well with each other to form a cohesive world. You will travel through crumbling ruins, old tram stations, overgrown gardens, crystal mines among many other locales each of which has their own place in the world with cryptic clues given from occasional lore, an assortment of odd characters hidden around and visual clues from the level designs themselves. The story in Hollow Knight is not laid out bare before you but instead drip fed to you as you explore piecing together aspects to understand what's going on. To be honest I never fully understood the game from a narrative point of view but I really enjoyed the elements, atmosphere and gameplay behind it all.
As you explore there will be a huge amount of enemies in every area constantly in the way. All of them are pretty distinct from flying lancers, to small knights, giant worms, and everything in between. Combat is pretty challenging throughout, especially the bosses, some of which take multiple attempts and tweaking with your equipment to eventually beat. A few I had to leave and come back once i'd explored more to fight again once stronger. Most of them are because of this, really memorable though learning their moves and patterns. I really respected that the game wasn't just a push over to progress through. Though there are ways to increase your characters health, increase the power of their nail (sword) the biggest factor is the games badge system. Your character can equip a certain amount of these based on their power level which will increase as the game goes on. Each badge is unique and gives a particular bonus to your character, for example one might increase your swords range, another boosting your attack at full health, one gives you a mini shield, others boost your healing charge etc. The combination of these badges can make different builds fitting your play style and in a couple of cases some bosses had me changing up my badge equipment to deal with them and it made all the difference. To see your character on the map you even need to equip a badge so learning each area and balancing what you can equip becomes really important.
Each of the enemies and bosses also looks amazing due to the games both distinct and utterly brilliant art design. The whole game is based on a world of insects with Mantis, flies, Dung Beatles etc. all changed into knights and fallen warriors to fight. The lines are thick and clear cut with a lot of solid colors yet the backgrounds have amazing hues of purples, greens and yellows. It looks simple yet is amazingly detailed, I absolutely love how it looks and the animations are absolutely top notch to boot. Along with looking great the sound effects and music are equally of high quality (Nightmare King Grim's boss theme is especially ace). For a two person team they put most larger developers to shame with the overall production quality on display here.
Exploring everything and fighting through the bosses takes quite a bit of time though technically it isn't a huge game. You could probably beat it if you were pretty good in around 15 hours but Hollow Knight is full of hidden content from whole hidden areas, bosses, badges and easter eggs so you would be missing out if you didn't explore. The PS4 version also comes with all the DLC like The Grimm Troupe and Godmaster which piles on a lot of extra content. All in all exploring everything for every item and getting the platinum trophy took me 50 hours.
My one complaint if I had to choose one is that the Godmaster DLC is a little too hard to actually finish. The final challenge is a boss rush that involves fighting over 40 bosses in a row, every boss in the game including the super hard ones. If you die, there is no check point and you have to start again. That needed toning back especially as it had a full game ending attached to it.
That aside the game is amazing. It's imaginative, fun to explore, looks gorgeous with a lot of content and I can't wait for the already announced sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.
+ Exploration is really fun.
+ Combat is tough but satisfying.
+ Badge system is a great way to vary the characters builds.
+ Amazing art design.
+ A lot to find, fight and explore content wise with all DLC included free.
- It may be too challenging in places for some people, one part of the optional DLC is particularly unforgiving to finish.
I'd seen many people on gaming websites giving praise to Hollow Knight, so when it finally came to the Playstation 4 I had to try it. Starting as a Kickstarter project (people fund to pay for the game getting made based on the idea pitch) Hollow Knight became a smash hit now on multiple platforms which in itself is a feat considering Team Cherry the developer is made up of only two people. The main question though is, does it deserve it? is it good?
No it's not good, it's great! Hollow Knight is a metroidvania in style. For those unaware that's a term mixing Metroid and Castlevania, classic 2D side scrolling games designed around exploration and finding new items and abilities to unlock new paths to continue to progress. The exploration in Hollow Knight is superb. Each area is distinct in design with it's own enemies and challenges yet all work well with each other to form a cohesive world. You will travel through crumbling ruins, old tram stations, overgrown gardens, crystal mines among many other locales each of which has their own place in the world with cryptic clues given from occasional lore, an assortment of odd characters hidden around and visual clues from the level designs themselves. The story in Hollow Knight is not laid out bare before you but instead drip fed to you as you explore piecing together aspects to understand what's going on. To be honest I never fully understood the game from a narrative point of view but I really enjoyed the elements, atmosphere and gameplay behind it all.
