I Keep Returning To Hollow Knight
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- Опубліковано 22 лис 2024
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Hollow Knight is one of my favourite games ever made. In this episode, I try to figure out why I keep coming back to it.
Follow me on twitter: / sagehyden
Music:
“Electric Mantis - Daybreak | Majestic Color”
ow.ly/G7gg30iypqm
Other music by Epidemic Sound.
Read nothing about the game. Bought it on Switch as the art looked cute, thought it was a fun platformer my kid might enjoy. She gave up after three minutes so I gave it a go. 120 hours later I played something else again. An absolute masterpiece.
making the most out of a mistake
So what you liked more of the game? The gameplay? The world? The art and music direction?
force your child to play it
@@savary5050 Parenting goals
@@ScreamMario yes
One of the few games I have no problem calling a true masterpiece.
I always say this when it comes to Hollow Knight’s soundtrack: “Christopher Larkin made a deal with the Devil, but that wasn’t good enough so he went to God Himself”
city of tears is a masterpiece in its own right
And God one wasn't good enough as well so he himself took his place among the Gods
@@rakeshkr.sharma9222 Ascend!
Hollow Knight is so good and with the mods, it feels like we can keep playing forever
Goddamn everytime someone mentions hollow knight ur there......its like beetlejuicing
How did I not consider mods !?
It honestly blows my mind how expansive this game is, especially being made by only a few people. I’ve played through it a couple times now and yet still seem to find new things from watching YT videos. I really do think it’s the best metroidvania ever made. I know a lot of people see it as kind of a Souls type difficult game, but that difficulty makes finding upgrades that much more exciting and gives exploration a purpose. The world design is immaculate, the bosses are all varied and mostly really fun, everything in this game just comes together beautifully. I apologize for rambling but it has easily become one of my favorite games and, like BOTW, is one I’ll find myself revisiting again and again over the years as well.
Absolutely agreed. Super Metroid and SotN are great, but I honestly think (hope?) that this game is the template for Metroidvania games going forward. When comparing with the Souls series, people tend to focus on difficulty (understandably), but I think the lessons it pulled from those games regarding storytelling are even more important. To me, Metroidvania games have always been about surviving in a hostile world, and I think learning the story of this world as you explore it works really well.
@@rorykurek643 I agree with you. You're not only piecing together the map, you're piecing the lore of the world together as you go as well. It benefits the exploration so much. It's astonishing to me how intricate the lore is for an indie bug game 3 people put together.
The only other metroidvania that comes close for me is Guacamelee 1. The art style, world design, combat, and platforming are consistently excellently made and engaging. There's slightly less interconnectivity in the world, but it's still sprawling and there's so many secrets and extra challenges to discover (reminds me of Celeste in that way). But for some reason I almost never hear people talk about it.
@@GammaPunk For me Guacamelee just didn't scratch that itch because of some limiting factors:
* It's far more linear than most other Metroidvanias
* The story chooses to be extremely silly
* It's far less "self-contained" because it draws plenty of humor from sources outside the game (like the meme-tastic posters in the main town)
It also included a very awkward multiplayer mode and (for me at least) the combat never really clicked. It's a fine game and I know quite a few people that like it, though!
i've heard that the developers said that silksong will be 5 times the size of hollow knight, which i can't even begin to fathom.
as you've said, a small team of 3 or 4 people making a very high quality game the size of hollow knight already blows my mind, so for the sequel to be 5 times the size, i can't even begin to imagine.
i deeply appreciate their lack of greed, but if the sequel is going to be that enormous, there's no reason for them not to split it into 2 games. if what i heard is true, each game would still be more than double the size of hollow knight, so nobody would complain. in fact most fans would probably prefer it just so they wouldn't have to wait so long for the completed game. if they had done that, the first half certainly would have been released by now.
i wonder how much they'll charge for the game when it releases. it's impossible to think it'll be as cheap as hollow knight was upon release. i think they should charge full price, $60. i don't care if it's an indie game, if it's anywhere near as good as the original, it'll be better than the majority of aaa games.
