Hollow Knight is Certainly Not a Hollow Game

“Hollow Knight” is an indie Metroidvania game created by a group of three people – Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and David Kazi – called Team Cherry that was released on February 24, 2017. In the game, players fight infected bugs as a Vessel in the kingdom of Hallownest, ultimately battling the Hollow Knight to defeat the Infection. The Infection is a disease brought on by a being called the Radiance that robs bugs of their will. 

The character played as was introduced in Team Cherry’s first project together: a small game called “Hungry Knight”.

“The gameplay is completely different from Hollow Knight, but we liked the main character and the general aesthetic so much that we fleshed it out and expanded on it,” wrote the creators on the Team Cherry website.

“Hollow Knight” was beautifully crafted with traditional 2D animation, an impressive feat for a game of over 30 hours and more than 150 unique enemies and animations.

“The world of Hollow Knight is brought to life in vivid, moody detail, its caverns alive with bizarre and terrifying creatures, each animated by hand in a traditional 2D style,” the creators wrote on the game’s site.

In addition to the incredible art, the game features an amazing orchestral score. The music, composed and produced by Christopher Larkin, adds even more to the atmosphere of the kingdom. 

Along with the base game of “Hollow Knight”, there are four completely free DLC packs. Each one adds even more to the game, such as additions to the soundtrack and multiple new enemies. The packs are titled “Hidden Dreams”, “The Grimm Troupe”, “Lifeblood”, and “Godmaster”. They all add onto the base 112% completion of the game, and each DLC brings unique content, which makes “Hollow Knight” even better.

While the lore of the game isn’t explicitly stated, players learn more about the kingdom of Hallownest through subtle texts throughout their playthrough. The words, both written and spoken, sparse and sometimes quite cryptic, paint the heartbreaking story of “Hollow Knight”. Dialogue is earned through exploration and battles, and each sentence is likely important to the story.

Although “Hollow Knight” has been completed for years, fans can expect to see more from the game’s universe. Team Cherry is currently developing a second full game in the series, titled “Hollow Knight: Silksong”, which follows one recurring character of the first game, Hornet.