As you explore there will be a huge amount of enemies in every area constantly in the way. All of them are pretty distinct from flying lancers, to small knights, giant worms, and everything in between. Combat is pretty challenging throughout, especially the bosses, some of which take multiple attempts and tweaking with your equipment to eventually beat. A few I had to leave and come back once i'd explored more to fight again once stronger. Most of them are because of this, really memorable though learning their moves and patterns. I really respected that the game wasn't just a push over to progress through. Though there are ways to increase your characters health, increase the power of their nail (sword) the biggest factor is the games badge system. Your character can equip a certain amount of these based on their power level which will increase as the game goes on. Each badge is unique and gives a particular bonus to your character, for example one might increase your swords range, another boosting your attack at full health, one gives you a mini shield, others boost your healing charge etc. The combination of these badges can make different builds fitting your play style and in a couple of cases some bosses had me changing up my badge equipment to deal with them and it made all the difference. To see your character on the map you even need to equip a badge so learning each area and balancing what you can equip becomes really important.
Each of the enemies and bosses also looks amazing due to the games both distinct and utterly brilliant art design. The whole game is based on a world of insects with Mantis, flies, Dung Beatles etc. all changed into knights and fallen warriors to fight. The lines are thick and clear cut with a lot of solid colors yet the backgrounds have amazing hues of purples, greens and yellows. It looks simple yet is amazingly detailed, I absolutely love how it looks and the animations are absolutely top notch to boot. Along with looking great the sound effects and music are equally of high quality (Nightmare King Grim's boss theme is especially ace). For a two person team they put most larger developers to shame with the overall production quality on display here.
Exploring everything and fighting through the bosses takes quite a bit of time though technically it isn't a huge game. You could probably beat it if you were pretty good in around 15 hours but Hollow Knight is full of hidden content from whole hidden areas, bosses, badges and easter eggs so you would be missing out if you didn't explore. The PS4 version also comes with all the DLC like The Grimm Troupe and Godmaster which piles on a lot of extra content. All in all exploring everything for every item and getting the platinum trophy took me 50 hours.
My one complaint if I had to choose one is that the Godmaster DLC is a little too hard to actually finish. The final challenge is a boss rush that involves fighting over 40 bosses in a row, every boss in the game including the super hard ones. If you die, there is no check point and you have to start again. That needed toning back especially as it had a full game ending attached to it.
That aside the game is amazing. It's imaginative, fun to explore, looks gorgeous with a lot of content and I can't wait for the already announced sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.
+ Exploration is really fun.
+ Combat is tough but satisfying.
+ Badge system is a great way to vary the characters builds.
+ Amazing art design.
+ A lot to find, fight and explore content wise with all DLC included free.
- It may be too challenging in places for some people, one part of the optional DLC is particularly unforgiving to finish.
Not only one of the greatest modern metroidvanias, but just one of the best of all time. Perfectly polished combat, lots of variety in power-ups and abilities, marvelously designed levels, challenging, but fair bosses, beautifully composed OST and awesome Tim Burton-esque art design and aesthetics. I have nothing negative to say about this masterpiece.
same boring game now with more content you'll be too bored to reach
Hollow Knight is an excellent budget title that could serve as the framework for a truly special game. The scale of its world and its contents is simply astonishing, and the universe it all takes place in is certainly a fascinating one. Hallownest feels like the remnants of a once-thriving, underground kingdom. No matter where you go, you catch glimpses of its former glory buried beneath the scars of tragedies and conflicts that have long since passed. You walk through the fractured remnants of a society slowly being reclaimed by its broken ecosystem. The atmosphere is perpetually tinged with a nigh-palpable moroseness, but it's not so overwhelming that it blends all the different areas together.
Every biome is visually distinct from each other, and they all tell self-contained stories about the different corners and communities of Hallownest. It is no secret that Hollow Knight's greatest aspect is its world design. Even a contrarian dickass like myself cannot deny that the world design is anything short of fantastic, and I think that it's worthy of all the praise it has received. It's hard to make a game's world feel truly sprawling-- even big budget titles struggle with that-- but Hollow Knight's map feels like it goes on forever in every direction. It's not just that the map's filled with wide, empty levels with nothing to do, there's a lot to do just about everywhere. Every biome is packed with things to discover, and even if you miss some of those things, just seeing how the different levels and biomes connect together is certainly one the biggest motivators for playing the game. There's always something else to do, there's always something you haven't seen yet. A lot of love went into both building this game’s world, and making it interesting to explore.
