Hollow Knight

***Hollow Knight*** is a 2017 Metroidvania action-adventure game developed and published by Team Cherry. It was released on Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux in 2017, and on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2018. Development was partially funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, raising over 57,000 by the end of 2014.

The player is the Knight, a nameless warrior not knowing who they are or where they came from, who wanders and explores the ruined kingdom of Hallownest to figure out its mysteries, finds many friendly or enemy bugs, fighting bosses, and unlocking new powers and abilities to progress. *Hollow Knight* was well received by critics and has sold over 3 million copies as of December 2020. A sequel, *Hollow Knight: Silksong*,  is now released.

## Gameplay 
*Hollow Knight* is a 2D Metroidvania action-adventure game, that takes place in Hallownest, a fictional ancient kingdom. The player controls an insect-like, silent,character called the knight while exploring the underground world. The knight wields a "nail", which represents various blades in the story (excluding pins and needles), used both in combat and environmental interaction. Defeated enemies drop currency called Geo. "Mask shards" can be collected throughout the game to increase the player's maximum health. When the knight takes damage from an enemy or from the environment, a mask is reduced. By striking enemies, the knight gains Soul, which is stored in the Soul Vessel. If all masks are lost, the knight dies and a Shade appears where they died. The player loses all Geo and can hold a reduced amount of Soul. Players need to defeat the Shade to recover the lost currency and to carry the normal amount of Soul.

As the player enters a new area, they do not have access to the map of the area. They must find Cornifer, the cartographer, in order to buy a rough map. As the player explores an area, the map becomes more accurate and complete, although it is updated only when sitting on a bench. The player will need to buy specific items to complete maps, to see points of interest, and to place markers. The knight's position on the map can only be seen if the player is carrying the Wayward Compass Charm. The developers decided to work on another game jam with the theme "Beneath the Surface", but could not complete on time. However, this gave them the idea to create a game with an underground setting, a "deep, old kingdom", and insects.

Believing that control of the character was most important for the player's enjoyment of the game, the developers based the Knight's movement on *Mega Man X*. They gave the character no acceleration or deceleration when moving horizontally, as well as a large amount of aerial control and the ability to interrupt one's jump with a dash. Some of the goal content, such as The Abyss, still made it into the game even though those goals not having been achieved, although with a lot of content was cut.

### Release 
The Nintendo Switch version of *Hollow Knight* was announced in January 2017 and released on 12 June 2018. Team Cherry originally planned to make their game available on the Wii U. Development of the Wii U version began in 2016, alongside the PC version, and it eventually shifted to Switch. The creators of *Hollow Knight* worked with another Australian developer, Shark Jump Studios, to speed up the porting process. Initially, Team Cherry planned the Switch version to arrive "not too long after the platform's launch"; subsequently they delayed it to early 2018. A release date was not announced until the Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2018 on 12 June 2018, when it was unveiled the game would be available later that day via Nintendo eShop.

On 3 August 2017, the "Hidden Dreams" DLC was released, featuring two new optional boss encounters, two new songs, a new fast travel system, and a new Stag Station. On 26 October 2017, "The Grimm Troupe" was released, adding new quests, new boss fights, new charms, new enemies, and other content. The update also added support for Russian, Portuguese, and Japanese translations of the game. On 20 April 2018, "Lifeblood" was released, bringing many optimizations, changes to the colors, bug fixes, minor additions and a new boss fight. On 23 August 2018, the final DLC, "Godmaster" was released, containing new characters, boss fights, music, a new game mode as well as two new endings. It was renamed from its former title of "Gods and Glory" due to trademark issues.

## Reception 
*Hollow Knight*s PC and PlayStation 4 versions received "generally favorable" reviews and the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One versions received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator Metacritic. and  passed 1,000,000 in sales on PC platforms on 11 June 2018, one day before releasing on Nintendo Switch, where it had sold over 250,000 copies in the two weeks after its launch. By July 2018 it had sold over 1,250,000 copies.

### Awards 
The game was nominated for "Best PC Game" in *Destructoid*s Game of the Year Awards 2017, and for "Best Platformer" in *IGN*'s Best of 2017 Awards. It won the award for "Best Platformer" in *PC Gamer*s 2017 Game of the Year Awards. *Polygon* later named the game among the decade's best.

## Sequel 
The sequel to *Hollow Knight* is *Hollow Knight: Silksong*, which was developed by Team Cherry and released on Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, on 4 September 2025.

The sequel is set after the events of the original game and is based around the character Hornet exploring the kingdom of Pharloom. Game demos of *Hollow Knight: Silksong* show similar combat styles to the original game, but with several gameplay differences. The player character Hornet is more mobile than *Hollow Knight*'s protagonist, and Charms are replaced with the more elaborate Tool and Crest system. Team Cherry had previously planned this game as a DLC for *Hollow Knight*, but decided to make and sell it as a new game as its content grew too large. It was announced in February 2019.
## References 
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