Hollow Knight is one of the best games I have ever played. It offers a far more fulfilling experience at $15 than any $60 AAA game of the last 10 years.
this
@Blia Yang It’s knight not “night”
@Blia Yang nope don’t really care
Breath of the Wild for me but Hollow Knight is 100% up there!
the evil within has probably been my favorite game in the last 10 years. i have beaten it 7 or 8 times and just never get tired of replaying it. it's such an addictive game for me, largely because it's highly challenging and there are so many different ways to deal with enemies. at this point i only ever play on akumu, so no matter how many times i've beaten it, it always remains challenging.
also it has such an amazing, creepy atmosphere that always immerses me.
hollow knight is definitely one of my favorites right behind it though.
For every single Hollow Knight analysis video, we get further and further away from Silksong
calm down satan
Is Silksong bad? I never played it.
@@Wolfsification it's not out
@@Wolfsification no its not out yet, the joke is that thee much anticipated silksong has no release date yet
Shaa *Intensifies*
I used to dream of this game while playing it. But After completing it, I dream no more.
I couldn't help my self from commenting, but I see what you did there; very smart.
i got that reference
nice
I've tried getting into Dark Souls, but the combat feels like wading through mud. Another reason why I love Hollow Knight so much, it's difficult, but by god does the combat feel like doing a graceful dance!
ME FIGHTING NKG
The first and second games are very much slow paced. They're not hack-and-slash games like God of War or Devil May Cry, and I think that's very much intentional. If that's really not your cup of tea, I'd definitely still recommend Bloodborne, Sekiro, and maaaaybe Dark Souls 3. The pace of their combat is much faster, especially the first two I listed.
@@pedroscoponi4905 Bloodborne and Sekiro looks more like my thing, but I don't have a PS4 so that's out of the table for me atm
@@grey_f98 Same, actually :/ I've only ever tried them through a friend. Hopefully the chance to experience them in full will come soon, for both of us!
@@pedroscoponi4905 I bought the second game a few months ago and oh boy, I really couldn't get into it, even more with the whole "everytime you die you get less health" mechanic
I played Hollow Knight for the first time a year ago, when we were all still quarantined in France and I didn't see anybody for months, it was the perfect experience at the perfect time
I played Persona 5 Royal (without playing Persona 5 original). Also a really amazing experience. And then I played Hollow knight.
Same for me. Hollow Knight was my lockdown game. Between the incredible soundtrack, beautiful art style, challenging gameplay and surprisingly deep lore, I was hooked for 70+ hours.
I felt the way Hollow Knight tells its story is also unique. Not just because of its use of environmental story telling, but because of how its protagonist doesn't feel like just an empty vessel for the player. You have a character arc. You return to Hallownest not knowing why and explore just because that's what you do in a game. But as you uncover more, you find purpose. You single-mindedly pursue that only to realize it's all for nothing. Becoming the new hollow knight just means perpetuating the cycle. But you can persevere and learn the full truth, then use that to defeat the evil once and for all. It's practically the full hero's journey, but with you completely in control of it.
A silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Hollow knight.
Dark knight reference
*Cue Hans Zimmer music*
UmM aCtUaLlY the character you play is not the hollow night the finale boss is. Your just a vessel
@@namethefifth7315 You are technically correct, sir. The best kind of correct.
AlThOuGH... doesn't the main character kinda... become the Hollow Knight at the end? Taking his place in the temple? Or maybe that's just implied. Fuck, and it's actually just one of 5 endings. Huh. Um, never mind, you are correct.
@@Atamastra whell actually no he douse not he becomes the true vessel but not hollow night himself plus this would depend on which ending you get. As in the godmaster endings you get returned to the void. Or even the normal game ending if you get the true one. Were you defeat the radiance. And the hollow night is actually just what the pale king called the vessel that he chose to contain the radiance. That is his name not relly his title. And the ending were you take hollow nights place is not even the real ending it is a false one tou get for not fighting the radiance.
There's a quiet calm in hopelessness, the sweet catharsis of nihilism. Everything you were worried about has come to pass, so what more do you have to fear? Might as well just wander around the wreckage, now that you have no more expectations on your shoulders. Maybe you can make things a bit better, but they certainly can't get much worse. I feel that peace in Hollow Knight.
Honestly, yeah, I think you've hit on part of the appeal of the Metroidvania genre. I've always felt that part of the greats in the genre (specifically Super Metroid and SotN) are all about survival in a world where basically everything else exists only to kill you. It's kind of a nihilist power fantasy.
