Hollow Knight

Released in 2017 on PC and in the summer of 2018 on Nintendo Switch, after a resounding success in terms of player approval, Hollow Knight has finally landed on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in this Voidheart Edition (which includes all the additional content in a edition that we can now consider definitive), and at € 14.49 it is practically given for the quality and longevity of the game.

It is a bit of an evolution of the genre, I said above, and, if at first sight it may seem like a metroidvania like many others (albeit with a particularly valid artistic direction), once you have taken the controller in your hands and started playing he immediately realizes that Hollow Knight is not only this.

Beyond the declarations of the developers, there are in Hollow Knight a series of influences and choices that clearly recall those of the soulslike games (wanted or not, it does not have particular importance). Hollow Knight is a metroidvania, it is clear, it is fully: the entire game is developed on a labyrinthine and intricate level design (made to perfection) in which bosses and power-ups for the character are found that will lead our Knight to turn long and across the game world, between smart backtracking and new areas wherever you go. Yet it fully takes up the philosophy of "know your enemy" that made soulslike so important, proposes the mechanics of non-permanent death (which keeps the player's actions, but makes him lose the equivalent of souls, here the Geo , the coin of the game, to be recovered by defeating a ghost with our features) and above all calls it from an exquisitely narrative point of view.

It is precisely from these mechanics that the whole wonder of Hollow Knight develops which is thus capable of becoming more of a metroidvania and in some ways even more of a souslike. In doing so, it takes the most interesting elements of its reference genres to create, in itself, something unique. Just starting from the combat system and from the enemies.

In Hollow Knight you fight a lot, most of the time, and if on the one hand its nature as a metroidvania requires it to create a sense of progress and to exploit the new skills against enemies, on the other hand the influences from soulslike they pushed to create a balance in the fight that imposes the attention more on the enemy attacks (and therefore on the study of their weak points) than on the exaggerated advantage generated by their own skills (personal and character). It is an extremely difficult balance to find and maintain throughout the game, so much so that in the final stages some enhancements really make the whole study almost trivial, but at the same time typical endgame challenges are added such as arenas and unique clashes and common enemies are already known . And although the simplicity of the combat system is probably the only small flaw of Hollow Knight (in practice there are very few attacks available and practically no combos and the only modification to the equipment granted is that related to some amulets to be set, each with specific effects), the result is still extraordinary.

It is played all the time in constant alert, since any enemy hit is potentially dangerous in the same way and the enemies themselves help to deepen everything: you will find over one hundred different types of common opponents, each with its own unique characteristics, its own aggressiveness and a certain behavior ... and it will be easy to continue to be surprised even after thirty or more hours of play.

The bosses, in this context, play a fundamental role, taking up (also here) both the typical phases and arenas of the boss fights of the 2D platform games that made history, and betting on a narrative and advancement context typical of soulslike. No boss (or almost) is positioned at random and every character and situation has a story behind it, although it is not always easy to find out. From a playful point of view, they are simply exceptional bosses, varied, constantly interesting and which ensure satisfying challenges. It is no coincidence that there are dozens of optional / secondary bosses often very well hidden or accessible only at some point in the game. And the most difficult to reach (together with the challenges that concern them) are quietly among the most difficult contents of the entire Hollow Knight.

In this sense, the constant balance between the playful element (of excellent workmanship) and the narrative and stylistic element is central. Hollow Knight proposes enemies, bosses and situations that all have their own meaning and role but that at the same time manage to make the world of Nidosacro narrate itself.

The level design, between the excellent positioning of shortcuts and rapid journeys (allowed through a traveling beetle) and its intricate structure, is however always designed with a view to narrative coherence. The same stations for rapid travel are not, in and of themselves, designed with a view to gameplay, but the two elements develop almost simultaneously, creating something organic that has few equals. It would be all too easy to make the scale lean too far towards one aspect, and thus make certain roads too long, or certain shortcuts enslaved only to displacements (the few points in which one of the two aspects tends to prevail, then, are places to visit once, or extremely secondary / secret places), but the result obtained by the world design of Hollow Knight is really excellent and touches the peaks that many other metroidvania dream of. Especially if you consider the huge game world: Hollow Knight easily reaches 50 hours in a complete run.

