If there's one single piece of praise that I can grant this game (and trust me, i'll be dishing out a lot of it), its that everything it served felt absolutely necessary.
Every character feels like they have a purpose to serve and a place to be within this world and every sound has relevance, whether it be atmospheric ambience, a welcoming song of safety or the noise of a lurking threat to keep you on your toes. Every power-up is utilised to maximum effectiveness and none are obsolete, same for charms, while some are more situational than others, no charm is without its practical uses. Every area is vastly unique, interesting and inherently tied to hallownests' narrative and history - and then each of them are all masterfully interconnected to create a much more expansive whole.

I think in many ways, Hollow Knight has subverted my perspective on the medium as well as my preconceptions and tastes. I have always valued games with a sense of linearity and comfort, straying too far outside of my comfort zone in a game was usually something I found stressful and frankly, undesirable. There have been some exceptions, but none that ever tested me like this game. This sense of frustration and not wanting to step too far outside of my comfort zone is, I think, the inherent reason why i've found myself quitting at some games before i've really given them a proper chance. Because I didn't think I had the will or the patience or, I don't know 'something' to allow me to push past my inhibitions and conquer a significant challenge, I simply never went there.
In Hollow Knight, I live for the tension and suspense, I embrace the challenge and am even left wanting more, constantly seeking out the next, even bigger challenge. The prospect of a new, unfamiliar location with incredibly challenging enemies, platforming, bosses & secrets was not something I shied from, but something I rushed head first into. This game has had me by the BALLS and it still hasn't let go as i'm writing this right now. 2 days ago I spent a good 90 minutes to 2 hours on the trial of the fool in the colosseum, a brutal challenge of wave upon wave of enemies. Yesterday I beat Grimm and then immediately after, I spent over 3 hours on the path of pain, easily the most ball busting platforming challenge i've ever faced in a video game - but I am loving every last second of it.

There's no one single thing that makes Hollow Knight a masterpiece, it is the sum of its parts and each part is a masterpiece of design on its own. I said before that every aspect of Hollow Knight feels 'necessary' - and this is only achieved through thoughtfulness and love poured into its design. There is such clear consideration for every part of this game shown in the end result, like how good it feels to just generally move around in, how precise yet natural the difficulty curve feels as you progress as well as the intelligent writing and deep running lore of Hallownest and all of its inhabitants. This game is such a labour of love and the fact it was funded via kickstarter, started as a tiny flash game and was made by a considerably small team of people is mad to me.

So yeah, I think I like this game hahaha. The day after I started playing it I played it for 9 hours, the day after that, I played it for over 11 hours, from midday to almost midnight with very few breaks. Infact, it has been 6 days since I started it I think and i've played it for over 35 hours and am quickly closing in on 100% completion. A day and a half of the last 6 days has just been me playing this game, that hasn't happened since P5 royal lol, and I had other stuff I was playing, I just fancied trying this out and it escalated and escalated. The way Hollow Knight is always throwing new things your way, be it a new area or ability or challenge, or simply a whole lot of secrets to be found through exploration is simply mesmerising and addictive to me, it's like a drug. Not to mention this game's stunningly beautiful artstyle, charming and memorable cast of characters and sometimes adrenaline surging difficulty kept me hooked on what to expect next. I remember first arriving in the city of tears and just being intoxicated by its beauty, it was a cold and rainy night outside while I was playing on the switch in handheld mode. The environment matched the city of tears perfectly and hearing that music for the first time is like, an indescribable feeling. Seeing what remains of this once great capital city and the small amount of life that still settles there, fighting a real difficulty spike of enemies and exploring the various secrets that lie within it, perfection.

I've heard this described about soulsbourne games and I know how similar Hollow Knight can be to that formula even if it does go in some wildly different directions - but Hollow Knight is a lonely game that isn't always lonely. Thematically significant from the moment you enter dirtmouth and the moment you venture into the unknown that you are specifically warned against - you know that what awaits you will be up to you and you alone to face. With this said, you are certainly not without help. But while the npcs that you discover certainly assist you, they always have their own motive. This comes back to this thoughtfulness and necessity for every aspect of the game - cornifer has a passion for exploration and wants to document the world in his work, the seer guides you and rewards you because she regrets that her ancestors forgot about their creator, the Radiance. Characters are far more than just faces, they are significant and have an actual role to play, though many recognise their role pales in comparison to that of the knight. I even felt a strong kind of connection to this little knight that I was controlling, they are unnamed, forgotten, 'tiny' (which many comment on) and silent, and yet, I just felt like their grand task was truly my own. Any great challenge posed was something to be overcame and nothing ever felt unobtainable, totally unfair or irrelevant and the knight is us, the player, ready to conquer whatever comes our way! Sounds cliche but it's absolutely true.

What an unforgettable experience.