Hollow Knight

This is great! Maybe the first Switch game outside of Zelda that I feel like I've really connecting with. But even just finding the coin for the quill and compass seems pretty hard!

It gets easier, gradually. But you know what? I've accumulated so many power-ups and charms and abilities, improved my nail three times, and still I have yet to encounter anything that made me feel overpowered. Even the simplest enemies can take you down if you don't pay attention, and some of the simpler enemies suddenly get more difficult as you progress in the game. Nothing is easy, just easier.

I take it back: the Dream Shield charm, plus or minus a couple of others, has really helped me steamroll the last few bosses, even bosses that had given me a lot of trouble before (like Watcher Knights and Hive Knight). I don't know if it counts as overpowered, because I am terrible and need the help, but a few of those charms (plus extra life, etc.) have really made a big difference, at least added to my growing experience.

Another thing: I had made good progress but ran up against a figurative wall and needed to get a hint online. Not only had I totally forgotten about a boss I'd put off, even if I had beat said boss I literally would have had no idea what to do next. I would have just dashed around indefinitely. I don't know if that's because I missed a clue, or didn't understand, or what, but the game's dedication to ambiguity and elliptical mythology would have gotten me nowhere without some concrete direction. How some of these (you?) serious gamers figure all this shit out is beyond me.

Made it to Greenpath! Loving this. Hands hurt.

Wonderful music too.

feels like the jump button has a lag. Or has different timing than most other games.

Jump is fine for me! But finding it a little awkward attacking baddies on the diagonal (although maybe it's meant to be)

I think there's a problem with my controller when not directly connected. or maybe I am just bad.

jumping is really crisp for me. sounds like a controller issue

Like I said, I'm generally not very good at these games, and not being a game ninja it takes me longer than many to get a hang of things, but I've been cruising along at a pretty steady clip here so I assume the controls are pretty solid. My theory is that lots of 8-bit styled platformers, whether something challenging like Shovel Knight or punishing like Celeste, the style of the art lends themselves to very precise control movement, down to the pixel. But Hollow Knight (like Steamworld) is so beautifully stylized/designed/drawn that while it can be challenging it feels a little less pixel-precise. There are a couple places with very tough platform moves and attacks, but it all feels very graceful to me, not at all mechanical. That said, I've yet to be able to master the nail bounce in Hollow Knight, and I think that is the downside of its art style; when there's something specific and mechanical you have to do, doing something based almost on intuition and instinct rather than robotic precision is a bit more trouble. I dunno. I wonder how I'd do at something like Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze.

I feel like I'm in the home stretch of this game by the way, certainly the final 20% or so, though I get the impression there's an advanced mode or something you need to beat to really finish it.

I have three weeks before I go back to work when I thought I'd have a crack at finishing Middlemarch finally, but, uh, Hollow Knight

All right I started playing this and beat the first boss…it’s good

This game is so good that sometimes I can't even tell if I'm even fighting a boss.

Curious to see how Dark Souls hits you Josh. I haven’t played HK yet (have it on the Switch tho, wanna get thru Zelda first), but a lot of things you’re talking about sound very much DS inspired.

I got it all figured out. Hollow Knight, then finish Doom, then Dark Souls. I can tell you right now that Hollow Knight is at times cute, and funny, and always nice to look at, even when it is really dark. Dark Souls is all gloom all the time isn't it?

um, well, there's a certain humor that can potentially be found in dying a lot, if you look at it from one perspective. but yeah, not too cheerful. but it does an excellent job of setting a distinct and memorable mood

Yeah it’s super gloom for the most part but there’s comedy to be had through getting wrecked like Karl said. Also unexpected lols from certain enemies.

Meant more the unexplained, esoteric nature of it. Also it’s supposed difficulty, but sounds like you’re managing it pretty well in HK.

Man, this Hornet is really really really really hard for a second level Boss

Yeah I'm not much farther than you are and I had trouble with Hornet too - all I can say is just be patient, keep your distance, get in a hit or two when you can but just try to avoid her hits and wear her down

I am super stuck on Hornet too. As much as I appreciate not having to fight bosses again if you'd rather just peace out and do something else (and it's cool you can get your shade back without initiating the boss fight), I wish you could just hit "try again" rather than spending a couple minutes after every regen filling up with soul and heading back to their lair.

