Hollow Knight
2017 · Team Cherry · 27h to beat · our rating 90
Has it aged?Why ↓
A hand-drawn ruin that keeps opening downward long after you assume you've seen it all. Buy it for the price of a sandwich; lose a fortnight.
Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.
The publisher’s description, from its Steam store page.
What it looks like
the trailer, then the store's own shots
The verdict
Probably the largest amount of good game anyone has ever sold for this little. It withholds a map, marks nothing for you, and trusts you to remember where you have been — which is exactly why its world stays in your head years later. The price has been a running joke since 2017.
90our score
Play it if
Anyone who wants to get lost somewhere and slowly build a mental map, and anyone who likes difficulty that teaches rather than punishes.
Skip it if
Anyone who needs waypoints. It is deliberately obscure about where to go, and the fast travel takes a long while to open up.
Common questions
- Is Hollow Knight too hard?
- It is demanding but fair, and generous with checkpoints once you learn to bank progress at benches. The optional late content is much harder than the main path.
- How long is Hollow Knight?
- Around twenty-seven hours for the main route, and well over forty for everything.
- Should I wait for Silksong?
- No. This one is complete, and cheap, and stands entirely on its own.
What everyone else said
we link, we don't reprint- Rock Paper Shotgun
A solid metroidvania that brings little original to the genre
John Walker
Has it aged?
How does it hold up today? Based on recent reviews, how opinions have changed since launch, player activity and updates.
% positive each month, last 4 years.
Reviews via Steam ↗Peak: 51k in Sept 2025.
Player counts via SteamCharts ↗As well liked as at launch.
Updated within the last year, so still looked after.