Main Game
Complete- Time
- 20 hours
- Difficulty
- Challenging (3/5)
Hollow Knight
An essential metroidvania with precise combat, a world worth learning, and a death system that adds tension without derailing the adventure.
- platform:
- PC
- published:
- Sep 13, 2026
Review brief
Recommendation: Must Play, 5 out of 5
Completion
Completion tiers
100%
Complete- Time
- 35 hours
- Difficulty
- Hard (4/5)
Everything
Complete- Time
- 45 hours
- Difficulty
- Punishing (4.5/5)
- genres:
- metroidvania / action / souls-like
- release:
- 2017
Highlights & caveats
Review highlights and caveats
Exploration · Standout
Hallownest rewards getting lost
Hidden rooms, branching paths, and shortcuts make exploring its regions consistently worthwhile.
Combat · Standout
Combat makes every opening count
Nail strikes build Soul for spells or healing, keeping offense and survival closely connected.
Bosses · Standout
Bosses reward understanding
Distinct attack patterns turn difficult fights into satisfying tests of timing and positioning.
Atmosphere · Standout
The kingdom has character
Hand-drawn art, lonely music, and odd little residents give each region a distinct mood.
Navigation · Standout
Mapping is part of the adventure
Buying maps and updating them at benches make landmarks, new abilities, and safe returns matter.
Death Penalty · Strong
Death has the right stakes
Recovering your Shade puts pressure on the next trip, while lost Geo becomes less important over time.
Optional Challenges · Mixed
Everything asks much more of you
Optional fights and platforming push precision well beyond what the main game requires.
Quick take#
Hollow Knight is a must-play metroidvania because exploring Hallownest and learning to fight through it are equally satisfying. A blocked passage gives you somewhere to return. A difficult boss gives you something to practice. Either way, there's usually another route worth trying before you put it down.
The main game took 20 hours at a manageable 3/5 difficulty, with plenty of hidden paths and optional challenges left after the credits.
What works#
Hallownest is exceptionally good at making you curious. Greenpath's overgrown tunnels, the rain in the City of Tears, and Deepnest's cramped passages each change how comfortable you feel moving forward. Hidden walls lead to substantial discoveries, and shortcuts connect places that seemed far apart.
The map system makes exploring those places more satisfying. Limited movement gives the first upgrades weight. Buying regional maps and updating them with a quill at benches ask you to learn landmarks, remember blocked routes, and decide how far to push before heading back. Filling in the map feels like a record of somewhere you've learned to navigate.
Death gives those decisions stakes. Your Shade holds the Geo you dropped, so the trip back has some tension. Losing that money stings, but you can earn more, and your upgrades and opened routes stay yours. I like having a reason to care about dying without a bad run hanging over the rest of the game.
Combat gets a lot out of a small toolkit. Nail strikes build Soul, which you spend on spells or healing. Every safe opening asks you to choose between hurting the boss and recovering health. Charms let you adjust reach, spell strength, and recovery around the way you want to fight.
The Mantis Lords show how well that system works: recognize the attack, move just far enough, then strike. Learning a fight changes how much space you see in it.
Christopher Larkin's score leaves room for rain, footsteps, and the hum of a nearby cartographer. Small encounters with shopkeepers and wandering bugs bring warmth to the ruins. There's character here even before you start piecing together the history.
Where it slips#
The biggest caveat is the jump from finishing to doing everything. Optional fights and platforming demand much more precision than the main path. Full completion suits players who want to keep practicing after they've explored the kingdom.
Who it's for#
Play it if you enjoy discovering your own route and practicing precise fights. Buy the map tools early and mark places you can't reach yet.
Reaching 100% took 35 hours; everything took 45. Keep exploring after the first ending, then let your appetite for the remaining challenges decide where to stop.