Incline Hollow Knight

[Silva]

Finally managed to come back to this, and..

WOW. WHAT. A. GAME.

I stopped at Queen Station before and thought Ive seen what the game was about but, frankly, I didn't. The game really starts at City of Tears. Up until that point it's just a tutorial. The way it opens up at that point and the maps begin to fold over themselves (like Dark Souls) is fantastic. Same for the way upgrades and new abilities start to synergize with level traversal and exploration. Talking about exploration, I'm coming from Ori, Okami and Symphony of the Night and, frankly, nothing beats this. The map is sprawling and totall open. And while the pace is really slow at beginning, it really catches up by that point. Game should come with warning "don't give up before City of Tears" in the cover.

Also, I know it's subjective but I love the atmosphere. It's melancholic, subtle, and powerful at the same time. I wish I had a plush knight.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Heh, just wait until you get to the lategame and start realizing it's even more open than that. You know that key you used to get into the city? Totally optional. You can keep it in your inventory for the whole game, never use it and still get 100% completion.

But yeah, right after the wall cling ability is where everything opens right up and you can basically skip anything in the game if you're willing to take a circuitous route.

I went back into the latest expansion area today and got into what I'm assuming is the last trial, fucker is brutal. Damned satisfying mastering these fights though.

 

[HansDampf]

The game really starts at City of Tears. Up until that point it's just a tutorial. The way it opens up at that point and the maps begin to fold over themselves (like Dark Souls) is fantastic.

Even before City of Tears, you can fall into Deepnest and take a completely different route.

 

[toro]

I've put like 5 hours into the game.

Most bosses took me 2-3 tries. The game seems to be easier than Salt & Sanctuary.
Exploration is nice but the pacing is somewhat messed up. Ori and the Blind Forest had a better pacing.

To be honest, I assume that I'm like 20% into the game but for some reason I'm not looking forward to the rest of the game.
I love the mechanics, the atmosphere and the exact combat but my mind was not blown away.

I guess I will keep playing. Slowly.

 

[HoboForEternity]

The game feel really slow because it is 30 to 50 hours to complete without DLC. Compare to yoir average metroidvania if you even play in autism it will net you 30 hours at most

 

[Darth Roxor]

my mind was not blown away.

Because it's not exactly mind-blowing. Hobo Knight is an ok game but not really that much more than a "walking sim" of sorts. Its main and only particular highlight, other than the production values, is that the world is fuckhueg, which tickles the autistic 100% completion receptors and makes you keep going, if only to map out every corner of the map. Otherwise it's pretty mediocre since both the platforming and the combat are 2ez.

 

[Ivan]

My favorite element of Hollow Knight is the physicality of the mc, especially when the platforming gets tougher later on. As I said before, I wish boss fights included some more of the perilous platforming.

Not mindblowing, since it is from the same apple tree as Metroid, but it is probably the sweetest fruit the tree has produced thus far.

I felt like Ori could have easily done without its combat and no one would have complained.

 

[Blaine]

Another game fallen victim to the rat's distaste for having to walk more than two feet to get to the next QTE or bit of exposition.

I wouldn't mind so much if you didn't dishonestly shit on every aspect of the rest of the game (not only this one, but also any other you consider to be too big/have too much walking) in order to discredit it.

Otherwise it's pretty mediocre since both the platforming and the combat are 2ez.

The platforming is par for the course. It's not as difficult as pure platformers that rely totally on platforming difficulty for the player's enjoyment, but this is also true of almost every Metroidvania ever made, including the Metroid and Castlevania franchises; the only exceptions are NES Castlevanias (I through III). Like many NES-era platformers, NES Castlevanias were absurdly difficult and quite deliberately unfair to obfuscate how short and small they'd be if players didn't have to arbitrarily memorize every single untelegraphed, unforeseeable damage source. Even people who grew up playing those games (me, for example) typically have no desire to replay them, unless they want to record their suffering to upload to YouTube.

The boss fights in Hollow Knight are overall noticeably harder than those in Metroid, Super Metroid, or any other Metroid game, as well as most Castlevanias, again with the exception of the first three.

Super Metroid is the literal epitome of a Metroidvania, and its platforming and boss fights are substantially easier than Hollow Knight's. You speak as though you're familiar with the genre, yet you're appealing to a standard that I don't recognize (unless it's the signature Roxor "Too much walking, whole game's shit, also people think my reviews are funny and clever, so that means I'm right" standard).

 

[Darth Roxor]

Another game fallen victim to the rat's distaste for having to walk more than two feet to get to the next QTE or bit of exposition.

I wouldn't mind so much if you didn't dishonestly shit on every aspect of the rest of the game (not only this one, but also any other you consider to be too big/have too much walking) in order to discredit it.

i spell it out right there that the fuckhueg world is this game's biggest and main advantage

take off your butthurt goggles for once

didnt read the rest because i figured there's no point

 

[Blaine]

didnt read the rest because i figured there's no point

That's okay. The rest of it isn't so much for you as it for unwary Codexers who might fall for your lies.

Remember, folks: If the rat shits on a game for being too big or having too much walking, you can stop reading right there. He's going to shit on the rest of it, too, with absolutely no objectivity involved whatsoever.

