I find it odd - one almost can't throw a stone without hitting a criticism about this game. Bad performance, bugs, bad map system and so on. Yet... I feel that is possibly the best Metroidvania I have ever played (and I'm always desperately searching out any that is released because on average, there is only like one good one per year) and thus find that the game deserves much more praise than it gets. Why? For one thing, no other Metroidvania has ever made me observe enemy attack patterns and adjust my own THIS much. If you blindly strike at enemies, chances are you won't get very far. Which is in fact also something that people have complained about. Probably because they simply don't realize that with this game, you need to take your time in most battles. And learn to dodge. Which is probably why there is the dash move instead of a double jump (which does exist but you get only very late in the game). For another, it is gorgeous AND really well-designed. Yes, those two are separate things. By the latter I mean the way things work in the game. It's not just the combat system that has obviously been thought about a lot and that is REALLY unique (the person at Rock Paper Shotgun who wrote that review IMO has no clue what they're talking about). Also the many details and mechanics in the world, such as the many characters one can find and interact with. Also like being e.g. able to achieve piece with a faction in the game which not only affects the bosses but also the surrounding environments. Widespread change in behavior that I don't think I've seen in a Metroidvania before. It is also HUGE! I've been playing for over 25 hours now and I'm still on my first playthrough! And it's not just that the world is big but there are over 100 different of those hand-animated enemies. The amount of work gone into that must've been insane! Now... I must admit that probably because of that, the animation quality varies. Some elements were obviously drawn with less frames per second than others and thus stutter a bit. But still... for a game priced this low, it's mind-boggling and I already feel like I've gotten my money's worth and then some. All of that said, Hollow Knight definitely has the flaws mentioned in the beginning. While I have not encountered bad performance myself (and I'm running this on a 4 year old midrange graphics card), nor any bugs, I doubt that people would make this up. (While it may be up to optimization in this case, I actually feel that it's great if a 2D game has so much going on visually that it requires an at least somewhat beefy graphics card.) And I do find the map system bad and also don't appreciate the relatively infrequent save points. Once the map is uncovered and you have some abilities unlocked and you can plan a reasonable route, it's not so bad but getting there does feel annoying at times, since one can't just play the game at one's own pace but has to look for the next save point if one wants to take a break. Plus, it always seems like a cheap way of making games seem longer than they are - having you repeat areas leading up to a boss over and over. And the game world is so huge that it wouldn't be needed - so I really don't get why they decided to do this. In the end, in my opinion the many original aspects of the game make the negative aspects lose almost all importance. Of course I hope that the sequel (there simply has GOT to be a sequel. Or at least a spiritual successor) will not suffer from these issues. But I'm still having one hell of a time with this game and thus feel that it deserves 5/5.
Wow, no review for this gem yet while I don't think I can recall any other turn-based game since Xenonauts that I've enjoyed this much. But while people compare it to XCOM in reviews elsewhere, I actually wouldn't do that. To me, it oddly enough reminded me more of Lost Odyssey. Why? Well... because of RPG elements like leveling up characters and looting that to me feel more RPG-like than strategy-game like. Probably because the number of characters, items and abilities is limited. Don't get me wrong, there is still a fairly large number but still... it has the feel of an adventure instead of this larger scale simulation type thing that XCOM has. Similarly with the combat. In most scenarios, you only fight using 3 of your crew members. AND accuracy/timing is key for getting those important head shots (similar to the timing-based combat in Lost Odyssey). Of course I wouldn't deny comparisons with strategy games completely. Maybe saying that it feels like a blend of JRPG and turn-based strategy would be accurate. Anyway, there is also lots and lots of content to keep you busy for many hours. My current in-game profile says 22 hours but that's with a bit of new game+ already, I think my first play-through (difficulty "Experienced") took 15-20 hours. Speaking about difficulty - if you feel that the game is incredibly difficult at first - don't worry, it gets more manageable pretty soon (even within World 1 already, if memory serves me correctly). Also note that the game branches at times and some are a lot tougher than others. I also find it noteworthy that this may be my favorite game of recent years, period and that despite the fact that I absolutely can't stand steampunk!
What a great game - got me hooked right away and finished it on one long weekend. About 16 hours... So it's definitely not a short game. As far as concept, art style and sound design are concerned, you can simply judge them for yourself in the gameplay trailer... The only thing I didn't like were some of the later levels that seemed kind of lazy design-wise by forcing the player to memorize at least parts of the levels. Also, I wasn't fond of some challenges, like having to find secret rooms. Time constraints - fine. Item/Power/Weapon constraints - fine. But having to search around for a secret room and stuff like that? No. I also felt that some of the solutions relied on a use of powers or things in a way that the player was not introduced properly before. I know that figuring such stuff out is part of the appeal of a puzzle game but in those 3-4 cases, I felt like the jump was too big. I was also hoping for more levels in the style of the earlier ones. I get that the developers wanted to mix it up and I guess every world has a bit of its own theme, even gameplay-wise and that's good - but... I wanted more! In a way - finishing the game took me 16 hours, so... it's unreasonable to ask for even more. I guess what I'm really asking for is one or two or three sequels. Unfortunately, it seems that this game isn't all that popular? So grab it while it's still fresh and the publisher can see that they should keep this franchise alive!!
