Hello and welcome to “The Backlog” where I review video games based on a certain genre or topic each month. Continuing September with our theme “I love it/I hate it,” we’re digging into the depths of the beautiful yet challenging experience of “Hollow Knight.”
Developer Team Cherry released “Hollow Knight” in February 2017. Playable on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox, “Hollow Knight” is a 2D platformer with unforgiving enemies and stages. Yet the gaming community has fallen in love with this indie title. The cute aesthetics somehow make even the grossest of insects adorable.
The game consists of the main character — simply named by the community as “the Knight” — exploring the forgotten kingdom of Hallownest. Even though the kingdom is a small, undergrown burrow, Hallownest is incredibly large with each stage having its own biome. Players can use a map and quill to keep track of new areas and where they’ve been. Benches are littered throughout the map and serve as checkpoints, respawn points and restore health.
The benches are a very thoughtful detail; as you explore you face enemies and annoying areas to traverse. Yet the game provides spots to literally sit down and rest, giving both the player and the Knight a much-needed breather.
The story behind “Hollow Knight” can be difficult for players to grasp even if they’ve played the game start to finish. It’s mostly done through item descriptions, NPC dialogue and the environment itself. Even though it can leave audiences confused, I believe this form of storytelling best fits this type of game. It puts players directly in the shoes of the Knight, who we don’t really know much about and can assume doesn’t know much about this world either.
Spoilers for “Hollow Knight” story beyond this point!
The kingdom of Hallownest is infected with a plague simply referred to as the “infection.” Insects plagued by this have orange eyes or are oozing orange liquid. This infection comes from the Radiance, a higher being shown to be a moth and the previous ruler of the land before the Pale King took over.
The Radiance infects any insects with ideas or some form of desires, turning them into a hivemind and taking away their sense of self. To combat this, the Pale King gave insects the ability to think for themselves, becoming individuals and ushering in a golden age for this ancient civilization. The Radiance’s influence weakened as the insects began to forget her, and she was locked away.
Unfortunately, nothing good lasts forever. The Radiance’s influence began to infect the dreams of Hallownest’s citizens and reawaken the infection. To once and for all seal her away, the Pale King created a vessel with no ideas, no will and no desires. This vessel was named the Hollow Knight and sealed the Radiance within itself.
But the Hollow Knight was not as hollow as people thought, and eventually the Radiance’s influence would continue to grow.
This broad summary of “Hollow Knight’s” backstory is just scratching the surface. Various tribes and communities in Hallownest had a hand to play in the growth and downfall of this ancient kingdom. All that’s left for players to find are relics of the past and architecture of a lost time.
Gameplaywise, the controls are simplistic as it is a 2D platformer. The Knight is equipped with a simple nail to use as a sword, but can also utilize charms, Nail Arts and spells. Nail Arts are essentially special moves and spells run on a collectable resource called “soul.” Certain items or weapons may come with special abilities, like dashing, double-jumping and more.
As cute and simple as “Hollow Knight” seems, it is a difficult game to complete. Enemies are unforgiving with how much they attack or follow your path, forcing players to either run away or take them head-on. The map can be a nightmare to traverse. Some sections consist almost entirely of obstacles like thorns or acid water. Usually, players will have to find certain charms or items to get through these areas, involving a lot of backtracking and deaths along the way.
One part that players may struggle with as well is the Shade. When the Knight dies, its shell cracks and releases a copy of itself through Void. Void is another ethereal material that doesn’t have a lot of explanation behind it. But this shade remains in the spot where the player died, and to get back the Geo (currency) and soul you left behind, you must kill the Shade. Fighting your evil double is no easy feat, and this system of respawn and revival can aggravate players who’ve collected a lot of Geo.
As much as I hated “Hollow Knight” for its unforgiving trials, it’s a beautiful experience and creates a sense of awe among players. The aesthetic of a crumbling kingdom matches this underground world perfectly. Characters are insects yet can only be described as cute and doing their best to survive in their fallen world.
Rating: 4/5 Ancient Masks