Hollow Knight
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
Hollow Knight is widely regarded by Reddit users as a premier 'Soulslike' Metroidvania, praised for its atmospheric world-building, polished combat, and exceptional music. While many celebrate its open-ended exploration and fair challenge, others find the frequent backtracking and meandering pace frustrating.
Pros
- Atmospheric and gorgeous visual design
- Polished combat and tight controls
- Exceptional music and sound design
- High value with significant free post-launch content
- Rewarding, non-linear exploration
Cons
- Extensive backtracking can feel tedious
- Meandering pace may lead to losing focus
- Significant difficulty spikes in late-game platforming
- Critical progression skills can be easily missed
Caveats
- The game uses a 'soulslike' death mechanic and challenging boss encounters
- Navigation is difficult without purchasing the in-game map and compass
- Jump height is pressure-sensitive, which some players find unintuitive
Best for
- Fans of challenging Metroidvanias
- Players who enjoy immersive atmosphere and environmental storytelling
- Those looking for high-value indie titles
Avoid if
- You have a low tolerance for backtracking or getting lost
- You prefer games with a linear, tightly controlled pace
- You find high-difficulty platforming frustrating
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 122-month half-life. The evidence comes from comments spanning early 2025 to late 2025, with a median age of approximately 295 days, representing a stable and well-established consensus.
Sentiment
93 positive (78%) · 15 mixed (13%) · 11 negative (9%)
Trust + time weighted score: +67% · raw score 69%
What redditors said (10 of 119)
The exploration is really engaging, especially those lore heavy areas. Gave me the same feeling I had in Hollow Knight. Like, when you know that this location is important, but you are not really sure why yet.
Games I've played since my daughters were born that I have really enjoyed: Tunic, Hollow knight, Death's Door, Gris, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Undertale, Cup Head, Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Exo One.
I think it is kinda like "What does Hollow Knight offer besides being a polished and good metroidvania with amazing music, setting and visuals?"
Thankfully the visuals were gorgeous so it doesn’t hurt to visit the same places over and over again until you are really desperated
There is however one thing that I’d call a major flaw. It’s the hard roadblocks placed by devs – a few critical skills that completely block you from progressing further in storyline until you happen to discover them. The major problem with them is that the game lets you progress awfully far until you realize something is not adding up and you are missing out.
After a few first hours I had one thing to say: this is the most fair game I’ve tried so far. ... Compared to these two, Hollow Knight felt like a breath of fresh air. This is truly a game that lets you explore at your own pace, resembling a big, growing and complex puzzle.
Hollow Knight has parrying and pogo? Why didn't the game tell me? Now I'm stuck trying to figure out which unexplored pathways on the map are accessible with my build and which are not. I guess I'm not that much into Metroidvanias cause it's annoying.
I beat Hollow Knight's first boss! Buying map and compass made navigating this sewer maze much easier.
Just played Hollow Knight after having it in my backlog since last winter sale. I already don't like that you need to adjust jump height by holding A. I can't remember another game with jumping like this.
Like compared to say Hollow Knight and Silksong which I have gone through recently?
Compare
Hollow Knight vs Astro BotHollow Knight vs Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the MistHollow Knight vs Afterimage
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