Just finished my first play through.

Gosh dang was that good. With Hollow Knight and Celeste under my belt, 2019 was truly the year I finally embraced the golden age of indie games. I can’t believe this was made more or less by three people.

I know it will seem odd when I compare this to Breath of the Wild a bunch of times, but I’ve been playing Zelda almost exclusively since February and this is the game that finally broke me out of Hyrule.

Obviously we have to talk about the atmosphere first. Every aesthetic choice is brilliant. The art oozes style, somewhere between Tim Burton and Miyazaki, but all sad bugs. The music is achingly beautiful. The characters burst with personality. Every area feels unique yet part of a whole. As with Breath of the Wild, this is a world that makes me want to explore, to seek out the hidden areas, to learn more.

And boy is it a fun world to explore. The movement is a joy and every ability just feels right. The jumps are suitably floaty, the dashes wonderfully dash-y, and the way the nail thumps brings satisfaction with every hit. And those movements bring you to a seemingly endless array of secrets, items, upgrades, and charms. The sense of progression is almost unending, every time I thought I had completed my inventory there was yet another skill to be had. Hell I found one last move about half an hour before beating the final boss (and you better believe I’ll be diving back in to see where it gets me.)

I’ve beaten plenty of Metroid games and played one or two Castlevanias (though never to completion) so while I’m familiar with the genre I don’t consider myself a metroidvania nut. But this has to be the pinnacle for games of this type. That’s saying something, as I think I could make an argument for super Metroid as “greatest game ever” despite it being 30 years old. What’s so impressive about hollow knight is that it doesn’t reinvent the wheel—this could be Metroid 5 with a fresh coat of paint and an explanation for why Samus uses a sword now. But damn did they polish those mechanics until they gleamed. There is a distinctive vibe and a level of quality here that I typically associate with Nintendo games. I enjoyed every second.

Final stats: 80% complete, 36 hours. No guides or walkthrus. Found all the stag stations and vessel fragments, finished with a little over 900 essence. If the grubs actually match up with the number of spaces for them in their room, I think I missed six. Missed 10 charms. Didn’t beat the mantis lords, the flower quest, or mess with the coliseum. I suspect I’ll at least go back and do the mantis lords and attempt the flower quest, and I’ve got the Grimm troupe in there somewhere for spooky season too.

Toughest bosses: Soulmaster and Traitor Lord.

Add me to the “can’t wait for silksong” group!

Submitted October 03, 2019 at 04:14PM by Earthshoe12 https://ift.tt/2oMIlC9