This could have been a great name. It has beautiful visuals, a great score, excellent puzzles and a great way to increase one's abilities and powers. The game hooks you for hours at end thanks to the engagement gameplay. However, the following shortcomings make the game utter crap and not even close to Limbo, Inside, Unravel, Braid (the best) and similar puzzle/platformers.
Here's theThis could have been a great name. It has beautiful visuals, a great score, excellent puzzles and a great way to increase one's abilities and powers. The game hooks you for hours at end thanks to the engagement gameplay. However, the following shortcomings make the game utter crap and not even close to Limbo, Inside, Unravel, Braid (the best) and similar puzzle/platformers.
Here's the ****
1. Maps are ridiculous. It is somewhat tolerable that you have to venture into a territory, arbitrarily roam around until you hear a tuneless, ridiculous humming of a character named Conifer. Then you need to buy the map from him. It is intolerable that even after you buy a map to an area, the entire area is not visible and that you have to go through multiple hoops and buy a bunch of stuff to do simple things like point out your location (where you are on the map) and other points of interest (you have to go to the main town, find a vendor, and buy some tokens which start showing points of interest). Unnecessary and poorly conceived.
2. The score is great, the voice acting (and the made up language/script) is ridiculous and laughable. Whoever thought of this obviously must be a manager or a boss or something because this was eminently laughable (and not in a good way)
3. Combat (bosses) is insanely difficult. And not in a good way. There is no progress indicator to show how much damage has been inflicted and even when you slog through the battle, the bosses will respawn into another avatar and inflict a different type of damage. Don't get me wrong - I love tough fights (Sekiro, Curse of the Dead Gods, Dark Souls etc - but those battles are interesting and gripping). The boss fights in Hollow Knight are boring and extremely difficult.
4. Haphazard location of shops. Another ridiculousness. A particular vendor who sells more token slots is not available at the main town/location. Every time you want to purchase a new slot (each increasingly priced), you have to slog through the same old, same old enemies to get to that person. Idiotic.
5. Same for another vendor who sells a nail (main weapon) upgrade. This chap (with his idiotic language) is not available in the main town. You have to slog through the same set of enemies just to get to him. Navigating the entire world is going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth - multiply this by 100. This is messed up. You go to place A, earn money, go to place B, upgrade your weapon, then C, earn money, then B again to upgrade your weapon, then place A to go to an area that you could not access because you lacked those abilities - get it? It's a cheap trick to make the game appear bigger and longer than it is. Combined with the fact that the game is completely quest-less, arbitrary, purpose-less and aimless, this back and forth journey gets to you.
In conclusion - one of the most beautiful looking **** game I have played. Never have i see such wasted potential.… Expand