Hollow Knight - Soulsvania platformer

[PK]

Hello!  Hollow Knight is a platformer on PC (now), Mac (soon) and Nintendo Switch (sometime this year) and it's utterly beautiful & I'm completely in love with it.

 

Release Trailer:

 

It's a mixture between a metroidvania and a Souls-like; you're exploring a non-linear map which is gated by abilities that your character picks up along the way, while also unlocking shortcuts and collecting & spending "Geos" (souls) which you drop when you die and have to corpse run to get them back or lose them forever.  The combat seems tailored towards slow, methodical timed attacks & dodging thus far (I'm 2 hours in, so this might change).  I'm finding it difficult but fair, although I'm generally rubbish at video games.  

 

Here's a video of me ineptly tackling a mini-boss which I think is a good demonstration of how it mixes the two genres (spoilers for about 3 hours into the game):

 

 

Up the top-left of the screen are my Geos (the numbered icon) and my Spirit, which you can use to either heal (hold B) or fire a projectile (tap B).  You gain Spirit by damaging enemies and Geos by killing them.

 

It's £10.99 on Steam at the moment which is an absolute steal:  http://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/  The soundtrack is also very very nice, and you can buy it on Steam or stream it on Spotify.  The game was due to come out on the Wii U but it's been moved to the Switch instead and comes out later this year, the release date hasn't been confirmed yet.

 

I'm really enjoying it, there's a great sense of exploration and the combat feels brilliant when you get your timing right.  The art-style is beautiful and there's also loads of scenery to smash, which I approve of.

 

You should play this game!

Edited February 26, 2017 by PK
full disclosure - I added the word "it"

[PK]

Also, bit of a spoiler but Hollow Knight's fast travel is the best fast travel.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[grindmouse]

I think it looks amazing. Only issue I have with it is it looks like it's lifted a lot of ideas wholesale from other games, particularly the Super Meat Ball style rooms, so it will be interesting to see how that gels with bullet-hell bosses and metroidvania structure. Hopefully there are some fresh ideas in there too.

[El Spatula]

It's nothing like Super Meat Boy and really bullet hell. I'm loving it so far. The map is a bit odd as it doesn't update unless you rest or buy bits of it but that just means you have to explore a lot more. 

[Chthonic Boom]

This looks absolutely gorgeous. I'm surprised I've seen so little hype for it anywhere before release. Just need to decide whether to grab it on Steam now or hold out for the Switch version - hopefully we'll get a release date at the Switch indies presentation next week.

[HarryBizzle]

Will pick this up at some point but as previously mentioned, March is ridiculous.

[grindmouse]

3 minutes ago, El Spatula said:

It's nothing like Super Meat Boy and really bullet hell. I'm loving it so far. The map is a bit odd as it doesn't update unless you rest or buy bits of it but that just means you have to explore a lot more. 

 

The rooms with the lasers, wall jumping and giant saw blades are totally like Super Meat Boy.

[Max Damage]

I'm currently playing this, about 2 hours in. Killed my first boss last night on my second attempt, felt good, combat is tight. The world is beautiful, playing in 3D and it looks like a pop-up book, reached the greenery(?) area and had to take some screenshots, 3D layered loveliness. Sound design is all good as well as the music which fits perfectly into the desolate insect Kingdom.

 

Very hard to focus on a single game to completion when you have a big back catalogue of shame and are always looking at other games but I'm enjoying this a lot and will try my best to not distracted by other games

[PK]

Sorry to be dense, but how are you playing it in 3D?

[Max Damage]

1 minute ago, PK said:

Sorry to be dense, but how are you playing it in 3D?

 

If you have a Nvidia card then with a tiny bit of faffing you can play in 3D. I can post some links if you need more info.

[PK]

Oh, Nvidia 3D Vision?  Probably should've guessed!

 

56 minutes ago, sir shrew said:

 

The rooms with the lasers, wall jumping and giant saw blades are totally like Super Meat Boy.

 

The only jumping puzzle I've come across so far after 4 hours was to get to a power up at the end of a dead-end, so I get the impression those sections are going to be fairly rare and optional.

 

Incidentally the game's apparently 20-30 hours long depending on how much optional stuff you do

[Vemsie]

Definitely one I want to play, but I don't have the time for it at the moment. Think I'll wait for the Switch version, it's a pretty cool game to have on a portable device.

[PK]

Yeah I think it'll lend itself perfectly to a portable, it's something you can play for hours or alternatively just dip into and explore a small part of the map for 30 mins.

[El Spatula]

Any idea of where to go after 

Spoiler

The Green Path? I killed the boss and a couple of mini bosses. I assume it's the Fog area?

 

[PK]

I think it's up to you:

 

Spoiler

I went bottom right of the map, there's something very useful you can get to now that you've got the Dash cape and then further down that area leads to a new area which looks like it's going to take ages.  Not explored the Fog yet.

 

God I really love this game

 

[Sabreman]

This is super. Beautiful visuals and audio, precise controls. The mapping system feels rather unforgiving at first, but it really adds to that danger-filled exploration aspect. The heart-in-throat tension that builds when you're far into uncharted territory and you don't know where a bench is, or even remember the way back...

[Pockets]

I picked this up today. I had a look for half an hour to see if it would grab me and it didn't at first really, seemed a bit too tricky. Tried again later and just went a different way and it sort of clicked. I think I'm sold on it, partly because I wanted to like it and put the effort in to try. I'd say to anyone, give it a good hour before making your mind up. Usually I wouldn't if something's not immediately appealing but there's something about it that made me want to.

