Partridge Senpai's 2018 Beaten Games:Previously:
2016 2017* indicates a repeat
1-2021-4041.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Expansion Pass DLC (Switch)
42.
Battle Block Theater (Xbox 360) *
43.
Magicka (Steam) *
44.
La-Mulana 2 (Steam)
45.
Yooka-Laylee (Steam)
46.
Snipper-Clips: Cut it Out Together! (Switch)
47.
Magicka: Dungeons and Gargoyles (Steam)
48.
Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project (PC)
49.
Timespinner (PS4)
50. Hollow Knight (PC)
I'd heard Hollow Knight was a great game for a good while now. I bought it in a Steam sale some time ago and was just sorta sitting on it because it hadn't been in the mood to play it. I was really in the mood for some more Metroidvania after Timespinner, so I thought why not play this. 28-ish hours later, I do not regret my decision one bit. Hollow Knight deserves its fantastic reputation, because I haven't played a Metroidvania this good in a VERY long time, if I've ever played one this good. The fact that this came out of Kickstarter from an indie team is just crazy to me with just how much there is here and just how well its done.
Design-wise, Hollow Knight lacks a level-up system, which makes it more like a Metroid, but the combat is all melee except for a couple spells (that have very limited mana) making it more like a Castlevania. The map is also HUGE and very non-linear right about after the 2nd area. It gave me a very Symphony of the Night vibe with just how huge and how maze-like the map can be, and definitely gives that game a run for its money in terms of the sheer size and scale of the map (ignoring the upside-down castle, anyhow). There's tons of enemy variety as well, with some having their appearances limited to only one or two rooms despite having their own unique attack animations and everything, which is no easy feat when your art-style is so close to hand-drawn. This is a game with an incredible amount of content for being an indie game or otherwise, and it nails it.
There isn't an auto-map, but instead there's an NPC in each area you go to (almost always quite close to the start, depending on where and how you happened to bumble into the area) you buy a map from. You hold a key to have The Knight look at the map, which also doesn't pause the game. Even looking at your inventory doesn't pause the game, but you have little reason to pause the game for your inventory anyhow as things like managing the charms you can wear can only be done at a save point. You have a certain amount of charm slots (think BP from Paper Mario) to equip your badges with, and they can provide all sorts of modifiers and boons from having money magnetize to you, to being able to heal quicker, hit harder, hit faster, or even seeing your own position on the mini-map
.
The combat and platforming is super tight and feels great. The boss battles are fantastic, and the checkpoints before them are very forgiving and allow for a quick rematch if you suffer a defeat! You have a couple offensive spells, but you also can hold the spell button to stand still for a while and recover some health. You regain mana by hitting enemies with your melee weapon, though, so a pure-spell run just isn't possible. The main meat of the game is your melee weapon, but you can use it as little or as often as you want to. Especially once you get the dash and double-jump, the platforming and dodging you can do in areas and boss fights just gets nuts. The platforming can get pretty damn hard in the later areas just because of how the platforming mechanics work. In addition to your air-jump and forward-dash, if you slash downwards into spikes or an enemy, you get to do another air-jump and dash. This makes for some optional platforming sections that are fiendishly hard, but none of the mandatory ones are THAT mean (If you're going for the first ending, anyhow
).
The presentation is beautiful. Lots of somber, very atmospheric tracks combined with some great dramatic boss fight music. The whole setting is all about a kingdom of bugs, so there are tons of little bug fellows to interact with (but mostly fight). The art style is a beautiful hand-drawn aesthetic (although I dont' think it's literally hand-drawn animated like Cup Head). A very Dark Souls approach to narrative, that being a very gloomy but indirect and fairly indirectly told one, adds all of it up to a very unique experience. I've played a lot of Metroidvanias, and none have felt quite like exploring Hollownest.
Verdict: Highly Recommended. While Timespinner is still my favorite narrative in a Metroidvania, Hollow Knight is the best one mechanically I've ever played. It knocks it out of the park and completely deserves the great praise its been given. There are several endings, some of which requiring MUCH more platforming and boss fighting (think how much more game the second caslte in SOTN adds), so you can still see the end credits even if you don't want a crazy hard game. The game is certainly far from easy, but should give a good challenge to even genre veterans near the end. If you like Metroidvanias, this is one you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice to pass up.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