Honestly that is the vibe hollow knight gave me while playing and it sounds really weird if you know anything about it, but Seafarer did the same. The two really couldn't me more different but in the end you are doing exactly what this video says. Everything that could go wrong has and probably awhile ago, there's no reason to rush now and you are left there to care for this world where (depending on your perspective) the worst has already come to pass. Just soak it in and for one moment be in this space where the world has ended, but that's ok you can still care for it and put it to rest.
Hallownest is similar to the world of Dark Souls, but whereas Lordran, Drangleic and Lothric seem to be beyond help and whatever the player does, they cannot stop the fire from fading, in Hollow Knight there is a sense of hope, that our efforts are not in vain.
this is exactly it. The film Melancholia portrays this exact feeling incredibly well too, which is why that film has always stuck with me. It's not a favorite, but I remember the exact time and place I was when I saw it and the way it made me feel to watch Dunst's character, who struggles so much with keeping her personal life together due to the apathy and recklessness that often comes with being deeply depressed, be the only one able to calmly face the end of the world.
Beautifully put. Hollow Knight kept my attention the whole time where few other games can pierce my anhedonia these days. It feels like you're on the edge of a comforting void, and in the end, the void is your ally and the enemy is light. Also cool analogy with the bugs, like when you dreamnail those little guys and they say "safe... dark...", whereas we humans tend to think of the dark as scary. I wonder if they see dark at the end of a tunnel of light when they die.
Hollow Knight is great. It's so good. It shares space with Celeste and a couple other games as a "Contemporary Masterpiece", if you ask me. I can't recommend them enough.
Which other couple games? I like Celeste and Hollow Knight so I'm looking for recommendations. :)
@@karamel107 You may like Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight. It's a lot easier than both of those games but very fun and interesting nonetheless.
I bought hollow knight for the lovely art and gorgeous soundtrack. Did not expect to be buying the dark souls of platforming games.
i never got too much of a dark souls vibe from it personally, i find dead cells to be the 2d dark souls, only dead cells is more challenging than dark souls.
Hollow Knight just has so many individual aspects which are worth returning for by themselves. The gameplay, obviously. The world building. The artstyle which apparently is hand drawn? The MUSIC - Christopher Larkin is unrivaled. Its just so good.
Its almost completed by the fact that we know that there will never be a sequel.
(just kidding Team Cherry. We love you, take your time)
Indie games often have the goal of making an experience the creators can be proud of. AAA games often have the goal of making a profit
Pretty sure ALL games have both of those goals.
Hollow Knight blew me away. I was just in awe at the art, the music, the setting, and the story. It's one of my absolute favorites and had me ranting for weeks that it was the closest to art I'd seen a game get. Obviously debatable, but that's the effect it had on me.
What I loved about it was that they were able to take an objectively very primitive game type w metroidvania and expand it to be JUST as complex and full and lived in as a 3d rendered world. It FELLS like you're playing a like a god of war 4 or an elden ring while just being a lil 2d animated critter simultaneously. They did A LOT with very limited resources and restricted mechanics due to the restricted 2 d environment. It doesn't FEEL like a bunch of 2d rooms stacked on top of each other it feels like a lived in 3d rendered world with culture and history and all the environments feel distinctly different from each other
You've convinced me to re-install Hollow Knight and take a second crack at it
It's definitely not for everyone so don't feel bad if it just doesn't click for you. That being said, I've heard a lot of people say they went from disliking it to adoring it somewhere around the second big upgrade and the third main area, when the game really starts opening up.
It took me multiple times of starting it, it being way too difficult and quitting it and starting again before I finished the game. If it's too difficult there are some great mods out there to make it easier. I wouldn't have been able to finish the game and experience how great it was without them. It has to stay fun.
Like what Alice said, if you find it frustrating, find some mods that can tweak the parts of the game you find most frustrating. Find platforming difficult? Try the infinite double jumps mod. Maybe even invincibility if you find it really *really* hard. There's still plenty of game in there worth exploring, even if you strip away the challenge completely.
I had mixed feelings as well. I initially didn't warm up to it, really liked the middle, and thought the ending was a bit lackluster. That said, I didn't get the "true" ending because it was just getting way too difficult. I do agree with much of this video though. As you progress, the environments become more varied and more interesting than the initial level.
