HOLLOW KNIGHT

Developer/publisher Team Cherry Format PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One

Okay, technically, this tremendous Metroidvania was released last year. But it wasn’t on Switch – that portable portal to worlds overlooked – and it was swallowed in a sea of Steam releases. Hollow Knight has a subtle glow, best appreciated when given time and space to breathe.

Indeed, the first hours of the game are frankly underwhelming. A tiny, moon-masked bug with nothing but a nail for a weapon, you scurry through the dismal Forgotten Crossroads with not so much as a dash to keep you company. In fact, it’s not even the first ability you receive. Hollow Knight is the master of delayed gratification: whenever you finally do find an ability – squirrelled away at the end of a treacherous platforming section or behind a vicious boss – you’ve clearly been missing, it’s like finally being able to exhale.

And then, curiosity flourishes. The subterranean world of Hallownest is a glorious piece of design: while your first instinct on entering each new area will be to seek a map to fill out, it’s testament to Team Cherry’s command of atmosphere and pacing that you’ll often resist the urge. With a few superpowers under your belt, there’s much to be gained from creeping around in the dark. There is something in every corner: an odd architectural structure, a faintly terrifying new friend, a strange clue as to how this place came to exist. With every new landmark, the world becomes more real, the maps more internal.

The overall effect – despite punishing difficulty spikes and the horrifying Deepnest – is undeniably inviting. The more you come to trust in your own ability, and Hallownest’s knack of delivering you exactly where you need to be, the more of a delight Hollow Knight is. Hardly surprising, then, that it would eventually turn up in our hands in some form or other: this is a world wellversed in the art of waiting to be found.