Independent developer Team Cherry released their Metroidvania game Hollow Knight in 2017. The player assumes control of the Knight, an insectoid warrior with no backstory. The Knight travels to Hallownest, a once-great kingdom now ravaged by a mysterious illness.
The game takes place in a variety of underground environments and involves both friendly and hostile bug-like entities as well as a large number of bosses. In addition to finding bits of information and flavor text strewn across the country, players can gain access to new skills as they go from one area to the next.
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Hollow Knight
During the 2013 edition of the Ludum Dare game jam, the idea for Hollow Knight was born. The team at Cherry intended to make a platformer like the classics, but with the same emphasis on discovery. A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign raised approximately A$57,000 by the end of 2014 to help fund development.
The game’s inspirations include Faxanadu, Metroid, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Mega Man X. It came out in early 2017 for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and in 2018 for Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. Team Cherry provided post-launch support for the game with four DLC packs.
The lengthy tale in Hollow Knight was praised for the game’s worldbuilding, music, character design, and battle systems. The game had sold 3 million copies by December of the following year, 2020. The developers are hard at work on the sequel, titled Hollow Knight: Silk song.
System Requirements
Minimum
- Windows: 7 / 8 / 10
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E5200
- RAM memory of 4 gigabytes
- GeForce 9800GTX is used for the graphics (1GB)
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 9 GB available space
- Additional Notes: We recommend viewing in 1080p at a 16:9 aspect ratio
Recommended
- Windows: 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5
- The RAM capacity of 8 gigabytes
- GeForce GTX 560 is used for the graphics.
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 9 GB available space
- Additional Notes: We recommend viewing in 1080p at a 16:9 aspect ratio
Gameplay
Taking place in the underground kingdom of Hallownest, Hollow Knight is a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania soul-like game. While venturing through the subterranean environment, the player assumes control of a mute, nameless warrior who resembles an insect. The Nail, the Knight’s chosen weapon, serves as both a weapon and an instrument for interacting with the world around him.
There are dangerous bugs and other creatures to fight throughout most of the game. Using the Nail, you can attack foes from close range. Long-range attacks are possible thanks to the player’s ability to study spells.
Allies can stock up on Geo money by looting fallen foes. The initial health of the Knight is indicated by a fixed number of masks. Gathering “Mask Shards” from various locations in the game will allow the player to raise their total number of masks.
A mask is diminished as the Knight suffers harm from an adversary or the environment. The Soul the Knight acquires from killing opponents is kept in the Soul Vessel. When a Knight loses their final mask, they perish and a Shade foe materializes in their place.
The player’s capacity for Soul is lowered and they lose all of their Geo. In order to reclaim the stolen Soul and return to normal Soul carrying capacity, players must vanquish the Shade enemy.
There are benches strewn about the globe that serve as save places, and play resumes from where the player last sat on one. While at the beginning of the game Soul is only used for “Focus” and mask regeneration, later on in the game the player will gain access to various offensive spells that need Soul. It’s possible to gain extra Soul Vessels to store more Soul as you progress through the game.
More difficult foes and bosses await the player in many sections. The player gains access to additional skills upon defeating certain bosses. The Dream Nail, a unique weapon that can read the thoughts of the creatures of Hallownest, is obtained later in the game.
Furthermore, it unlocks the final boss and allows the player to face more difficult versions of select bosses. When the player completes the game by defeating the game’s final boss, they unlock Steel Soul mode. When playing in this mode, losing all of the Knight’s masks will cause the save slot to be cleared, and death is instantaneous.
The player can have conversations with NPCs who have a bug motif to them throughout the game. These NPCs are there to help you out, tell you about the game’s story, and sell you stuff. You can locate Soul Vessels to store more Soul, or you can upgrade your Knight’s Nail to do more damage.
Players can increase their mobility throughout the game by collecting things like the Monarch Wings, which allow for an additional midair jump, the Mantis Claw, which allows for sticking to walls and jumping off of them, and the Quick Dash, which allows for a more rapid movement speed.
In addition to the aforementioned spells, the player has access to a wide variety of fighting skills known as Nail Arts. Charms, which can be found or bought from NPCs, allow players to further personalize the Knight.
Some of the ways they alter the Knight are by making them more powerful in battle, allowing them to collect more masks without needing to rest, making them more mobile, making it simpler to obtain Geo or Soul, and so on. If you want to equip a lot of charms, you’ll need a lot of “notches,” which are slots.
In Hallownest, you’ll find a number of enormous, themed zones that are all connected to one another. Hollow Knight’s nonlinear gameplay design means that the player isn’t locked into a specific progression through the game or even needs to visit every section of the world, however certain areas may be inaccessible due to certain impediments.
The player may need to advance the game’s narrative or obtain a new mobility ability, skill, or item before moving further. Stag Stations are terminals connected to a network of tunnels, allowing the player to quickly traverse the game area, albeit they can only be used to return to previously visited and unlocked stations.
Later in the game, you’ll learn about other quick transit options like trams, elevators, and the mysterious “Dreamgate.” When a player first reaches a new location, they won’t have a good idea of where they are without a map.
The only way to afford a basic map is to track down the cartographer, Conifer. The map improves in precision and detail as the player explores a region; however, it is only updated when the player is seated on a bench.
To unlock maps, reveal landmarks, and plant markers, the player must spend money on a variety of specialized things. The player can only see the Knight’s location on the map if they have a special charm.