Team Cherry's Hollow Knight arrived with muted expectations. Six weeks and 60 hours later, I think most of them were warranted — with caveats worth understanding before you spend $30.
Team Cherry's Hollow Knight arrived with modest expectations. Six weeks and 120 hours later, I think most of them were warranted — with caveats worth understanding before you spend $60.
Gameplay
Combat in Hollow Knight rewards reading more than reflexes. Team Cherry clearly built around the idea that you should always have time to think — but the consequences for thinking wrong are real. The result is the rare action game that respects deliberate play.
Combat in Hollow Knight rewards reading more than reflexes. Team Cherry clearly built around the idea that you should always have time to think — but the consequences for thinking wrong are real. The result is the rare action game that respects deliberate play.
Story & Setting
The story is told mostly through environment and incidental dialogue, which is the right choice for the kind of game this is. There are no twenty-minute cutscenes. There are no NPCs who follow you around explaining lore. What there is, instead, is a world that responds to attention.
Narratively, Hollow Knight works because Team Cherry keeps the stakes personal even when the scope is enormous. The headline plot involves a personal vendetta, but the moments that land are smaller — a conversation in a tavern, a letter you find in a desk drawer, a side character whose name you remember three weeks after the credits.
Visuals & Performance
Visually, Hollow Knight prioritizes legibility over spectacle. That's the right call. Team Cherry could have built a tech demo. Instead they built a game where you can read the board at a glance and that's worth more than any number of polygons.
Verdict
Team Cherry has earned the benefit of the doubt with Hollow Knight. It's not their best work — that's probably still Dark Souls III — but it's a stronger argument for taking small studios seriously than any pitch deck.
We score Hollow Knight a 9/10. That's high for the genre, but the strengths are unambiguous and the weaknesses are addressable through patches. Worth the time of anyone with even a passing interest.
Verdict
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Gameplay | 10/10 |
| Story | 8/10 |
| Visuals | 10/10 |
| Replayability | 10/10 |
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to finish Hollow Knight?
Main story runs around 50-60 hours depending on how thoroughly you explore. Completionists can spend 2-3× that.
Is Hollow Knight good for newcomers to Metroidvania?
For total newcomers, expect a 5-8 hour ramp-up. Once you internalize the loop, it clicks.
Which platform should I play Hollow Knight on?
PC version offers the highest fidelity if your rig can handle it. Console versions are polished out of the box.
Was Hollow Knight worth the launch-day price?
If you're a fan of Team Cherry, yes. If you're new to the studio, a sale price is more comfortable.
Are there DLCs or expansions worth picking up?
Wait for the Game of the Year edition — it bundles everything at a fair discount.
What did Team Cherry get right (and what could be better)?
Team Cherry nailed the moment-to-moment loop and the world-building. Pacing in the mid-game and inventory UX have room for improvement.
Comments
Comments are moderated. Be civil — disagreement is fine, abuse isn't.
Started a new game+ run after reading this. Different experience entirely.
Finally finished it last night. Your take on the ending matches mine.
Bookmarked for when it drops to half price. Cheers for the honest writeup.
Solid review. I bounced off Hollow Knight for the first 5 hours, then it clicked.
Spoiler-free reviews like this are rare. Appreciated.
Score feels about right. The opening drags a bit but it grows on you.