Hollow Knight

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.)

I don't think I've ever liked a game this much so soon after starting it. The design is so enchanting, top to bottom. This is exactly the game I need right now

Beat the Broken Vessel last night, got the double-jump, I’ve got one more Dreamer to murder free

Beat the Hornet (not quite as quickly as Jordan, but definitely < 10 tries), so I've got my dash! THERE ARE CATERPILLARS THAT NEED SAVIN.

just in case you haven't been doing it, be sure to check in on them in their little caterpillar conclave every once in awhile.

The caterpillars are the best. I'm in the City of Tears so far, at a boss. I'm pretty sure I missed two bosses in the last area though?!

Yes! It took me a little while to figure out what was going on there. xp

Got the mantis claw! The part in the same region where you have to jump off walls and dash over a bed of spikes, all to flip a switch, is one of the hardest video game things I've done in a LONG while.

Is that the bit in Queen's Station? I gave up on that after a couple of tries.

I think he means that bridge that leads you out of the Fungal Wastes.
There's a part in Crystal Peak later that is a lot like that but much harder!

I am back to loving this after a brief period being mad at how easy it is to wander into areas you have no business trying

Not far from there, the Mantis Village (which I think is in the Fungal Wastes).

One thing that does bug (hah geddit) is the amount of slow traveling I have to do, what with dying all the time and benches being relatively sparse.

xps

OTOH! The bouncy mushrooms are love.

Other things that I am proud of:
- Figuring out how to kill the Mantises without resorting to projectile blasts (two ways, though one is pure cheese)
- Figuring out how to kill the fungi that spit spore bombs at you

Ah ok, I was thinking of a different area in the FW. There are a lot of super hard platforming zones lol

I bought this a second time, on PS4, because my PC can't run it properly.

I like how the map doesn't update until you save. It makes exploring new areas feel mysterious.

- Figuring out how to kill the fungi that spit spore bombs at you

Good for you, I just started running past them.

Somehow I got the Mantis Claw (which is amazing) but didn't find the Mantis Lords, will have to go back.

I want to say there is only one enemy I totally avoided attacking, and that's the bigger jellyfish that spits out a hollow knight seeking missile. Also, after some of the earlier stages ... change, I tended to avoid those newly aggro enemies.

It's been interesting playing Dark Souls more or less after this one. HK clearly owes a lot to DS, but the design, while dark, I find to be a bit easier on the eyes. DS is just so relentlessly grim.

I haven't found the Mantis Lords either.

Josh, I'm experiencing the same thing with Bloodborne. I unequivocally prefer playing HK, though.

Recently went back to Greenpath to try something with a new ability and as much as the whole game is superbly designed and scored, I would love a sequel/spin-off/whatever that was entirely in this style

The music may be key to this game. I read somewhere that the design team was super small but they decided to splurge on an outside composer, which was smart.

absolutely. Crystal Peak might have ended me without the music

I believe u all but I have been playing this one on mute/listening to podcasts a fair amount

I stumbled into the City of Tears and crawling without a map was some stressful stuff!

All of the audio design in this game is A++; the music, the sfx, the way the volume momentarily cuts out when you get hit, (my favorite) the wonderfully expressive gibberish voice-acting.

Yeah the voice acting rules.

Geo, kalala!

the sound of opening up a hidden passage with your nail is so satisfying

No, I was thinking more mentally/emotionally.

Yeah true... I imagine they won't be rushing into Hollow Knight 3 after this one drops.