 

[Tigranes]

I have no idea about this game but when blaine is screaming LIEEEEEES and ripping his shirt off you know somebody touched him in a sensitive place again

 

[sullynathan]

Hollow Knight is really long for a metroidvania, it's also not easy don't listen to Roxor.

 

[Blaine]

I have no idea about this game....

Guess you and the rat share something in common!

 

[Okagron]

I actually died quite a lot in my first playthrough and i have extensive experience in Metroidvanias and platformers in general. Sure, if i do a second playthough i can probably do a no death run or hardly any death at worst, but in my first playthrough some bosses stumped me. I'd say this is probably the hardest Metroidvania i played so far.

Can't say the same for Metroidvanias like Symphony of the Night and its sequels, where i pretty much breezed through on my first playthrough. I did the same thing for Super Metroid.

 

[Visperas]

This game is fucking awesome.

 

[Lyre Mors]

This game is not easy. I'd love to watch a stream of Roxor tackling any of the mid to late game bosses and areas with any ease.

I agree that "mind-blowing" isn't the best way to describe it, but it's a great game with excellent world design, engaging exploration, challenging gameplay (occasionally the platforming, but more so bosses), and fun progression. It for sure is one of the best metroidvania's ever created.

 

[Ivan]

ah yes, the old, so how good is Hollow Knight discussion.

all in all, I'd happily and gleefully place Hollow Knight in my top 3 games of the decade. easily.

 

[mwnn85]

The only small complaint I could make about Hollow Knight is the backtracking which can grate slightly until you unlock all abilities, stag stations and trams.
Particularly if you head downwards after beating the Mantis Lords when the ideal route is to continue east for the 2nd Hornet fight or just spend lots of time exploring.
A bit of a pointer might've been nice.

The areas link into each other in a very nice way however with lots of secret connections between them.
Can't really say that I found any of the common enemies challenging. The boss fights vary in difficulty somewhat unevenly.
The (optional) White Palace is a bit of a pain but it's doable after several attempts; I didn't bother going through the Path of Pain.
The characters move set is a bit limited but it gets better once you get some sword upgrades + charms.

It's genuinely nice to see a game which adds a ton of expansion content and still keeps the price low (£7)
Recommended amongst the sea of crap that gets released nowdays.

 

[Wunderbar]

Hornet DLC to be unveiled on February 14th.

Spoiler

 

[DraQ]

Still dithering about getting HK.

Because it's not exactly mind-blowing. Hobo Knight is an ok game but not really that much more than a "walking sim" of sorts. Its main and only particular highlight, other than the production values, is that the world is fuckhueg, which tickles the autistic 100% completion receptors and makes you keep going, if only to map out every corner of the map. Otherwise it's pretty mediocre since both the platforming and the combat are 2ez.

Have you Ori'd already?

I felt like Ori could have easily done without its combat and no one would have complained.

The only reason for Ori to include combat at all is the ability to use enemies for platforming. That's a legitimate reason even if combat is so barebones as to be completely pointless as standalone gameplay element.
That's also a reason to make enemy behaviour transparently deterministic.

 

[Momock]

The only reason for Ori to include combat at all is the ability to use enemies for platforming. That's a legitimate reason even if combat is so barebones as to be completely pointless as standalone gameplay element.
That's also a reason to make enemy behaviour transparently deterministic.

It looks like that they're trying to make true combat in the sequel (with the sword, the bow and shit). But you could kill the ennemies so easily with the propulsion ability (smashing them to the ground/walls)... I guess that this power has to disappear for the combat to make sense and be replaced by an air dash or something.

 

[Jezal_k23]

People here saying Hollow Knight is easy... what the fuck...

I'm betting they didn't get to the Godhome, did not face NKG, did not do the Path of Pain. Maybe didn't even get to the White Palace at all.

"herp derp Hollow Knight is too easy look at my skillz" -> fuck off.

Godmaster in particular is so hard, so insanely difficult, so outright sadistic that the entire fanbase is pissed that it has the (likely) canon ending for the game.

Go get 112%, or at least attempt to (which I doubt people who think it's easy even did), and THEN I'll respect your opinion about difficulty.

 

[Wunderbar]

Even without Godhome, NKG and Path of Pain, HK is still a fairly challenging game.

 

[HoboForEternity]

People here saying Hollow Knight is easy... what the fuck...

I'm betting they didn't get to the Godhome, did not face NKG, did not do the Path of Pain. Maybe didn't even get to the White Palace at all.

"herp derp Hollow Knight is too easy look at my skillz" -> fuck off.

Godmaster in particular is so hard, so insanely difficult, so outright sadistic that the entire fanbase is pissed that it has the (likely) canon ending for the game.

Go get 112%, or at least attempt to (which I doubt people who think it's easy even did), and THEN I'll respect your opinion about difficulty.

roxor is talking shit, ignore him

 

[Kitchen Utensil]

It's really sad, but the art style just doesn't do it for me.
Everything else about Hollow Knight is fantastic, huge map, good level design, varied enemies, tight controls, great music/sound. But I stopped about 30 to 40% in because the art style, even though very well executed and consistent throughout the game (as far as I could tell), didn't grab me at all. I'm not exactly sure why, but somehow I think it's because on one hand it feels too detailed to leave much to the imagination, while on the other hand it is very minimalistic. It feels bland in a way. And it's sad because I really wanted to sink my teeth into the game. :/