Review of Hollow Knight: A heartfelt Metroidvania
Our Verdict
Hollow Knight is an incredible achievement that combines smart game design, a rich world, and sharp combat, with an enthralling insectoid world and a story just begging for you to find it. Team Cherry’s title is a high watermark for Metroidvanias, as the satisfying abilities and countless collectibles add variety and meaning to exploration, rewarding every discovery. Yet, while the challenge is a rewarding part of the process, I do wish that the title made some concessions and shone a bit of light in the darkness for those first fledgling steps.
Hollow Knight is a unique independent artist. Created by a tiny crew, it saw tremendous success at first and ultimately, in one way or another, took over the globe. As word of the bug-filled platformer spread in 2018, I became aware of the game. Being a lover of the macabre and Metroidvanias, the setting of Hallownest seemed like a great match for my interests.
June 2018's Nintendo Direct revealed Hollow Knight's Switch version to the public, coupled with a shadow drop, because developer Team Cherry and Nintendo released the game just after the event. I recall jumping in right immediately and excitedly walking into this bizarre painted world full of difficult adversaries and sinister mysteries.
A few hours later, I was bewildered, disoriented, and deeply let down. My first blind stumbles through Hollow Knight were clashes with vicious opponents and several deaths, destroying whatever progress I could have accrued and eventually leaving me depressed. This was because I had no map and had no real idea where to proceed. Hollow Knight remained one of my all-time favorite games even after I stopped playing it for about a year in 2023.
To put things in perspective, my ADHD is really severe. When I click the jump button in a Mario game, I'm accustomed to watching Mazza fly into the air and give a hearty "Wahoo." Particularly during the first several hours, Hollow Knight puts you to the test and won't let up until you figure out how to approach and eventually conquer this universe.
First of all, Hollow Knight seems quick and pleasant to operate from a mechanical standpoint. The protagonist Given that they are bugs, The Knight (not the Hollow Knight; this is a full entity) seems like a little creature in a bigger universe, yet their one weapon, The Nail, is a sharp sword that stabs with purpose and speed. There's a subtle floating quality to jumps, but the consequences of actions and responses seem organic and instinctive.
Like in any decent Metroidvania, as you gradually explore the realm, you'll discover new skills and battle possibilities. The Knight also develops speed and platforming talents that drastically alter how you interact with the environment. You really feel like an ant beneath a boot during your first few steps inside Hallownest, but if you can get it through and regain your confidence, Hollow Knight will reward you with a wealth of talents that will soon make you feel like you can do anything.
Bosses are a big part of Hollow Knight's appeal, and this is one area where the game strongly resembles Souls. Every Hollow Knight boss offers a different but equally difficult task, whether it's because they're so big they fill a whole room or because they have many adversaries vying for your attention. Enemies' attacks and character designs complement one another to make you like them and enhance the environment they inhabit, as almost every boss contributes to the overall narrative.
Not long after you meet Hornet, you'll face The False Knight, a ponderous beetle that is many times larger than The Knight. This character is the same size as you and offers a very fast and acrobatic boss battle that requires deft attack timing and reflexes. Then, even if particularly challenging tasks like The Mantis Lords are a rigorous test, everything seems doable if you can learn to recognize patterns and respond fast. The design is always rhythmic, steady, yet lethal.
There are several monsters in Hollow Knight for you to defeat, and while some, like Uumuu, seem less challenging than others, some of the game's best moments come from taking on the scariest or most challenging bosses, like Nosk and the Crystal Guardian. The straightforward drawn imagery and straightforward sound design of The Dung Defender wonderfully reflect the story's charm and comedy, which are abundant in this work.
The characters in Hollow Knight speak in an alien tongue and exchange quiet sounds like hums and laughter instead of actual words. The voice actors do a fantastic job at giving these bugs personality and passion, bringing delight to even the smallest sound and most straightforward chirp. The soft hum of Cornifer, the cartographer you may discover buried all throughout the environment, is one of my favorite aspects of the game. It's a great method to combine world-building and clever game design when you follow the path of his catchy song and locate him. He rewards you with a map of the location you're investigating.
This extends to the world design as well, because Team Cherry gave each biome in Hollow Knight an own personality. Strong themes are created for each region and aid in telling the tale that is hidden around every corner thanks to the level structure, curation, and brilliant color scheme. The City of Tears' flat, opulent architecture serves as a suitable testing ground for your first moves and provides clues about the shattered civilization at the core of Hollow Knight's secrets.
Additionally, The Knight is presented with some lively obstacles by the eerie green environment of the Fungal Wastes, which gives the section a distinct twist and aids in your familiarization with the more acrobatic demands of the game's later half. If you can make it far enough, The Abyss's depressing monochromatic presentation narrows your field of view, which increases the difficulty and helps you become more agile when you can't plan assaults ahead of time. Team Cherry masterfully blends appeal and difficulty, imbuing each frame with a piece of the greater narrative that is just waiting for you to uncover.
