Hollow Knight borrows from all the right places. It borrows the punishing difficulty and checkpoint "bonfire" system from Dark Souls, along with the game's somber, almost mournful demeanor and depressing, muddy color palette. From its metroidvania siblings, it utilizes a tried and true progression structure where new items and abilities allow you to access places you couldn't reach before, continuously expanding the real estate available for you to explore.

Speaking of which, Hollow Knight is brain-crushingly huge -- large new areas just keep on coming even very late into the game. For me, the end is finally in sight and I'm still discovering new biomes and exploring new sections of existing biomes. Furthermore, these areas are relentlessly beautiful, telling the story of a civilization lost to the sands of time.
In other places, Hollow Knight exceeded my wildest expectations. This is, by far, one of the most interesting metroidvania worlds I've ever explored. It is made all the more interesting by the fact that the world is populated. Sparsely, yes, but populated all the same. You can chat with the other bugs and learn the history of Hollownest. You can read the descriptions on charms and you can plumb the depths looking for historical sites and artifacts. Creativity seeps out of every crevice of the world. We are meant to mourn this dying world and wonder at what it once was even while marveling at the glorious remains of this mysterious lost civilization. For those interesting in uncovering its secrets, it's packed with cool details, small touches and graphical flourishes that make its world feel much more alive and connected than worlds in bigger-budget titles.

For those willing to brave it's challenging depths, Hollow Knight offers more open world exploration than you can shake a stick at. While I haven't finished it yet, it's shaping up to be one of the greatest metroidvanias ever constructed. I think it's safe to say that Hollow Knight is a masterpiece. If you've got the skill to survive it, you're in for a treat.

Note: While I own this game on Steam, I did not complete it on Steam. This review is based on the PS4 game "Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition" which is the same game in all but name.

Hollow Knight borrows from all the right places. It borrows the punishing difficulty and checkpoint "bonfire" system from Dark Souls, along with the game's somber, almost mournful demeanor and depressing, muddy color palette. From its metroidvania siblings, it utilizes a tried and true progression structure where new items and abilities allow you to access places you couldn't reach before, continuously expanding the real estate available for you to explore. Speaking of which, Hollow Knight is brain-crushingly huge -- large new areas just keep on coming even very late into the game. For me, the end is finally in sight and I'm still discovering new biomes and exploring new sections of existing biomes. Furthermore, these areas are relentlessly beautiful, telling the story of a civilization lost to the sands of time. In other places, Hollow Knight exceeded my wildest expectations. This is, by far, one of the most interesting metroidvania worlds I've ever explored. It is made all the more interesting by the fact that the world is populated. Sparsely, yes, but populated all the same. You can chat with the other bugs and learn the history of Hollownest. You can read the descriptions on charms and you can plumb the depths looking for historical sites and artifacts. Creativity seeps out of every crevice of the world. We are meant to mourn this dying world and wonder at what it once was even while marveling at the glorious remains of this mysterious lost civilization. For those interesting in uncovering its secrets, it's packed with cool details, small touches and graphical flourishes that make its world feel much more alive and connected than worlds in bigger-budget titles. For those willing to brave it's challenging depths, Hollow Knight offers more open world exploration than you can shake a stick at. While I haven't finished it yet, it's shaping up to be one of the greatest metroidvanias ever constructed. I think it's safe to say that Hollow Knight is a masterpiece. If you've got the skill to survive it, you're in for a treat. Note: While I own this game on Steam, I did not complete it on Steam. This review is based on the PS4 game "Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition" which is the same game in all but name.