great standout metroidvania with unique theming and presentation. from an artistic standpoint, Hollow Knight is an absolute marvel, featuring an astonishing amount of hand-drawn art and animation that ties together really nicely.

gameplay is solid and feels smooth, with action that rewards patience and gives you lots of options through the use of various spells and equippable charms that synergize in fun ways. most enemies and bosses feel fair, but sometimes really frustrated me. this was usually solved with application of patience and careful deliberation but some bosses just kinda suck LOL (i loved fighting grimm though. CALL ME)

exploration can be more of a mixed bag. in my experience, i was often just frustrated by how easy it is to miss so many things, rather than being pleasantly surprised. the platforming can be fun but it can also be kind of touchy. it's fun when it works and annoying when it doesn't. path of pain is the experience of all time. also, i don't think the map location and magnet charms needed to be charms. just let them be permanent upgrades...

by the way, i feel like this game is too... big, if that makes sense? it seems ridiculous to complain about having a lot of content, but the absurdity of its scale sometimes feels like it comes at the cost of the game's quality. while that quality is overall high, i don't think every game needs to be huge, and it could've stood to be pared down somewhat. team cherry seems to have a problem with this in general though, given the context of silksong's development.

the story felt somehow even more brazenly difficult to put together than modern fromsoft games, but when it coalesces it's really neat! this isn't a complaint, i just had no clue what was happening for 95% of it.

overall sound is good, but i wasn't impressed by the music. this may place me in the minority, though. a lot of care is given to the rest of the soundscape, with great ambiance throughout, the gibberish voices of the bugs are unforgettable, and every hit you land sounds as satisfying as the last thousand.

overall, in a genre as bloated as the metroidvania, Hollow Knight manages to make an indelible mark. you can give birth in this e10 game

really fun game with really fun combat and resource management. aged well enough that the necessity of a remake was questionable. (i played this for the first time in 2023)

game inherits resident evil series curse of "gets worse the longer it goes", but still manages to keep sufficiently introducing new elements and enemies to the bitter end. the island does kind of suck though.

also, anyone who complains about ashley needs to learn management skills

very traditional rpg with some modern qol. performs very well within this framework, with a lot of fun customization with your party composition and their builds. figuring out strategies that work well is satisfying. also includes customizable difficulty for anyone who wants a challenge.

the story is basic but told fairly well. however, i began to get impatient with the length of cutscenes by the end of the main campaign, and i failed to be particularly invested in any of the characters besides sylvando, who i love dearly.

by the way, it would've been great if they hired a composer for this game, so it could have more than 10 songs playing over a runtime of at least 60 hours...?