Hollow Knight (Switch) - Review Thread

Lelouch0612 · Jun 22, 2018

Since its shadow drop during Nintendo's E3 Direct, the game is getting some great reviews. With IGN releasing a big review today, it is time for Team Cherry's Hollow Knight to have its own review thread on Resetera.

Metacritic - 90

IGN - 9.4/10

Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania with a well of content to discover that's as deep as its labyrinthine caves. The world of Hallownest is compelling and rich, full of story that's left for you to discover on your own, and built with branching paths that offer an absurd amount of choice in how you go about discovering it. With such a high density of secrets to find and fun, challenging enemies to face, it's worth spending every moment you can in Hollow Knight.

Nintendo Life - 9/10

Hollow Knight is a big, beautiful, forboding Metroidvania that's absolutely thick with detail. From its punchy combat system to its charming art and sound design, this is one of the finest adventures you can have on Nintendo Switch.

Everyeye.it - 8.5/10

If you know how to overcome the first difficulties of the title, including the sense of loss and the apparent lack of a real goal, Team Cherry's game will offer a rewarding game experience, made with all the love of a genre that does not deserve to disappear. Do not let it escape.

NWR - 10/10

Hollow Knight's cryptic lore doled out in pieces leads me to believe I saved Hollownest in my ending, but an after-credits screen shows a 73% completion in 27 hours of play. I may have finished, but I'm far from done. I still have tons of upgrades, optional bosses, a true ending and a mantis to overcome. And I'm itching to jump back in.

Hobby Consolas - 95/100

Hollow Knight won't leave you hollow; quite the opposite. This incredible 'metroidvania', most likely the best example the genre has met in over 20 years, will leave you full with a feeling only a few games have achieved: the feeling of having played a masterpiece.

Spazio Games - 9/10

Hollow Knight confirms on Switch all the good it displayed in its PC version: we're talking about one of the best (if not the best) metroidvania of recent years, graced by gorgeous art direction and a fantastic level of challenge. A must buy if you're not afraid of difficult titles.

Eurogamer - Recommended

There's so much more to talk about: the quirky cast, the stunning, subtle setpieces, the special abilities, the colosseum, the grubs (oh, I love them so), but really, this is a journey tailormade for exploration and self-discovery, so rather than read about it, I can only urge you to play it. If you've been looking for a polished platformer (and can take on a tough little Metroidvania without screaming in anger or frustration), put this on your wishlist, or better still, grab it now. You won't regret it.

The Switch version also got all the free post-launch content update that the PC version got since its release last year. These improvements are then taken into account in these reviews whereas a majority of the existing reviews of the PC version didn't get updated.

Mezoly · Jun 22, 2018

Great reviews! I will pick it up after I'm done with ACES & Captain Toad.

KLoWn · Jun 22, 2018

This game definitely deserves a 90+ metacritic score.

Mastahpiece!

GwyndolinCinder · Jun 22, 2018

Easy 10/10 game.

Saint-14 · Jun 22, 2018

Sounds good, I'll probably jump on this after Xenoblade 2.

Bartend3r · Jun 22, 2018

I'm so tempted. But Aces is coming tomorrow for me so not yet.

fluffydelusions · Jun 22, 2018

From what I've seen/heard this game deserves all the praise it gets. Gonna buy it soon.

DNAbro · Jun 22, 2018

It became my GOTY over stuff like God of War and Monster Hunter. It will take a looooooot to unseat it. Truly one of those special games that everyone should play.

Skittzo · Jun 22, 2018

I'm no reviewer but everyone needs to buy this game. It's one of the best games I've ever played, definitely the best indie game and the best Metroidvania.

It's one of those games that just make you so upset when you've done everything you can do, and even then it pulls you back in. I really don't wanna leave that world.

I easily would've paid $60 for it, $15 is a damn steal.

Donkusei · Jun 22, 2018

I love Hollow Knight, already 30 hours on Switch! :)

By the way the HD rumble are great in this game.

Of course my GOTY, I will buy it again with the physical release.

ThankDougie · Jun 22, 2018

Thank Hollow Knight/10

(it's aces)

SaintBowWow · Jun 22, 2018

I'm so glad this is finally out on Switch and is coming to more platforms because it was criminally underdiscussed when it was only on PC. This game is an absolute must play.

Why would you do that? · Jun 22, 2018

I played the game for one minute before saying "Wow this game is awesome!" so I strongly recommend it. The game just feels right.

I also showed the Switch game to a friend and after a minute of him playing, he immediately decided to buy it on Steam. He isn't even a big platformer fan. The game is just a joy to control.

NediarPT88 · Jun 22, 2018

Masterpiece. It was amazing seeing people reactions in the OT when this version launched.

My GOTY last year, hopefully it can reach much more players.

