Hollow Knight, a Metroidvania made in 2017 by an independent publisher Team Cherry. While this game may not be well known, rest assured it has sold around 5.9 million copies as of writing this essay! With is 9.4/10 rating from IGN, or an 87/100 rating for Metacritic, Hollow Knight proves to be a solid game. But what makes this game so good, and are there any points to improve?
The player controls a bug and is free to explore the town of Hallownest. Once Hallownest was a town of prosperity and joy, but after the virus, it has turned into a desolate town with only a few people living in it and most of the town's citizens have been consumed by the virus to become hostile creatures in the game.
One of Hollow Knight's greatest strengths is world-building. Hollow Knight has built a magnificent world, and players must explore this world to find its secrets and its lore. What makes Hollow Knight's world stand out from other game worlds is that Hollow Knight does not make you the main character feel like the 'chosen one'. In the Hollow Knight world, you are just another bug, it shows how this world existed before you entered and still will exist after you leave. It gives this world a sense of depth and how the world is alive and breathing.
Hollow Knight is a video game that stands out for its exceptional storytelling. Unlike most games that rely on dialogues and cutscenes to tell the story, Hollow Knight uniquely presents the story. In this game, the story is not explicitly told to the player; instead, the player must explore the game's world to uncover the story themselves. Although the story is optional and players can beat the game without knowing it, discovering more about the story feels more rewarding. Players must dive deep into the depths of Hallownest to uncover this information, which makes for a truly remarkable experience.
Despite Hollow Knight being such a great game, no game comes without its flaws. One of its flaws would be some of its boss battles. While most boss battles in Hollow Knight are very well-designed, some of them are not. One of the key reasons most Hollow Knight boss fights are fabulous is because it has this 'rhythm', it's almost like reading sheet music. When you see the note, your hand automatically knows where the place it to press the right key. The same thing applies to Hollow Knight, whenever you see a telegraph, your hands would already know which keys to press to dodge the attack. But some boss fights in Hollow Knight ignore this rhythm, and that makes it so much more frustrating.
In the end, Hollow Knight succeeds in being an amazing Metroidvania and an excellent and immersive experience for the player to experience. In my opinion, I would give this game a 10/10 and would recommend it to friends.
(This review is part of the winning reviews published in the Pen to Paper contest hosted by The Free Press Journal annually . This exclusive contest is open to teenagers only)
