Hollow Knight
How HOLLOW KNIGHT puts the ‘warm’ in ‘swarm’
The theme this month was meant to be festive. And with that in mind, Hollow Knight is a stretch, but it’s a winter-adjacent excuse to play one of the best Metroidvania games ever made. Another is that it’s simply brilliant. There’s a crispness to it all that satisfies like stepping on a semifrozen puddle—a clear, sharp sense of purpose that’s unusually compelling, even if it can be a harsh experience at times. The setting of Hallownest is uniquely appealing despite having the same wistful sense of decay that British seaside resorts have in October. It’s a place long past its prime, full of echoes of former glory. But it doesn’t have the same oppressive gloom as its thematic gaming counterparts, such as the likes of Lordran. Despite it being a tired, dangerous place, the flashes of humor and humanity make it endearing. There are squealing grubs who are wonderful to rescue and bored merchants who crave adventure. Even the insects you batter to death are oddly sweet. And once it’s got you, it’s near-impossible to escape from Hollow Knight’s mesmerizing charms—like some rare breed of benevolent spider that catches you in its web just to pay you compliments and give a back rub. The way Hollow Knight pushes you further into its world, whether through power-ups or crumbling floors, is so compelling that 35 hours here will seem like a nice afternoon spent examining insects. And that’s the low end of the scale: Glance at the Steam reviews, and you’ll see them from people with 100+ hours in the game, all complaining that ten quid for this much game feels like burglary. That’s maybe a measure of how good this is—a game you’ll want to pay more for.