Liam — Where do I start? Hollow Knight is my all-time favorite game (But Silksong might beat it), so I’ll try not to be too biased in this review, but just to preface: This review is an attempt at objectivity, but there will be bias involved, which I will try to point out whenever necessary. With that out of the way; Hollow Knight. Released in 2017 by Team Cherry, Hollow Knight is widely regarded as one of the best Metroidvanias. Team Cherry, consisting of Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine. They are set in Melbourne, Australia and have made 2 games: Hollow Knight, and Hollow Knight: Silksong. Despite a lackluster amount of projects, Team Cherry perfectly embodies quality over quantity. Back to HK though (I love this game so much, I could rant about the game for pretty much a full 24 hours). The game is difficult to talk about without sectioning the review, so here are the separate sections: Music, Story, and Gameplay. Starting with music, it is simply phenomenal. Composed by Christopher Larkin, the soundtrack perfectly captures the atmosphere of the game. Some tracks feel so somber and sad, perfectly mimicking the state of Hallownest (more on this in story). Some tracks, like Fungal Wastes and Greenpath, feel so quirky and fun that you can’t help but love them, and the areas associated with them. Some tracks, like City of Tears, are so calming I fall asleep to them. But the boss music is where the tracks really shine. Without any spoilers, there are a couple tracks that are so epic and awesome, the boss feels so grand and important, even if it is an optional boss that some players may never encounter. And, again, no spoilers, but one track in this game, that when combined with the story surrounding it and the gameplay, genuinely made me cry. It just is so beautiful. I don’t have much more to say on music. I know next to nothing about how music works, so ask someone else for more info on the soundtrack. I recommend Davi Vasc’s playlist on the soundtrack. Next, story. Unfortunately, the story is a bit hard to talk about without getting into spoilers, but I’ll do my best. Overall, the story is about the little guy you play as going on a quest to save a dead kingdom from complete ruin. Those are pretty much the only specific details I can provide. But in general, the story is very good. It is told in very cryptic messages you will find by exploring. If you don’t explore the map enough, the story might make no sense to you. But this is a Metroidvania! This is a genre built on exploring every single inch of the map, actively trying to find secrets, so it is your fault if you don’t find the lore. The game starts with a cryptic poem that will eventually be explained later. This is what base the game stands upon. It gives you little hints, which leave you confused, but then you find something else a little later, and you say “Oh, that’s what that means!”. It is very rewarding to finally connect a dot that has been left stranded for a while. But while the over-arching story is what draws you in, it is the smaller side characters’ stories that keep you playing. All of the small side characters are so charming and fun it keeps you wanting to know more, and when something tragic happens, you really do feel sad. All those silly, sad, and small little stories make the world feel alive, as if you were transported into the game. Don’t worry, the side stories don’t overshadow the main story to the point of being un-interesting. The main story still remains interesting throughout the game.