Hollow Knight is incredibly overrated.

I really want to know the people that think hollow knight is mid what do they consider their top 3 meteoidvanias.
Hollow knight is one of best games ever.
it was made by what 2 or 3 guys and goes toe to toe with aaa studios with budget into millions of dollars.
 
It's an OK metroidvania that far outstays its welcome and largely relies on aesthetic to make itself stand out.
Looking back I remember just being bored and wanting it to be over.
 
Game's a fantastic and beautiful metroidvania, you are all wrong.

Source: me.
 
BossLackey said:
But even I know it's not THAT good.
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NeverYouMind said:
It is too empty and unfocused to be great.
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Dunno what you mean by empty, but I liked it being unfocused. My fav part of the game was the exploration, not having a map of all the rooms I traversed until finding a bench and getting lost in those places.

Imho a lot of people must have dropped the game in the first hours because I think it really starts to shine once it opens up.
 
I don't have some grudge against others loving it but I didn't get it. I played for close to 20 hours when I suddenly realized that I wasn't having fun nor enjoying the exploration. Don't get me wrong, it has its highlights but the screen-to-screen level design and massive world size made it feel like a total slog. I just thought it was really repetitive and uninteresting after a while.

Then again I love Axiom Verge 2, a game seemingly nobody likes.
 
You know there are no in-betweens these days, it's either an absolute masterpiece or an untouchable piece of trash. More people should express their own critical judgement.

Thank you for speaking your mind 🙏🏻
 
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Also, I think it looks like an unlicensed Tim Burton flash game. I don't get that aesthetic at all. Not as goofy as Salt & Sanctuary but still dislike it. My favorite element really was that he looked cute sitting on the save point benches.
 
TintoConCasera said:
Dunno what you mean by empty, but I liked it being unfocused. My fav part of the game was the exploration, not having a map of all the rooms I traversed until finding a bench and getting lost in those places.

Imho a lot of people must have dropped the game in the first hours because I think it really starts to shine once it opens up.
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By empty I mean there is very little to engage with or to reward the player at any given time and without focus its speed runs are sleep inducing.
 
BossLackey said:
Look, I love Hollow Knight. It's a great game. I have played Metroidvanias since their inception and Metroid/Castlevania before that.

But in the last 8 years, the amount of people that act like the genre started in 2017 with it's release and serves as it's pinnacle just really grinds my gears.

It's consistently ranked #1 on seemingly everyone's list and it makes me feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

And I'm it's target demo! I love bugs (keep several tarantulas, a jumping spider, hissing roaches, etc.), I love hand drawn art (been making it my whole life), and I love 2D action platformers (see above). But even I know it's not THAT good.

Is it truly just the Hot Topic aesthetic that's deluding everyone?! What is happening!?

Hell, even the devs are aware of this because if they weren't, Silksong probably would have released by now! They've been shitting their britches trying to make a sequel that lives up to the hype.
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I don't think the devs were targeting bug keepers as their main demographic, but okay...I'm with you brotherrrrr. But also, what list are you referring to...like favorite game of all time? Favorite Metroidvania of all time? Cuz IMO it doesn't hold a candle to Symphony of the Night (pun intended?)

I think Hollow Knight has some interesting ways of implementing tried and true Metroidvania concepts and adds a bit of flair of it's own. It advances the genre, just like Ori did. Nothing wrong with that.
 
I wouldn't know. I refused to buy it cause I hated the artstyle, I mean I really disliked it (from videos and pics).
 
BossLackey said:
It's consistently rated #1 by a lot of people.

As I would put maybe 5 games above it, I say it's overrated.
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That's nit-picking come on lol, when seeing the thread I thought you would rate it 6/10

I move around the top 10, it's all 10/10 games anyway. Nostalgia is going to affect many lists tbh. Super Metroid is my current #1, used to be Elden Ring during a 700 hour phase…
 
NeverYouMind said:
By empty I mean there is very little to engage with or to reward the player at any given time
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There's platforming, enemies to fight, exploration to be done and many items and shit to find. I wouldn't call it an empty game by any means but to each their own I guess.

NeverYouMind said:
and without focus its speed runs are sleep inducing.
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the wolf of wall street idgaf GIF
 
Nah, it's great. I played it right when it came out and it was mindblowing. Couldn't put it down.
Easily the best metroidvania of the last 20 years if not longer.
2 more outstanding metroidvanias: Salt & Sanctuary and Animal Well.
My all time favorite: Metroid Zero Mission
 
It and the Blasphemous duology are the only Metroidvania games that are as good as Metroid or Vania games, which is quite a feat because we got a billion of those.
 
It's good, maybe even pretty great. Others are better. I don't know that anything has ever topped Super Metroid or SotN. But Dread was realllly good.
 
mayham2199 said:
I love it but I do admit I don't understand the obsession with silksong.
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Because it was demoed at e3 2019 at Nintendo's booth and featured on Treehouse Live, and at that point it seemed the game wasn't very far from release.

