A passion project always seems to be flawed, and Hollow Knight is no exception.
It is to be expected from an indie game made by a three-man crew in Australia, but in this game the flaws stand out. Humongous and ill-fitting difficulty spikes, occasional poor and unfair enemy design, and sprawling levels are, quite often, a big hindrance to the player. These flaws are always very noticeable to me, but the reason is because this game is just so darn good.
The world is huge, and full of life. Every enemy feels like a real animal, all the NPCs feel like real people, and every area feels like an actual, beautiful place.
Speaking of beauty, this entire game is gorgeous from top to bottom, with incredibly designed artwork in every levels that, in turn, makes every place feel unique, yet fitting together, all into one massive, existing world.
It's all so creative as well - dark, crystal mines swarming with selfish, attacking miners, a lovely wasteland covered and populated by fungus due to the damp conditions of underground, a genuinely horrifying set of pitch black tunnels filled with creepy camouflage spiders, a lush land full of all kinds of greenery, a city in the rain due to groundwater, etc. All of these worlds can be explored completely freely, in any order, without feeling purposeless. One time, in the span of an hour, I accidentally stumbled through three completely different areas, and unlocked so much abilities and story.
The story, and lore, are absolutely fascinating, and it draws you into the mystery of Hallownest. Who are you, as a strange, empty knight? What is your purpose, and why are you so compelled to complete it? What is this land of gods? Why is everyone infected? It's all basically a well established mythology, and one that could be expanded upon and explored endlessly.
The combat's pretty fun too, as it should be in this massive of a game, and the huge set of abilities to unlock expands in a very satisfying way. The enemies vary greatly, and there is such a wide and understandable variety of methods to defeating each of them. In the end, you find yourself launching through multiple rooms at great speeds in a matter of seconds, plowing through hordes of easy enemies, and it's so great.
As an added bonus, everything related to sound design, music and HD Rumble (for the switch) is simply perfect. I can't describe how good this game sounds and actually feels, as in "feeling" the game vibrating.
Yeah, it's flawed. Yeah, I don't always love it. But I do love it most of the time, and there's really no other game like it. It's Hollow Knight, and it probably is one of the best games of all time.
4.5/5: Very close to a 5, but still an absolutely glorious game
It is to be expected from an indie game made by a three-man crew in Australia, but in this game the flaws stand out. Humongous and ill-fitting difficulty spikes, occasional poor and unfair enemy design, and sprawling levels are, quite often, a big hindrance to the player. These flaws are always very noticeable to me, but the reason is because this game is just so darn good.
The world is huge, and full of life. Every enemy feels like a real animal, all the NPCs feel like real people, and every area feels like an actual, beautiful place.
Speaking of beauty, this entire game is gorgeous from top to bottom, with incredibly designed artwork in every levels that, in turn, makes every place feel unique, yet fitting together, all into one massive, existing world.
It's all so creative as well - dark, crystal mines swarming with selfish, attacking miners, a lovely wasteland covered and populated by fungus due to the damp conditions of underground, a genuinely horrifying set of pitch black tunnels filled with creepy camouflage spiders, a lush land full of all kinds of greenery, a city in the rain due to groundwater, etc. All of these worlds can be explored completely freely, in any order, without feeling purposeless. One time, in the span of an hour, I accidentally stumbled through three completely different areas, and unlocked so much abilities and story.
The story, and lore, are absolutely fascinating, and it draws you into the mystery of Hallownest. Who are you, as a strange, empty knight? What is your purpose, and why are you so compelled to complete it? What is this land of gods? Why is everyone infected? It's all basically a well established mythology, and one that could be expanded upon and explored endlessly.
The combat's pretty fun too, as it should be in this massive of a game, and the huge set of abilities to unlock expands in a very satisfying way. The enemies vary greatly, and there is such a wide and understandable variety of methods to defeating each of them. In the end, you find yourself launching through multiple rooms at great speeds in a matter of seconds, plowing through hordes of easy enemies, and it's so great.
As an added bonus, everything related to sound design, music and HD Rumble (for the switch) is simply perfect. I can't describe how good this game sounds and actually feels, as in "feeling" the game vibrating.
Yeah, it's flawed. Yeah, I don't always love it. But I do love it most of the time, and there's really no other game like it. It's Hollow Knight, and it probably is one of the best games of all time.
4.5/5: Very close to a 5, but still an absolutely glorious game