Please do!! Atleast try to battle Mantis Lords (best boss imo) and get into City of Tears. The introduction to the City is just absolutely breathtaking
Long after those credits roll, we still yearn for more Hollow Knight, that tragically beautiful world. It's a yearning so strong as to drive some to madness... or fanfiction.
My first Metroidvania type experience was Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. It was my first Kirby game and it always surprised me that not many games in the series had a interconnected game map and that was always my favorite part of that game. It wasn't until playing Hollow Knight that actually experiencing that kind of deep emersion into a game's world really hit me and I've since searched out other Metroidvanias to play.
Amazing Mirror really was amazing. Probably my favorite or second favorite Kirby game, with the only competitor being Star Allies and Robobot a close 3rd. They did some really clever things with the level design in Amazing Mirror thanks to Kirby's one-way door systems. Very few Metroidvanias do one-way doors as well as Amazing Mirror, and those that come close but don't hit the mark frustrate more than they help. Like, in Amazing Mirror, because it's not a true metroidvania, having linear paths through areas that are one-way doesn't feel *too* restricting because there's no sense of missing an upgrade. You can miss a secret with one-ups or health or a collectable, but it's not an upgrade, and that makes a big difference to the feeling of passing through a space one-way.
However, one-way passages in games like Hollow Knight tend to be so that you *must* get the upgrade before you return, and sometimes those one-ways don't get you an upgrade, but rather a quick exit from an area. That's frustrating if you missed something a bit further back because you were like, "Lemme just check this corner first and come back," and oops, now you're back in the Fungal Wastes and you have to find your way back to the Waterways again because you fell down a hole and can't go back up. That being said, that can amplify the sense of interconnectedness of the world more than a gamey, "Go get your upgrade so you can come back the other way," dead end, and the players that enjoy this exploration aspect will find that more rewarding than those that actually just want to get to the next boss/upgrade/plot point/etc...
5:56 I'm of the mind to rename Souls-like games to methodical action games.
I guess I need to give Hollow Knight a playthrough now.
Your description at 12:30 about feeling down, lost, despondent at the state of the world and Hollow Knight meeting you there is why I have a well worn boxed set of The Magicians novels by Lev Grossman at convenient height on my office shelf. I found it fresh out of college and feeling disillusioned and depressed at the banality of working for a living, and the stories in there helped me through those moments.
Sounds like this might be another piece of media to keep on hand for those weeks when the dark dog comes around. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t know if I’ve ever been as engrossed in a game the way I was with hollow knight
so gross
Hollow Knight is the game I’m waiting to forget so I can play it again.
Completely valid, I wish I could do the same but having done 600 hours worth of randomizers, I know the game better than my own foot.
That's exactly how I feel about the game
Same. It's been about three months since I've last played the game. Somewhere in the fall, I'll replay the game, and I think I'll do some sort of challenge run, cause I already did several 107% playthroughts now. Maybe I'll also try a couple more radiant bosses or some pantheon of hallownest with individual bindings, idk.
I always seem to be drawn closer to things that hold that type of sad beauty. I think of games like Hollow Knight, Final Fantasy Tactics or Xenogears. Games that have that dread or hopelessness following you, but still have hope and beauty intertwined within it.
Even though gaming isn't the subject of your channel,
I think I can listen to you talk about anything and still enjoy it!
Love the content!
There's also the soundtrack part of the game, which is incredibly beautiful and just adds so much emotion to this world
8:57 - Yeah pretty much me but also for the RPG/character action input methods you find in Souls games too. There's something insanely satisfying about the Souls-body-run and resting-spot-respawn design that allows you to perfect your way through a place and also, through conflicts and repeated actions, feel out a world's design more and more.
We probably won't ever get a world as beautifully internally consistent as Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne for a long while, but at the very least I want more games to really learn from those games and apply those lessons to their metroidvanias ala Hollow Knight. Making that core loop satisfying and repeating it forever is what makes Hollow Knight so easy to return to.
Weird, I just finished this game last week. A friend got it for me as a gift and I fell in love with it. More than a game, it's an incredible experience!
It feels more than a game.