15$ is a steal for this game.

Kyra · Jun 22, 2018

Should be higher.

Discokuningas · Jun 22, 2018

This game is great so far. Absolute classic. I don't think there is any better game in the genre except maybe Super Metroid.

Braaier · Jun 22, 2018

It's really damn good.

It's the dark souls of metroidvanias

Rran · Jun 22, 2018

Only ~5 hours in, but it's already so easily surpassed my expectations. I hear it's quite lengthy, so here's hoping the game does not overstay its welcome when all is said and done :D

OnanieBomb · Jun 22, 2018

"Lack of a real goal"

Wha? It has the same goal as like 80% of games in existence.

nextgeneration · Jun 22, 2018

Glad to see the recognition it finally deserves. One of the all time best games ever made.

Dphex · Jun 22, 2018

my personal score is 9.5, it´s one of the best games that i have played in 30 years of gaming and has a spot on my Top 10 .-)

Skittzo · Jun 22, 2018

wild wild rice said:
"Lack of a real goal"

Wha? It has the same goal as like 80% of games in existence.

I'm guessing that review means early on you have no idea what to do and no sense of purpose outside of exploring. That changes fairly quickly though so it's a weird complaint.

And some people actually really like that.

N.47H.4N · Jun 22, 2018

From the little bit I played and saw my girlfriend playing this game is will be easy one of the best of the year for me.

Lelouch0612 · Jun 22, 2018

Some tidbits from the IGN review :

About the story/lore :

In fact, Hollow Knight tells you very little about what's going on, and instead sends you into a world full of monumental events that all happened long before you arrived: wars and heroes, love and culture, disease and destruction. The aftermath of Hallownest's troubled past is left for you to discover and comes through loud and clear, but only if you take the time to listen. It's told in a very subtle way, but teaches you so much about Hallownest in the process that I feel like I could practically write a book on it.

About enemy variety & bosses:

The enemy variety is impressive to say the least, with nearly 100 different types to fight, and even ones with similar behaviors looking dramatically different depending on what area of the map you find them in.[....]

Seriously: there are dozens of different bosses, ranging from small and quick enemies to large, deadly brutes. These contained challenges are some of the best thrills available [...] You will (also) get crushed. Those hard losses occasionally slowed my momentum, but there is almost always some other path to explore. If I was having trouble pushing through in one direction

About the music :

And, as I mentioned before, the music adds to that setting and art one thousand times over. While each location has its own theme and boss fight music, individual melodies and instruments will shift in and out as you move from screen to screen. The mood and tension of a scene are often driven by that music, and the soundtrack has quickly become one of my favorites.

Lotus · Jun 22, 2018

I think this is the best game I've played this year, like holy shit, it's so good, and at such a low price at that

inspectah · Jun 22, 2018

Absolutely incredible Metroidvania!

OnanieBomb · Jun 22, 2018

skittzo0413 said:
I'm guessing that review means early on you have no idea what to do and no sense of purpose outside of exploring. That changes fairly quickly though so it's a weird complaint.

And some people actually really like that.

What additional sense of purpose is missing though? A transparent narrative? I feel plenty of purpose simply exploring and getting good. That's a "real goal" to me.

Just a weird comment.

TeenageFBI · Jun 22, 2018

Best Metroid style game since SOTN. Might be my favorite of all time.

You should consider buying it!

ueh19 · Jun 22, 2018

Cant stop playing this game, i Even got Mario Tennis today, but cant Keep me away from this amazing game

Lord Brady · Jun 22, 2018

I wasted 45 dollars buying Mario Tennis instead.

Becks' · Jun 22, 2018

Game is literally Dark Souls + Metroid. Truly amazing game.

TheGreatMightyPoo · Jun 22, 2018

So far, I still like Guacamelee better but this is definitely a high quality game.

AtomicShroom · Jun 22, 2018

Do any of these mention the notable input lag?

Arkeband · Jun 22, 2018

I personally love the game, but its lack of clear direction is definitely a drawback. Unless you're really lucky, you'll probably get roadblocked and need to look up where to go next.

Becks' said:
Game is literally Dark Souls + Metroid. Truly amazing game.

Salt and Sanctuary is probably closer to that. Hollow Knight really doesn't have anything in common with Dark Souls. (except for its story)

Comic Obsessed · Jun 22, 2018

And here is that critically acclaimed Switch title that people have been asking for.

Fantastic game and has much more depth than one would initially anticipate.