The most impressive thing to me, though, is not its world, but rather the amount of art that’s in it. The game was made by a core team of 3 people (4 if you count the composer/sound designer), but only one person made the entirety of the art and animations. For context, there are over 150 enemies and bosses in the game, many of which have multiple unique states and poses, and one guy designed and animated all of them on top of drawing all the characters, art assets, environmental assets, visual effects, UI assets, and more. I don’t usually like giving all the credit to one person in a team, but Ari Gibson is an absolute fucking beast of an artist, and I strongly believe that his work is a key factor of why Hollow Knight captured the hearts of many. In fact, his art is what initially made Hollow Knight interesting to me. Every part of the game is filled with beautiful, screenshot-worthy material, and every screenshot shows off an enthralling universe just begging to be explored. It’s a game that obviously wants to be played; a notion that’s echoed by its incredibly low price of entry.
I’d heard nothing but praise for the game since the day of its release. I’d seen dozens of people fall in love with it. In fact, I sat next to someone who played it every day during class on her macbook. Even without the sound, I could see she was enthralled by it. At the very least, it seemed like something I'd enjoy, too. So years later, when it finally came time for me to play Hollow Knight, I wanted to give the game the best chance I possibly could to shine. I approached the game with a completely open mind and made it my mission to focus on how playing it made me feel.
However, the more I played the game, the more my priorities shifted. No longer was I “giving the game a chance,” I made it my mission to see everything it had to offer. I was determined to do the ultimate playthrough of Hollow Knight, in which I would refuse to get an ending until I memorised the entirety of Hallownest, completed everything in the game, mastered the mechanics, and accomplished absurd personal challenges.
For 9 months, I basically played nothing except for Hollow Knight. I amassed 165 hours of playtime and saw nearly everything in the game. But here's the catch– to this day, I have only done a single playthrough and have not gotten a single ending. I haven’t finished the game, and I do not ever plan to.
Before I continue, I want to explain why my playtime is so absurd. Hollow Knight is definitely a big, nonlinear game, but when you’re as immensely stubborn as I am, it becomes even longer than it was intended to be. Backtracking is a significant part of progressing through it, but the most interesting parts of the game for me were the moments I was meant to turn away from.
For example, I spent a long-ass time beating the Colosseum while vastly underlevelled. I’d say I spent nearly ⅓ of my playtime doing so because it pushed me to master the mechanics and required my undivided effort to beat the challenges. Yes, it was a serious time sink that was easily avoidable, and sure, I may have had to motivate myself to play it at times, but even though I wasn’t exploring Hallownest, I was learning how to use my arsenal to its full ability. The different layouts and enemy encounters in the Colosseum were not just interesting to discover as I progressed, they were intriguing to engage with and discover how to most effectively beat. So even though it took me a long time to beat, I didn’t regret a single second I spent there and never once lost my patience.
It’s places like the Colosseum that demonstrate the best of what Hollow Knight has to offer, gameplay-wise. When the player is pushed to improve their skill by pushing back against the friction of the world, it legitimises their actions in the world. Those moments of triumph made me feel like I was progressing just as much, if not more than when I was simply exploring the map.
There’s proper brilliance embedded throughout Hollow Knight, but its limitations hold it back from being something I’d consider to be a truly great game. It’s obviously impressive that Team Cherry was able to create something so massive out of a very simple framework, but by aiming to make the largest map possible with incredibly simple core mechanics, those peaks in gameplay are divided by increasingly large valleys of mediocre filler.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the world design is lacking or anything like that, obviously the levels are fantastically arranged. However the excellent world design is brought down by the parabolic gameplay pacing and lacklustre level design.
When I say that the level design is lacklustre, I do NOT mean the levels are poorly constructed. There isn’t a level I can think of off the top of my head with poor construction or readability (actually I technically thought of one of the levels with Loodles in them, but that’s not really worth mentioning, I say as I make mention of it). Most of them are adequately put together and relatively enjoyable to beat the first time you see them. The issue, however, is that, as I stated earlier, Hollow Knight is heavily based around backtracking, which means you will venture through most of these levels many different times. One of the most difficult aspects of designing a game like this is making levels that are interesting or enjoyable to play through multiple times, and Hollow Knight does not have many levels that are like that.
The vast majority of them are made up of the same floating platforms, spike pits, walkways, and enemy placements in slightly different arrangements. There is generally only one way to venture through them without much in the way of variation, save for the occasional shortcut or biome-specific obstacle. Although the traversal options change with the acquisition of new movement abilities, the levels themselves stay largely the same as the first time they’re discovered. The player is tested on exactly the same things regardless of how skilled or experienced they are with the mechanics. While there are some changes and rewards for backtracking through the map, they are generally incidental in nature and do little to breathe new life into the levels. For lack of better phrasing, there comes a point where Hallownest stops feeling like a world, and the moment that happens, Hollow Knight becomes a large grocery list.