You put into words the things I love about dark souls 1 level design and I feel the secuels lack better than I could have ever had. I never thought about the importance of verticality in d1 until now, and I never realized how beautiful of a comparison hollow knight's acceptance vs dark soul's decadence is. You are amazing.
Please continue this style of videos they are so good to watch at night it gives a sense of peace and relaxation from your voice and the editing choices
Hollow knight and outer wilds are probably my two favorite games I've played because they both deal with the end of the world on different beautifull ways
One of the best games ever made. A story worth telling, a world worth experiencing.
I begrudgingly played this game for 12 hours before i started liking it. But....
Right after I beat the Mantis Lords, I walked through the village and the mantises started bowing! It completely caught me off guard and caused *actual* delight (remember that?). The music playing was a variation on the fungal waste theme with that bouncy harpsichord in the background and those gorgeous swells of the strings that really shine through and blister on the ear. All that combined with the high from the fight, it was like a semi-religious experience. What an absolutely incredible presentation.
90hrs / 102%
Glad I’m not the only person who obsessively replays this game every once in a while
I really thought in the beginning, there was going to be contrast with Ori because they're indie and in the same genre. Was very much mistaken, though now I want to know what he thought of Ori.
Well that's gonna be a video in itself 'Why Ori is better than Hollow Knight'
@@palico004 Debatable. I 100%ed both Oris and 112%ed Hollow Knight, and I still prefer Hollow Knight to replay. I feel like I've experienced all that the Oris could offer, but not Hollow Knight.
@@Trockenmatt So did I, I just think Ori's art and soundtrack is such a remarkable achievement and such an enormous step up in production quality from HK. I think HK suffers a bit from boring underground looking environments for 3 or 4 areas. Queen's Gardens, City of Tears and The Hive and many more are incredible but visually I find King's Pass, The Depths, Kingdoms Edge and even The Crossroads to be too similar and rather exhausting. There's too many imo and HK had wasted opportunities. Though they seem to have learned from this with Silksongs diverse areas and even HK's dlc area The White Palace which is stunning.
Yet you have Ori telling a bleak story as well yet it manages to experiment with blues, pinks, purples, fiery reds, hazy yellows and lush greens in such imaginative combinations. Luma Pools alone was a huge wow moment for me.
I'm not sure if Ori can qualify as a metroidvania honestly.
@@legrandliseurtri7495 I think at least Ori 2 does.
I revisit Hollow Knight at least once a year as well, and when I played it over last Christmas break, it occurred to me that it might be my favorite game. The reasons why I love it so much are different than yours, but no less personal, and it's cool to see someone else engaging with it in a way at least similar to how I do!
My favorite game of all time. Incredibly happy to see a video on it!
Beautiful video. Communicating so clearly why something is special to you is pretty incredible.
I even kinda wish I could take the part about what from Dark Souls you only really found again in Hollow Knight and adapt it to my own feelings about The Legend of Zelda and Okami.
Great video about a great game. Greetings from Serbia!
So glad you did a video on this game! It was so beautiful; some bits were written so well too (i wish you commented more on that!)
Nah way, I just finished this game and now YOU'VE done a VIDEO ON IT??? THANK YOU OMG!
Higher beings, these words are for you alone:
silksong when
Couldn't agree more about the specific similarity between the original Dark Souls and Hollow Knight and the unscratchable itch of that particular approach to exploring and learning the geography of a game world. Fast travelling between bonfires in Dark Souls 2 (which I'm working through now) is convenient, but honestly I can't say I have the same love of the world and environment that the first Dark Souls instantly created in me. Exploring Hallownest was sheer wonder (and occasionally terror - looking at you, Deepnest!).
Yeah DS2 is a lesser game than Dark Souls in how they map works. DS2 is still amazing at times and has unforgettable boss fights.
@@jennifervalentine8955 Thanks for that - I've definitely enjoyed the bosses I've encountered so far and I'm still excited to see more of the experience DS2 has to offer.
Silksong has been my most anticipated title for several years now, and if we still don't have a release date a year from now, I'm fine with that. Hollow Knight is my favorite game because it was so insanely polished and complete (even BEFORE) the extra, free content. I love the environmental storytelling and the mystery of the world. Silksong is the only other game the team is working on, and if it turns out to be as amazing and polished as Hollow Knight (which seems to be true based on the trailer alone) they can have all the time they need.
