Hollow Knight - Bug Souls

[Broderick]

So recently I picked up the game Hollow Knight, and since getting it, I havent been able to put it down. It's a fantastic title that I ended up loving more than I thought I would. I think aside from the finely tuned gameplay, I loved the game because of it's presentation. It really comes off as a love letter to the Souls Series.

Talking about generalities, you are a lone wanderer with an undisclosed backstory(until way later), travelling throughout a ruined kingdom, fighting enemies that have lost their minds due to some mysterious infection. You meet npcs that have unique personalities and motivations, and you have a slowly expanding hub town, with npcs coming and going. You have benches as savepoints, enemies respawn when you rest, and when you die, all your money goes with you(but you have a chance to get it back in much the same way as Dark Souls).

However, thats just surface level comparison. It gets the FEEL of the Souls Series right in my opinion. You have the wonder of finding a new area to explore, while simultaneously have the horror, and oppressive atmosphere pervading many of the games areas. The story is told much like Dark Souls as well, with mostly characters, and writings that are etched into stone telling you bits and pieces of the game's lore and history, with much of it being optional.

So, I mostly wrote this because I am just fresh out of beating the game's final boss, and getting the true ending. I feel as if it's a fantastic little title. So, to cap this subject off, did you play Hollow Knight? If so, what did you think about it? Do you think it captures the feel of the Souls series(if you have experience with both games)?

 

[Broderick]

Yeah, the game reminds me of Souls as well. I liked it, but grew kind of bored of not knowing where to go and got distracted by other games, like Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Little Nightmares and Tomb Raider II.

Ah yeah, not knowing where to go really does get a bit overwhelming at times. I have gotten lost for hours going the "wrong" way before heh. I feel it kind of adds to the atmosphere, even if it's a bit tedious. I still havent finished the original Shovel Knight. Damn good game, but I got distracted with other stuff. I have heard good things about Little Nightmares, so I might check that out soon enough.

Tomb Raider 2 though eh? I havent played that in ages. Damn good game, but I might be a bit biased, as I grew up on the franchise.

 

[Zhukov]

I heard good things and checked it out, but the gameplay didn't look meaty enough for me.

The art style is rather cute though.

 

[Lufia Erim]

Would it be a disservice to say it looks like a "Salt and Sanctuary" clone? I looks interesting to say the least.

 

[Sonmi]

Yeah, the game reminds me of Souls as well. I liked it, but grew kind of bored of not knowing where to go and got distracted by other games, like Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Little Nightmares and Tomb Raider II.

If you go to the town, you can talk to the Elderbug, who'll pretty much tell you where you need to go next to progress in the story.

 

[sageoftruth]

Would it be a disservice to say it looks like a "Salt and Sanctuary" clone? I looks interesting to say the least.

Compared to Salt and Sanctuary, Hollow Knight felt a bit more like an action game to me. First of all, a single attack begins and ends about as quickly as a slash from Strider Hiryu, if it was less spammable, so you likely won't get punished for missing with an attack. Then there's the ability to pogo off of enemies Shovel Knight style using repeated downward slashes. Also, no stamina bar or leveling system.

While Salt and Sactuary followed the Dark Souls combat formula of learning your enemy's attacks, looking for an opening, attacking and getting out to recharge your stamina, Hollow Knight felt like it was much more centered on skillful execution of your abilities and avoiding really difficult attacks and the occasional projectile spams. Also, the soul meter placed a lot more emphasis on staying aggressive to keep yourself alive. Overall, it felt less like it was about carefully choosing when to be offensive, and more about staying offensive while keeping an eye out for attacks.

Outside of the combat itself, it felt very much like Salt. A huge map with tons of exploration, an extremely subtle plot, a sense of loneliness throughout, metroidvania style progression, and of course the Dark Souls-esque death system to keep everything super-tense when you had a lot to lose.

 

[sageoftruth]

I heard good things and checked it out, but the gameplay didn't look meaty enough for me.

The art style is rather cute though.

By gameplay, do you mean the combat?

The combat certainly starts off pretty shallow, with just jumping, attacking, and expending soul to heal yourself, but like with most metroidvania-style games, it grows as you unlock new abilities. Soon you have air-dashing, or most interesting for me was powerful projectile attacks that require you to draw from the same soul meter you use for healing, forcing you to choose between keeping your health up or speeding the demise of your enemies.

Also, the cute art style can be downright creepy in some locations. This is a land of insects after all.

 

[Broderick]

Would it be a disservice to say it looks like a "Salt and Sanctuary" clone? I looks interesting to say the least.

I would say while both take pretty big inspiration from dark souls, Salt and Sanctuary basically tries to be a 2d dark souls, while Hollow Knight tries to be it's own entity. Really, it takes a lot of gameplay from 2d platformers and metroidvanias, and I feel is more closer to Shovel Knight then Salt and Sanctuary.

 

[Zacharious-khan]

It's been my favorite new game in years. I'm at 91% completion and plan to finish this week. I'm not someone who usually 100%'s games and for this I haven't even looked anything up.

It's been a beautiful experience.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I consider it the best Metroidvania I've ever played, and I've played a lot of them, I rate it higher than even the big name games. One of the greatest things about it is how you can be "going the wrong way" for hours, not having a certain upgrade or ability that would make your life easier but you won't ever feel like you went "the wrong way" and there's plenty of ways to overcome something with the limited tools you have.

I spend a good chunk of the game not having found the shop that sells charms or the smith that upgrades your nail damage but the fights that I should have been fighting with better equipment felt like ones I could win (And did) with what I had if I played well enough.

That's why I see it as the best Metroidvania I've ever played. There's so much room for you to just go places and make your own way without resorting to weird tricks to skip past things and it takes a long time for you to get to a point where it feels like you've hit a wall in how you can continue without getting that one upgrade.

 

[Fappy]

I played through the first boss but got distracted by other games. I've been meaning to pick it back up.