Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight is an incredible achievement that combines smart game design, a rich world, and sharp combat, with an enthralling insectoid world and a story just begging for you to find it. Team Cherry’s title is a high watermark for Metroidvanias, as the satisfying abilities and countless collectibles add variety and meaning to exploration, rewarding every discovery. Yet, while the challenge is a rewarding part of the process, I do wish that the title made some concessions and shone a bit of light in the darkness for those first fledgling steps.

Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition shines bright, which is ironic considering its solemn presentation and challenging gameplay. Offering a plethora of collectibles and content to explore as well as unrelenting confrontations, the game delivers a sensational, mysterious journey which will undoubtedly test your platforming skills.

Hollow Knight will stick with me for a while. It blends a Metroidvania and Dark Souls in near-perfect fashion. Its tight gameplay as well as its fantastic look and music immersed me into caring about a mysterious civilization of bugs. If “Soulsvainia” is a new sub-genre, then count me in. Also, count me in for the next thing that Team Cherry releases.

Hollow Knight is easily one of the best metroidvania games available on Xbox One. Despite the occasional bug later on in the adventure, the game remains robust, well balanced, challenging and thoroughly exciting throughout. What makes it particularly special is that it never wears thin, thanks largely to its deep, fluid play and its wonderfully dark, intriguing world.

Hollow Knight is deliberate in ways few games are, from its tough-love first hours all the way to the end of its long, content-packed journey. Challenging end-game bosses put every single skill I had to the test and left me with a sense of mastery. Team Cherry has been iterating on the game since its PC release last year, and it oozes a sense of self-confidence.

Hollow Knight is an outstanding game about exploration that’s a joy to play, look at, and listen to. Offering tens of hours of superb gameplay, this release is easily worth the asking price and I encourage anyone who enjoys exploration to buy it, with the only exception being those who are particularly deterred by challenging games.