I love how the game tells it's story and deals with it's theme so well that it's hard to miss what it's saying even though much of it is optional and incidental. It's about dealing with loss, and the ways we do it.. the good and the bad and everything in-between. The use of the dream nail is a great example... Puting to rest a history of violence so a better story of a life can be told, but how even that power can be misused...
"...micro-budget indie game" he says while showing a game that cost US$6 million
I've watched Mad Max Fury Road every year since release and play RDR2 twice a year. I know exactly what you mean, sometimes a game impacts you so deeply on an emotional level that just listening to it's soundtrack is an evocative experience.
Edit: Hahaha you showed both!
I keep coming back to hollow knight and hyper light drifter. They're so rewarding every time
when you said that playing games is either a slog or a revelation of some kind, I felt that. thats exactly how I feel..
also, I have to get Return of he Obra Dinn lookin at your list.... I love every single one of those dearly
I can't recommend Return of the Obra Dinn enough. The mystery/detective genre is so rare as it is, and so few of the ones we *do* get manage to handle it well. Everything that was said in this video is absolutely right on, you'll be left wanting so much more, but with the knowledge that you can't really ever play the game for the first time again.
I am honestly jealous of the fact that you are going to get to play Return of the Obra Dinn for the first time.
I'd be interested to hear what you think about a game like Ori, that has a big studio behind it but still doesn't fall into the GTA V wannabe category and bears a lot of similarities to Hollow Knight.
Ori also has brilliant art
It was quite bizarre coming to the realisation that Hollow Knight had become my favourite game of all time.
Surely it should be Ocarina of Time? Or FFVII? Or some other list topping outing that is meant to be the best, or perhaps some older SNES game you’ve never heard of?
But the more and more I thought about it, and the more I realised I was spending literally hundreds of hours playing it -I even played through it on my friends PS4 bc he had it and didn’t like but still wanted the trophies- the more it became irrefutably clear, this really is, in my opinion, the best video game I’ve ever played, and I don’t know if it’ll ever be topped. (And as someone who is NOT a completionist, getting that 112% was no small means)
Great video! Your opening discussion of triple-A versus indie games rings very true for me. While I've got friends who love Horizon: Zero Dawn, Spider-man and RE: Village, I often feel like I can't be bothered because "I've seen it all before." Hollow Knight (and other top-tier indie games) are EVOLUTIONS of what I've played before and always rewarding for that reason.
i have played this game so many times i have memorized room layouts and geo chests to the point of comfortably beating it in a couple hours and i still haven't grown tired of it
i want silksong to come out but also i wanted shenmue 3, a remake of final fantasy 7, half life 3 and an interesting cyberpunk game so actually if it never comes out i'm ok u feel me
This is the only game i've had to erase a save to start a new game, simply because i had played it so much that all my save slots were filled and i had to erase one of the older ones to start anew, and it always gives me a weird feeling because when i see that i spent 20 hours or even more on that save i still don't mind deleting it because i want to play it all again, it doesn't feel like i wasted my time or that it's a pity that i'm getting rid of that save, because it's just always so fun to play this game.
Lol yh.. The game definitely needs more then 4 save slots...
I deleted my save files several times, and now I have a dedicated save file to do randomizers, because I have a strong emotionnal connection to the other three lol.
I feel this. I got this game 2 and a half years ago and I’ve gotten to around 110% like 5 times so far and partially through a couple other times.
Hollow Knight is life. The wait for Silksong and the lack of updates is agonizing pain.
First time I played it I was indifferent, picked it up again during a break after my hardest semester of college and it wowed me. Beautiful game so atmospheric while having great gameplay.
8:44 Nope, but there is an area located directly ABOVE the Cathedral, so they've got that going for them.
Really great video. I've had these thoughts myself, but it felt great to hear them all at one in a concise video.
Just a couple days ago I came back to Hollow Knight to finally get remaining achievements. I don't do it often, and I usually mock people who *need* to 100% every game they play as if their reputation as a gamer depends on it, but I do it myself as a demonstration of my love towards a certain game.
Hollow Knight is definitely worthy of that.
You mock them because they don't share your opinion on a game. Wow
@@HollowKnightReference What? No, I mock them because I think they themselves diminish their own enjoyment of games due to some weird notion that they need to unlock every achievement, no matter how annoying it would be.
