Side by side
Hollow Knight vs Afterimage
Hollow Knight
93 positive (78%) · 15 mixed (13%) · 11 negative (9%)
Trust + time weighted: +67%
AI summary — 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
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
Top excerpts
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.
Afterimage
15 positive (83%) · 3 mixed (17%) · 0 negative (0%)
Trust + time weighted: +83%
AI summary — not a quote
Afterimage is a polarizing Metroidvania that is widely praised for its massive world and exploration-heavy gameplay, though it is frequently criticized for its narrative quality. While many players consider it a top-tier entry in the genre with a modern "Symphony of the Night" feel, others find the experience hampered by what they describe as catastrophically poor writing. It is noted for offering a high price-to-content ratio, making it a strong choice for players who value game length and scale.
Pros
- Vast world with a massive map and numerous biomes to explore
- Excellent price-to-length ratio with significant content for its cost
- Strong artistic ambition and visual style
- Satisfying combat and movement mechanics reminiscent of Ori and Hollow Knight
Cons
- Consistently criticized for poor writing and narrative execution
- Polarizing reception; some players find it mediocre despite its scale
Top excerpts
Afterimage is like, a 2023 Hollow Knight-like with Ori 2 combat. The map feels like an Igavania
The mixed public reception for this chinese metroidvania exists for one very simple reason: Catastrophically bad writing. Pretty much every element of this game that involves writing is badly done.
Afterimage, mostly. And 12 hours in, I can say I fall firmly in the “this is a fantastic game!” camp.
I put the overall quality of this on par with HunterX Codename T although it clearly took a lot of inspiration from Afterimage.
it clearly took a lot of inspiration from Afterimage.