If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Super Metroid might be one of the most flattered games by the indie game developing community. You tend to see one of these at least a couple of times a year. The case of Hollow Knight to me feels like something particularly special.

Hollow Knight is a curious blend of flavors. The world underneath the surface is dark, hostile, and overall dead; and yet there are still a few lingering souls that have decided to stay for different reasons. As you explore you learn about the ozymandic empire of Hallownest, a once vast and glorious kingdom that fell to devastating ruin.

This maze is full of insect characters of all sorts. The bug designs vary on being either cuddly and adorable to outright hostile and terrifying. This is a place in which a lot of people have lost their reason to keep living, while others are attracted to the spirit of adventure. You will see an entire pantheon of lives as you keep digging, be it prospering, lingering, or gone.

Mechanically, Hollow Knight is often compared to Dark Souls, the creatures can be very punishing, but you are given plenty of room to parry and counter attack, and you also happen to use souls as a form of replenishment for your survival. It can be very punishing, but every advancement you make on the game feels very rewarding, especially as you get to unlock another dark and silent corner of the vast map; overtime you also get very handy upgrades that make you a far more threatening force to be reckoned with; these are some aspects that feel accurately similar to Super Metroid in some regards.

Hollow Knight is suspenseful, enigmatic, melancholic, breathtaking, silly, and overall a fantastic experience. Venture into this world of husks and secrets, you will definitely be engulfed by it.