Hollow Knight

 Switch
User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 2078 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,879 out of 2078
  2. Mixed: 74 out of 2078
  3. Negative: 125 out of 2078
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  1. Grimmush
    Jun 23, 2018
    3
    DO NOT BUY!

    Honestly as someone who is used to challenging games, I found Hollow Knight to be one of the worst. I found the challenge here to be gimmicky at best, with cheap mid-boss enemies, damage model based on hits and touches by enemies and awkward controls/platforming made even worse on the Switch thanks to the Joy-Cons. You start with a little guy that has 1 attack (3, if    DO NOT BUY!

    Honestly as someone who is used to challenging games, I found Hollow Knight to be one of the worst.

    I found the challenge here to be gimmicky at best, with cheap mid-boss enemies, damage model based on hits and touches by enemies and awkward controls/platforming made even worse on the Switch thanks to the Joy-Cons.

    You start with a little guy that has 1 attack (3, if you count directional attacks as well) , a heal spell and a jump. That's it. No block, no dash/evade, no way to avoid getting hit and as I've mentioned getting touched means getting hit. The enemies are very agile and have a long reach, you yourself are very small and cover a short area, which leads to a lot of cases where you are being hit while trying to hit.

    In short, the combat is abhorrent!

    There is no learning curve like what you had in the Souls games, where if you could overcome a difficult enemies/sequence you could get past it by learning from mistakes, learning new moves and strategies. There's none of the here, as the game is very straight forward.

    The platforming is probably the worst offender, it has this this awful downward attack that you have to use to get through some parts which is a pain to archive on the Joy-con. Add to that tight jumping sequences where you are harassed by enemies you cant avoid...

    Some enemies respawn while you rest at a bench, others respawn if you exit an area, making making it feel very inconsistent. The area maps that you have to purchase, which is incomplete when you buy it, also updates new areas you've been through while resting at a bench.

    You have to grind your ass off to buy basic game mechanics, like maps, map pins, etc.

    Overall I think this game tries so hard to be a 2D souls but falls flat due to all of the above, instead being nothing more than an over hyped poor attempt with pretty aesthetics.

    As it is, the game is unplayable and enjoyable without a scale back on the difficulty, maybe with a easy mode added.

    If you're looking for a Souls like, you won't find it in Hollow Knight. I strongly recommend waiting for Dark Souls Remastered or Dead Cells, both out later this year.
    … Expand
  2. mrvertigo89
    Sep 6, 2018
    4
    I really wanted to like Hollow Knight. It's visually stunning, and the world is great; it's drawn on the classic Soulsbourne approach to a fragmented narrative that is pulled together through clues. I really enjoyed the exploration of the game, and it's pretty open quite early on. There is a fair amount of excitement when you get a new ability and can reach previously inaccessible areas.I really wanted to like Hollow Knight. It's visually stunning, and the world is great; it's drawn on the classic Soulsbourne approach to a fragmented narrative that is pulled together through clues. I really enjoyed the exploration of the game, and it's pretty open quite early on. There is a fair amount of excitement when you get a new ability and can reach previously inaccessible areas.

    But, the game is not fun. I love challenge in a game; I even completed the Bloodborne Chalice Dungeons, and I've completed every Souls game from Demon souls onwards, I don't mind taking my time and learning attack patterns / practice. But it's a real shame that the Hollow Knight designers have opted for some lazy artificial difficulty in most situations rather than actually designing. For example, most bosses only have a couple of attacks, but have so much health that you may well lose due to making a mistake because of the sheer length of time a fight can take. At another point, you fight a previous enemy again, only they are twice as fast. Another example is that some of the platforming sections require 10+ perfectly executed jumps with no save option anywhere along the way. This is made more frustrating as there is a slight delay in the game responding to jump inputs. The game also expects a whole lot of grinding to purchase necessary upgrades to open some paths.

