Hollow Knight achieves what few side-scrolling games can: the perfect blending of style and substance.
Roaming through the sprawling realm of Hallownest, I often found myself enthralled by the gorgeous backdrops, whimsical bugs, and incredibly varied enemy design. Hollow Knight tells its story in a similar vein to games like Dark Souls, where you must glean the things you can from descriptions, cryptic hints, and the world itself. That works for some, and not others, and obviously did for me.
Not only is Hallownest gorgeous to look at, it's also extremely fun to navigate and fight through. Controls are tight and responsive, and abilities/power-ups are introduced at a pace that doesn't make learning the mechanics feel overwhelming. Containing both challenging platforming sequences and boss fights, the game respects the player while simultaneously challenging them to "git gud". A fantastic experience overall for those it clicks with, and a recent addition to my Top 5 games of all-time.
100% Completion Notes: My proudest completion to date. I bounced off of this game after attempting the pantheons multiple times, but finally attempted it with a renewed vigor last month. Grinding the boss fights to practice for the boss rush mode, I truly felt like I had mastered the game and its challenges. The Steel Soul run was stressful but fair, and I will look back fondly on the time and effort I put into getting all the achievements in one of my favorite games.
Roaming through the sprawling realm of Hallownest, I often found myself enthralled by the gorgeous backdrops, whimsical bugs, and incredibly varied enemy design. Hollow Knight tells its story in a similar vein to games like Dark Souls, where you must glean the things you can from descriptions, cryptic hints, and the world itself. That works for some, and not others, and obviously did for me.
Not only is Hallownest gorgeous to look at, it's also extremely fun to navigate and fight through. Controls are tight and responsive, and abilities/power-ups are introduced at a pace that doesn't make learning the mechanics feel overwhelming. Containing both challenging platforming sequences and boss fights, the game respects the player while simultaneously challenging them to "git gud". A fantastic experience overall for those it clicks with, and a recent addition to my Top 5 games of all-time.
100% Completion Notes: My proudest completion to date. I bounced off of this game after attempting the pantheons multiple times, but finally attempted it with a renewed vigor last month. Grinding the boss fights to practice for the boss rush mode, I truly felt like I had mastered the game and its challenges. The Steel Soul run was stressful but fair, and I will look back fondly on the time and effort I put into getting all the achievements in one of my favorite games.