Hollow Knight - convince me to keep playing

It’s $10 on sale.

Was going to wait and get this on PC but tempted to pick it up for the Switch.

This is a perfect Switch game, it’s so great in small chunks in handheld mode.

It looks and plays great on Switch. I bought it on Sunday.

Controls are really tight. I played this when it was included as a Preview version in the Humble Monthly way back two years ago or so now. I think they really tightened it all up since then. It captures the SNES-era really well with modern graphics and collectibles. It also feels really well-designed rather than relying on random/roguelike elements as so many games do nowadays.

I started playing this on the Switch today. Actually, first my son and a friend started playing this because they got tired of Super Mario Odyssey. It was fun to see them struggle through the beginning stages as they tried to get their jumping and attack timing right.

Later I started playing - probably about 1 to 1.5 hours. The monochromatic color scheme is making it difficult for me to remember where I navigated. It isn’t that it isn’t attractive, but not memorable for me. I got to what I think is the first boss fairly quickly, then died a half dozen times. I gradually got the timing down. Then I headed out and explored some more.

I got to a floor where it felt like it should give way but it didn’t, so I went off somewhere else. It felt like it took a while to get my next bench.

So far I like it enough, but I do feel like I’m just going without a purpose or plan.

I do think the early stages would have benefited from a little more direction and also handing out the new abilities
a tad earlier (as others have said). Stick with it, though. I’m confident you’ll both get to know the environments and you’ll get hooked once you earn some new powers.

My wife was watching TV so I got to try out the Switch undocked for an extended period of time. The screen looks very nice and the game played just fine. With my eyes I couldn’t read the map very well though. Playing on the TV is pretty much always my first choice, but it is nice to be able to untether.

I just got to the Mantis Lords. I feel like a goddamn pincushion.

Have you found the nail smith yet?

No. I found the fellow that teaches you a new move, but no one that upgrades the nail.

I would recommend leaving the Mantis Lords alone until you’ve found the nail smith and upgraded your nail, makes that fight easier.

I’ve beat maybe 4 bosses so far and explored 5-6 areas and anytime I find myself up against a fight I don’t think I can win or an area I can’t traverse I just move on and look for a place I haven’t been to yet. This game is great about encouraging exploration and never gating you off entirely.

Thanks. There was another path I hadn’t taken that went to a whole new area. I was just dumb and not paying attention to what one of the new abilities allowed me to do at that specific spot. It looked impassable. It was not. I think I’d gone everywhere BUT there by now and thought the Mantis Lords were gating my next area.

Yeah I invested in a few of those markers for the map early and i try and place one of those when i hit an area i cant pass or a spot that’s got a reward that i obviously need an ability i don’t have to obtain it. I kind of wish you could add notes to your map though because i can never remember what my markers mean so i usually end up just checking them at random as i’m running around the map.

Agreed on that… I bought a bunch of markers but don’t use them near enough and when I do I can’t remember wtf I put it there for in the first place. This game has some really great design and I love that it’s not roguelike. It also has some notable moments where hitting a guide is about all you can do.

Oh yeah for sure, i haven’t felt the need to check a guide for where to go yet but i have looked at a few boss fights, mostly to see if it’s a fight i think i can win after i die a few times.

I was pretty amazed at how much freedom and variety Hollow Knight offered even early in the game. There are so many possible ways you can explore the areas, even without sequence breaking, that it almost gets overwhelming.

I too got destroyed by the Mantis Lords quickly and decided to put them off until later when I was more powerful and resilient. Glad I did. It took me a while to figure out which other areas I could explore first instead, but then ended up finding at least 2-3 other massive areas I hadn’t even touched yet.

I just finished the first main map, killed the bosses - I think I’ve been everywhere. There are 2 things that I’ve found and haven’t been able to make use of: something that looks like a boxcar and a switch in what looks like an elevator / cage.

The guy up in town mentions the next area and says I should go there, but I can’t figure out how. Anyone want to give me a hint?

Thanks

Did you get the spirit blast ability or whatever it is called?

I did and then killed the monster with it.

Take a close look at your map and see if you can find rooms that look like they might have exits (seems obvious I know). This is how I’ve found my way around mostly. In my experience there’s always been at least one exit to another area that I could get to that I either missed the first time or marked for later investigation.