Much like Outer Wilds, it took me a few tries for me to really appreciate this game. And, as much as I don't care for how the internet compares every new metroidvania to this game, Hollow Knight is a masterpiece in this genre.
I distinctly recall when I played this game originally, that I didn't particularly care for fumbling around blindly in a new area searching for Cornifer for the map. After this playthrough, I think I still feel this way. I feel that the new Prince of Persia really took a good middle ground between giving the player a base outline for the area and purchasing the map filling in the area. With that being said, the way Hollow Knight approaches exploration did lead to cool discoveries and harrowing moments of stress...I still don't particularly care for how much this game relies on hidden walls though.
Combined with the exploration is a combat / traversal system that really expands that further you get into the game. With the combined efforts of a wealth of permanent upgrades and now-very-famous charm system, the complexity of the combat really shines in the late-game and optional high difficulty content. Hollow Knight also contain a variety of bosses that are often thrilling to fight against. You can expect some duds in there with the number that they have (Relying on throwing-garbage-all-over-the-screen attacks or periods where you cannot damage the boss)...but the quality of the majority of the bosses, especially the story-related ones, are second to none.
Speaking of the narrative, it is very opaque and obtuse. Much like the way the narrative in Dark Souls is told, it relies heavily on context clues and descriptions of abilities and items to provide flavor to the world. However, I found the world to be endlessly engrossing and the narrative cap, especially with the original true ending, to be a strong finish to this tale.
I think the thing I appreciated the most about this playthrough of Hollow Knight is how high the quality the content was for the 30 ish hours I played to get > 100%. I found it wildly refreshing in today's gaming landscape where games are getting longer and longer where you really begin to see the point of diminishing return. With a launch title of $15 supported by multiple free content updates, I don't know if I will encounter a game that is this high quality for the time and money spent. Consider me a fan and very much looking forward to Silksong (whenever that day is).
I distinctly recall when I played this game originally, that I didn't particularly care for fumbling around blindly in a new area searching for Cornifer for the map. After this playthrough, I think I still feel this way. I feel that the new Prince of Persia really took a good middle ground between giving the player a base outline for the area and purchasing the map filling in the area. With that being said, the way Hollow Knight approaches exploration did lead to cool discoveries and harrowing moments of stress...I still don't particularly care for how much this game relies on hidden walls though.
Combined with the exploration is a combat / traversal system that really expands that further you get into the game. With the combined efforts of a wealth of permanent upgrades and now-very-famous charm system, the complexity of the combat really shines in the late-game and optional high difficulty content. Hollow Knight also contain a variety of bosses that are often thrilling to fight against. You can expect some duds in there with the number that they have (Relying on throwing-garbage-all-over-the-screen attacks or periods where you cannot damage the boss)...but the quality of the majority of the bosses, especially the story-related ones, are second to none.
Speaking of the narrative, it is very opaque and obtuse. Much like the way the narrative in Dark Souls is told, it relies heavily on context clues and descriptions of abilities and items to provide flavor to the world. However, I found the world to be endlessly engrossing and the narrative cap, especially with the original true ending, to be a strong finish to this tale.
I think the thing I appreciated the most about this playthrough of Hollow Knight is how high the quality the content was for the 30 ish hours I played to get > 100%. I found it wildly refreshing in today's gaming landscape where games are getting longer and longer where you really begin to see the point of diminishing return. With a launch title of $15 supported by multiple free content updates, I don't know if I will encounter a game that is this high quality for the time and money spent. Consider me a fan and very much looking forward to Silksong (whenever that day is).