Will leave you gobsmacked with its wonder, polish, and intrigue at every turn. One of the best Metroidvanias. Combat is simple, but the skill ceiling is high. I too, weep for these bugs. NameBrand
This is my second play through on my second purchase of the game, and I have to say that it still is an incredibly enriching video game experience. Gobsmacked is the right word for it. Environments are beyond beautiful and atmospheric, owing to the strong art design mixed with a perfect soundtrack. Combat is intense, but seemingly never impossible. The NPC's are lovable and the Lore is rich and rife should you choose to find and follow it. Build-crafting with the charms is remarkably fun and intuitive. Exploring is divine. Beating the game gives you a nice sense of victory.
It's almost a perfect video game. In fact, maybe it's a perfect video game. The only gripe I have against it, is I wish there was a way, in game, to find some of those secret areas. We're talking entire areas with optional bosses that can be so easy to miss... I want everyone to be able to experience this game in its entirety, but I find that to be nearly impossible without outside resources like a community made map. Key areas that help you progress can take hours to find if you miss that one small detail. My first playthrough on Nintendo Switch took me over 50 hours. This time, I'm barely under 30. Those extra 20 hours of getting lost around Hallownest for my first time are a joy, but... I think there's some optimizations that could be done to reduce the frustration you might have with that aspect of the game.
But beyond that, like I said... near perfection. The bosses are incredibly well designed, from how they look, to how they're animated and how they attack. The areas are themed incredibly well and are different enough from each other that you can easily remember where they're at. It's just all well done, super well done.
Within the first few hours you just get hooked on playing the game, and then it's nothing but Hollow Knight in your schedule until you've beat it. And then you think about the optional side quests and you go back and beat those (or try to anyway). You collect all the charms. You collect all the grubs. My desire to stay in this game world is so strong that I'm making up reasons to stay within it... until it all fades away like a dream... and I'm left weeping for these bugs and the tragedy of their world.
You'll know pretty quick if this is the game for you. So, if you need the nudge, I recommend that you get off the fence, and buy it. Could be one of the best gaming experiences you'll ever have.
NOTE: The store page says that it's SteamDeck Verified but I can't tell you how many times I experienced graphical glitches and soft locks on loading screens. Every 3 or 4 play sessions it seemed like I needed to verify the integrity of the game files because something was not behaving properly.
This is my second play through on my second purchase of the game, and I have to say that it still is an incredibly enriching video game experience. Gobsmacked is the right word for it. Environments are beyond beautiful and atmospheric, owing to the strong art design mixed with a perfect soundtrack. Combat is intense, but seemingly never impossible. The NPC's are lovable and the Lore is rich and rife should you choose to find and follow it. Build-crafting with the charms is remarkably fun and intuitive. Exploring is divine. Beating the game gives you a nice sense of victory.
It's almost a perfect video game. In fact, maybe it's a perfect video game. The only gripe I have against it, is I wish there was a way, in game, to find some of those secret areas. We're talking entire areas with optional bosses that can be so easy to miss... I want everyone to be able to experience this game in its entirety, but I find that to be nearly impossible without outside resources like a community made map. Key areas that help you progress can take hours to find if you miss that one small detail. My first playthrough on Nintendo Switch took me over 50 hours. This time, I'm barely under 30. Those extra 20 hours of getting lost around Hallownest for my first time are a joy, but... I think there's some optimizations that could be done to reduce the frustration you might have with that aspect of the game.
But beyond that, like I said... near perfection. The bosses are incredibly well designed, from how they look, to how they're animated and how they attack. The areas are themed incredibly well and are different enough from each other that you can easily remember where they're at. It's just all well done, super well done.
Within the first few hours you just get hooked on playing the game, and then it's nothing but Hollow Knight in your schedule until you've beat it. And then you think about the optional side quests and you go back and beat those (or try to anyway). You collect all the charms. You collect all the grubs. My desire to stay in this game world is so strong that I'm making up reasons to stay within it... until it all fades away like a dream... and I'm left weeping for these bugs and the tragedy of their world.
You'll know pretty quick if this is the game for you. So, if you need the nudge, I recommend that you get off the fence, and buy it. Could be one of the best gaming experiences you'll ever have.
NOTE: The store page says that it's SteamDeck Verified but I can't tell you how many times I experienced graphical glitches and soft locks on loading screens. Every 3 or 4 play sessions it seemed like I needed to verify the integrity of the game files because something was not behaving properly.