Now it's just completely unrealistic expectations based on nearly 7 years of hype and anticipation. No question it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible for the final game to match the audience's expectations. I also think it'll be way too long/big.
 
I agree, it does belong in a top 10 metroidvania list but calling it the pinnacle of the genre is wild, it's unbalanced in many areas and they totally fucked up the placements of save points.

I've also seen many say it has the best combat in a metroidvania and I'm always baffled, like how can they possibly say that? they really need to stop gaslighting people into thinking that hitstop and pogoing enemies makes good combat it does not, it adds complexity to combat, don't get me wrong, but it gets old really quickly too and while it does technically have builds with the charm system it also lacks many other RPG mechanics, that other metroidvanias do have.

IMO right now the best Metroidvania came out this year and it's Ender Magnolia, it's fantastic in every regard.
 
I think it is fantastic & fun, can not wait for Silksong.

I think it along with both Ori games, both Blasphemous games, both Steamworld Dig games, both Guacamelee games, The Prince of Persia LC, Bloodstained, and Nine Sols are all superb. As is Yokus Island Express (underrated).

Right up there with Super Metroid, Metroid Zero Mission, Fusion, Samus Returns, Dread, Castlevania SotN, AoS, DoS, OoE, PoR, CotM, HoD.

Overrated are Shadow Complex, Ender games, & Axiom games.
 
NeverYouMind said:
By empty I mean there is very little to engage with or to reward the player at any given time and without focus its speed runs are sleep inducing.
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Imagine downvoting a game because it doesnt have "fun speedruns". Dumbest shit I ever read. Speedruns are for idiots and the only positive out of the idiocracy around them is that they give back to charity and thats it.
 
Yeah, it's a good game but it's way too long, bloated and repetitive to be the masterpiece people make it out to be.
 
Incredibly bold opinion, and I too believe it is overrated in some aspects... eg: the map is simply too open and to big for its own good. When i attacked it in a more linear way (i.e. let's upgrade this sword first), the flow was SO MUCH BETTER... For the map, for god's sake, i can image at least 5 or 6 more stag stations...
 
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TintoConCasera said:
Dunno what you mean by empty, but I liked it being unfocused. My fav part of the game was the exploration, not having a map of all the rooms I traversed until finding a bench and getting lost in those places.

Imho a lot of people must have dropped the game in the first hours because I think it really starts to shine once it opens up.
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The music and atmosphere is top notch too. Makes the exploration feel like something.

Anyway, these days everything is either overrated or underrated. Things are never just rated.
Things you like "The best things ever", things you don't like "Irredeemable trash".
 
Never played it, it's probably good - especially on my steam deck but the art style is off putting. Don't @ me.
 
BossLackey said:
Hell, even the devs are aware of this because if they weren't, Silksong probably would have released by now! They've been shitting their britches trying to make a sequel that lives up to the hype.
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You're right. They've put themselves in a catch-22 situation due to taking so long and letting this game build up into the Beyond Good and Evil 2 of indie games.

My expectations are in check and will continue to stay that way.
 
It's a great game, but there are a ton of little dumb things that hold it back.

One of the dumbest decisions ever was to lock your character's position on the minimap behind a precious limited upgrade slot. That's the fucking stupidest game design choice I've seen in a while. They're literally saying "you have to choose between standard QoL, or a potential gameplay mechanic that can make your character stronger"

There are a lot of other little things like that, but that's one of the more egregious design fuck-ups in that game.
 
salva said:
Never played it, it's probably good - especially on my steam deck but the art style is off putting. Don't @ me.
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It's just an average Metroidvania that people elevate to an absurd degree because it has a cool vibe and oozes atmosphere.

The combat and weightless character movement feels like a flash game.

The game would undeniably look amazing on a Steam Deck OLED.

5/10
 
It was the right game at the right time to get all the praise and attention.

Personally, I think it's mid. Wouldn't even consider it if I was to make a top 10 in the genre.
 
Jibran#one said:
I really want to know the people that think hollow knight is mid what do they consider their top 3 meteoidvanias.
Hollow knight is one of best games ever.
it was made by what 2 or 3 guys and goes toe to toe with aaa studios with budget into millions of dollars.
Click to expand...
they don't play metroidvanias lmao
 
My main problem is how slow the character is and how long it takes to move around the map. Games like Ori and recently Animal Well are far slicker in that regard.

It's platform segments are also nowhere near the quality of top-tier 2D metroidvanias. It does feel like it's designed by people just learning the ropes.

The combat is simple but fine, the bosses are good.

But the art and mood of Hollow Knight is special, this is why people love it. It has one of the better looks of any modern 2D game.

But I agree about it entering some weird overhyped position that it never deserved.
 
Game is complete trash.
The pushback after hits is so dumb.
Artstyle sucks.
Complete waste of time and space.

Its babbys first Metroidvania for most.
Better off just replaying Metroid or SOTN/Aria.
 
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