 

I still worry it might be a bit too hard and get frustrating but I don't know, it could have the balance just right with the self-healing mechanic.

[Sane]

Played this for a few hours over the weekend, really enjoying it! The hand drawn visual style looks amazing and the animation really makes the characters and the world come alive. It's full of little details that really make the world feel alive: the foliage moving, all the things you can smash to bits, cogs on lifts properly moving etc.

 

Also, the sound is really well done. Different parts of the world not only look different, they also sound different. Lots of attention to detail here too, like different materials making different sounds when you hit them or sometimes you can hear npc's quietly humming to themselves before you can see them. And the music is just amazing, very beautiful and haunting.

 

The gameplay is pure metroidvania with tight controls, it's challenging but not overly difficult so far. I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes to explore and chart big beautiful hand drawn worlds with a healthy dose of combat. It's even on sale on humble bundle at the moment. 

[Dark Soldier]

I can't believe this thread has so few replies, it is an absolute masterpiece. A modern Super Metroid (different setting and powers, of course).

[Nequests]

Expect that to change when the Switch version is out.

[noob]

This video is unavailable....

[HarryBizzle]

6 hours ago, Dark Soldier said:

I can't believe this thread has so few replies, it is an absolute masterpiece. A modern Super Metroid (different setting and powers, of course).

 

I’ve been waiting on the Switch port for nearly a year now. When the Nindies direct happened they said they would have infonto share about the release that week and have been ignoring any questions about where that info is on Twitter since. 

 

But they do seem to be putting a lot of effort into getting it running as well as it can do on Switch. 

[mdn2]

7 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

 

I’ve been waiting on the Switch port for nearly a year now. When the Nindies direct happened they said they would have infonto share about the release that week and have been ignoring any questions about where that info is on Twitter since. 

 

But they do seem to be putting a lot of effort into getting it running as well as it can do on Switch. 

They posted the info that week. I mentioned it in the Switch thread. 

 

Quote

Switch Update
Status report! Everyone here at Team Cherry HQ, including our buds from Shark Jump, has been working furiously on the Switch port. It’s all looking and playing great, but we’ve still got some stuff to iron out.

Performance: Our aim has always been minimal load times and a steady 60fps for Switch. Over the last month we’ve smoothed out the last couple of problem spots and we’re all locked in on this stuff now! Hollow Knight is looking great on that Switch screen!

Languages: As of Lifeblood, HK’s is now in 10 Languages! And for Switch release these have to be in great shape. Getting the localisations cleaned up, with all their unique alphabets and spacings, has been a big undertaking, though one that goes largely unseen by players. We’re close on this, and we’re using the Lifeblood beta to iron out any last issues.

Bugs: The game is more solid than ever, however there are still a few niggling crash bugs and other odd behaviours that need some special attention. This is the pointy end, and that short-list is constantly shrinking, but to be launch ready, we need to get it completely clear!

Release: Given the current status of the build, we’re not yet ready to give an update on release window. We know that can be frustrating to hear, but like we’ve said before, we don’t want to set a concrete target until we’re sure we can hit it, and the game is rock-solid. We’re close, but there are a lot of small bits to tie up and plenty of testing to do. We’ll keep working at it and we’ll keep everyone updated as we approach the big day!

That’s all for now! We’ve got plenty of work still to do so we’ll get back to it. We hope you enjoy revisiting Hallownest in the Lifeblood Update. If you’re waiting for the Switch release, then we hope you enjoy playing Celeste, Night in the Woods and all the other great indie games on the system until we get Hollow Knight out to you!

 

[Stanshall]

It sounds like they're potentially pretty close but also have had some major issues with the port. If they still can't give a release date, I'm slightly concerned for the game when it finally arrives.

 

 

[bumgut]

PS4 version isn’t out yet. 

I’m sure this thread will pick up after that.

[ann coulter]

Thought this was wonderful on PC until a point maybe halfway through where it takes you out of the interconnected world you've been exploring and dumps you elsewhere. Destroyed the flow of the game for me and I never went back.

[mdn2]

2 minutes ago, bumgut said:

PS4 version isn’t out yet. 

I’m sure this thread will pick up after that.

I don't think they've ever officially announced a PS4 version. I think they said they'd like to work with Sony and Microsoft but there's no plans to look into it until after the Switch version is out.  

[HarryBizzle]

9 hours ago, mdn2 said:

They posted the info that week. I mentioned it in the Switch thread. 

 

Thanks for that. Not exactly the news I was looking for but at least they posted something.

[Fatsam]

After about 10 hours I think I'm giving up on this.

 

It's really well made, while not doing anything particularly original, it looks and sounds superb with very distinct feeling zones, the controls are solid and the combat and enemy design is good. Importantly, the Metroid style exploration is well done even if the upgrades are all rather predictable. But I'm starting to find elements a bit tedious now. I'm basically bored of the RPG stuff and can't be arsed gathering currency any more and trudging to shops and find losing your shit when you die or having to go back and claim it again pretty fucking irritating to be honest. The bosses are slightly too hard for my taste too. Maybe if save points were a little closer to them I'd be fine with that, but repeatedly travelling a not inconsiderable distance fighting the same minions to start another tricky boss fight is an old school element that should remain in the past based on this. Or maybe it's that simply the journey getting to the bosses over and over isn't quite enjoyable enough to stand up to repetition. I do love the tension of exploring areas blind and having to try and get to a man or bench before it fills the maps. That's something that works well for me. Exploring new areas is the best bit.

 

I've enjoyed most of my time with it, but yeah I'm out.

 

[HarryBizzle]

Out now on the eShop for £10.99.