We play some games for the sake of the plot, some for the atmosphere, some for enjoyable game play, and some for the burning sensation. And it’s not uncommon for these goals to be intertwined in one game, and Hollow Knight combines (to some extent) all of the above.
This game is made in the style of standard game play. By standard, I mean such character actions as: hit, jump, move forward and backward. Let me make a reservation right away - the game is much more cheerful than I thought from the beginning, even despite its apparent gloom and the background piano accompaniment that wonderfully conveys sadness.
Hollow Knight is a 2D action game consisting a large world of Hallownest with a bunch of different spider bugs. Hallownest was once a prosperous and populous kingdom, but something terrible happened and many years later, the little knight we will play as comes from the distant wastes and descends into the ruins of the kingdom. All plot elements will be revealed as you progress through the game and explore all corners of the huge ruins.
Hollow Knight - this game is suitable for having a good time. The plot provides you all answers to ancient mysteries and classic adventures in its large, interconnected world. Players will need to explore not only caves, but also quite ancient cities and wastelands, fight and make friends with unique beetles, and uncover ancient secrets.
What can be said about this game besides the game mechanics? The game looks quite juicy, and at the same time weighs quite little. Performance is excellent, despite the abundance of particles on the screen. The game itself is fun, but I highly recommend playing on a gamepad, as sometimes you can break your fingers fighting bosses.
The game has a fairly large number of characters. All of them are quite well predisposed to the main character, and create a complete picture of the world. Each of character has his own history and his own life goals, and even his principles.
Our knight runs and jumps and can heal physical wounds with the help of a filling sphere (filled from hitting enemies). The enemies here are more likely to evoke pity and compassion - all sorts of funny spider bugs that, after defeat, fall on their backs and move their legs funny. The adversaries drop smaller spheres that have to be collected.
As for the deaths in the game, everything is done in the style of everyone’s favorite games in the Souls series. After death, you will need to return to the place of death and pick up money, which is represented by silver coins. At the place of death, a dark spirit will be waiting for you, killing which you will be able to take your wealth. Enemies are also reborn after our death; nests are reborn, from which you can knock out small spheres. There are also huge bosses.
Everything is great here. The graphics are stylish, the game is complex, the plot is cool, if you explore everything, you will look at the history of the Hallownest from the golden era to the fall. The soundtrack immerses you in the atmosphere so much that I personally don’t want to leave the game for hours.
At the beginning, the game has a fairly linear passage - you strictly follow a certain path, and it’s difficult to get lost, but the more you play, the more paths open up for you, and it’s not always immediately clear where you need to go. Often you will have to wander around the kingdom in search of a further path and return back and forth many times. On the one hand, this can be tiring, but on the other hand, it is still more interesting than following a guide and losing the whole atmosphere of the story.
The atmosphere, by the way, of the game is quite distinctive. Excellent drawings and a wealth of locations - from a gray forgotten crossroads to a bright crystal peak, from a relaxing green path to a melancholic city of tears. The soundtrack is the same - deep and complementing each location and bosses.
And bosses are a separate issue. The game is not particularly simple at all, it’s worth emphasizing this right away. For some opponents you need to select tactics, and in some locations it is very difficult to move due to thousands of obstacles and traps. However, it is the bosses that make up the core gameplay of Hollow Knight.
Let's start with the fact that you won't defeat everyone on the first try, and for a second fight, sometimes you will have to spend more time to get to the scoundrel again, because the knight will be reborn on the bench, which acts as a checkpoint. Well, benches will not always be within walking distance from the place of the battle with the robber.
It doesn’t seem to interfere much, but still, instant revenge does not deprive the dynamics and mood, and while you get there, along the way, you can grab from small enemies and from all sorts of thorns, which will affect the battle with the boss.
In Hollow Knight there are endless attempts, but there are no nerves. Each boss is unique in its own way and he requires your own approach. But it’s still extremely pleasant to find some kind of vulnerability in the villain, a safe corner in the arena, a special combination of abilities, or simply train to such an extent that you can simply outright outplay your opponent, dodging and attacking after him.
Along with the time it takes to kill villains, a lot of time is also spent searching for tons of different artifacts on a huge map. Because Hollow Knight will take a very, very long time from the player, especially if you have no experience of such games.
You can play both on the your keyboard or on the gamepad. I didn’t try to play much on the keyboard, so I won’t say where it was more convenient for me; the main part was played on a gamepad, which suffered greatly during the play-through (not from nervous breakdowns, but from incredibly intense use). At the beginning, it may seem boring, but when you get to the first boss, your opinion about it changes radically.
I also liked the feature with the game map. We will have to buy maps of the area from a cartographer, who himself draws them by hand while traveling through the dungeons. The cards are not quite ordinary, since we will have to fill them out ourselves. You will need to buy the appropriate tags and put them on the map yourself, a rather interesting idea, although not for everyone.
There is a lot to read in the game - glowing portals will tell us about this world - and gray-haired residents will share wisdom with us and answer questions. The world is very huge - here you can constantly move in different directions, bumping into locked doors that open as you progress.
In general, as for me, this game is just for playing and spending more than one evening playing through it. If a person is not particularly keen on PC games, then of course not, but for everyone else, feel free to go into battle. A wonderful game that will steal a couple of hours of your evening, and you won't even notice it!
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With love, @madeirane
Photos: screenshots of the game.
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