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Hollow Knight Review
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Hollow Knight Review
Infinite > 10-12-2020, 11:10 PM
Metroidvanias aren’t a well-known genre in gaming. There are a few popular ones like, of course, Metroid but also Cave Story and Dead Cells. To the average gamer, they probably have only heard of Metroid. But then comes Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania indie game that has gained a ton of popularity.
It all started when Ari Gibson and William Pellen created a game called “Hungry Knight” where a knight has to kill off bugs to help his starvation. The game didn’t do well so they decided to try and make their next game in an underground setting. Now called “Hollow Knight,” the game was revealed on Kickstarter with a goal of $35,000. The game managed to reach its goal with $57,000 which allowed them to hire a new developer named David Kazi and Christopher Larkin, the composer for the game. The team named themselves “Team Cherry” and released the game on Windows on Feb. 24, 2017. The game was also released for Nintendo Switch on June 12, 2018, while the PS4 and Xbox One followed suit and was released on Sept. 25 of that same year.
The game received great praise and won the “Independent Game of the Year” award as well as the “Australian Game of the Year” award in the Australian Games Awards. So, does the game have the soul of a great Metroidvania? Or is this game just a hollow vessel?
You play as the Knight who arrives at Hallownest, a once flourished kingdom destroyed by The Infection. Your goal is to stop the source of the Infection and save Hallownest. As you explore the vast land, you will encounter bug characters and many enemies. There is also a surprisingly huge amount of lore in the game.
My problem with the story is, while it has great characters and lore, the main story is incredibly forgetful so the lore I would see would be meaningless to me since I couldn’t even remember how the main story goes. Because of this, I’m going to give this a B+.
As Knight, you explore the ruined kingdom and collecting new skills to allow you to progress through the world. At the start, all you can do is jump and swing your sword. But as you play, you will be able to double jump, wall jump, and shoot projectiles.
This game is infamous for its difficulty and that reputation is well deserved. This game is very difficult which means you’re going to die a lot. I would be fine with this if it had a difficulty setting for those who aren’t as familiar with games but, unfortunately, it lacks that setting. Another problem I have with this game is, due to how big it is, you can get very lost and confused about where you’re supposed to go. Overall, the gameplay is fun but for new gamers, it can be very difficult and hard to navigate through. I give the gameplay an A-.
The soundtrack is great! It has a lot of great songs such as Enter Hollownest, City of Tears, Sealed Vessel, etc. My one problem with the soundtrack is it’s too ambient and I'm not a big fan of that type of music in video games. I’ll give it an A.
The art-style of the game was hand-drawn by Ari Gibson and it’s beautiful. Bonus points for the art-style.
To conclude, I really like this game. While the story can be a bit forgetful and you can be lost on occasion, it is a fun game. I don’t recommend it if you are new to gaming. I give the game an 8.5/10.
At a Glance: Hollow Knight
Summary: Play as the Knight who must defeat the Infection that is destroying the land of Hallownest. Will you succeed?
Rated: E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Up: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood.
Price: $14.99
Distributor: Team Cherry
Systems: Windows, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One
Release Dates: Windows: Feb. 24, 2017. Nintendo Switch: June 12, 2018. PS4 and Xbox One
/b] Sept. 25, 2018.
[b][b]Rating/b] 8.5/10