    The game also doesn't value it's players time. As an adult who works most of the time, backtracking for 2-5 mins to get back to a boss or a painful platforming section is simply not acceptable in a modern game. The save points are few and far between, and there is no way of travelling between them, instead you have to rely on a separate transit system.

    i guess my final complaint is that they've just missed the mark. If you've ever played Salt & Sanctuary, a Soulsborne, Metroidvania styled platformer with a fantastic world, factions and a brilliant upgrade system. As such, playing Hollow Knight feels like it falls short on every bar, except possibly the world itself, which is great.

    TLDR: Lots of promise but not worth your time. Play Salt and Sanctuary, does everything better from the platforming to the world to the combat.    … Expand
  3. gargom
    May 20, 2020
    0
    CANSADO
    Te pasas más tiempo perdido, sin saber donde ir y dando vueltas sin ningún sentido que jugando.
    Luego el viaje rápido está muy muy mal hecho, solo tienes 1 viaje rápido por zona y las zonas son bastante grandes. Básicamente te comes 5 minutos simplemente andando cada vez que mueres. Y lo mejor de todo es que cuando mueres pierdes la mitad del máx del contenedor de almas hasta que    CANSADO
    Te pasas más tiempo perdido, sin saber donde ir y dando vueltas sin ningún sentido que jugando.
    Luego el viaje rápido está muy muy mal hecho, solo tienes 1 viaje rápido por zona y las zonas son bastante grandes. Básicamente te comes 5 minutos simplemente andando cada vez que mueres.
    Y lo mejor de todo es que cuando mueres pierdes la mitad del máx del contenedor de almas hasta que vuelvas a matar a la sombra y básicamente son situaciones en las que si estas peleando contra un jefe y pierdes cuando lo vuelvas a intentar serás tú vs el jefe vs la sombra y encima con la mitad del contenedor como máx. ES ABSURDO
    Si es verdad que la sombra está antes que los jefes pero esque aún asi pierdes vida, y acabas perdiendo 2 corazones simplemente en el camino a llegar al jefe. ESTE JUEGO ES MÁS ESTRESANTE QUE SATISFACTORIO, AL MENOS DARK SOULS TE PREMIA JUSTAMENTE AL MATAR A UN JEFE, AQUÍ NO. JUEGO ESTRESANTE.    … Expand
  4. bl1rt
    Jul 13, 2019
    2
    A lot of folks like it, and that's great. I didn't though:
    To me, the game looks very distinct, but it doesn't bring much else to the table. Particularly the fighting system felt uninspired and blunt - hop, prick, hop, repeat.
    Repetition overall became a huge annoyance quickly, as the game makes you do the exact same thing again and again, for example when you have to learn the moves of    A lot of folks like it, and that's great. I didn't though:
    To me, the game looks very distinct, but it doesn't bring much else to the table. Particularly the fighting system felt uninspired and blunt - hop, prick, hop, repeat.
    Repetition overall became a huge annoyance quickly, as the game makes you do the exact same thing again and again, for example when you have to learn the moves of a boss to beat him (i.e. when he let's you do the hop prick hop), and you need to go ten times through the same five or so screens to get to him.
    I like challenging games a lot, but with HK, it felt artificial and unrewarding to me - more of a cop-out to justify the very limited battle system.

