Hollow Knight

I haven't finished the game by now, but I feel like I played enough (20h) to say with confidence that this is a masterpiece. I never played any Metroidvainia (unless you count Dark Souls), and I'm loving it. Visually the game is beautiful, sometimes games put design ahead of gameplay and you end up getting confused as to what is in front of you and what is in the background, in this game that doesn't happen, the characters are really cute and each one has their own personality and quirks in their dialog. There are a large amount of enemies and they never feel repetitive, Boss fights have just the right amount of annoying. And the map...just brilliant, every city feels different and everything in it, from the background to the enemies feels in the right place, This is a well done, challenging and, most importantly, fun experience. To me, that's what makes a good game, and this one "nails" every single one of those points and still manages to be beautiful and have an interesting story. Worth every cent.

Almost perfect in every aspect of a videogame and with an unusual but powerful personality. There are a huge quantity of small details that transmite the passion and love of the creators for Hallownest, its surroundings and its inhabitants. The soundtrack is amazing too. I really like metroidvanias and I have played a lot of them, but that one is in a different league. Giving a try leads to spend more than 30hours in completing the game. You have been warned.

Art Style: 5/5; Consistent, gloomy, every area easily recognizable. Music: 3/5; I couldn't really whistle any of the tunes afterward. I did like the Greenpath and City of Tears Themes. Combat: 4/5; (My favorite was the failed knight boss) A few of the bosses were very fun to fight. Most of the basic enemies were boring and it felt like I was grinding my way through them. Some exceptions were the Moss Chargers, Oomas, Shrumal Warriors, and the Mantis Warriors. The Flukemons get points for being terrifying. I think the Hunter's Journal should have included actual stats on the enemies (HP counts). Level Design: 4/5; The largest Metroidvania I've played yet. It seemed like some of the important parts of the game were a little too well hidden. It was also frustrating when the wall to get to the pale lurker became breakable only after playing round 1 of the colosseum of fools. This inconsistency begs the question, "are there other secret areas like this?" I shouldn't have to go online to find out. Mechanics: 5/5; Editable controls, check. Things felt smooth. Dying was punishing, but not too bad. It was frustrating getting to certain places on the map because there weren't any close Stag stops. It was interesting trying to come up with the best charms combos for different bosses. Story: 3/5; The story is slowly pieced together in a nonlinear fashion and I ended up just watching a youtube video to get it all put together. Really the story wasn't interesting enough for me to care about putting it all together myself. By the end of the game, I got a little fed up the missions that sente me back into areas that I'd already explored. When that Grimm lady wanted tens of thousands of geo for the breakable charms, I just said, "screw it, I'm not farming that."

Hollow Knight is as good as you've heard. The art and music are both incredible. The only issue I had is that the difficulty does get a bit punishing with some bosses.

Beautiful hand drawn art, gorgeous soundtrack, immersive world and fun gameplay. AND IT EVEN HAS LINUX SUPPORT. 10/10 game, unless you dislike bugs.