For some backstory, I actually tried out Hollow Knight on Switch a long time ago, but I accidentally ended up dropping it and never got the interest to resume my playthrough. This time, I decided to tackle it on PC, and oh my lord I never expected to end up being absorbed by it this deep
Gameplay
The gameplay all around just feels so good. The movement, soul, attacking moves and everything about it is so refined and polished.
The maps are all so nice and so beautifully crafted. It feels very nice to explore each location and discover every single last hidden part of it. Not only that, but most of the hidden content is very nicely placed and indicated, except a few exceptions which are… pretty bad, sadly. But the fact that I found out almost everything without a guide speaks for itself
I have to say though, at the start of the game when you have to go through Fog Canyon to reach your new destination… it’s not clear at all, and not well-indicated, because when you notice the map guy being behind a barrier you can’t cross yet, you would automatically assume you shouldn’t be there yet. I would say that’s one of the problems I had with the game, but luckily it’s nothing too big
As for the platforming, there are very interesting puzzles and I had a lot of fun with the movement in the game, it’s just feels like heaven in the hands. I even had a nice time with the Path of Pain, it felt so intense and it was so satisfying to beat, it reminded me a lot of Celeste
The exploration is so incredibly fun and so rewarding. I had a blast looking through every corner of Hallownest, and there was barely any time where I was not rewarded for it
As for the bosses… my lord, every single one of them is so fun. It was great discovering new bosses and fighting them, and the boss battles were just done so well and with so much care. Even the harder ones like Nightmare King Grimm or Pure Vessel were entertaining as heck, once you get to learn their patterns and attacks. On that topic, however, Absolute Radiance is a BITCH, it’s not even fun
Story
…Okay, I’m sorry, I actually has to confess here that I actually didn’t understand the lore or paid too much attention to the dialogues. I stumbled upon so many pieces of interesting lore and similar stuff, but I never got too much into it
I must say though, that for that part that I understood, I really appreciate the entire lore going around this game and it complements its atmosphere excellently
Music
Hollow Knight has always been praised for its OST, and for good reason. It does an spectacular job at setting the atmosphere and it’s wonderful all around. The map music is its main appeal, but the boss themes are very good as well
The Pure Vessel and Nightmare King Grimm’s themes specially stuck with me due to how many times I heard them throughout my attempts to beat them
My completion
Here comes the big stuff: I was able to achieve 112% in Hollow Knight, the maximum completion possible! I’m very proud of myself for this achievement and I originally thought I would struggle a lot more than I did, but it turned out to be a very fun journey
However, as sad as it is, I don’t think I’ll be doing some of the other achievements such as Embrace the Void (fifth pantheon), since Absolute Radiance kicks my ass too hard and the entire boss rush is just… painful. As for the other achievements, they require a new different playthrough so I don’t think I’ll be doing them anytime soon, plus there’s the speedrun and steel soul mode ones to consider
Conclusion
Hollow Knight surprised me in all aspects, and you can tell it has care and love put into every portion of it. I’m glad I finally put the time to get through this game, because it was an unique experience and quite possibly the best metroidvania I have ever had the opportunity to play
Now it’s my time to join the Silksong clown club, and I couldn’t be more excited to see what Silksong has in store for us
Silvy 