    Played it for about 10 hours and then realized how the game feels like menial labor and overall annoys me, and that I have no interest in exploring it further, so I deleted it. To me, it felt like a very average game with an above-average look.    … Expand
  5. 0range
    Dec 8, 2020
    0
    I really love this game and it's perfect for switch. An entire world in your pocket. Responsive controls, a well written narrative, and a well designed world make this a must play.
  6. DonkeyBrains
    Jul 2, 2018
    4
    This game feels like a chore in every sense of the word. Everything from the monotonous gameplay to the bland environments makes this game feel very dull. Don't believe the hype.
  7. Jaytmek
    Aug 30, 2018
    1
    I got suckered by the hype on this one unfortunately. This game is bland and tiring. I feel like other gamers must be seeing something I'm not. The difficulty comes from clumsy controls and enclosed areas in which it's difficult to avoid enemy attacks. The checkpoint system is ridiculous, often requiring you to travel a very long distance, killing all of the same enemies again just to getI got suckered by the hype on this one unfortunately. This game is bland and tiring. I feel like other gamers must be seeing something I'm not. The difficulty comes from clumsy controls and enclosed areas in which it's difficult to avoid enemy attacks. The checkpoint system is ridiculous, often requiring you to travel a very long distance, killing all of the same enemies again just to get back to the boss. The health recharge system is clever but you have to stand perfectly still to get the build up to start. This makes it almost pointless during close quarters combat where there is no real opportunity to use it. The map system is useless, requiring you to travel a very long way back to a shop just to get the proper map for a new area. The dark souls inspired "recovering souls after death" mechanic is utterly pointless. I'm really not sure why they included it. The graphics are very "00s flash game", not at all the inspired art style a lot of reviews seem to describe. I'm sure as more abilities unlock the game will get better but that doesn't justify what is a very poor opening 4 hours which is giving me no real incentive to carry on. Even for the £10.99 I paid on the switch I'd recommend giving it a miss.… Expand
  8. Lordfate
    Nov 14, 2018
    4
    Map system is intenionally abusive, you literally have to buy and equip an upgrade just to see where you are on the map, and thats only after randomly stumbling on the map npc in _every_single_area_. Benches and fast travel are too widely spaced. Putting even the smallest amount of effort into the player experience would go a long way. Playing this game feels more like dating an abusive exMap system is intenionally abusive, you literally have to buy and equip an upgrade just to see where you are on the map, and thats only after randomly stumbling on the map npc in _every_single_area_. Benches and fast travel are too widely spaced. Putting even the smallest amount of effort into the player experience would go a long way. Playing this game feels more like dating an abusive ex than a game designed with fun in mind.… Expand
  9. creamsodase
    Jul 18, 2018
    4
    This game, as many indie games nowadays is overhyped and overpraised. The combat is fun, the movement is tight, the art style of the characters is really easy to enjoy, but it's far from a refinement of the metroidvania formula. The progress in this game is hindered by long sessions of trying to find where to go next, mostly because the map system is blunt and uninspired, areas have barelyThis game, as many indie games nowadays is overhyped and overpraised. The combat is fun, the movement is tight, the art style of the characters is really easy to enjoy, but it's far from a refinement of the metroidvania formula. The progress in this game is hindered by long sessions of trying to find where to go next, mostly because the map system is blunt and uninspired, areas have barely any distinctive look and visual cue of direction and, god, it feels like there is no music or sound in this game.

    Remember Symphony of the Night? Super Metroid? these games that will make you get lost eventually (not in the first 2 hours of the game though) but you won't mind getting lost, since your are listening to a marvelous soundtrack and the map is not a time waster. Hollow knight on the other hand is a 15 min period of fun fighting new monsters or a boss and then you're back to trying to figure out where to go in boring monochromatic mazes with no music to back you up.

