While drifting around between a few games trying to decide what to do next after Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, I happened across a couple of Hollow Knight videos on YouTube. I haven’t really played the game since running through it a few years ago, so it’s been a little bit since I actually checked out anything related to it. I suppose that was a good thing too, because those videos were all it took to get beck into the game.
Coming back to Hollow Knight, I was mostly just prepared for little more than a nostalgia trip. It’s a fantastic game, but one of the unfortunate qualities of metroidvanias is that they kind of force you to memorize them as you play for backtracking purposes and such. I figured all of the flair would be gone and I’d mostly just be taking a look around an old favorite rather than actually enjoy it as a game again. Turns out, I was wrong.
All it took to fully fall back into it was to get to the City of Tears and hear its theme again. That’s it. Something about the combination of this song and the environment just absolutely fascinates me, to the point where I now want to fully delve back into the game head first!
It also helps that the bosses aren’t all pushovers due to prior knowledge and residual muscle memory. Sure, it’s only taking one or two tries now instead of 10 or 20, but the fights largely still require one’s A-game to clear, and that’s good enough for me. In some ways, this actually works better since I’m not getting stopped in my tracks every couple of hours or so. Same goes for exploring Hallownest: I’ve had far fewer setbacks and stupid deaths thanks to knowing (generally) what to expect in each area.
There are still plenty of deaths, though. Which is why I’m not doing this as a Steel Soul run. The fact anyone can do those, especially hitless ones, is absolutely astounding to me! Seriously, I’ve got nothing but respect for those players’ skills. No, for me, this is plenty. Hallownest isn’t the same mysterious place it was the first time through, but it is still a very atmospheric place that’s still a pleasure to wander around in (well, except for Deepnest and the Royal Sewers. I’d have been fine never seeing either of those again.)
If you haven’t played it, Hollow Knight really is a special game that’s worth your time. It’s even great the second time through, as I’ve been discovering now! If you’re at all curious, either check it out directly or drop in on Duck’s ongoing playthrough on our YouTube channel!
What’s a game that’s always able to to suck you in no matter what? What’s that game’s special “X factor” for you?
Image is official promotional screenshot
VIRTUAL BASTION 
Awesome game – still have to go back to get the true ending, but it’s hard!
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I totally agree. This is my second playthrough of Hollow Knight (my first was about 4 years ago), and the game is still about as fun as it was the first time. Sure, there are certainly fewer surprises, but I’ve forgotten some things, so I still occasionally get to rediscover something as if it was my first time through. It’s also fun being better at the bosses. Plus, I’ve gotten better at the pogo attack, which I almost never used during my first playthrough.
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It’s funny how much mastering pogo-ing helps in this game, isn’t it? Not just with bosses, but with exploring too. Like, there were a few segments in places like the White Palace where pogo-ing off things either made for a much easier time or allowed me to skip small, annoying segments outright. Was actually pretty fun! Of course, that didn’t help in Path of Pain, where you pretty much have to already be a pogo master to even just make an attempt. I thought I’d run through it again this time, but dying after making it through three sections convinced me that I didn’t really need to endure it again. 🙂
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I’m not sure if I ever did the Path of Pain. I think the White Palace was bad enough. I don’t look forward to doing that again. I’m also dreading attempting to bring the Delicate Flower all the way to the Queen’s Gardens again. That was so awful the first time, I’m not sure if I can bear it…
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Got a tip for that, actually. If you take the route that goes through forgotten crossroads, you can cut your journey down quite a bit. Also, most enemies don’t respawn until you sit on a bench, so if you kill all the enemies along your route and then transport the flower, it goes much more smoothly. The only ones that come back are a couple of the flying traitor mantises for some reason. Oh and having Isma’s Tear helps a ton too.
Unless you want the bragging rights for having done it, I don’t recommend taking on Path of Pain. ^_^
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I should try that method, thanks! Unfortunately, the Crossroads are infected now, so hopefully that won’t be an issue…
I definitely don’t think I’ll be trying the Path of Pain. Not worth it!
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The path still works even once the crossroads are infected. No problem there once the enemies are cleared.
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That’s good. I should give that method a try. Thanks!
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