So while I mulled over what platform to get Night in the Woods on I decided to scratch an itch for another game I'd been having and picked up Hollow Knight.

And like. Wow?

I'd seen the game beforehand, but it didn't really occur to me until playing it just how striking the art design is, how lavishly detailed the environments are and how the ambiance is perfect in every single locale that I visit, and all of the characters look so distinct and manage to have the appropriate level of cute or creepy where necessary - that I have always loved bugs has greatly helped my opinion. It was around the time I reached City of Tears though that I realized just how much it connected with me, that area in particular was breathtaking to behold, and then things just continued to amp up from there to the climax. The first time I made it to the end of the non-true-ending final boss fight I nearly found myself moved to tears at what was happening, and the true final boss was appropriately epic in its conclusion when it wasn't being painful bullet hell.

The game is very clearly inspired by Dark Souls, not just in its story and atmosphere but in its difficulty, though it's not really accurate to say that it's a Souls-like game in the same sense as, say, Salt & Sanctuary, it's just a big metroidvania adventure. I'm of the understanding that unfortunately a lot of content was cut because it didn't meet all of its kickstarter goals, but despite that, considering it was a $15 game, I was astounded by the sheer scope of the world and how much there was to explore, everything is lavishly interconnected and once you have the dash and wall jump movement abilities you really start to be able to make your way into every nook and cranny on the map. Everywhere I went I was surprised to see just how much more there still was to discover.

I have some complaints, I wish that there were some more fast travel points, the absence of Stag Stations in the lower and outer parts of the map make it rather annoying whenever you need to go out there, and some of the optional endgame things push the difficulty a little too much, but none more so than the White Palace's abrupt shift to platform hell in a manner that I feel is incredibly jarring to the tone of the game and overall experience. Ultimately, however, I have absolutely adored this game, and I've been glued to it ever since I bought it. It's been a long time since I've felt this invested in a game, enough to want to really push myself to complete as much of it as possible, with my tendency to eclectically jump from game to game without really finishing anything. And given that there is confirmation of a DLC in the works for the game and strong indication of a sequel or other continuation, I have hopes to experience more of this world's story in the future.



I still need to finish Shovel Knight though.