LogFAQs > #947770720

Well, I guess I won't leave you all in suspense.

1. Hollow Knight
Genre Metroidvania

Gameplay: 10
Rest of Game: 9
Engagement: 8
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 37/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtCCfHYNiM

When I started this project, I had it in my mind that Hollow Knight would be a very good game to set at precisely the #2 spot on the list. Im not really sure why. I just had it in my mind that this was #2, and I was going to have you listen to Sealed Vessel as the song selection, and it would be incredibly dramatic as the prelude for the ultimate winner.

And then I couldnt decide on a game that surpassed it. I love Lennas Inception, but it simply doesnt have the production quality. Hades was incredible, but its not really my kind of game and its a testament to its quality that its even hanging around up here. Genshin Impact was one of the last inclusions, and in fairness, I had to re-rate it given that Ive played a good 2 hours of it literally every single day for 2 months now, but picking a gacha to sit atop the list leaves a weird taste and it feels like cheating for a game with a 12/10 to win.

As the challengers fell, I finally realized the obvious. Hollow Knight wasnt the set-up for the champion. It simply was the champion.

You wouldnt have known it if you came to me earlier in the year. Although I was very smitten with the games atmosphere, its sharp controls, its seamless animations and absorbing world, I walked away from it after getting lost somewhere in Greenpath. It seemed destined to be just another one of those broken, battered disappointments you saw on the way up the list. The Celestes, the Oris, the Oneshots. Trine, Night in the Woods and Slay the Spire were all games I wanted to spend more time with. Not just the indies, either. I walked from Monster Hunter, from Lara Croft, from mother fucking Breath of the Wild. This, too, would have been the fate of Team Cherrys masterpiece.

But I decided to go back. I had to go back. Too many people love this game. I knew I was missing out.

I started a new game, swiftly reached the point where I stopped before, laughed at how absurd I was at not noticing the exit on one screen, and continued on to Hornet. It would take me a couple weeks of playing a bit here and a bit there, but I kept moving forward. Past the lush gardens of Greenpath into the rotten spores of the Fungal Wastes. I grabbed the Mantis Claw and located a path into the front half of the City of Tears. From that point, I got massively stuck, until I unlocked and bumbled around in the Sewers for a bit, defeating two bosses including the hilarious Dung Defender, but not noticing anywhere else to go. Lamp in hand, I pulled back and instead trekked through the Crystal Mines. And despite being a tiny bit pent-up about not seeing a clear path to anywhere else I could go, I realized that I was absolutely fascinated by this game.

Everything about Hollow Knights design is masterful. Everything. The art, the aesthetics, the world design, the controls, the combat, the music, the sense of exploration, the organic way in which the player gradually discovers Hallownests secrets and feels a thrill each time they uncover a new screen, pick up a new charm, locate a new bench or stag station. Hollow Knight does everything that Super Metroid does, and does it better.

I eventually found a way from the Sewers to the Resting Grounds via the back side of the City. And when I did, I realized that up until now, Id been wandering aimlessly, just hoping that the game would simply lay a boss in my path, Id beat it, and advance on to the next one. The lore of the world meant nothing to me, like some kind of mystery where you arent given all the clues. But eventually (and maybe with the aid of some YouTube videos) I came to understand the full depth of the story. It isnt spoon-fed to you. You have to put it together yourself. But its there, and its thorough, and its no less compelling that the other games on this list that dont hinge on their writing.

After picking up enough upgrades, and following Hornets advice -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbOLslQJt4 -- I defeated the Watcher Knights and broke the first seal on the black temple. Was I doing the right thing? Should I continue?

I had to explore everywhere to find a path to proceed. I finally discovered the route through Deepnest and encountered the second dreamer. Only one remained, and still, I wasnt comfortable with my actions. Was this right? Do I proceed in letting loose this madness?

More upgrades, more unique challenges, more world to explore. Yet, I was still missing the pivotal item to breach the black barrier in the Fog Canyon. I uncovered what I had assumed was every square inch of the game, and then I found more. And more. And more. There was no shortage of new things I missed. New mysteries to unravel, like the room that required 15 mask shards to open. Side goals, like freeing the last grubs. And at last, I located not one but two pick-ups that could have enabled me to reach the area I was blocked from. I killed a giant Metroid boss, rued the corruption of the Forgotten Crossroads, and stared nervously at the Temple of the Black Egg.

And then I fought.

Its easy to assume, at the start of the game, that the title refers to you. You are the hollow knight, right? But, no. The Hollow Knight was the vessel that was sealed away in the temple, with all the disease and corruption funneled into him. Except he was unable to contain it. Chained in place within the temple, he thanks you for freeing him by attacking...or does he? Deal enough damage and he stops and begins to stab himself. What is happening? Then another phase begins, and another. And finally, the corruption begins to distort his body. Pustules form, bulging in every direction. He no longer resembles the proud fighter of a moment ago, and you realize the simple truth: He wants you to kill him. He wants an end to this torment. He cant not fight you, but he prays to everything that you win. Then, finally...peace.

As I watched the ending sequence play, I thought it was over. I thought I was done. Maybe Id play again to see everything once more, but Id found it all, right?

HA! YOU STUPID IDIOT!

No. I wasnt even close. I found the noobs ending. I found the baby ending. There was more to do, more to learn, more places to find, more vaults to breach. Id never maxed out the dream nail. Id never seen the key story sequences that explained where the Hollow Knight came from...where your character came from. Id ignored the pleas from Hornet that there might be another way. And Id completely overlooked all the bonus content theyd packed into four add-ons to the game. Hollow Knight just kept coming, and I did not grow weary of any of it. For some other game, Id feel a sense of disappointment, a grim acceptance that I still had more to do, like it was my gamer's duty to finish. Here, it was only eagerness, and gratitude that there was still more to do. More new encounters. More charms. More gameplay to master. I still dont think Im very good at the game, but I muddled through it all somehow.

Finally, I could say it was done.

Its over.

I won.

Until Silksong comes out.

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Video Game Music Contest 14 champion: Idola Phantasy Star Saga - Endeavour