Hollow Knight
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Summary
There are games that manage to impress, while others do more by providing a memorable adventure that will go down in history as one of the best indie games (and developer debuts) in history. Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight exceeded all expectations when it was first released back in 2017, delivering an award-winning 2D sidescrolling Metroidvania action-adventure experience.
Available to PlayStation Plus subscribers for free this November 2020, is this modern take on a classic genre something you’d want to dive into?
Plotline
Without diving deep into spoilers, you’ll take the role of an unnamed Knight who arrives in the ruins of Hallownest, a once-thriving insect kingdom that suffered a catastrophe of epic proportions, called “The Infection”. This apocalyptic event led the kingdom to ruin and its residents to madness and the state of being undead.
Instead of making you follow a set story like in games of the same ilk like Metroid and Castlevania, Hollow Knight lets you piece together the stories by letting you freely explore the game’s many locations. By doing so, you’ll end up meeting a number of other bugs, which will unlock optional content and lead to a number of interesting encounters.
Gameplay
Hollow Knight a modern take on a classic 2D genre, akin to the Castlevania titles of the 90s. Despite being 2D, it gives out a genuinely massive freely explorable world, with some areas locked behind the necessary upgrades the Knight receives when he encounters other characters.
However, Hollow Knight’s first few hours are among the hardest. The combat system feels rather simplistic and low-effort at first but gradually improves once you get the hang of it and unlock charms which act as upgrades and other abilities. These range from letting you fire off a soul shot to damage enemies from afar, to increasing your nail’s range.
Fighting enemies and its dozens of bosses is one of Hollow Knight’s best aspects. Some bosses are large, armored brutes, capable of dealing devastating damage within a wide area. Meanwhile, others can be as fast as agile as the Knight himself. A lot of the fights require repetition, memorizing the boss’ attack patterns, and skillful dodging and timing. It’s always exciting with little room for error, considering if your knight dies, you’ll need to fight his phantom in order to retrieve your money (called geo). Moreover, fighting mobs is also a challenge, considering the amount of damage they deal and the different ways they attack.
Meanwhile, Hallownest feels like moving around an overwhelming labyrinth that can kill you in every corner since it is infested with other bugs and traps. Plus, you’ll also likely get lost and even lost track of where you should be going. Thankfully, this gets better once you unlock fast travel points (AKA the Stag Beetle Express) and delve deeper. Your first destination, a town called Dirtmouth, will act as your base of operations and the place where you can purchase charms and upgrades (if you rescue the shopkeep).
Every area on the map is nothing short of fantastic. The game’s beautiful art style coupled with the intricately-designed areas feature various obstacles that may require you to wall jump and make precise jumps, make for a unique experience. When you visit a new area, you’re guaranteed to face a set of new challenges and ways on how to navigate. Moreover, note that it’s a must to move around and illuminate every nook and cranny in this underground labyrinth. The game offers a variety of optional content and unlockables you can easily miss if you haven’t visited a certain section of the map.
Community
Hollow Knight is solely a single-player experience. However, it has a large subreddit community where you can post and share fan art, as well as talk about the game. Moreover, there are numerous wiki entries if you need to brush up on the lore and guides if ever you need help unlocking areas, finding hidden valuables, or tips in defeating bosses.
Graphics/Sound
In terms of presentation, Hollow Knight is an artistic marvel. The 2D animations, world design, and art style somehow give me the impression of old 1920s films. The character designs vary from cute to creepy, depending on how you see things.
The biggest draw is Hallownest itself. Its overall design and the music that plays while you’re walking around its ruined streets successfully communicates its forlorn and ruined state. Likewise, some regions even borderline horror, with empty carapaces of dead insects looking at you from the background. Everything feels eerie, ruinous, yet beautiful.
Conclusion
Overall, there’s no question that Hollow Knight deserves its status as one of the best indie games - and games in general - of this generation. It is undoubtedly up there with titles such as Celeste, Cuphead, and Hades. If you’re a PlayStation Plus user, it’s not something you’d just want to add to your backlog: it’s also a game you definitely have to play right away.
Hollow Knight Blog
New Game Added: Hollow Knight
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