After almost 50 hours I´m done with this game, what a ride! Got all charms, all upgrades, the unbreakable charms, finished the DLC, the White Palace, the Colloseum, the Dream Boss fights, got +2400 essence, got all 3 endings...I don´t think there´s anything left without having to start a new game. Loved most of all the exploration and combat in the game. The bosfights are awesome, I really enjoyed how they initially murder you until you learn them, make a strategy, maybe even use a special charm set-up and completely destroy them after many tries. And then go again against the dream versions and realize the boss was just being nice to you :)
My favorite area of the game is probably the Soul Sanctum: Really creepy and disturbing, great atmosphere, very original enemies, very challenging, with shortcuts to unlock and cement your progress...and a really cool bossfight with a final surprise. It felt at times Castlevania, at times Souls, at times Metroid but with the original charm of Hollow Knight present at every step.
I really liked the story and most of all the insect theming: It´s really strong and is used masterfully through all the game in a million different ways: For enemies, powerups, NPCs, upgrades, items, sceneries, locations, dressing, environmental objects (loved the tombs in Resting Grounds)...I was expecting something really disturbing for the spider area and it surpassed my expectations. It ´s praise-worthy how the devs managed to use the theme so well to convey something beasty and primal like the Deepnest and the creatures inside, other times something more elegant and melancholic like the City of Tears, the nobles and soldiers, then again present a character who literally fights for and with shit and make him respectable and challenging...
The only thing I didn´t like is that, specially close to the end when I was just hunting for pending stuff, the travel options were very limited. Hop you could create more than one dream door or something to move aorund great distances faster. Even if travelling with a fully upgraded Knight was awesome it became a bit at some point. Also, the map not updating in new areas until you got to a bench got mixed feelings from me. Combat was amazing, but the "special" moves (vengeful spirit, energy AoE attack, ground slam) felt a bit unresponsive so I didn´t use them much...it´s a pity as they could´ve added some more variety to combat. The jump-bounce attack was also a bit unreliable, but I can see this move easily becoming overpowered if it became as easy to use as in Shovel Knight for example. Still, just little nuances in an otherwise amazing experience.
I fully recommend this game, specially for those who like challenging combat and exploration.
