| Hollow Knight | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Hollow Knight Review Overview
What is Hollow Knight?
Hollow Knight is a critically acclaimed 2D action-adventure game developed and published by Team Cherry. It was first released on February 24, 2017 for PC and on various consoles in 2018. It received four free downloadable content (DLC) after its release, with Godmaster being the most recent. Its sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, was released in September 4, 2025.
The game plunges players into the heart of Hallownest, an underground kingdom now in ruins. As the silent, insectoid Knight, players explore this interconnected land, battling the Infection that plagues its inhabitants. Their journey ultimately leads them to confronting the kingdom’s dark past and tragic history.
Gameplay focuses on exploration, as Hallownest is vast and open-ended, with areas only accessible after acquiring specific abilities or tools. Here, players will battle a variety of enemies and bosses, manage resources like health and "Soul" for healing or special abilities, and equip Charms to customize their playstyle.
Hollow Knight features:
⚫︎ 2D Side Scroller Metroidvania
⚫︎ Simple to Grasp Controls
⚫︎ Platforming Mechanics
⚫︎ Stylish Visuals
⚫︎ Hauntingly Beautiful Score
⚫︎ Vague Narrative
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Hollow Knight’s gameplay and story.
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 GoG |
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| $15 | |||||
Hollow Knight Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Breathtaking Visuals Open-Ended Exploration Well-Paced Combat Amazing Soundtrack |
Vague Storytelling Lack of Guidance |
Hollow Knight Story - 8/10
Hollow Knight’s narrative is amazing, but it’s not immediately appreciated by many due to its vagueness. It’s a classic "show, don’t tell," approach where players will have to piece together events, lore, and history through the character interactions, the different environments of the kingdom of Hallownest, and its atmosphere. Regardless of its storytelling structure, it’s something that you’ll have to experience and draw the story yourself; maybe after the second or third playthrough, you’ll get the full picture.
Hollow Knight Gameplay - 9/10
Hollow Knight is the perfect example of how to pace a game’s difficulty perfectly with a set of simple controls. What starts as a simple side scroller of just slashing, jumping, and running evolves into a much more complex medley of mechanics, especially during boss fights and certain platforming segments.
Exploration is also a massive part of the gameplay, as the open-ended design makes progression feel more personal for each player. The only problems would be the game’s penchant for secrecy and its inherent difficulty, since these would stall new players’ playthroughs a lot.
Hollow Knight Visuals - 10/10
Hollow Knight’s visuals are what will be considered immortal. The stark contrast between areas, the character designs, and the detail in its animations make the world just feel and look alive. The "cartoony" appearance of the world and its characters is a juxtaposition of the game’s bleak atmosphere, making the visuals stand out even further as you find more areas to explore.
Hollow Knight Audio - 10/10
The audio design of Hollow Knight is amazing, with the music being one of the game’s core elements that elevates the presentation of its world with its melancholic tunes. In addition to that, the sound effects and the voice acting also warrant recognition, as these little details also add up to the game’s atmosphere and presentation.
Hollow Knight Value for Money - 10/10
For $15, this is probably the best value you’re getting in terms of price to content for any game. For starters, the game is packed with about 30-60 hours of gameplay depending on the player’s targeted completion rate. Not only that, but the free DLC content also adds so many more things for you to do. And to top it off? The game is highly replayable, despite being a long Metroidvania venture, since you can choose to progress through areas differently.
Hollow Knight Overall - 94/100
Hollow Knight is one of those games that I would consider to be generational. It does a lot of things right—the pacing, the introduction of new gameplay mechanics, the music, the visuals, the boss fights, and the world itself—it’s a complete and memorable package. The only real issues that the game faces are its secrecy and lack of guidance, as these can prove to both stall and bore players as they explore the land of Hallownest.
Hollow Knight Review: The Prime Example of a Metroidvania
Back in September, a highly anticipated sequel called Silksong was released. As someone who’s easily caught by hype, I immediately bought the game. But there was a huge problem. I wasn’t done with my playthrough of the preceding game, Hollow Knight.