Christopher Larkin's eerie piano-led soundscape supports the world design and straightforward yet intricately designed graphics. The City of Tears theme's arpeggiated stabs are a crucial element of an amazing and moving song, with the rising notes adding beauty and optimism to a work supported by ethereal voices that burst through the enigmatic veil. The instrumentation and arrangement of the soundtrack as a whole are masterworks that perfectly complement the various sections. Please, at least once, listen to the music even if you never play this game.
Despite the positive feedback so far, I have a critique about Hollow Knight: there was a reason I left the game in the first place. Hollow Knight is obviously influenced by Dark Souls, as upon dying, you have to go back to your death site and defeat a hostile version of yourself in order to retrieve your carefully amassed geo (money). Your soul meter, which is your magical attack charge, breaks until you complete this, which will negatively impact your fighting performance. This clever mechanism challenges you to go ahead rather of backing down and giving up when the game tells you to. Instead, you should go back to where you were and maintain your position. However, it's often a roadblock that lessens my motivation to keep going.
Another mechanic is the Hollow Knight charm, which allows you to switch between a variety of skills when you discover a bench (the save system) and take a break. There are a ton of more charms and notches to keep them concealed all over the place. They enhance almost every potential component of The Knight's armory by providing an enormous range of combinations for both combat and mobility. Boss battles depend on how you balance these and the charms you choose since there aren't many notches available. However, there is enough leeway to let you customize the playstyle you want.
While NPCs provide some explanation, the first few steps you take in Hollow Knight and the land of Hallownest are bewildering. This game takes great pleasure in being cryptic. Although you start with a map, you don't get a marking on it right away. Yes, you only have a map within the first few seconds and there's no way to determine where you are on it.
When it comes to some gameplay components, Team Cherry does an amazing job of introducing mystery. For example, upgrading your weapon is a delightful activity that leads you all around the universe. Collectibles and abilities are thoughtfully positioned in the distant reaches of the map, like in any good Metroidvania, and the game nearly always rewards you with something intriguing that advances your objective if you master an ability or execute flawless platforming to reach a secret region. The purpose of even seemingly little items, such as the tiny grubs that await you at some quite secret depths, makes exploring enjoyable and rewarding.
For some, the stifling challenge and the well-kept secret are gratifying, while for others, they are just intolerable. Even if the game design is attempting to teach me fighting concepts I'll definitely need later, I found the first few hours of Hollow Knight to be so incredibly cruel, even though I truly wanted to love it at first.
Additionally, you can't go everywhere at away since new regions are gradually unlocked by your developing powers and the subtly altered storyline, but you may waste a lot of time going in the wrong direction. Although Hollow Knight never holds your hand, this might be seen as a double-edged sword in that, if you have the patience, it is totally up to you to discover this world and comprehend its story. I love Hollow Knight's world-building, and I'm so glad I went back and persisted in finding the mysteries buried under the surface. You'll encounter exhilarating boss battles, incredible new abilities, and stunning biomes that are almost impossible to miss if you don't explore every square inch.
With about 30 hours of gameplay, Hollow Knight is a massive game that has been further enhanced by extensive (and amazing) DLC. The Godmaster DLC's formidable task will put even the most seasoned Hollow Knight master to the test, while other additions like The Grimm Troupe introduce entertaining new characters and intriguing new boss dynamics to Hallownest. There's an interesting, lovely, and really fulfilling game waiting for you to complete it if you can navigate this environment and find your way around it.
Nevertheless, Hollow Knight's strongest features are sometimes at conflict with its challenging and demanding design. If you do decide to explore Hallownest, I strongly advise reaching out to community creators like Reylea or mossbag for help when you run into trouble or to shed light on a story that is hidden away. Though Team Cherry has made improvements since the game's release, Hollow Knight remains one of my favorite games. Still, it's difficult to suggest a game with cliches like "stick with it" or "it gets good after about ten hours," especially when the game's hurdles are essential to the enjoyment of the experience.
Few video games have as much charm, mystery, and enjoyable gameplay as Hollow Knight. Small Australian company Team Cherry has accomplished amazing things with basic 2D graphics of various bugs, great fighting, and an engaging universe. The Knight's gradual transformation from a little beetle into a champion of spooky battle is an amazing adventure supported by a complex universe full of mysteries and intrigue. All I wanted was that those first few hours had done a better job of bringing you into the world and giving the gloom some context.
With our guides covering Hollow Knight pale ore and Hollow Knight Hornet, we can immerse ourselves in the world of Hallownest as we wait for the Hollow Knight Silksong release date (which should be any day now, we hope).