"Hollow Knight" is the cutest, "git gud" 2D platformer I've ever played. The graphics are beautiful, with the backgrounds being the best eye candy I've seem since "Dead Cells". The progressive unlocking of areas and items were borderline impossible, with me wandering off into a new area more times than not - usually paying for that curiosity with death. Speaking of in-game death, the game is so punishing in the Souls-like, 'die here, go back and get loot' mechanic that I have counted at least 4 times where I uninstalled the game after losing 4-figure amounts of Geo, only to reinstall it the next day purely to satiate my curiosity with where the game goes next.

I found the game just short of too minimalistic for my liking; I wasn't hoping for an Ubisoft-like checkbox 'quest list', but I needed a bit more visual assistance than simply putting icons on a map. The story was as evasive as I had to be during boss fights; there if you're looking for it, but super easy to miss if you're pre-occupied with exploring or trying to get back to your dead body for loot recollection.

I think what bothered me by the end of the game the most was the internal 'grind' for upgrades; the amount of times I had to double-triple-quadurple back to places I've been (albeit, was more OP than the previous times) went from quaint and airy to 'where is the nearest fast travel point' and 'is this upgrade REALLY worth it?'

I'll summarize the review with this: This is the best Metroidvania that I've completed from beginning to end, but I was overcome with joy not for the stories ending (got the bad ending), but for the ending of the story.