Of course, I’m not one to leave things hanging, so now was finally the time to finish what I started. However, it proved to be much more difficult than I thought. I was doing a blind run, and since I hadn’t picked it up in about a year, I was even more lost on where to go and what was happening. The biggest sin, however, was that I actually "finished" the game at around 50% completion, which meant that I never even got to many of the game’s major regions.
It felt wrong finishing a Metroidvania like that, especially since I already had experience playing Castlevania in the past. So I did what anyone would do: I made a fresh save and started anew. This time, I’m aiming for at least 100%+ completion so that I can justify getting into the franchise and actually appreciate the game. To be honest, I feel like this was the best decision I’ve made this year, because Hollow Knight is the game that I can safely say is one of the best games I’ve played in my lifetime.
A Fallen Kingdom in Ruins
A sealed figure is shown roaring to life, seemingly calling to the outside world. The game then cuts to the protagonist, the Knight, who arrives at the Howling Cliffs overlooking the village of Dirtmouth, where his journey begins by jumping down into the valley.
Truth be told, there’s not much to glean from the intro, but I can’t say that it wasn’t interesting. No words were spoken, and there was not much dialogue to infer from. Just the sound of roaring winds and the roar from the sealed creature. All the player knows so far is that you play as a silent protagonist and that you’ve traveled quite far to get to where you are now.
You arrive in the village and talk to the only resident there, Elderbug. He explains that there used to be a great kingdom below the town that has been compelling others to delve into its depths. He also explains that whatever it is the Knight is looking for, he’ll most likely find it there.
And thus, the journey begins.
Your first few hours will most likely just be exploring and maybe killing a few bosses here and there, up until you meet the Hornet. And even then? More questions than actual answers. Now, I won’t spoil the story of Hollow Knight because it’s amazing, but you’ll need to play through quite a bit to even get a semblance of story progression.
The game’s storytelling is vague, with most of the details left up to interpretation, similar to something like Dark Souls. But at least there’s a bit more dialogue to lean on to at least get a picture of the whole story. Speaking of dialogue, the NPC interactions also give you an idea about the fallen kingdom as well as its inhabitants.
Characters like Cornifer, Sly, Cloth, Quirrel, Leg Eater, Mask Maker, and even Zote the Mighty have such distinct personalities that their colorful dialogue comes through every single time you interact with them. Speaking of character dialogue, the worldbuilding also completes itself with certain characters giving you the history of Hallownest or sometimes their experiences during their travels around the kingdom.
The lore about the Five Great Knights, the realization that you’re not the only Knight that’s been out and about, the Nailmasters, the Pale King, who the Hollow Knight really is, and more—these are just some of the little details and plot points that build the world of Hollow Knight.
However, I won’t be so blind as to say that the story and narrative are perfect.
The way that the game executes its cryptic storytelling is pretty good, but the vagueness of it makes it so that you might need a YouTube video only talking about the lore of the game to understand some of its complex details and other plot threads that don’t have a definite resolution. There’s also the fact that the game actually skill-checks you to be able to understand the full story or find more of its missing pieces.
Certain challenges, like the Godmaster DLC and Path of Pain, aren’t impossible (I would know; I was at least able to finish them), but it does feel bad when you miss out on important story details because of these challenges that are harder than most of the things that the game has. But before we talk on and on about the game’s difficulty, let’s first talk about the exploration.
Textbook Metroidvania Exploration
If you’re familiar with any 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania games before playing Hollow Knight, then you’d already know how the game goes. For the uninitiated, you’re thrust into a world made up of interconnected areas and have a semi-linear, open-ended exploration where new abilities and movement techniques allow you to access even more areas.
While Hollow Knight has the foundation of a standard Metroidvania, how it uses these mechanics is what makes it special. The game starts with you being able to attack, jump, and walk. After some progress, you’ll also be able to wall climb, dash, double jump, and more as you keep playing. There’s also the unique ability to strike certain hazards, enemies, and other interactables and bounce off them using your weapon, more commonly known as "pogo-jumping."
