Hollow Knight

Every few years, a small, unassuming studio delivers a work of such profound quality that it sends tremors through the entire industry. In 2017, that studio was Team Cherry, and their debut, Hollow Knight, was a tectonic event. This is a 2D action-adventure that bleeds atmosphere from every pixel, a sprawling, hand-drawn journey into the ruins of a once-great insect kingdom called Hallownest. On the surface, the pitch is familiar: explore a vast, interconnected map, fight monsters, and gain abilities to unlock new paths. Yet, to describe it in such basic terms is a disservice. Hollow Knight rewards subtlety and is a monument to the power of player-driven discovery.

Developed by a skeleton crew in Australia, the game’s creation is a story in itself, funded by a modest Kickstarter campaign that belied its colossal ambition. It arrived on the scene with little fanfare and proceeded to build a monolithic reputation on sheer merit. What Team Cherry accomplished puts many AAA studios to shame. They constructed a world that feels ancient and sorrowful, weaving its history into the environment rather than spelling it out in tedious cutscenes. You, as the diminutive and silent Knight, are an archaeologist of a dead civilization, piecing together a tragic story through cryptic whispers, environmental cues, and the ghosts of the past. This is a foundational text for the genre, a benchmark against which future Metroidvanias will be measured.

• World of Hallownest: A vast, subterranean kingdom composed of more than a dozen distinct, thematically coherent biomes, from the fungal wastes to a glittering city of tears, all interconnected without loading friction.
• Precision Combat & Platforming: A brutally challenging but impeccably fair combat system built on tight, responsive controls. Every enemy encounter and boss fight is a deadly dance of dodging, parrying, and striking.
• The Charm System: A flexible customization system allowing players to equip “Charms” found throughout the world. These offer buffs and new abilities—from longer nail reach to a swarm of friendly bugs—that fundamentally alter playstyle and strategic options.

Hollow Knight’s brilliance is not rooted in a single, revolutionary mechanic, but in its flawless execution and synthesis of established ideas. It turns the Metroidvania formula into an art form, demonstrating a deep understanding of what makes exploration and challenge so compelling.

The silent storyteller

The game’s most audacious and successful choice is its narrative austerity. There are no long-winded NPCs, no quest logs, and no cinematic exposition. You are dropped into the world with a single imperative—descend—and the rest is up to you. The kingdom of Hallownest tells its own story. The melancholic beauty of the City of Tears, perpetually rained upon by a lake far above, speaks volumes about its former glory and current state of decay. The discarded shells of giant bugs in Deepnest hint at the predators that lurk in the dark.

This minimalist approach does more than create atmosphere; it fosters a profound sense of discovery and ownership. Every piece of lore you uncover feels earned, every connection you make between the scattered fragments of history is a personal revelation. It respects the player’s intelligence, a rare commodity in an industry that often insists on holding your hand. The few characters you do meet are memorable and enigmatically written, their sparse dialogue adding color and mystery to the world without ever breaking its spell.

A brutal, beautiful ballet

The core gameplay loop is a finely tuned engine of tension and reward. You explore, you fight, you collect Geo (the game’s currency), and you will inevitably die. Upon death, you leave behind a “Shade”—a vengeful spirit holding all your Geo. To reclaim your wealth, you must return to the spot of your demise and defeat it. This simple mechanic transforms every journey into a high-stakes expedition. The fear of a long, difficult run back to your corpse creates a palpable tension that most games can only dream of.

Combat is where the game’s true genius for design shines. It is punishingly difficult. Enemies are aggressive, boss patterns are complex, and a few careless mistakes will send you back to the last bench you rested on. Yet, it never feels unfair. The controls are designed with such precision that every failure is a lesson. You learn the rhythm of an enemy’s attack, the exact timing of a parry, the arc of your jump. Victory, when it finally comes, is not a product of grinding for levels, but of genuine mastery. This is a game that demands you get better, and the satisfaction of doing so is immense. The platforming is equally demanding, requiring pixel-perfect jumps and a deft command of the Knight’s expanding moveset, from a mid-air dash to a wall-clinging slide.

To call Hollow Knight’s art style “beautiful” is an understatement. It is a cohesive, melancholic vision brought to life with careful hand-drawn animation. The stark, simple design of the Knight contrasts brilliantly with the intricate detail of the world and its inhabitants. The color palette is subdued, dominated by blues, greys, and blacks, which makes the rare splashes of vibrant color all the more impactful. Christopher Larkin’s orchestral score is the soul of the game, a haunting and dynamic soundtrack that swells during epic encounters and fades to a lonely piano melody during moments of quiet exploration. It is, without exaggeration, one of the finest video game scores ever composed. Technically, the game is built for precision: a 2D game of this scope is light on hardware, and its demands on the player’s reflexes are matched by a design that never gets in their way.

Hollow Knight is suited to both a dedicated gaming rig and a portable console, though the experience has subtle differences.

• Steam: This is arguably the purist’s choice. The ability to use any high-quality controller or even a keyboard provides the utmost precision for the game’s demanding combat.
• Nintendo Switch: A phenomenal pairing. The game’s structure, with its many benches serving as save points, lends itself perfectly to the pick-up-and-play nature of the Switch. Its dark, atmospheric world is tailor-made for a handheld screen, and exploring the depths of a forgotten kingdom on a commute is a uniquely modern joy.

Hollow Knight is a major achievement. It is a rare and precious work that excels in every facet of its design—its art, its sound, its gameplay, and its world-building are all best-in-class, and its critical acclaim is reflected in a Metacritic score of 87. While its brutal difficulty will undoubtedly turn some away, those who persevere will be rewarded with one of the most memorable and satisfying gaming experiences of the last decade. Team Cherry did not just create a great game; they crafted a digital heirloom, a modern classic that will be studied and celebrated for years to come. We rate it Outstanding, and we recommend it without hesitation to anyone ready to answer its call.