Hollow Knight Review - One of the best Metroidvanias?

I've been nearly obsessed with Hollow Knight for the past couple of months since it came out. It may be old hat by now, but I enjoyed this game so much that I couldn't help but write a review for it, because it is one of the best Metroidvanias I have ever played.

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Brave the Depths of a Forgotten Kingdom
Beneath the fading town of Dirtmouth sleeps an ancient, ruined kingdom. Many are drawn below the surface, searching for riches, or glory, or answers to old secrets.

Hollow Knight is a classically styled 2D action adventure across a vast interconnected world. Explore twisting caverns, ancient cities and deadly wastes; battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs; and solve ancient mysteries at the kingdom's heart.

Game Features
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
- Over 130 enemies! 30 epic bosses! Face ferocious beasts and vanquish ancient knights on your quest through the kingdom. Track down every last twisted foe and add them to your Hunter's Journal!
- Leap into minds with the Dream Nail. Uncover a whole other side to the characters you meet and the enemies you face.
- Beautiful painted landscapes, with extravagant parallax, give a unique sense of depth to a side-on world.
- Chart your journey with extensive mapping tools. Buy compasses, quills, maps and pins to enhance your understanding of Hollow Knight’s many twisting landscapes.
- A haunting, intimate score accompanies the player on their journey, composed by Christopher Larkin. The score echoes the majesty and sadness of a civilisation brought to ruin.
- Complete Hollow Knight to unlock Steel Soul Mode, the ultimate challenge!

An Evocative Hand-Crafted World
The world of Hollow Knight is brought to life in vivid, moody detail, its caverns alive with bizarre and terrifying creatures, each animated by hand in a traditional 2D style.

Every new area you’ll discover is beautifully unique and strange, teeming with new creatures and characters. Take in the sights and uncover new wonders hidden off of the beaten path.

If you like classic gameplay, cute but creepy characters, epic adventure and beautiful, gothic worlds, then Hollow Knight awaits!

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[nedmclennan]

The truely groundbreaking thing about Hollow Knight is that it doesn't have to come up with new concepts to be an amazing game. Each concept and design is perfected and it combines all of them into a harmonizing experience. It plays a brilliant song out of notes already played.

[AHeckman]

"You'll have a new obsession for the next week or so."

Week he says.

[garlic_boi]

"The familiar call of a friend in need..."
**Zote.**

[keithredacted]

What I also really love about this game is the little things they do. I don't know if this is a spoiler but me and my friend really loved how they designed Cornifer. The map was like our number 1 priority throughout the game. The way you need to find him, follow his map trail and hear his humming in order for you to get the map of the area was our favorite mini game. It really played with our heads.
**finds a new area**
Me: This area looks pretty neat.
Friend: Can you check the map real quick?
Game: *You have no map for this area*
Me and my friend: **triggered**
We also really love that they gave a little story to our fast travel buddy. This game really does a good job of making standard game mechanics and putting their own twist to them, making them more memorable, interesting and fun.

[AshBarkPerson]

this game has a level of polish that shows the creators really cared about their product and not just the profit. You know how you break all the signs and things in one area and come back to see them fixed? You know that if you enter an area just right you'll see bugs repairing the things you broke? Theres an entire group in that game (The Repairbugs) that just go around fixing the things you break.

[thechonkulisrift]

"hollow knight last about 20-30 hours" Me nervously glances at my 165 hours.

[keithredacted]

Ugh, this game <3 It was actually my first random gem. I never buy or get games unless I've seen a let's player play it enough to get me interested. I was simply going through steam, saw a new "very positive" rated metroidvania game and said "ok". Ever since Ori, i was trying to find another good or decent metroid and I was desperate. Once I bought it, I kinda had a sense of regret because I absolutely went blind for the first time... well, here I am, watching reviews for a game that i already finished because I want to hear people gush over the discovery I am proud of XD

[charlesajones]

I spent 50 hours in my first play through. 93% completion. For a $15 game, this has a ludicrous amount of content. I'm 10 hours into my second game, and I'm finding stuff I never found the first time through.

[SuperRandomizer]

Turned out to be a whole game and not a DLC. Team cherry at it again with the brilliance

[LotusGramarye]

Hollow Knight is one of like...three games I wouldn't hesitate to call perfect. It's fucking criminal that this game is only $15.

[toma.]

It's actually THE best metroidvania imo - i'd even go so far and say it's better than the originals. The only other game that gives me this feeling of exploring a desolated grim world is the Souls games. Truely astounding how everything in Hollow Knight is created with such an attention to detail. I spend 10 bucks on the game and wish I could spend more.

