While the main game alone takes between 30 and 60 hours to complete depending on how much a player explores, the DLC makes the game last over 100 hours. The final addition, Godmaster, adds an extreme challenge for those brave enough to try it. In addition to its already massive base game, Hollow Knight has also received four DLC expansions. Hollow Knight doesn't hold the player's hands, instead allowing them to figure out the story and missions for themselves through dialogue and environmental interactions. The feeling of mystery and adventure of the unknown is particularly strong, with many pieces of the game's lore still being decoded by fans even now. Every corner of Hollow Knight contains a piece of unexplained item, artifact, character or text that contributes to its massive body of lore. It expertly utilizes a brand of storytelling called "environmental storytelling," which is quite notably seen in Souls games. Hollow Knight's lore is a huge part of what makes its exploration so captivating. Related: 5 Features from Hollow Knight That We Hope Return in Silksong (& 5 We Don’t) Between the music, charming bug-like characters, the gloomy and poignant environment and the mystifying lore, Team Cherry created a setting that begs for every nook and cranny of it to be explored. With its immersive and haunting score by the extremely talented Christopher Larkin, Hollow Knight manages to create a world with an almost tangible atmosphere.
The appeal of Hollow Knight, however, is not just its art. With gorgeous character designs and stunning backdrops, the world of Hallownest in Hollow Knight may just be one of the most beautiful worlds players can explore in a Metroidvania. Coupled with some amazing animation, Team Cherry had a killer combo aesthetically. While this has led to a lot of beautiful "hi-bit" art, the none can compare to the breathtaking, beautifully hand-drawn 2D art of Hollow Knight. Sure, it’s a migraine-inducing Metroid rip-off, but at least the one man who made it had the decency to let you see your position on the map from the off.The early days of the genre used 16-bit pixel graphics, something many modern titles have decided to retain. I wanted to get the disappointment out of my system quickly so I moved onto Axiom Verge. Hollow Knight’s core mechanics get so much right that whenever it does make mistakes, it’s all the more difficult to take. It’s ironic, because it’s the term that sums the game up perfectly). But the items kept criss-crossing into a cluster, err… jam (I wanted to use another term here but I know I can’t. The final straw was a boss fight (I repeatedly died and got sent back to a distant checkpoint, of course) in which two enemies stand either side throwing lava projectiles and small cannon fodder creatures that allow you to replenish your health.
That’s long enough and there’s no point in saying it gets better later, because it’s too late. I put about five to six hours into it before giving up. I’m glad Hollow Knight’s fans, and they are many of them, enjoyed it and I really wanted to as well. Great Metroidvania games are wonderfully tantalising and confusing as they make you wonder how on earth the developers came up with such cunning game design. As the confusing map and game world gets bigger, enthusiasm fades as you wander around aimlessly, dreading backtracking rather than relishing it. There’s not enough new abilities early enough and the items you do find fail to escalate the game or create the burning desire to play on. In Hollow Knight, you start off vulnerable and for too long, stay that way.
This allows the player to build confidence and momentum, which are crucial as they’re being faced with hostile and increasingly more dangerous, non-linear environments. The idea was handled well in Shovel Knight but it I feel it doesn’t work with Metroidvania games, because those games are about starting out in a vulnerable state and gradually growing into the adventure through the sense of progression and being empowered when you find new abilities. I’m not asking for Nathan Drake levels of generosity where you restart almost exactly where you died but being forced to replay the same sections over and over again to retrieve your lost treasure is a concept foolishly borrowed from Dark Souls and makes it immensely frustrating. When you do get the compass, it takes up an inventory space, adding insult to injury. The fact it was there in the first place made me wonder what other idiotic and moronic decisions were made elsewhere. It is simply unforgivable in this genre, and although it’s less of a problem when you can eventually buy a compass, it’s the sort of thing that can drive time-poor players away from the game instead of trying to hook them.
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