See, at first it takes a while for the game to open up and become interesting from a gameplay perspective. But once it does, you really embrace that feeling of discovery, of seeing new things within this ever expanding world. Unfortunately, once you reach the endgame, that sense of discovery begins to fall off. The destinations stop being worth the journeys you have to take because you have already encountered the exact same obstacles on your previous journeys. Once you become familiar with Hallownest, you inevitably lose the feeling of excitement in its mysteries. The pursuits become mindless. You end up having to trek through the same simple levels, just to see what else is there, even if the things aren’t worth seeing. There is always something else to do, there is always something you haven’t seen, but the distance to the reward becomes further as the reward itself becomes ever smaller.
Once you’ve seen most of what Hollow Knight has to offer, it is no longer intriguing to traverse its world. You begin just chasing places for the mere sake of chasing places, and you inevitably run out of steam and motivation with that pursuit. That was the trap I fell into. At a certain point, I was just playing the game just so I could say I had completed everything, and not because I was getting anything out of it. The thrill of adventure and discovery had long since turned into a slog since the contents of the game itself was ultimately stretched way too thin.
I want to love Hollow Knight, I really do. I put so much time into it and tried as hard as I could to do so. Some would even say I tried too hard. There is a lot to love about the game and I applaud Team Cherry for what they managed to achieve with it. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in their shoes right now, given both the immense amount of hype people have for Silksong and the fact that they have to make a follow up to a game like Hollow Knight. I, myself, am looking forward to seeing how they evolve with the release of their next game. But as for Hollow Knight itself, I’m glad that I played it, but I certainly don’t have any desire to revisit it.
But nah, in conclusion, bad game by lazy dev. By the way, why do people like the OST so much, it’s really not that special smh.
Every biome is visually distinct from each other, and they all tell self-contained stories about the different corners and communities of Hallownest. It is no secret that Hollow Knight's greatest aspect is its world design. Even a contrarian dickass like myself cannot deny that the world design is anything short of fantastic, and I think that it's worthy of all the praise it has received. It's hard to make a game's world feel truly sprawling-- even big budget titles struggle with that-- but Hollow Knight's map feels like it goes on forever in every direction. It's not just that the map's filled with wide, empty levels with nothing to do, there's a lot to do just about everywhere. Every biome is packed with things to discover, and even if you miss some of those things, just seeing how the different levels and biomes connect together is certainly one the biggest motivators for playing the game. There's always something else to do, there's always something you haven't seen yet. A lot of love went into both building this game’s world, and making it interesting to explore.
The most impressive thing to me, though, is not its world, but rather the amount of art that’s in it. The game was made by a core team of 3 people (4 if you count the composer/sound designer), but only one person made the entirety of the art and animations. For context, there are over 150 enemies and bosses in the game, many of which have multiple unique states and poses, and one guy designed and animated all of them on top of drawing all the characters, art assets, environmental assets, visual effects, UI assets, and more. I don’t usually like giving all the credit to one person in a team, but Ari Gibson is an absolute fucking beast of an artist, and I strongly believe that his work is a key factor of why Hollow Knight captured the hearts of many. In fact, his art is what initially made Hollow Knight interesting to me. Every part of the game is filled with beautiful, screenshot-worthy material, and every screenshot shows off an enthralling universe just begging to be explored. It’s a game that obviously wants to be played; a notion that’s echoed by its incredibly low price of entry.
I’d heard nothing but praise for the game since the day of its release. I’d seen dozens of people fall in love with it. In fact, I sat next to someone who played it every day during class on her macbook. Even without the sound, I could see she was enthralled by it. At the very least, it seemed like something I'd enjoy, too. So years later, when it finally came time for me to play Hollow Knight, I wanted to give the game the best chance I possibly could to shine. I approached the game with a completely open mind and made it my mission to focus on how playing it made me feel.
However, the more I played the game, the more my priorities shifted. No longer was I “giving the game a chance,” I made it my mission to see everything it had to offer. I was determined to do the ultimate playthrough of Hollow Knight, in which I would refuse to get an ending until I memorised the entirety of Hallownest, completed everything in the game, mastered the mechanics, and accomplished absurd personal challenges.
