Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good game. But I’m not sure it deserves all the hype it got last year.

It does some very clever stuff in terms of gameplay, with each character having their own unique battle system that synergise with the others.

And yes, the soundtrack is incredible.

In terms of the story, whilst it was interesting, the way the game drip-feeds you knowledge in the first two acts quickly became frustrating. There were multiple cutscenes where characters speak in such a vague, superficially poetic way. In reality it just felt pretentious.

Major story spoilers:

spoiler

The overall metaphor for grief is unique. I liked the concept of the characters being creations in this painting, and how that layer of reality feeds into the one you begin the game in. But it felt like everything was revealed all at once in Act 3. The game gives you very little up to that point, so it’s hard to emphasize with many of the characters. Perhaps replaying the game knowing what you know changes the perspective of it, but for a new player I’m not sure it’s the best way to tell a story.

Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion but I found the game aesthetically quite ugly. Many landscapes had a feeling of copy pasted Unreal assets that looked so same-y at points they became confusing to navigate (especially given the lack of a mini-map). The characters had these blank, uncanny stares half the time and the designs for some of them (Esquie in particular) just didn’t look good to me.

Oh and I’m really not sure why the devs decided to add entirely unnecessary platforming elements!

I found certain enemy attacks to be inconsistent and not well telegraphed, leading to some frustrating encounters were you had to memorise the parry timings rather than learn them from a valid cue.

I think the game deserves good reviews, but I’m not quite sure how it won so many GOTY awards. Perhaps it just wasn’t the game for me.

  • PlasticExistenceEnglish
    1·
    30 days ago

    It would be hard for me to say what are my definitive top three, but in general my favorite two are the ones that spawned the category: Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

    After that, there are several that I hold in very high regard, but I most appreciate the ones where the map loops the player back to the next area once a new item or ability have been found. Those that allow the gameplay to flow while still moving forward. I dislike excessive backtracking and poor map design - which a fast travel system doesn’t fully make up for in my opinion.

    Hollow Knight just doesn’t click with me, partly because it doesn’t respect the player’s time. When you die at a boss, you don’t just try again right away. It forces you to travel to the boss before you can attempt it again. I find that really frustrating and not enjoyable. I have other reasons as well, but I know it was a very popular game and plenty of people love it and the sequel. I’m just not one of them.