this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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Hollow Knight is appropriately moody for the genre. Many Metroidvanias are boring because they lack character that would motivate you to do Metroidvania levels of backtracking. Some games tried to copy Hollow Knight vibes specifically, for example Ender Lillies, but nobody managed to even match it.
The game itself is not innovative but very polished, like Blizzard game from the old times. I think it was one of the first games in the genre that picked up some cues from Soulsborne games too, before formula was overdone, hence why it is so fondly remembered.
Hollow Knight also felt like it was in dialogue with the Souls series, because the Souls series iterated on a ton of Metroid's mechanics in a new space. So it took Souls' "what if Metroid mapping, lonely mysterious vibes, backtracking and key/locks, but slower paced 3d combat and the keys aren't weapons" and went "Ok but what if we used the lessons we learned from you to improve the Super Metroid formula that inspired you?"
The art style is great, and the ability to choose your loadout adds a unique twist to how Metroidvanias usually work. I had a good time playing it, and it reminded me a lot of when I played Symphony of the Night many years ago.
This is a good point, and likely why I've not gotten that into many of the more recent ones (with some exceptions). I suppose in that sense, it's revolutionary next to many of its contemporaries.