For 9 months, I basically played nothing except for Hollow Knight. I amassed 165 hours of playtime and saw nearly everything in the game. But here's the catch– to this day, I have only done a single playthrough and have not gotten a single ending. I haven’t finished the game, and I do not ever plan to.
Before I continue, I want to explain why my playtime is so absurd. Hollow Knight is definitely a big, nonlinear game, but when you’re as immensely stubborn as I am, it becomes even longer than it was intended to be. Backtracking is a significant part of progressing through it, but the most interesting parts of the game for me were the moments I was meant to turn away from.
For example, I spent a long-ass time beating the Colosseum while vastly underlevelled. I’d say I spent nearly ⅓ of my playtime doing so because it pushed me to master the mechanics and required my undivided effort to beat the challenges. Yes, it was a serious time sink that was easily avoidable, and sure, I may have had to motivate myself to play it at times, but even though I wasn’t exploring Hallownest, I was learning how to use my arsenal to its full ability. The different layouts and enemy encounters in the Colosseum were not just interesting to discover as I progressed, they were intriguing to engage with and discover how to most effectively beat. So even though it took me a long time to beat, I didn’t regret a single second I spent there and never once lost my patience.
It’s places like the Colosseum that demonstrate the best of what Hollow Knight has to offer, gameplay-wise. When the player is pushed to improve their skill by pushing back against the friction of the world, it legitimises their actions in the world. Those moments of triumph made me feel like I was progressing just as much, if not more than when I was simply exploring the map.
There’s proper brilliance embedded throughout Hollow Knight, but its limitations hold it back from being something I’d consider to be a truly great game. It’s obviously impressive that Team Cherry was able to create something so massive out of a very simple framework, but by aiming to make the largest map possible with incredibly simple core mechanics, those peaks in gameplay are divided by increasingly large valleys of mediocre filler.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the world design is lacking or anything like that, obviously the levels are fantastically arranged. However the excellent world design is brought down by the parabolic gameplay pacing and lacklustre level design.
When I say that the level design is lacklustre, I do NOT mean the levels are poorly constructed. There isn’t a level I can think of off the top of my head with poor construction or readability (actually I technically thought of one of the levels with Loodles in them, but that’s not really worth mentioning, I say as I make mention of it). Most of them are adequately put together and relatively enjoyable to beat the first time you see them. The issue, however, is that, as I stated earlier, Hollow Knight is heavily based around backtracking, which means you will venture through most of these levels many different times. One of the most difficult aspects of designing a game like this is making levels that are interesting or enjoyable to play through multiple times, and Hollow Knight does not have many levels that are like that.
The vast majority of them are made up of the same floating platforms, spike pits, walkways, and enemy placements in slightly different arrangements. There is generally only one way to venture through them without much in the way of variation, save for the occasional shortcut or biome-specific obstacle. Although the traversal options change with the acquisition of new movement abilities, the levels themselves stay largely the same as the first time they’re discovered. The player is tested on exactly the same things regardless of how skilled or experienced they are with the mechanics. While there are some changes and rewards for backtracking through the map, they are generally incidental in nature and do little to breathe new life into the levels. For lack of better phrasing, there comes a point where Hallownest stops feeling like a world, and the moment that happens, Hollow Knight becomes a large grocery list.
See, at first it takes a while for the game to open up and become interesting from a gameplay perspective. But once it does, you really embrace that feeling of discovery, of seeing new things within this ever expanding world. Unfortunately, once you reach the endgame, that sense of discovery begins to fall off. The destinations stop being worth the journeys you have to take because you have already encountered the exact same obstacles on your previous journeys. Once you become familiar with Hallownest, you inevitably lose the feeling of excitement in its mysteries. The pursuits become mindless. You end up having to trek through the same simple levels, just to see what else is there, even if the things aren’t worth seeing. There is always something else to do, there is always something you haven’t seen, but the distance to the reward becomes further as the reward itself becomes ever smaller.
Once you’ve seen most of what Hollow Knight has to offer, it is no longer intriguing to traverse its world. You begin just chasing places for the mere sake of chasing places, and you inevitably run out of steam and motivation with that pursuit. That was the trap I fell into. At a certain point, I was just playing the game just so I could say I had completed everything, and not because I was getting anything out of it. The thrill of adventure and discovery had long since turned into a slog since the contents of the game itself was ultimately stretched way too thin.
