Hollow Knight Art Appreciation Thread (Open Spoilers)

So far, Hollow Knight is a perfect game. I'm more than 20 hours into the Switch version, and I honestly can't find a single meaningful fault.

I'm not normally one for "Metroidvania" games, either. Oftentimes with this genre, the maps blur together in my mind, which makes it difficult to keep going after a point, or to come back to after not playing for awhile.

But I think the difference between Hollow Knight and others is that the kingdom of Hallownest is so coherently designed and so beautifully realized that it truly feels like I'm exploring a real lived-in place — one with actual history and geography. This keeps me immersed in the game world, compelling me to dig deeper and helping me picture how everything fits together. There's a strong internal logic and attention to detail here.

It's so well-done that it sparks my imagination and makes me wonder if, deep underground in real life, there are haunted civilizations and crumbling architecture left over from intelligent insects that dreamed and died and meddled with Lovecraftian forces beyond their reckoning. Hollow Knight is rich in mystery — the subtle sort of "show don't tell" storytelling that made Dark Souls and Bloodborne so intoxicating. I just love that.

Of course, it's backed up by some beautiful art, which is what we're here to appreciate. Treat this as a screenshots thread if you wish, but also feel free to share sprites, animations, fan art, etc. I don't often see these sorts of threads for indie titles, but man — Hollow Knight deserves it.

Weiss said:

For a second I thought this was the fanart thread and was about to say that you called it the wrong title.

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I didn't know there was a fan art thread, but yeah — this is primarily a screenshots thread, appreciating the actual artwork in the game.

I should also note, I love the prose in this game — the writing is so beautiful and the characters so well-written. I try to capture that in some shots.

lvl 99 Pixel said:

Someone yesterday called it "hideous", which just sounded like someone who had never actually played the game.

I feel like the sound design works with the visuals super hard too, even if the voice aspects are kind of awkward.

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I adore the voices. Characters like Willoh, the grubs, etc, instantly charmed me with the cute sounds they make.

Although if you read Willoh's mind with the Dream Nail, things get a bit creepy:

NediarPT88 said:

Visuals in this game are brilliant.

Images in the OP seem to be of low quality though, they are kind blurred.

I'll post some from here. I've seen some great stuff on reddit, have to dig a bit later to see if I can find more cool images.

Some of them are really good wallpaper material.

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Yeah, my screens were taken at 720p in handheld mode on Switch, so they're not going to look as ultra-sharp as your PC shots :-)

NediarPT88 said:

Oh ok, I was wondering if it was due the image compression or something like that. They are still fine though.

I had this one as my wallpaper for a good time:

Quirrel best bud.

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Oh neat, does Quirrel go there after the Archives? I think that's the Blue Lake, right? Looks like Quirrel doesn't have his mask so I figure it's after the Archives.

I encountered the Midwife in Deepnest the other day. She's terrifying but I keep talking to her, lol.

It's just such a brilliant world concept. Bugs naturally make for all sorts of fantastic designs, especially when you re-contextualize them as intelligent cultured creatures like this game does. And then the underground setting provides all sorts of great imagery, whether it's a glass city perpetually rained upon by leaks in the cave ceiling, or caverns crowded with enormous mushrooms, or lush green gardens, or graveyards of spiderwebs and molted husks... And being underground, everything is literally layered upon everything else, so you can really feel how the world fits together. <3 Hallownest.

Seeing that mining beetle, I just remembered, there used to be a mining beetle that would sing and talk to me, but later she attacked me and I killed her? Was that avoidable?

Hellwarden said:

I don't want Hornet DLC.

Give me Dung Defender DLC.

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Wait, are we getting Hornet DLC??

Any guesses on what kind of bug the player character is?

ryechu said:

Yes. a playable hornet campaign complete with new areas and a new rival.

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Nice! I imagine it's paid, right? And what's the estimated release date?

City of Tears is such a cozy location. Yeah, it's cold and drizzly outside, but I love when you're indoors and see the rain on the windows. :-)