I feel the exact same way about Risk Of Rain 2. Fantastic video!
3:10 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice gave me this effect FOR SURE. Can't recommend enough
Is such a beautiful game, I’m almost at the end of the game with the last boss and feel a bit sad is going to be over soon. Definitely a replay able experience
Although this is not the kind of game I tend to replay, I absolutely love this masterpiece of a game. I genuinely think this is a work of art. When silksong comes out I am going to have a field day.
Here because this was my pandemic game. This and BOTW. I couldn’t put either game down.
I'm actually the opposite when it comes to the level design of FromSoft games: while I love being able to see how different areas fit into the whole, I much prefer the other games' focus on making each individual location more intricate and thus more significant. Fast travel from the beginning feels like another aspect of the gradual character progression and customization that I love so much, each checkpoint reached immediately creating another option to consider throughout the adventure. Having a safe haven isolated away from the rest of the world adds to the feeling of safety and belonging.
I wonder if there will be terms for the different kinds of exploration experiences these games in similar genres provide XD
I'm not sure I fully understand what your comment means, but I just really wanted to mention my head canon for why I think fast travel is available from the start of Dark Souls 2 and 3, and to put it simply, it's because the lord vessel is in place. That's it. That's what unlocks it in Dark Souls 1. That's why you have it in Dark Souls 2 and 3.
It wasn't until I got to the last 10 seconds or so of the video that I realized this is why I play A Dark Room over and over. At least in the browser version, it's nice to set up my little town and put some order into the chaos. Most times I don't even go to the Dusty Path except maybe to fish for perks that I wont use, and I'm much less interested in getting to the end game. I just set up my town, give freely to every wanderer and passerby, and take solace in Builder stoking the fire while I'm away from my computer. The feeling it gives me isn't "hapiness," per se, but something more like a sense of quiet satisfaction. I wonder whether I could get something similar from Hollow Knight.
Hollow Knight is my favorite game of all time and Return of the Obra DInn is my favorite mystery game of all time. I should really get around to trying Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds. Also can't wait for Silksong and (hopefully) a Obra Dinn-like game from other developers inspired by it.
Edit: finally did play Disco Elysium... wow, this must be the first RPG I played where I actually felt like I was role playing
Both Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds are phenomenal. The latter in particular did things to my brain that I did not expect.
I wouldn't call Disco Elysium phenomenal, but it is a ton of fun. That is if you don't mind if the only real gameplay is dialogue (Now with full voice acting). Although there are complementary mechanics and an open world to explore
I discovered Hollow Knight in May last year whilst lock down. I put it down just over a month ago. No game has captured me like this before. So yeah, I’m with you.
If you're diving into cosmic horror, I definitely recommend the book series The Three Body Problem
I would give anything to recapture what I felt the first time I explored the city of tears and sat down with Quirrel to watch the rain.
Hollow Knight is years ahead of its time. This game is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced in awhile.
Easily one of my Top 5 games. I also love how the only endings you get in the base game are Bad, Worse and Bittersweet.
If you're looking for games with the sort of layered, interconnected worlds like Hollow Knight and Dark Souls, might I recommend Rain World? It's world is nearly as big as Hollow Knight's and every piece connects to every other piece in some genius ways, and you really feel just how connected the space you're in is to every other space around you. Special mention has to go to the Shaded Citadel region, and the moment you realize what is casting the shade upon it.
I remember hearing about Demon Souls when it was still only in Japan. No copies were sold yet in America. I remember having to wait a few months and got one of the first copies shipped. I also remember booting it up for the first time and spending 2 hours trying to make a character exactly how I wanted
For me dishonored is the game i cant seem to stay away from even after all these years.
Great analysis, I agree completely. Haven't played Hollow Knight to the end, for some reason I got bored quickly. But after this I'm willing to give it another chance =)
This is how a feel about The Banner Saga. The games had such a profound impact on me. I felt empty when I finished them, kind of like a void.
I have already played it three times.
I think is the king of indie games. And one of my favorite games. Even if I wasn't interested in metroidvania games
Looks incredible, actually.
Your video essay has compelled me to play it.