Big G · Jun 22, 2018

It's pretty damn good, and I feel it's only gotten better the more I've played of it. Definitely among the best Metroidvanias I've played.

ghibli99 · Jun 22, 2018

Awesome game, great score from IGN. Wearing my Fangamer glow-in-the-dark HK shirt today, coincidentally. :)

Dphex · Jun 22, 2018

AtomicShroom said:
Do any of these mention the notable input lag?

again: there is no input lag...many people in the OT including myself have beaten the hardest bosses of the game without any input problems, do you think that would be possible with notable input lag? i am serious, check your controller if you still have input lag, the problem seems to be somewhere on your end. maybe you have an interference going on

Jawbreaker · Jun 22, 2018

It was in my top-10 list last year. Marvelous game worthy of the praise.

OnanieBomb · Jun 22, 2018

AtomicShroom said:
Do any of these mention the notable input lag?

Oh man I thought it was just me! There do seem to be some weird timing issues occasionally. Does it play better on handheld? I got pretty deep into Celeste without feeling I put lag.

jb1234 · Jun 22, 2018

So glad to see the game get more critical attention.

inspectah · Jun 22, 2018

Arkeband said:
I personally love the game, but its lack of clear direction is definitely a drawback. Unless you're really lucky, you'll probably get roadblocked and need to look up where to go next.

There are always so many paths to choose from, that you must try pretty hard to get roadblocked.

Becks' · Jun 22, 2018

Arkeband said:
I personally love the game, but its lack of clear direction is definitely a drawback. Unless you're really lucky, you'll probably get roadblocked and need to look up where to go next.

Salt and Sanctuary is probably closer to that. Hollow Knight really doesn't have anything in common with Dark Souls.

Boss battles that are tough as nails, the fact that you lose all money on death and you have to go where you die to pick it up, checkpoint system that is identical to bonfire system in Souls and the story is told in the same way like in Dark Souls, through its world. HK reminds me of those features from DS.

I'll have to check Salt and Sanctuary though.

Lelouch0612 · Jun 22, 2018

Arkeband said:
I personally love the game, but its lack of clear direction is definitely a drawback. Unless you're really lucky, you'll probably get roadblocked and need to look up where to go next.

The IGN review says :

As much as I genuinely loved being pushed out of the boat and told to start kicking, Hollow Knights' first few hours can be a predictably sink-or-swim experience as a result. It's an unashamedly challenging game that does a great job of silently teaching you how to play, but it still felt a little bit daunting to start — especially when death means having to fight your way back to your corpse to reclaim your money, called Geo.

You have to find a map seller named Cornifer in each area before you can start keeping track of where you've been, and even then you have to equip a specific charm to see where you are on it in real time. That, coupled with fact that getting good at the combat takes practice, means I spent my first couple hours just trying to figure Hollow Knight out.

But once I picked up the rhythm of its combat and the pattern of exploring its initially restrictive cave systems, Hollow Knight clicked in a way that made me never want to put it down. After Greenpath, the second major area, you reach a point where there's no clear "correct" direction anymore. Like any Metroidvania, your path options are gated behind things like ledges too high to reach or gaps too far to jump until you find the necessary upgrades, but there are enough options that don't result in dead ends to keep to you exploring for quite a while.

Wouldn't you agree ?

Odeko · Jun 22, 2018

Arkeband said:
I personally love the game, but its lack of clear direction is definitely a drawback. Unless you're really lucky, you'll probably get roadblocked and need to look up where to go next.

Salt and Sanctuary is probably closer to that. Hollow Knight really doesn't have anything in common with Dark Souls.

Salt and Sanctuary is 80% Souls, 20% Metroid. Hollow Knight feels a lot closer to a 50/50 split. It has the Super Metroid map structure, the Souls currency-retrieval after death, Metroid's powerups that double as keys to new areas, Souls' storytelling via hints by NPCs and item (or enemy) descriptions. The health system even feels like a perfect hybrid of the two: enemies drop energy like in Metroid, but you can only hold limited charges and have to stand still to use it, like Souls.

TheGreatMightyPoo · Jun 22, 2018

wild wild rice said:
Oh man I thought it was just me! There do seem to be some weird timing issues occasionally. Does it play better on handheld? I got pretty deep into Celeste without feeling I put lag.

I have only played it handheld and don't experience any lag.

KLoWn · Jun 22, 2018

AtomicShroom said:
Do any of these mention the notable input lag?

99% of people doesn't have any lag, so no?

Lotus · Jun 22, 2018

Becks' said:
I'll have to check Salt and Sanctuary though.

I quickly got bored Salt and Sanctuary tbh

DrDeckard · Jun 22, 2018

Ok I'm sold. Sounds amazing. The feedback in here is too much

BizzyBum · Jun 22, 2018

I posted this in another thread but I was completely blown away by how good it was. I was playing it 10 hours straight only stopping to eat and go to the bathroom. Easily the best indie and Metroidvania title ever surpassing the games the genre is named after and so good I would put it somewhere in my Top 10 games of all time.

Should be downloaded on every Switch.

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