Ar;Lobby - Why is Hollow Knight so good?

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Introduction

As a Metroidvania-style platformer game, my expectations were considerably low, primarily due to my disinterest in a genre monopolised by Nintendo. However, Hollow Knight has shattered every expectation I held before buying it. Content-wise, the game became too big for me to contain within my available time, often pushing me further down the evening for me to regret it in the morning. Additionally, the game has comfortable controls and introduces simple and subtle tutorials scattered across the world, ensuring you maintain a suitable pacing without loosing interested or getting lost.

Gameplay

Often referred to as the Hollownest, the image you see below is the playground of Hollow Knight, containing a total of 157 different enemy types which include 22 unique bosses. While it may seem slightly intimidating, it is far from it. The developers have put in additional effort into making the game considerably more accessible when compared to other old-school Metroidvania, and they've done in a very interesting way.

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Both transportation and traversal of the environment are enjoyable processes which present themselves as opportunities rather than obstacles. In the scenario where going through the same path is not on your to-do list, there is the Stag, allowing quick travel almost across all of the different areas:

Gameplay

When discussing the combat system of Hollow Knight, you would not consider the game to be within the 2D game space. Both skills and abilities provided in the game feel impactful and meaningful, allowing the player to not only explore additional options for tackling difficult monsters but engage the environment as well as the platforming in a new compelling style. Additionally, the Hollow Knight offers charms which can be used to extend the capabilities of your hero and add additional functionality to the mobility, sustainability, offence or defence skill sets within the game.

I highly recommend watching this video from Superforge on optimal charm combinations:

Lore

While I'm sure some of you might not be interested in the fascinating stories developed within video game schene, Hollow Knight's is well worth mentioning. Whether it be through the item/ability description or the NPCs that follow you around the map, lore is right there, in front of you, waiting to be read. The game offers a large pool of characters to interact with, all of which are unique both in visuals and story, contributing to the advancement of the game in different ways.

To my pleasant surprise, Hollow Knight even provides a "village" environment where most of the friendly NPCs gather, allowing the player to clearly notice the gradual progression of his adventure.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, this overview of Hollow Knight doesn't even come close to scratching the surface. There are other cool features such as the logbook, boss mechanics, tutorials that I wish I could cover in greater detail, but simply put, the game is simply too deep for me to put on paper (or blog). However, I believe the best way to experience any game is by playing it and this one is well worth your time.

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