Many would argue that the starting hours of the game are slow, but I’d actually argue that the game is paced quite well and is just marred by a lack of direction. It’s funny, because the lack of guidance is also one of its strongest assets: actual meaningful discovery. Metroidvanias are typically nonlinear, and what separates Hollow Knight is how open it is at certain points in your adventure.
It’s not unusual that your playthrough will be completely different from someone else’s, unless, of course, they know what they’re doing. In my case, I fought the Watcher Knights, one of the game’s mandatory boss fights, without the double jump ability in my first run. This was because I didn’t bother exploring the optional areas of the game and never found it.
It wasn’t until a newer playthrough that I discovered just how much the sense of discovery elevates the experience. Finding secret areas and new abilities, and then using these new abilities to find even more new areas—it’s just a great exploration loop. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel for the genre, but it’s more like the best example of taking the best of what the genre has to offer and showcasing it using a new IP.
This carries over to the game’s progression; the farther you are into the game, the more demanding the challenges become. Later platforming segments require you to be able to chain the game’s many movement mechanics together to successfully clear them.
Those who played the game know the exact platforming segments I’m talking about, places like Greenpath’s notorious thorn tunnel, Deepnest with the heavy "pogo-jumping" segments, and, of course, we can’t forget about White Palace and the extreme amount of sawblades that are just there to frustrate you.
And it’s not just in its platforming, either, since the combat itself can be brutal or even worse as well.
Combat Shines With Its Bosses
In addition to the exploration, combat is also engaging and is another highlight to point out in its gameplay loop. What makes it interesting is that the game has enough combat mechanics to really hammer in the eventual challenge. The Knight gains access to attacks immediately, and after some searching, you can find different abilities like charged attacks, spells, and more.
To put it simply, there’s not much to the game’s combat aside from dealing enough damage to defeat your opponent. However, what makes the combat shine is how well it meshes the game’s platforming identity and its simple combat mechanics into its boss fights.
Each boss has a distinct moveset, where the name of the game is knowing the bosses’ opening during their attack patterns. Similar to how the difficulty grows later in a playthrough, the bosses also become quite difficult, with some of the latter bosses having fewer openings and room for error.
Several of the game’s bosses make you interact with them in unique ways, and it might actually do you some good to know the game’s inner workings, especially with certain interactions. An example of this is using spells to stop your momentum and put the brakes on if ever you might overshoot a jump, or another is knowing that using Desolate Dive can give you i-frames.
Boss fights become an intricate dance of platforming and combat that meshes perfectly. The Godmaster DLC even takes this up a notch, where players can play a Boss Rush mode that lets players challenge the game’s bosses in continuous fashion, or let them fight even stronger versions of the game’s bosses.
So, outside of great boss design, offensive mechanics, and platforming, what else makes combat interesting? The surprising amount of variety in builds.
Surprising Amount of Build Variety
Hollow Knight has a surprising amount of depth when it comes to its customization, and these are in the form of Charms. Charms are kind of like your gear, where each Charm has a unique passive skill that boosts your statistics. For example, the Longnail Charm allows for a longer reach for your normal attacks, while a Charm like the Shaman Stone increases the damage of all of your spells.
You can make a build around your normal attacks, where you can equip Charms to lengthen your attack range and make you swing faster. Other times, you might want a spell-focused build, where your attacks are meant to charge your Soul gauge, and your spells deal the maximum amount of damage possible. Sometimes you might even want to try something unique, like a full dash build, and play around with the Charm that deals damage using your dashes.
With a total of around 40 charms to find and choose from, the game lets you build the Knight as you see fit. And the best part? You don’t really need to invest in any skill points or attributes or anything. You just mix and match Charms at a bench to be able to change up your build.
Challenge and Open Exploration Is Not For Everyone
That being said, Hollow Knight is not an easy game. There will be times when it becomes frustrating, especially when you’re exploring the unknown, fighting a difficult boss fight, or just trying to get past a certain encounter.
