It's difficult to pinpoint what makes hollow knight special. -Abilities? This is not the first game to implement dash, double jump or a phasing ability. -Combat? As simple as it gets. -Story? More like "lack of" And yet....it works. It's like if a band of the best musicians in the world decided to perform together. The result might not be original but it would be something truly special. What makes this game special, apart from a beautifully looking world are three principles: -If it works , don't touch it: it takes the basic rules of metroidvania and 2d games in general and polishes then to perfection. Instead of reinventing the wheel, it takes somehting that it already works and improves upon it. -It looks really , really good and the original soundtrack is so good that could be award nominated. -The way the story is presented, with no directions whatsoever, feels like a truly engaging experience. You don't really get what's going on untill a few hours in and even then, you have to earn every piece of information. It truly feels like the remnants of a world travelled by an unknown soldier.
The good: -Looks beautiful. The details are astonishing and the flow of the animations feels incredible. -Fast paced gameplay: you are fast and you are suppossed to take advantage of it. That doesn't mean that you can just blindly hit enemies, there's a risk-reward system when it comes to healing, but combat is definitely quite agile. -Huge map with lots of secrets. -Challenging but fair bosses. The game is tough but I can't say it's not fair. With enough practice you can persevere. -Since Hornet can talk, she has an engaging personality. The bad: -Everything Bilewater related is not something to enjoy, I'm, not sure why developers keep on including certain mechanics. -The road to the bosses is usually harder than most other metroidvanias out there. You're going to die a lot before you even get to the boss. And by the time you do, you'll realize that you have to kill several enemies again when you respawn. -The quest system...is uneven. Some missions are fun and engaging, but others feel too much like errands. Is it a perfect game? Definitely not. But it's a really good experience and a worthy contender for the title of best metroidvania.
