4 Reasons Why Hollow Knight Is One Of The Best Indie Games

Hollow Knight is personally my top 1 game of all time and there are reasons for that. It does so many things right with its world-building, level design, and gameplay that I was left stunned by the time the credits started to roll. To think that a team of three people created a game with a scale larger than most triple-A titles is nothing short of astonishing.

Hallownest, An Amalgamation Of Beautifully Interconnected Levels

The level design can make or break a game as it plays an important role in keeping the player engaged by making them explore more of the map to uncover more secrets. Hallownest is a huge setting for Hollow Knight and it is filled with multiple different locations that are simultaneously connected to each other through hidden pathways or locked behind some kind of gameplay mechanic that you haven’t unlocked yet.

Hollow Knight’s level design process
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I completely fell in love with Hallownest when I looked at the map after exploring every nook and cranny in this game. Every single connection between different areas was right there, in front of me, and I was just gushing at how brilliantly it was all joined together. The level design alone does not carry the setting, each location has its own distinct identity with its art direction, unique architecture, and the use of ambient music.

Christopher Larkin Singlehandedly Composed A Legendary Score

I am not exaggerating when I say that Christopher Larkin is a one-man army who singlehandedly composed the entire soundtrack of Hollow Knight which is nothing short of a masterpiece in terms of quality. Each location and area has its own distinct ambient music that further enhances exploration in these regions. Then there are the OSTs that play during boss battles which showcase the true capabilities of Christopher.

The Hollow Knight soundtrack by Christopher Larkin has been voted as the 146th best soundtrack of all TV, movies and video games. Congratulations!
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When you listen to the entire score of this game, it becomes really hard to think that it was the work of a single man. The DLC content that released after the launch of the game had even better tunes and they too were composed by Christopher. The man kept one upping himself in his own game and his YouTube videos featuring soundtracks for Silksong, the sequel, have amassed millions of views.

Metroidvania And Soulslike Elements Join To Form Something Special

The gameplay in Hollow Knight is a mix of Metroidvania and Soulslike elements and this fusion ends up creating a really satisfying experience with a lot of risk/reward involved. The movement is precise and each input feels tight enough, making controlling the knight extremely fun. At its core, the gameplay involves timely dodging attacks with your dash and then punishing the enemies while they are recovering.

Hollow Knight – One of the greatest games ever made
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This pattern is quite similar to something like a Soulslike and even the healing mechanism reminds me of utilizing an estus flask in Dark Souls. Then comes the abilities that unlock as you progress through the main story like the double jump or the magic spells. These not only allow you to access previously hidden areas but also add more variety to the gameplay and such elements remind me of a Metroidvania game.

Post Launch Love And Support From The Developers

Hollow Knight on its own was already a pretty huge experience and for its price, it was nothing short of a gift from Team Cherry. I remember beating the base game at around 70 hours including exploring almost the entirety of the map. However, the developers did not stop there and continued to support the game even after launch by adding 4 DLCs which were all completely free.

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Out of these four DLCs, two are extremely meaty with the Godmaster expansion alone increasing my playtime by hours or so because I was hellbent on beating all of the Pantheons. The Grimm Troupe DLC contains one of my favorite boss fights ever and the Godmaster DLC is just Team Cherry flexing their skills. It not only contains new fights but also improves upon the boss battles present in the base game.

The Godmaster DLC on its own almost adds infinite replayability to the game. For an indie game to contain hundreds of hours of content that doesn’t get boring over time is like setting a new bar in the genre. It is almost impossible to find a flaw in a game filled with both quality and quantity and that was made by people who genuinely care about the industry.