There’s frankly no way around it, except to try again and get better at it. The game doesn’t have any difficulty sliders or options, so if you’re going to play the game, you’re going to have to play it the way the devs intended the difficulty to be.
I would say the harshest part about the difficulty is that certain story segments and even endings are locked behind difficult challenges. For example, getting the ending to the Godmaster DLC requires you to clear Pantheon 5, which requires you to defeat each and every boss in the game continually, with the last boss being a souped-up version of the base game’s final boss.
Another example is the aforementioned Path of Pain, which is a marathon of platforming challenges that really test your skills with using the game’s movement mechanics, all in the hopes of knowing the reason why the events of the game unfolded.
I’m not so much of a masochist to recommend you try beating either of these challenges, but it does suck that you have to go through so much punishment just to see a short cutscene or two to get more context on the massive world.
On the other hand, open exploration with the lack of guidance can also overwhelm new players, especially if they’re not familiar with how the genre works. It becomes one of the big reasons why players take a while to finish the game, as it requires you to backtrack to many areas without many hints to go on. Add up the problem of difficulty in both enemies and platforming, and then certain segments become a nightmare to traverse.
One particular example is that one area in Deepnest accessible after the Distant Village, as the unnerving ambience combined with the hard-hitting Stalking Devout covering hallways makes for a memorable bad trip.
Ages Like Fine Wine
Aside from the gameplay, the game also looks and sounds extremely good. I would even go so far as to say that its visuals and music are memorable enough to become immortal.
While the world of Hollow Knight is noticeably bleak, heavy, and desolate, the cartoony visuals do a great job of contrasting the game’s heavy themes. The numerous details in its character designs, animations, and the sharp contrasts of its environmental designs are some of the best I’ve seen to date.
In addition to the stunning graphics, the audio design is equally commendable. Christopher Larkin’s amazing, melancholic score ties the atmosphere and the vibe perfectly in each area you explore. There’s also the great work on the sound effects and the "voice acting" since they’re very distinct and memorable at any stage of your journey.
Is Hollow Knight Worth It?
Yes, It’s One of the Best Metroidvanias Out There
Regardless of the game’s difficulty and its vague storytelling, Hollow Knight is, without a doubt, one of, if not the best, Metroidvanias out there. I would even go so far as to say that it’s the perfect example of being one, especially with how exploration, platforming, and combat all mesh into a cohesive gameplay loop that remains enjoyable even if you’ve played through it once or twice.
Outside of being a perfect Metroidvania, the presentation is top-notch as well. Its stylized graphics, paired with a unique art direction, make it a memorable sight regardless of how long it's been. Additionally, the sound design and music are also an amazing part in bringing the atmosphere of the game to life.
It’s an absolute must-play game that I would recommend for anyone, but even more so if you’re interested in the genre. And the cherry on top is that all of its additional content comes with the low price of $15. Now, excuse me while I’m still patiently waiting for a new Castlevania game and while I continue to explore Pharloom in the sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
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| Steam |
Playstation |
Xbox |
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| Switch |
GoG |
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| $15 | |||||
Hollow Knight FAQ
Will Hollow Knight Have a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition?
Yes. Team Cherry has announced that Hollow Knight will have a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Furthermore, they’ve also announced that owners of the game on the Nintendo Switch will be able to upgrade it for free.
Will Hollow Knight Have a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S Version?
As of writing, there has been no announcement of Hollow Knight being updated for the current generation consoles.
Game8 Reviews
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Hollow Knight Product Information
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| Title | HOLLOW KNIGHT |
|---|---|
| Release Date | February 24, 2017 (PC - Windows) April 11, 2017 (PC - macOS & Linux) June 12, 2018 (Nintendo Switch) September 25, 2018 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) |
| Developer | Team Cherry |
| Publisher | Team Cherry |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Platformer, Soulslike |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | E10+ |
| Official Website | Hollow Knight Official Website |