I want to love Hollow Knight, I really do. I put so much time into it and tried as hard as I could to do so. Some would even say I tried too hard. There is a lot to love about the game and I applaud Team Cherry for what they managed to achieve with it. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in their shoes right now, given both the immense amount of hype people have for Silksong and the fact that they have to make a follow up to a game like Hollow Knight. I, myself, am looking forward to seeing how they evolve with the release of their next game. But as for Hollow Knight itself, I’m glad that I played it, but I certainly don’t have any desire to revisit it.
But nah, in conclusion, bad game by lazy dev. By the way, why do people like the OST so much, it’s really not that special smh.
Masterclass. This game is everything that I didn’t know I wanted or needed at the time. Hollow Knight is a beautiful, tragic, challenging, fun, well paced, perfect Metroidvania that is a must play for any gamer. I loved the story that was told without ever being straight laid out for you. This game is challenging from the start and only ramps up until the very end. Where as most Metroidvanias as you get stronger the enemies get weaker in response in Hollow Knight as you get stronger your enemies just test your reaction time and health bar more and more. The dlc, while super fun, turns the game from pretty hard time into a finger numbing, brain tingling, rage party. All in all this is my favorite Metroidvania of all time and ,objectively, the second best of all time (Super Metroid.) if you haven’t played Hollow Knight stop what your doing and pick it up right now.
Also if you want full satisfaction of this game make sure to get the true ending.
Also if you want full satisfaction of this game make sure to get the true ending.
fear not the man who has to review a bad game, fear the man who has to review a very good, overrated game
i always heard about this game talked about as "inspired by souslike", and while many good features come from this, such as the relative depth of skill, having to traverse and navigate hallownest and accompanying systems more or less "blind" as well as the great world and characters, this also brings some of the worst parts of the game, like a learning curve that punishes new players extra harshly for being new, boring template "reaction only" bossfights with near zero spectable outside of a few (some even relying on basically getting lucky enough to not get an undodgeable pattern) and godawful runbacks of repeating the same rooms over and over again sometimes taking up to 10-20% of your play session if you're focusing on a boss or two
great experience, way too long, bit too hyped
i always heard about this game talked about as "inspired by souslike", and while many good features come from this, such as the relative depth of skill, having to traverse and navigate hallownest and accompanying systems more or less "blind" as well as the great world and characters, this also brings some of the worst parts of the game, like a learning curve that punishes new players extra harshly for being new, boring template "reaction only" bossfights with near zero spectable outside of a few (some even relying on basically getting lucky enough to not get an undodgeable pattern) and godawful runbacks of repeating the same rooms over and over again sometimes taking up to 10-20% of your play session if you're focusing on a boss or two
great experience, way too long, bit too hyped
This review contains spoilers
I love that Hollowknight keeps players in the dark, sometimes literally. You are thrown into a complex story that is up to you to decipher (it's worth deciphering because the story is extremely intriguing). There's mystery around every corner, a natural map that makes you think back on different puzzles and areas that you couldn't get to in the beginning.
Every enemy and boss has unique attacks and styles that perfectly allign with their respected areas in the world.
So many different ways to progress through the game makes every playthrough exciting. And it all leads up to an ending that you get to choose.
Exploring Hallownest for the first time was an experience I can't forget. Using stag stations to get around added to the immersion of the game and made it all seem bigger. Adapting to different enemies while trying new charms kept the game fresh throughout the entire playthrough. Another thing that kept the game fresh was that I was never stuck on ONE objective. I could collect dream essence, try a boss fight that I couldn't defeat before, upgrade my soul/health, or even find new charms. It's impossible to predict what adventure will happen next. And all of this happens in a polished, charming art style that never gets old.
Every enemy and boss has unique attacks and styles that perfectly allign with their respected areas in the world.
So many different ways to progress through the game makes every playthrough exciting. And it all leads up to an ending that you get to choose.
Exploring Hallownest for the first time was an experience I can't forget. Using stag stations to get around added to the immersion of the game and made it all seem bigger. Adapting to different enemies while trying new charms kept the game fresh throughout the entire playthrough. Another thing that kept the game fresh was that I was never stuck on ONE objective. I could collect dream essence, try a boss fight that I couldn't defeat before, upgrade my soul/health, or even find new charms. It's impossible to predict what adventure will happen next. And all of this happens in a polished, charming art style that never gets old.
For starters I'm writing this as someone who beat the game, but mostly did the main story and not much of side/DLC content with a 75% completion.
Okay, I gave this game a try like 3 years ago, I always heard everyone talking about how amazing of a game it was and such, so I eventually tired it out, I believe at the time it was a free PS Plus download. I remember the trailers showing it to be pretty interesting, yet when I played it...I didn't like it. At the time I felt the combat was too slow and death was a bit too punishing, so I quit playing. Some years later I ordered the Ori Collection and decided to do the same with Hollow Knight to give it another chance after some friends kept going on and on.
