I don’t really understand the appeal of Hollow Knight. Like don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but having played lots of other Metroidvanias, including the classic Symphony of the Night, it didn’t rock my world or reshape the paradigm that existed. It is a good Metroidvania alongside others.
Is the appeal a kind of generational thing—people who hadn’t played a lot of those predecessors but experienced this one first?
Edit: I appreciate the responses and everyone’s unique perspective!
I enjoyed the difficulty of hollow knight. It was tough as nails in spots but I felt fair. I also dug the art/music/atmosphere. It was just unique enough yet familiar.
Yes I’m a big fan obviously.
It is certainly unique in its art direction. One of the blessings of indie games!
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.
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.
Many Metroidvanias are boring because they lack character that would motivate you to do Metroidvania levels of backtracking.
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.
I’m an old gamer (almost 50) and I don’t have time to play every game out there. I know that I should play Symphony of the Night but haven’t had time to try it yet, but I will.
Hollow Knight is fun for me because it’s not complicated, it’s pretty, the music is nice (I bought it on Bandcamp), and it’s a slow game with a lot of levels and a quiet and/or peaceful lore. I haven’t played it for a long time (any kind of game actually because I’m busy) but I know that when I try it again, it will be there as usual, and I will be able to explore old or new levels whether I have 10 minutes or 2 hours to play.
I don’t know if it’s a good metroidvania and I don’t think I care. I would put it on the same level as Shantae: there is no rush, have fun. You may say that it’s good for old people and I would agree. There are slow metroidvanias (Hollow Knight, Shantae, Guacamele 1/2) and fast metroidvania (Shovel Knight maybe) where you have to play regularly or you may forget what the thing is all about. With Hollow Knight, the story will stay in my head for a long time.
Last but not least, I would put Metroid (and the 2D variants: SNES, GBA) in the slow category since you can stop playing for some time and get back to the story without too much hassle. I guess it depends whether you prefer the Metroid OR the Vania side of those games.
If you liked Hollow Knight, you should give Symphony of the Night a try sometime. The gameplay loop is similar, and like Hollow Night, there’s no hurry.
I think they’re both good, with the older one being the one that, imo, defined the Vania side of things. But being on the older side myself, I understand having limited time to take on new games!
I played the original CastleVania (Vampire Killer) back in the 8 bit days and silksong is among my top 5 favorite games of the decade I’d say. It’s not technically revolutionary maybe but the gameplay is tweaked to near perfection, and the art style and FromSoftware style storytelling is just wonderful. Of course that’s a matter of taste.
Yeah, I’m not shitting on the game, just trying to understand why people are so excited by it.
I just loved how simpled the gameplay is in surface but it gets extremely interesting and challenging once you want to do all the boss rushes :)
I realized the full extent of the work that went into it
I think probably people get wrapped up in the art and music, and rightfully so. But (having more that 100% completion, mind you) there were aspects of the level design and bosses that really did not sit well with me. I couldn’t help but feel like “it’s just Metroid but worse” in a lot of aspects.
the direct chat went wild when a glimpse of silksong was shown lol
If you put a spool of silk next to a harp, the fans would lose their absolute shit at this point.
We’ve been starving for awhile.
