Hallownest feels like home. Feels like a place where someone can belong in. Where someone is encouraged to grow.
The adventure through Hallownest is immersive and full of wonder. From the first moment when the player can control his character he can appreciate the art style of the game, so simple yet so full of personality. Every enemy is unique …
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Hallownest feels like home. Feels like a place where someone can belong in. Where someone is encouraged to grow.
The adventure through Hallownest is immersive and full of wonder. From the first moment when the player can control his character he can appreciate the art style of the game, so simple yet so full of personality. Every enemy is unique in the way they attack, and through interacting with them the player understands the identity of each one of them, not just who they are, but who they were. The game has very subtle ways to teach the player what to do, with the scenery pointing the player where to go next without ever needing any immersion breaking markers, like arrows or the such. The first NPC in the game, Elderbug, met in the main hub of the game, serves as the subtle guidance for what the player should explore next, were he to be lost. He'll give you clues about places existing in the kingdom and what aesthetic you can expect out of them. But this is just a small detail maybe missed by many, because the most important part of this game is the curiosity that it can create within the player. Curiosity and wonder are the driving forces of this game, the cornerstone of the adventure through the kingdom. The game is never going to directly tell you where to go. It just provides a world you want to explore. Hallownest, the world of the game, is a place you are in because you want to, because you want to understand it, because you want to admire the scenery and see what other parts this curious world has in its composition, and you want to uncover the mystery that brought it to ruin.
As you explore, you will uncover more and more diverse scenery, more and more powers to help you traverse the land, giving you access to new routes, and, mixed into the progress through the game, clues to help you uncover the great tragedy that marked this once great kingdom. One very important thing regarding the progression is the map. The game has a very unique approach to map design some might find infuriating. The maps for each individual area are to be bought separately from Cornifer the Cartographer, a bug that moved in Hallownest not long before you did, a very adventurous fella with a passion for mapping the world. He is located in a predesignated spot you need to find in every region of the game. In his vicinity there are papers on the floor or on the platforms, another excellent way to guide the player within the world. Also, the sound Cornifer makes, a gentle humming, will become your favourite sound, as you finally enter the room where he is hiding and finally getting the map that will give you a gist of the place you just got yourself purposefully lost in. The player character does not appear marked on the map unless the player has equipped the Wayfinder Compass, a charm you'll get early in the game. Use this charm until you get comfortable in the world, but have faith in the developers that crafted the game and get rid of it at one point. The whole point of the game is to feel a part of this world, and looking at a map cuts part of this feeling.
The game is difficult. It never feels unfair however (except in the last part of Godmaster DLC but I'll leave that for later). In my opinion, this game is really wishing you to succeed and to overcome its challenges, but its not gonna just give you a crown without a battle. The boss fights especially might actually send you back to a bench a few times, but a little bit of perseverance really goes a long way. This is why I said the game helps you grow. When I finished Hollow Knight, I genuinely felt fulfilled. I felt like I have achieved something, wondering through this world and finding its secrets, seeing the reminiscents of the past coming to my aid in a quest to fix what was broken and eventually conquering the game's final challenges, it didn't just felt good, it felt special in a way I cannot fully describe. And this feeling is a product of this game exactly because it has challenge within it and because it will make you work and think to uncover its secrets.
The Godmaster DLC I think deserves its own disscution. I have 120hs in this game. Half of it was spent in this DLC, which is a separate part of the game (it takes place in a dream) where you have to fight boss rushes. And while I didn't find it impossible, the last boss rush is quite tedious. It gives you the chance to practice the bosses you find difficult individually and I commence that ( in the sense that if it didn't I would've just given up long time ago), but I still found it a bit of an annoying challenge. It was completely optional though so it was pain of my own choice. I don't regret pushing through, I am just saying that if you're not willing to take this game that seriously or you were in just for the sense of wonder, seeing the last cutscene on YouTube and moving on might be a good way to save 60 hrs. On the other hand, the satisfaction from finishing that battle should you choose to embrace the challenge is a very rare feeling of accomplishment. But its not worth losing your love for the game in the process, were you not to be so into such tediousness.
Overall, Hollow Knight gave me an experience like no other. I really connected with this world, with their stories, with the ambience, I loved the movement, the bosses, everything. Is simply an experience worth experiencing and a story worth discovering. Should you be able to push through the early game that is believing in your sense of wonder instead of telling you where to go and embrace the challenges, I think Hallownest will become your home as well.
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