[ShadowHunter]

Can we just appreciate that for a 15 euro/dollar game you get content equal to at least 30 hours and not even including the free dlc in july. Normally i am not a fan of metroidvania games, however this one is truly an exception. I love the dark souls series and there is one thing i can say for sure, this is for me the bloodborne alternative pc gamers needed. Almost every aspect of the game is perfect and there are little to no bugs. This is the level of perfection every game should strive for, which i think is often very lacking when it comes to 'modern' or even many older games. My favourite platform, metroidvania and indie game of all time. For me it is already GOTY 2017 and i dont think that will change. And keep in mind that i have not even finished the game yet.

Oh yes almost forgot, how staggering is it that only 3 people worked on this game, can we just appreciate that for just a moment.

Thank you for reading btw hope you have a great day

[feartheswarm]

I know I'll get some backlash from this, but Hollow Knight is probably my favorite game ever. Now, I'll be honest, it's my first metroidvania, and I haven't played several new games due to lack of having the newest consoles, but Hollow Knight's soundtrack, atmosphere, combat, and level design are all spectacular, and I never had a dull moment, even when I was lost. Sure, other games may have better graphics and mechanics, but no other single-player game has kept me entertained and wanting to come back day after day like this game has. Yea, I have more hours on several other games, but that's because they are multiplayer games I can enjoy with friends. Nearly every other game I have ever played as much as Hollow Knight I get burned out on, and can't play it again for weeks. However, this game, even if I don't feel like playing for a couple days, always feels fresh and fun. At the moment my highest percent completion is 104%. And that's on my first ever playthrough! And I can't forget the DLC! Free content with amazing bosses and chilling themes, with the biggest and best coming soon, who can't love it?! This game is a masterpiece in my eyes and my go-to choice for a fun and relaxing (although sometimes frustrating) way to spend my evenings day after everloving day.

[kicel_Vankip]

One of the best Metroidvanias? Yep. And the best game of 2017! For me))

[zememerr]

Me: (Tries to heal)
Soul guys: Haha no (Teleports right behind you)

[haydenc.]

Sometimes it feels like this game was just made to appeal to everything I love. Moody backgrounds, gorgeous scenery, beautifully simplistic animation, lovably lethal character designs, an absolute masterclass in level/world design, hauntingly beautiful music and atmosphere, a sense of overarching interconnectivity in the world, NPC's who consistently charm and surprise, a story that allows the audience to draw their own conclusions, an absolutely sprawling lore that continually raises more questions than answers...all for the cool low price of 15 bucks.

I know everyone's already gushed, but I needed to too :)

[Paradox]

This game's lore actually made me cry, not because it's an emotional experience, rather the opposite, it builds up the conclusion of a world. The world that has turned "hollow". it made me slowly realize the stories of the past and made me realize what i was, that everything was for the ideals and morals of every character in the game. even ones that do not appear in the game "present" or "alive" if you will. as well as the fact that each ending represents a moral choice put into the (spoilers) programming of the void that you are. made me feel emotions even after this world ended. The DLC that's coming out will explain the story of hollow nest. I can not wait for it. :D

[Ben-fhdv]

I’ll be honest, while the soul master was definitely very challenging at first, it never felt unfair to me at all. Once you know his attacks, the fight becomes trivial, and it never feels like it was the game’s fault

[kaarlomakkarakasa]

I initially bought this game because it was pretty as hell, and happened to be topping the charts in the Nintendo Switch eshop, but holy hell, I never expected something so good for a mere price of 15€. I've never said this of any other game before, but goddamn, I wish I could've paid more, 15€ is WAY too little considering all the content in Hollow Knight.

[jakeinator]

I picked this game up on a whim during a Steam Sale because videogamedunkey showed a picture of its cover art when talking about games he liked. I haven't enjoyed a game this much since my first playthrough of Dark Souls.

The world is the perfect balance of depressing and charming, and so interesting to uncover. It rewards exploration just enough to keep you exploring, but not too much so as to make it feel unfulfilling. The soundtrack is just amazing, I purchased it along with the game and I've been listening to it at every opportunity since I got it. Everything about this game is so immersive and enjoyable.

There are very few moments in the game that feel cheap or unfair, and I never feel like I die because of the controls or the environment. Every victory feels rewarding. Every fight feels so well tuned and tight. Every area feels so unique and beautiful in its own way and offers its own sorts of challenges and mechanics.

The story goes hand in hand with exploration, and that's how stories are supposed to be. I think what I love most about this game, and Dark Souls as well, is that it feels like I'm exploring a world that's actually alive, with a rich history and backstory that you get to experience in much the same way that you experience real life.

This game is nearly perfect in every way and I can't sing its praises enough. I can't wait to see what Team Cherry brings us next. They've given us a true masterpiece.