Fast forward to now aaaaand I gotta say, I loved this game, like yes, the death still felt a bit punishing, but the Metroidvania DNA is very strong and the world is honestly beautiful despite how dark and gloomy a lot of area are. The music is beautifully fitting, it really didn't have a genre to it, it was just closer to ambience that just happen to fit with the background.
I'll admit, the combat and finding power ups and charms is what kept me going, aside from a few characters I didn't really care about the story or the lore behind the world, but the game itself kept me into it wondering what was next, be it the challenging and fun boss fights, or the next power up that let me explore places I couldn't, it was a fun time that I found myself playing for like 6 to 9 hours at a time and not noticing.
I'm glad I came back to the game, I don't think I'll forget this one. I still prefer Metroid games and the DS Castlevania games (this includes Bloodstained) more than anything, but this is a very close runner up.
Okay, I gave this game a try like 3 years ago, I always heard everyone talking about how amazing of a game it was and such, so I eventually tired it out, I believe at the time it was a free PS Plus download. I remember the trailers showing it to be pretty interesting, yet when I played it...I didn't like it. At the time I felt the combat was too slow and death was a bit too punishing, so I quit playing. Some years later I ordered the Ori Collection and decided to do the same with Hollow Knight to give it another chance after some friends kept going on and on.
Fast forward to now aaaaand I gotta say, I loved this game, like yes, the death still felt a bit punishing, but the Metroidvania DNA is very strong and the world is honestly beautiful despite how dark and gloomy a lot of area are. The music is beautifully fitting, it really didn't have a genre to it, it was just closer to ambience that just happen to fit with the background.
I'll admit, the combat and finding power ups and charms is what kept me going, aside from a few characters I didn't really care about the story or the lore behind the world, but the game itself kept me into it wondering what was next, be it the challenging and fun boss fights, or the next power up that let me explore places I couldn't, it was a fun time that I found myself playing for like 6 to 9 hours at a time and not noticing.
I'm glad I came back to the game, I don't think I'll forget this one. I still prefer Metroid games and the DS Castlevania games (this includes Bloodstained) more than anything, but this is a very close runner up.
"Hallownest is a vast and wondrous thing, but in as many wonders as it holds, I've seen none quite so intriguing as you."
imagina jogar esse jogo e ainda achar que jogos não são arte
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's pretty much the best video game ever made
supa hot fire
I was initially not too fond of hollow knight as the gameplay looked rather simplistic and I am not a big fan of the art style in it. After a couple of years of pestering from freinds and family I begrudingly decided to give it a shot since I had a free copy due to playstation plus a couple of years ago.
The initial few hours I held my same opening opinion, I really didn't understand what people saw in this game at all. After a while though the craftsminship of the world and level design started to sink in. The world of Hollow Knight is huge and it is extremely easy to get lost in it.
Everytime I hit a new area I would open open another dozen routes to explore. At times I had one objective but seeminly I would get distracted and end up exploring somewhere else and several hours later still haven't completed that first objective. It's always like I gotta find the cartographer now, oh wait a new item shop, oh wait I only need a few more geo's to buy this, oh wait I know where this item goes, oh wait I found a secret path oh wait oh wait oh wait. I really grew to like the openendness of the level design. There are difned paths you need to take to get to the endgame but going straight there would be a fools erand. It's all about getting stronger and preparing yourself and perfecting your build. Then you get the completionist bug and try to max your health and magic, get all the charms and so forth. Exploration gives more rewards than anything else in the game.
The common fodder enemies scatered around the map are easy enough to dispatch for sure but they do make you stop and think what you are doing instead of mindlessly rushing through an area. Plus there are many reasons to fight them as well.
The bosses are a real stand out though. Most of them might not be OMG the best boss fights ever. However they are all very well constructed and thought out meticulously. Their is some good craft to their gameplay for the most part. Nightmare Grimm was a real highlight.
The story and lore aspect is really deep from what the internet has told me but honestly just playing through the game and 100%ing the game I feel like I got about 75% of it through random lore texts and optional speech bubbles. I'm at the very least interested now in going online and looking at a more deeper analisis, so take that for what you will.
