I don't see a lot of people out here talking about Hollow Knight, and I aim to change that!

The game is a wonderful metroidvania style game. Although it leans a lot closer to the Super Metroid stuff than the Castlevania stuff IMO. The artwork is fantastic and the gameplay has tight controls that allow you place the jumps just where you need to. Of course the usual upgrade mechanics are in play, ways to dash and wall jump, and later double jump can be found as you explore, as well as ways to increase your base health and spells to use your soul power on. There is a currency to spend on in-game items and upgrades as well as unlocking fast travel locations, elevators and other shortcuts.

I'm about 8 hours in and could not be loving it more. It provides a wonderful, action-y change of pace from something cerebral like Torment: Tides of Numenera which I just finished. Supposedly the game has mulitple endings and a secret true ending. I've seen people quoting something like 20-35 hours depending on how much of everything you want to complete. That seems like a high amount for this sort of game, but as far as I'm concered I'm loving every minute of it.

Agreed. Hollow Knight is awesome.

It does seem really neat, it's just not the type of game that gets my heart pumping. I did really like An Elysian Tale from a few years back, this reminds me of that.

HURRY UP AND COME TO SWITCH!

Looks good, i need to beat salt and sanctuary before i get another one of these though lol.

It's kind of a bummer that Team Cherry chose to rely solely on word of mouth and not send out review copies, because as a result this game has gotten almost zero coverage from major game sites. But I also respect that decision.

This game is amazing and now that they have patched a lot of the performance issues for the PC version that a lot of people including myself experienced, I can recommend this game fully.

Yeah, this game is so good. It looks really nice too, I was worried it might look too much like a Flash game but once you get to the forest area it layers up tons of foreground and background layers. I love the sense of mystery, there are some really unique characters and the world is fun to explore.

This is the kind of game I love, it's the only thing I've bought for the past few months.

Just had this pop up in my Steam discovery queue and it looks pretty great. Based on what little coverage I've seen it seems worth picking up, I really can't believe more outlets haven't covered it. I don't get why they wouldn't send out review copies.

Waiting for the Switch release. Eagerly waiting.

I'm eagerly waiting for the PS4 release. One of the nice things about owning that console is its library of quality indie titles. Apparently we'll be getting Hollow Knight on PS "later this year", whenever that happens to be.

I was going to make my own thread about this game but then I noticed this recommendation thread.

This game is just fantastic, especially if you like Metroidvanias and Dark Souls. While it has all the typical trappings of a Metroidvania, it provides it's own solid spin on things. Maps are not automatically collected for instance. In each area you have to seek out a map-maker by some of the scraps he leaves behind and his jovial humming as he draws his maps. You talk with him, have a little conversation, and buy the map at a reasonable price. Just this change alone makes acquiring a map actually mean something, and the dialogue a lot of the characters say along with the unique fake talking sounds subbed in for everyone gives every NPC a real sense of personality, including your map-maker friend (and his exasperated wife that runs a store above ground that sells you the materials you need to actually fill in the maps you get). You also only fill in the maps with your quill on saving/resting at a bench, making new journeys into the unknown actually feel like an expedition, as your map is not just auto-filled.

The Dark Souls comparisons come in with regards to world building and lore. The game has a very similar hands off approach to the story as Dark Souls, and a lot of the general themes do seem to be repeated (for instance, a large part of your journey consists of exploring long dead kingdoms while other NPCs have journeys that closely mirror yours). However, the insectoid spin on everything keeps it as it's own unique little thing.

Game also does the smart thing of front-loading it's two big movement upgrades. Traversal through some of the bigger environments becomes a speedy process only a few hours in. Speaking of the areas, the theming on them is mostly pretty solid. Almost every area has it's own set of enemies that very naturally fit in with the environment.

I find the combat and movement to be very tight and satisfying. There has been no instances where I felt like a hit was undeserved, and the very low amount of i-frames between hits makes it very difficult to cheese anything. The game does pause for a moment on hit, possibly as a way of balancing out this low i-frame count.

It's a damn shame this game isn't really receiving a lot of attention from the major publications. I thought that maybe that 10/10 from Destructoid would help the game gain traction.

I didn't realize this game was getting so little attention. It really is an achievement, and is at risk of surpassing Symphony of the Night and the NES Metroid for my favorite game in the genre. I love how the zones are interconnected, and the eerie hints of what happened across them. It keeps giving new bits of lore that recontextualize a character's place in the world in great ways.

Do you think the starting zone is giving people the wrong impression? It's the least detailed, and uses a lot of textures that are very simple. By the time I got to the jungle and the city, I was blown away by what the art could do, and really only find the starting zone unimpressive.

@john_wiswell: I will say that when playing it, I definitely felt like it took a while to get going. Maybe much more so than your average metroidvania, and that might drive some people from it. The real sense of exploration doesn't really happen until you have gotten a few abilities and gotten enough money to buy a lot of the store stuff and found 2 or 3 zones. At least that is the point where I really started to love the game.

So I just this morning picked this up, I'm not sure why I just thought it seemed interesting and passively heard some talk about it,

I like the style. It's kinda weird right away but within 5-10 minutes I was on board, it controls real well and I feel like I understand how to perform in combat already.

But this soundtrack...my god this game's soundtrack is freaking amazing! Well worth the 15 bucks for that alone!!

I'll be honest-I usually burn out pretty early with 'metroidvania' types. It's been a while since a game hooked me like this though. I've got the 2 big movement upgrades and both times I've had that 'just 5 more minutes' feeling to see the next thing, environment, enemy type etc. The enemies all have really good animation telegraphing so you never feel like you got hit cheaply. The storytelling done via NPCs, the environment, and enemies is really top-tier. If I had to put a fine point on it it's like Dark Souls and Rogue Legacy got together and made some magic. It's also just jaw droppingly gorgeous, especially when you start moving between areas. Can't recommend enough

I'm super interested in this game, honestly I'm just waiting for the Switch version. Hopefully it gets more attention once that version comes out since it seems like it's super well done from everything I've seen.