The Switch is the first videogame system I've played since the PS2, and the deterioration in my skills is never more evident than when I mess up and die fighting Hornet because my hands are sweaty lol. This game is extremely pretty and fun though, and I look forward to maybe getting to see at least one more area.

Hornet is pretty tough. Mantis Lords are super tough. Watcher Knights were hard. I'm trying to remember a few more. None has been totally maddening yet, except maybe Hive boss for me, mostly because I would get my ass kicked on my way there by enemies, so I'd arrive in a weakened state.

I took an hour and like eight tries to beat the soul master today. After taking an hour and like twelve tries to even open up the way to his room. I haven’t played a game tuned to this kind of difficulty since Viewtiful Joe I think. (Which I never beat.) Celeste B-sides are harder but the deaths are much less of a punishment so they don’t key me up as much.

I think - and I could be wrong - that as you go along money/geo becomes less important, so losing that cash (and the time spent accumulating it) isn't as soul destroying. Plus, there's that dude you can unlock up in Dirthmouth who will restore your soul for a rotten egg, which is a) funny and b) a relief. I do like the spikes in difficulty, though. It keeps me engaged. I thought every single second of "Celeste" was tough, which eventually turned me off.

I really hate this game and love it

I'm definitely really close to (I think) the (first) final boss, and I only know that because once again I more or less did everything I thought I was supposed to be doing and literally had no idea what to do next and had to look it up.

can someone come to my house and do hornet please

iirc just take your time and heal when you get the chance. I want to say there are times she gets tired and you are tempted to attack, but sometimes you just got to take one for the team and heal instead.

if you think hornet is hard just wait for hornet v.2

yeah i never got past hornet the game wasn't hooking me enough to persevere

Hornet was harder for me the first time around. All the time it took to get to Hornet v.2 plus all the upgrades I'd made made it less of a challenge the second time around. Then again, I had a lot of trouble fighting what some consider easier bosses, like Mantis Lords and Hive Knight. Right now started working on (first) final boss and have no idea how hard it will be. But hard enough so far!

Man, some of the art as you wrap up the first phase is gorgeous. And now that I know what my percentage is - 78% - I know how much more of the game there is for me to explore even after I "beat" it.

Rob OTM upthread, I wish I could just hit "fight again" instead of having to go through the five minute kill shade/gather energy rigmarole after every death. It's so frustrating when the shade hits you too!

That said the Green level music is so good, it's gotta be one of the best computer game themes I've heard

I think the music is pretty impressive across the board. I read somewhere that that is one of the few things the tiny team outsourced and spent money on.

Holy shit! Beat the (first) final boss, who was surprisingly fun and not too bad, though man, the match gets super dark and the twist when it's over is ... also super dark. I know there's more to the game, but I have no idea what to expect. Man, what a ton of fun this has been so far.

I managed to beat Hornet a couple days after I posted. There are various bits of good advice on fighting her out there, but one thing I saw helped more than I expected: turn the sound down. I love the music and sound design on this game, but they seem designed to mess with you in this fight, and Hornet's yelps (which are random afaict) are actively distracting since you need to register her moves visually to react well.

In the meantime, I looked up what the postgame White Palace "real" ending game is like, and yeah, no thanks. At least not now. One of the reasons I liked Hollow Knight is that it was not Super Meat Boy or Celeste.

Heh, every once in a while I read something about Hollow Knight and there are references to bosses and battles and challenges I somehow totally missed, despite "completing" the game. Totally nuts, the amount of content in here.

yesterday I bumbled my way out of the logjam I was in w/r/t knowing where to go next, and in the process encountered at two bosses I suspect are optional (one definitely is).

Then I found the part of the map where the enemy bugs all have little cravats and waistcoats

I was unpleasantly stuck again and then I glanced at a walkthrough which suggested I go left and lo and behold, progress.

video games have conditioned us all to go right

Ok I started this and it's pretty great. Just past the False Knight and the area where you get your first spell.

It does feel overwhelmingly massive, even the first area seems huge. And where Dark Souls gives you a bonfire after each boss, here you have to run back to a warp spot, so you're even more tempted to explore a little further instead (and then wind up deep in a new section with tons of currency on the line).

Some travel times stay long, some get shorter. Eventually you get some skills that significantly speed things up, but by then (imo) some aspects of the game get a little tougher, so it sort of balances out.

It wasn't even that long, I just never want to take the time to go back to home base areas even though it's the logical thing to do.