The things I did not like are the artstyle. I know it's praised for it but if im being honest playing the game did not change my mind on it. A lot of the areas also feel real samey. The music to me while not bad is just kinda there. There are a couple of tracks that I can think of but like the save room theme or the grimm fight music but most didn't leave an impression on me. I really didn't care for the mechanic of hitting enemies pushing you back. I felt this was more annoying than anything, just makes the game feel sluggish. Also I would have liked a bit faster or longer dash. Getting around areas can take awhile especially if your running through them for the hundreth time. I know there are charms to get rid of these things but it's wasteful to use them on such minor things that should be there already. Speaking of travel I wish there were a few more fast travel spots in the world. There are times when you have to travel past three huge open areas to get to where your going and it feels needless. Or have them in better locations. Places like the battle colussium would have been real nice to have one near. I know you can create a custom fast travel in late game but I don't think it remove the issue as you can only make one at a time and you are kinda encouraged to not use them if you are trying to collect essence. The last thing that is complete and utter bullisht, maybe the most bullshit thing I've ever seen in a game is the pantheon's. I'm all for boss rushes but these are just a dumb long grind of fighting the same bosses over and over again, ones at by this time you have fought several times over already. Tieing this to trophies is dumb. Fight 10 bosses in a row while we throw a new one at you, that you can't possibly hope to win on the first several times then to top it all off go through all of the bosses. There's rewarding difficulty and then there's maschosism
In conclusion if you like metroidvania's that really encourage deep exploration and open ended gameplay with some well designed bosses I'd suggest giving Hollow Knight a try. Even if it takes a few years of convincing :)
Platinum #145
The initial few hours I held my same opening opinion, I really didn't understand what people saw in this game at all. After a while though the craftsminship of the world and level design started to sink in. The world of Hollow Knight is huge and it is extremely easy to get lost in it.
Everytime I hit a new area I would open open another dozen routes to explore. At times I had one objective but seeminly I would get distracted and end up exploring somewhere else and several hours later still haven't completed that first objective. It's always like I gotta find the cartographer now, oh wait a new item shop, oh wait I only need a few more geo's to buy this, oh wait I know where this item goes, oh wait I found a secret path oh wait oh wait oh wait. I really grew to like the openendness of the level design. There are difned paths you need to take to get to the endgame but going straight there would be a fools erand. It's all about getting stronger and preparing yourself and perfecting your build. Then you get the completionist bug and try to max your health and magic, get all the charms and so forth. Exploration gives more rewards than anything else in the game.
The common fodder enemies scatered around the map are easy enough to dispatch for sure but they do make you stop and think what you are doing instead of mindlessly rushing through an area. Plus there are many reasons to fight them as well.
The bosses are a real stand out though. Most of them might not be OMG the best boss fights ever. However they are all very well constructed and thought out meticulously. Their is some good craft to their gameplay for the most part. Nightmare Grimm was a real highlight.
The story and lore aspect is really deep from what the internet has told me but honestly just playing through the game and 100%ing the game I feel like I got about 75% of it through random lore texts and optional speech bubbles. I'm at the very least interested now in going online and looking at a more deeper analisis, so take that for what you will.
The things I did not like are the artstyle. I know it's praised for it but if im being honest playing the game did not change my mind on it. A lot of the areas also feel real samey. The music to me while not bad is just kinda there. There are a couple of tracks that I can think of but like the save room theme or the grimm fight music but most didn't leave an impression on me. I really didn't care for the mechanic of hitting enemies pushing you back. I felt this was more annoying than anything, just makes the game feel sluggish. Also I would have liked a bit faster or longer dash. Getting around areas can take awhile especially if your running through them for the hundreth time. I know there are charms to get rid of these things but it's wasteful to use them on such minor things that should be there already. Speaking of travel I wish there were a few more fast travel spots in the world. There are times when you have to travel past three huge open areas to get to where your going and it feels needless. Or have them in better locations. Places like the battle colussium would have been real nice to have one near. I know you can create a custom fast travel in late game but I don't think it remove the issue as you can only make one at a time and you are kinda encouraged to not use them if you are trying to collect essence. The last thing that is complete and utter bullisht, maybe the most bullshit thing I've ever seen in a game is the pantheon's. I'm all for boss rushes but these are just a dumb long grind of fighting the same bosses over and over again, ones at by this time you have fought several times over already. Tieing this to trophies is dumb. Fight 10 bosses in a row while we throw a new one at you, that you can't possibly hope to win on the first several times then to top it all off go through all of the bosses. There's rewarding difficulty and then there's maschosism
In conclusion if you like metroidvania's that really encourage deep exploration and open ended gameplay with some well designed bosses I'd suggest giving Hollow Knight a try. Even if it takes a few years of convincing :)
Platinum #145