HOLLOW KNIGHT - Don't Give Up, Git Gud!

This is very my first blog post and hopefully I will be able to post more and better content.

Hollow Knight was release in February 25, 2017 by its publisher and developer, Team Cherry. It is an action side scroller platform game, which is classified as a Metroidvania (coined from Metroid and Castlevania genre). The game takes place in a bug kingdom (yes, you read it right, bugs as in insects) where you will play as a wandering (insect) knight.

Although, the character of the story are insects/bugs, it is far from the usual bugs game that you played or saw. The theme and story of this game is quite serious and albeit dark both figuratively, and literally.

As for the gameplay, you will be solving puzzles, pass through obstacles to progress and beat some game bosses. Your character will start at the King’s canyon and eventually arrive to the village, where the main story and quests will begin.

The character is initially equipped with a sword called nail that he will use to hack, and slash hostile bugs and other creatures scattered all over the kingdom.

You will also encounter NPCs that will give you hints, quest, skills, and items. Furthermore, there will be shops that you could buy items, equipment, power ups and maps.

The character has life points and soul vessels that are represented by masks. The life points can be replenished either sitting on a bench (which also serve as the save point) or consuming souls. The capacity of life points and soul vessels can be increased by acquiring masks and vessel shards scattered in the game. There is also a currency used in the game to purchase items and equipment called Geo. This could be gained by defeating creatures and selling some items.

In the event the character dies, he will resurrected at the last bench that you have used. Furthermore, the character’s soul vessel will be broken (decreased) and the Geos will be lost. The character will also leave a shadow(soul) from the place he died. Defeating it will fix the broken soul vessel and retrieve the lost Geos.

The world map is surprisingly huge with secret rooms found in unsuspecting places. Traversing this insect world could quite cumbersome and challenging due to the abundance of enemies and obstacles. It is a good thing that the game offered ways of fast travels to make it easier for gamers to visit areas that they already discovered. This is a big deal since you will be required to go back to some of the areas that you have visited to progress in the game or to get a secret item, which initially not accessible.

The game may look childish and cute, but this is definitely not a walk in a park. The obstacles and puzzles are quite challenging and one of the most difficult that I have encountered as a casual gamer. The game requires speed, timing, and precision to beat this game particularly those side quests and secret areas. Even game completionist will definitely enjoy the challenge offered by this game.

I highly recommend this game for those who enjoy challenging puzzles and obstacles. This is a great Metroidvania game indeed. Hollow Knight is available in all major platforms i.e. PC, Xbox, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.