    I do realize the game is moody and atmospherical, but that doesn't makes it fun. It was a really bad choice for such a long game.    … Expand
  10. quegtu
    Dec 7, 2020
    0
    Montaña rusa de dificultad, a veces muy arriba a veces muy abajo, historia ninguna ni se le espera, a veces fallan los botones de acción, tus dedos pueden ir más rápidos que el personaje. Es un 5, le doy un 0 para bajar la media de fanboys, es ilógico que un juego con tantas carencias tenga sobresaliente, es repetitivo hasta la náusea.
    En la variedad está el gusto y en la repetición el    Montaña rusa de dificultad, a veces muy arriba a veces muy abajo, historia ninguna ni se le espera, a veces fallan los botones de acción, tus dedos pueden ir más rápidos que el personaje. Es un 5, le doy un 0 para bajar la media de fanboys, es ilógico que un juego con tantas carencias tenga sobresaliente, es repetitivo hasta la náusea.
    En la variedad está el gusto y en la repetición el asco.    … Expand
  11. namonika
    Mar 7, 2021
    2
    The game is unplayable. I spent 10 hours experiencing a lot of anger and dissatisfaction with the lack of logic in this game.
  12. KatRat
    May 20, 2019
    1
    Why people enjoy this game has become something that intrigues me and cannot understand yet. This monotonous, everlasting loop of a game made want to scream for a refund. I ultimately decided to eliminate any traces of this game in mi console. Best decision I´ve made.
  13. Nevermorenights
    Sep 9, 2019
    4
    Hollow Knight is an amazing game for its story and its narrative, but if you are a casual player and you want to experience all the game has to offer in terms of art, enemies, bosses, and endings, expect to see the game less as an enjoyable experience, and more as a chore with some bosses and locations easily taking hours just to overcome. I'm all for a challenge, but not if it takes awayHollow Knight is an amazing game for its story and its narrative, but if you are a casual player and you want to experience all the game has to offer in terms of art, enemies, bosses, and endings, expect to see the game less as an enjoyable experience, and more as a chore with some bosses and locations easily taking hours just to overcome. I'm all for a challenge, but not if it takes away from the enjoyment of the game itself.… Expand
  14. Pessoto
    Jun 19, 2020
    0
    Annoying backtracking. The game takes the worst way to get the game longer, when you die you need to walk all the way back.
  15. Ketard
    Jul 30, 2020
    0
    This game is AWFUL you never know where and you pretty much need guidance on YouTube to know. The bosses have **** attacks and its **** in general. And the watcher knights can go to HELL
  16. coisead
    Dec 28, 2020
    0
    This game is an abomination. I do NOT recommand anyone to play it. Looks like developers just threw some features in game but never played it themselves. This game is more tilting than relaxing, and trust me, I play league of legends, tilt is my middle name, but this is worse. Hitting a mob rezults in dmg, you spend literaly hours traveling inside maps beacuse you dont have a fckingThis game is an abomination. I do NOT recommand anyone to play it. Looks like developers just threw some features in game but never played it themselves. This game is more tilting than relaxing, and trust me, I play league of legends, tilt is my middle name, but this is worse. Hitting a mob rezults in dmg, you spend literaly hours traveling inside maps beacuse you dont have a fcking teleporter, developers have a problem for acid lakes and spikes. I played recently hades, undertale, dead cells, but this game is far beyond playable, they were intuitive, not like this where u need to use z x c. Ur stuck with a **** weapon with **** abilities you can never swap to a better one or range. Its dog****, dont even bother… Expand
  17. enriverd
    Sep 19, 2020
    2
    I finally decided to play Hollow Knight after seeing the game success. The graphics are superb but I’ve decided to quit the game after 5 hours of gameplay because of the following reasons: the game is quite hard but becomes even harder due to a poorly implemented control system that causes the character not to jump despite having pressed the jump button or not firing despite having pressedI finally decided to play Hollow Knight after seeing the game success. The graphics are superb but I’ve decided to quit the game after 5 hours of gameplay because of the following reasons: the game is quite hard but becomes even harder due to a poorly implemented control system that causes the character not to jump despite having pressed the jump button or not firing despite having pressed the fire button, if you add to it that the respawn point is always quite far from the point where you die, you keep replaying the same zones over and over again, building up frustration. Moreover, there is no option to lower the level of difficulty, so you are forced to waste tons of hours replaying the same levels. Team Cheery: How there is not such option in such a curated game??… Expand
  18. bencrvr31
    Aug 6, 2020
    4
    People are crazy. This is just a beautiful cover on boring platforming gameplay. I gave a few hours and nothing except the art style makes me want to continue. There are many flaws right from the start. When he hits someone a gigantic splash covers a lot of the screen, that sucks. Why are there still platformers being made? It came about due to restrictions in technology at the time, itPeople are crazy. This is just a beautiful cover on boring platforming gameplay. I gave a few hours and nothing except the art style makes me want to continue. There are many flaws right from the start. When he hits someone a gigantic splash covers a lot of the screen, that sucks. Why are there still platformers being made? It came about due to restrictions in technology at the time, it was never a good game style, and this is just slathering pretty all over boring gameplay. When am I going to learn that the negative reviews on metacritic are almost always right?! $15 down the drain, no desire to ever play this again. Mark of the Ninja is a vastly superior way to approach platforming with some creativity, this is straight dumb. Rayman Legends comes to mind as well. Haven't tried Celeste, but this sucks, so I'm not hopeful that all the positive reviews on Celeste mean anything. Don't buy this, it's lame, unless it's like $2, it's worth that just for the pretty.… Expand