I am carefully avoiding dealing with the Hollow Knight storyline because it deserves to be followed and understood by the players by carefully studying the world and paying attention to the dialogues, descriptions and characters that often seem less important. In this, however, it is impossible not to notice, again, a clear reference to a philosophy that in the soulslike has become essential: the Midwife, here, who tells important details on the history of one of the most important NPCs, is hidden almost as much as Kaathe in Dark Souls, and numerous characters leave more doubts than answers. In the meantime, suffice it to say that a strange "disease" has made the inhabitants of Nidosacro vacuous, also infecting the beasts and to contain it, it was decided to exploit a kind of seal that required a vital sacrifice. We are here to continue to contain it or to try to break it permanently.

But what is interesting, beyond all, is how this whole story is told through small details, small conversations and a lot of attention from the player. It is clearly not the first time that a metroidvania leaves the responsibility of narrating entire parts of the story to the game world, but Hollow Knight builds around this the entire narrative and the entire development of the game's lore (from secondary elements such as the Mantids traitors to main elements such as the birth of our character), and he does it in a simply masterly way.

The varied, extensive areas are basically freely explorable from the start and lead us into swampy caves interspersed with toxic gases, overgrown gardens, the rainy old capital or a still active mine full of prickly crystals . In many places we encounter insurmountable obstacles, which are typical for our genre, and where our journey comes to a standstill. We will only get there when we have the necessary skill. Most of these new abilities are given to our character as a reward after fighting larger bosses. Thanks to double and wall jumps or a forward pike in the air, navigating and often necessary backtracking is easier thanks to the already known level sections.

The simple combat system, on the other hand, requires little training. The nail, our only weapon in the game, only offers one striking technique, so that you can concentrate fully on the vital evasive maneuvers during the demanding clashes.

The agony of choice

Hollow Knight has only one level of difficulty and this is above average - even simple standard opponents have attack patterns that need to be carefully studied. To compensate, each fight throws off some soul energy and geo-coins. Soul energy is important for two reasons: we need it to hurl it at enemies as the only long-range attack in the form of a powerful wave of energy . But much more important: the same resource enables our figure to self-heal. For this, we have to meditate like in a quiet place - we are exposed to attacks in this short time without protection.

If, despite all resistance, we manage to collect some geo, so-called "charms" (in German: talismans) help us, which are sold to us by distributors all over the world. These mystical pendants allow the character to be fine-tuned, improve attack or defense values, reduce recoil on hits or act as a magnet for coins. Over the course of the 30-hour campaign, we buy and find a wide range of these trailers, but only a handful can be equipped at the same time. So we always have to consider what is more important to us for the current task. Even the fact that you can see your own position on the map costs one of four slots at first - stronger talismans sometimes occupy two or three slots. More slots can be bought, but are very expensive and require hours of geo-grinding.

Metroidvania meets Dark Souls

The geo currency is not only used to buy new talismans or a weapon upgrade from a blacksmith, for example, but also has to be saved to unlock maps, connecting fast travel stations and even save points. So it can happen that we arrive at one of the sparingly sown train stations with the last reserve of strength - only to find out there that our money reserves are not sufficient to activate them.

Who is the boss?

The developers make full use of the unusual insect setting. Bosses like the grasshopper trio armed with deadly spears or the dung ball-throwing "Dung Defender" will be remembered long after the game. However, the developers obviously do everything they can to ensure that only a fraction of all players ever see these highlights. Most Metroidvania titles set a checkpoint in front of difficult passages or bosses. Hollow Knight not. Even the route from the storage point to the boss area is peppered with deadly enemies and requires an average of three to four minutes of play time before the lost boss fight can be tackled again. It is not uncommon for this course to become a tour de force, because if you are cocky and do not respect every single opponent, you will inevitably take damage. A lot of time is therefore required to learn the attack patterns of the boss fights. Fortunately, the game remains fair and all obstacles can be mastered with enough patience and concentration.

A gem, but not for everyone

Hollow Knight is a fascinating game, but a few design decisions make it impossible to fully recommend the platformer. The few, widely separated storage points, the loss of all geos after death, the necessary grind and last but not least the annoyingly long way to the bosses are deliberate hurdles of the developers, who filter out the players hard: Who is not passionate and does not spend dozens of hours wanting to bite into a game with full ambition will find little pleasure in these ruthless systems and will never fully experience the mystical beauty of the world. However, if you persevere and can get involved, you will be richly rewarded, but the path is paved with anger, sweat and tears.