Also the choice not to show boss health bars adds some tension, but also makes it easier not to get greedy near the end.

"A world of insects and heroes" hits my twee heartstrings so hard! And a sidescrolling platformer would be a great change of pace from all these open-worldish 3D games I've been playing lately.

The lack of boss bars was (in this game and others) a little off-putting to me, because there were times I got really frustrated when I died not knowing if I was even remotely close. Definitely forces you to think through strategies and/or adjust expectations.

Beat the hornet lady on the second try! Now I guess I need to backtrack through everything to find the newly accessible places, huh. As you do.

Jealous

Seething, actually

(I’m still stuck there. Playing mario odyssey instead.)

tools are crucial

1st act: im never going to use this silly shard bundle

2nd act: i must spend one hour farming beads in order to afford essential shard bundles

3rd act: fsck I need tools more than ever now and there’s no xunting way to farm beads

i luckily had totally maxxed out on beads before i got there, real bead hoarding

went to get my needle upgraded and then beat that gauntlet in like two seconds haha

now i am working on trobbio. love the way he taunts me whenever he kills me (“trobbio!”)

Honestly boss health meters is the only real thing I would want changed in this game. Not having them feels 100% unnecessarily psychologically difficult. I would greatly appreciate having them. That said, you can demarcate progress through witnessing advancement in phases during the fight, but still

Hades 2 does this with Typhon and it's super annoying but you can gauge progress through similar phase advancement.

Was just watching more of the playthrough I've been dipping in and out of, and hoo boy, that barnacle/urchin covered area in Act 2? Sands of Karak? I know there's harder, but there's no way I would have remotely had the patience/skill for even that, lol!

Btw, my favorite detail even in Act 1 is the way the ant enemies carry away their fallen comrades.

Full of spoilers, but thoughtful Jacob Geller essay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp-gPD_-RM4

Nothing in this game was pretty obvious to me, lol!

i know that getting the fire resist tool in the first place isn't super obvious and many people won't get it if they aren't thorough, but i think it should be an obvious move to equip the fire resist tool, if you already have it, on a rematch against a boss that has fire attacks? it's not some obtuse unintuitive interaction?

oh yeah, many of the enemies and hazards take off two health.

they nerfed pretty much all the early game hazards that take off two health in the first patch which was broadly a good change, it didn't need to be that punishing

Like, you know you will get hit, but it's worth it for the damage you can do in return or silk you can regain back.

i do agree that this is not an effective playstyle at all, taking hits is pretty much never worth it. playing aggressively enough to get hits in wherever possible is rewarded (which is why reaper crest is really such a trap option and wanderer is by far the easiest to use), but not being reckless enough to take unnecessary damage

I know there's harder, but there's no way I would have remotely had the patience/skill for even that, lol!

the hardest platforming in the entire game for me was doing the first half of sands of karak before getting the double jump, which was completely unnecessary because i could have just come back later after getting the double jump which makes it so much more manageable (though still not easy).

i have no idea how i'm gonna beat groal the great

post your switch to josh and he’ll do it for you

He’s definitely a pain, but he is maybe the most cheese-able boss in the game so you can always resort to that if the frustration gets too much (I did!)

same

Groal definitely the biggest pain in the game, at that point given the runback I had no qualms about looking things up.

Lost Trobbio was the cheesiest for me, because you can just equip the Wanderer's Crest along with the silk-regen-on-damage tool and just tank everything and heal.

i did beat that disgusting boss btw, so yay. i am still in act 2 tho, i think i need to find all the fleas. wish there was a way that i could find out how many i have left...

There is, actually!

There is, actually!

Also, DLC incoming: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hollow-knight-silksong-creators-confirm-dlc-is-coming/1100-6536590/

hmm ok. i imagine there's a way to get a map marker, but i think i am done with shakra

You don't get it from Shakra! There's an NPC, I think in the Putrefied Ducts, who sells it instead.

moved the flea and finally got the final quest of act 2. i'd already done 1/4 of it and the clues were pretty easy to solve. after groal, going back to beat the boss will probably be a breeze

made it to act 3 and am not having fun anymore lol

ok i have gotten the hang of it a little and am having fun again

These fucking guys

https://www.teamcherry.com.au/blog/holiday2025

Impressive the DLC already has a release year at least!

For all we know it’s coming out in 2 weeks.

I just watched some speed runner dude beat the game in under an hour, gamers are crazy.