  19. Link327
    Mar 6, 2021
    2
    I never finished Hollow Knight. I quit in the first few hours. I rarely quit a game. And not usually that quickly. But I was so frustrated with this game. The art style is dark yes. But it really doesn’t do much more than grey and more grey. A good example of a dark art style is the Legend Of Zelda: Major’s Mask. That game nailed it. This game however falls prey to the same trap that otherI never finished Hollow Knight. I quit in the first few hours. I rarely quit a game. And not usually that quickly. But I was so frustrated with this game. The art style is dark yes. But it really doesn’t do much more than grey and more grey. A good example of a dark art style is the Legend Of Zelda: Major’s Mask. That game nailed it. This game however falls prey to the same trap that other games fall prey too. Too dark and real. The controls are excellent but the two reasons I quit were because.
    1. I could not figure out where on earth to go. It wasn’t like Breath Of The Wild. Which gave you some direction but still made it fun to explore. This game doesn’t give you any direction. And it is not fun to explore simply due to movement and confusion. Metroid games made it so much fun to get lost but here nope. 2. Oh boy...
    *Takes glasses off like Dr. Wells.* FORCING THE PLAYER TO BACKTRACK JUST TO GET THE ABILITY TO TRY AGAIN IS NOT DIFFICULTY. Sorry for my rant there. Look, I got so bored, and so mad at the fact that you have to go BACK to where you died and fight a shadow copy of yourself just to proceed every time you die? WHY? The fun of hard games is being able to instantly try again. But this is not fun. This is annoying. So I just realized I wasn’t having fun. So I stopped.    … Expand
  20. Rexum
    Apr 4, 2021
    4
    Hollow Knight is literally the most overrated game I have ever played. I didn’t even bother getting too far into the game because it was just so boring. I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t. I heard so many good things about this game and was disappointed to say the least. Honestly I would probably like this game if I gave it another chance but I just don’t want to. The game just feelsHollow Knight is literally the most overrated game I have ever played. I didn’t even bother getting too far into the game because it was just so boring. I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t. I heard so many good things about this game and was disappointed to say the least. Honestly I would probably like this game if I gave it another chance but I just don’t want to. The game just feels so empty with incredibly boring gameplay and unoriginal boring mechanics. I just never understood why everyone loved this game.… Expand
  21. blasron
    Oct 16, 2018
    4
    This is a laggy buggy freaking mess with unavoidable attack. I won't recommend this game to anyone, if you want a hard but fair 2d game go get cuphead instead at LEAST you won't get fk over because the enemies stun lock you to death or the control give up middle of a fight.
  22. wemelchor
    Sep 24, 2019
    1
    Game too hard and atmosphere too shallow to keep my interest. Nothing about the game's theme, story, atmosphere, or setting inspires me to keep playing. Even when I constantly die, the save point is often far far away from the area I am stuck on. I end up getting stuck in one area too often, the game mechanics are too stiff to allow for any room for improving. The game will punish you forGame too hard and atmosphere too shallow to keep my interest. Nothing about the game's theme, story, atmosphere, or setting inspires me to keep playing. Even when I constantly die, the save point is often far far away from the area I am stuck on. I end up getting stuck in one area too often, the game mechanics are too stiff to allow for any room for improving. The game will punish you for even existing or being around. dull forgetable soundtrack, graphics are an eyesore.… Expand
  23. Larry_Danger
    Dec 20, 2019
    0
    I really like this game, but the part jumping on the thousandlegs-bug spawned my ghost in the middle of the section, even though you ALWAYS start at the beginning when dying. And because the game does not give you the option to travel to the bank at that part I lost 900 geos. That is some dumb sh*t
  24. Joschwaps
    Jan 31, 2021
    0
    Played Ori and the Blind Forest and loved it. Looking for a another Metroidvania, I stumbled upon Hollow Knight and its good reviews, and got utterly disappointed. The controls feel like playing on a PC Keyboard, but you get used to it after a few minutes of playing. The main reason why I dismissed this game is the save function. Whereas Ori lets you save your progress wherever you mightPlayed Ori and the Blind Forest and loved it. Looking for a another Metroidvania, I stumbled upon Hollow Knight and its good reviews, and got utterly disappointed. The controls feel like playing on a PC Keyboard, but you get used to it after a few minutes of playing. The main reason why I dismissed this game is the save function. Whereas Ori lets you save your progress wherever you might want, Hollow Knight allows saving only at certain save spots, and as those spots are located miles away from bosses where you are likely to die rather often, you have to walk all the way to the boss after losing a life again and again. And again. And again. This might be acceptable for pro gamers who might need only a few tries to beat a boss, but for everyone else it is just extremely annoying and makes you lose any ambition to beat the game whithin few hours of playing.… Expand
  25. night4
    Aug 24, 2018
    1
    Absolute garbage. The biggest problem: you can teleport miles away when you die, losing your stuff. Why would I want to keep playing?

