Hollow Knight Is The Greatest Soulslike Ever Made; Here’s Why

Hollow Knight is an action-adventure platformer video game released by Team Cherry in 2017. Upon release, it became an instant cult classic and amassed a large fanbase. The game comprises a compound network of level designs and epic bosses that keep the player coming back for more.

The game’s difficulty was also a hot topic upon release. It was compared to the Soulsborne genre in terms of its difficult yet rewarding mechanics.

The hauntingly beautiful world of Hallownest also encapsulates the atmosphere, which is quite similar to that of a Fromsoftware game. It is clear that Hollow Knight is similar to the FromSoftware games. Let’s dive into this take.

The Challenging Yet Rewarding Combat

In Hollow Knight, the game is unforgiving to the players who just dive into it without a thought or intent to slay everything. The game requires precise dodge timing and relies on I-frames. You also have to learn the patterns of your enemies so you can punish them accordingly. Learn the pattern, dodge, go in for the attack, rinse, and repeat.

The Exploration Into The Depths Of The Universe

Hollow Knight has a complex and diverse world to explore, with interconnected paths, hidden shortcuts, and secret areas. Do you know what other series have the same exploration experience? Yep, you guessed it right, the Soulsborne games. The similarity is uncanny.

The Eerie And Hollow Atmosphere 

The kingdom of Hallownest feels very empty and grim at times. It has this dark tone about it that provides the player with the feeling of isolation. This is a solid point in the game, as it plays a huge role.

The themes of isolation with the main character being not so vocal traveling and traversing through empty ruins, abandoned locations, and a grim environment. This gives off a feeling that you are just left alone in the world, much like the FromSoftware games.

The Orchestral Beauty Of Christopher Larkin

The lead composer for the music and the Ost of Hollow Knight is Christopher Larkin. He produced classics like the Grimm boss fight ost. One of the most beautiful yet haunting ost that keeps you on your toes and gives you an ethereal feeling of fighting someone at the edge of the world with no one to save it except you and you only.

Yuta Kitamura, who composed the music for Dark Souls 3 has similar sounding Osts. When you play one game after the other, you can’t help but notice the similarities between them.

The Safe Haven In The Games

Much like the Fromsoftware games, Hollow Knight shares a checkpoint system. There are save points far apart from each other, but you can rest there to replenish your health and resources. However, just like the Souls game, once you rest at the checkpoint, the enemies you have previously killed also respawn, so you have to go out of your way to beat them again.

Iconic Boss Showdowns

If you have played any FromSoftware game, you know that the boss fight is gonna be epic, tough, and a beauty. Hollow Knight shares the same case as it gives you boss fights, which are extremely challenging yet very rewarding. The bosses have patterns that you, the player, need to learn to beat the boss.

You can’t just rush through it. Accompanied by this difficulty is the epic orchestral music that is playing in the background, making the boss fight feels like an epic encounter with your life on the line.

Why Is hollow knight categorized as a soulslike by many?
byu/FAbbibo inHollowKnight

Both of these series work on the trial and error method; you fight the boss again and again and again until you learn the pattern and come up with a pattern or a strategy to beat them. The boss fights in both of these series are also unforgiving, as a simple mistake could cost you your life.

The variety of bosses in these games is also quite wide, as each boss has different patterns, abilities, and attacks, so you have to approach each boss with caution. The bosses in these games also have an impact on the narrative as upon defeating them, many secrets that are essential to the story can be revealed. This makes the boss encounters more meaningful.

In my opinion, Hollow Knight is the perfect Soulslike ever released as it follows the same structure but in a different genre. If you are a FromSoftware geek or vice versa, you would love the other game, no doubt about it.