8:27 yeah, that is whty the originl dark souls is so unique even amongst its brothers. On one hand that is a good thing, as it makes it special. on the other hand we never got more of that level and worldbuilding.
Hollow Knight ruined gaming for me for several years. Everytime I picked up a new game I’d compare it to Hollow Knight and feel underwhelmed. The end result? I’d play more Hollow Knight. At this point I’ve done well over a dozen 112% completions. Every single part of this game perfectly matches my vision of what a videogame should be.
It took me literal years to find a game that I was nearly as obsessed with as I was with Hollow Knight. For me that game was Dark Souls 3, which I first played a few months ago. After that I also fell in love with SM64 and played a ton of that. However, I still do a Hollow Knight playthrough once every few months or so.
For me, this is the best videogame that’s ever been conceived and I can’t possibly describe the way it makes me feel. It’s that good.
Beautiful state of ruin, the emptiness and morose tone
Really good game, I'll do all achievements exept for maybe pure completion
I adore this video
I hope everyone's having a good day
Didn't know Dark Souls was a 3d MetriodVania. I agree we absolutely should have more of those.
I love indie games like *A Short Hike*
I always feel like with indie games, the small team of developers just love the fact that anyone would buy their game, so they make sure to give the player a great experience through including fun easter eggs and side quests, as a way of giving a thank you note to the individual player who decided to buy and play their game for a couple of hours.
Whereas large corporations don't necessarily care about the individual experience, and include side quests more as a way to pad out run time, so that more people will buy more add ons.
Every sidequest in hollow knight, while there are some that are more enjoyable than others, always seems to either add to the lore, or improve the general experience of playing the game through adding variety to charm builds, increasing damage to make enemies easier to defeat, or gaining new abilities . In this way, no side quest ever really feels pointless.
7:24 It's Zelda. The pots remind you of Legend of Zelda (don't deny it).
I have always said to people Hollow Knight is 2D Dark Souls 1. And you articulated why perfectly here.
to this say from time to time
i just play this game and walking in hollow knight world
i can't get bored from the world
every 3 weeks or month
i return walking for like 2 hours
Manual backtrack... Yeah, I think it's more immersive too, but it can be a real pain and, much worst, a time eater. Quicktravel improves quality of life a lot. Imo it should be balanced better, sure, and it should be possible to have more options. But I wouldn't go without. The ideal would be to have areas connected better, fast to navigate and possibly not unnecessary big. Fast travel then should be an option but with some consequence (payment, in game time, area needs to be secure, you need the favour of the faction that controls the area... You name it). Basically, a world designed better to begin with.
The thing about HK is that you always have the choice to backtrack manually or simply go back to the main menu, it will save your progress and send you back to the last bench you sat on (same thing as bonfire in DS), not everyone knows this i guess but it's a good way to save time or if you're stuck in a location where you can't get out, he also fails to mention that later in Hollow Knight you are given a teleport option that you can use almost anywhere with minimal cost (not the tram and stag stations) and that even if you choose to backtrack manually your movement is much faster than in DS due to having a dash skill.
Hollow Knight, Gris and Dead Cells are my 3 obsessive games, I keep going back to them. I also love Tears of the Kingdom, but it's more recent, and it's more to complete the side quests rather than replay the entire game.
Hollowknight players are know for their ability to remain alive longer than usual in very hostile situations.
Also we keep getting teased about silksong news every month for the past years now.
Now, I haven‘t played that many games yet, but I can say that the new Hitman games have an astonishing verticality (although they are completely different games), and can recommend it to you because of the in world stories (you can kinda ignore the big cinematic ones). But I‘d also recommend to play without the mission story system. The old Thief titles aren‘t bad at this either (the level „the sword“ is a frustrating masterpiece).
Those are just 2 games I highly recommend.
Sage giving us GMTK/Razbuten content with his unique spin on it. I'm all in🔥
Just came herre to say I also keep returning to Hollow Knight...
Completed on PS4, Switch, PC, and now XBox Series X... it's just THAT good.
I just downloaded Hollow Knight yesterday, to start a new playthrough and now I'm seeing this video ^^
Beautiful game, I’ve had it for years and still have stuff to do…I am bad and slow at game though…it’s definitely one of my faves games of all time and I’ve played shit loads of games for over 20+ years, it scratched so many itches.