    Also, it's way too dark, literally, and way too grimdark. It's extremely repetitive and boring too.
  26. agentken
    Aug 6, 2018
    0
    i hate the game coz the outlay of the map is annoy, the enemy is annoy not challenge, ton of complex map to explore is annoy. overall the game is annoy more than fun and challenge like dark soul.
  27. RdeRuben
    Sep 5, 2019
    3
    OVERRATED THIS GAME.

    Good things:
    - good gameplay - good bosses - Good dessign draw
    Bad things:
    - The map, the save points, the rute,
    This things take me out of the game about 30 times in all the experience.
  28. Roadkill9804
    Jun 30, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game is **** Lost entire games worth of money cause random areas seal up. Don't buy.… Expand
  29. dsmith1701
    Oct 9, 2018
    4
    This game is way overrated, it feels the whole concept is built around making you feel bad. I have been playing dead cells next to this one, thats a hard game too but still feels way more fair. I also dont understand what sort of story people talk about this game? I have played many games but any game feels way more generous than this one (maybe Bloodborne or Dark Souls, and then maybe IThis game is way overrated, it feels the whole concept is built around making you feel bad. I have been playing dead cells next to this one, thats a hard game too but still feels way more fair. I also dont understand what sort of story people talk about this game? I have played many games but any game feels way more generous than this one (maybe Bloodborne or Dark Souls, and then maybe I am just not enjoying games that make you suffer). If you are thinking of buying this, buy dead cells instead, it is way better and feels unique.… Expand
  30. Pealcuadrado
    Jan 3, 2020
    0
    The game is very boring, has no tutorials and the character is horrible i don't recommend buy this game
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Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best Switch Game of 2018
3
#3 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
15
#15 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Pocket Tactics
    Oct 20, 2023
    90
    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.
    Read full review
  2. Universo Nintendo
    Sep 10, 2018
    90
    A very fun game and full of interesting characters is what await players in this incredible adventure. If you like Metroid style games, Hollow Knight will leave you satisfied.
    Read full review
  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Sep 5, 2018
    100
    There's never a low point. Only the desire for more. [Issue #35 – September/October 2018, p. 17]
See all critic reviews »