Hollow Knight

Overview

Hollow Knight, released in 2017 by Team Cherry, drops you into Hallownest, a ruined underground kingdom of insects and heroes. You lead a silent insect warrior through linked caverns, ancient cities, and barren wastes, cutting down tainted creatures and uncovering the kingdom’s past as you move.

It plays as side-scrolling 2D action with precise controls, movement upgrades, and charms that reshape how the knight handles. The world is open-ended rather than linear, so paths, enemies, and secrets can be approached in different orders. A map system, fast travel stations, and a broad cast of NPCs help keep everything readable without flattening the challenge.

The game also includes four free expansions: Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, and Godmaster. Together, they bring in new bosses, quests, characters, enemies, charms, music, and refinements across the base game.

Why play it

• Open-ended exploration through Hallownest
• Classic 2D combat with modern touches
• Charms and abilities change your approach
• Four free expansions add more content

Quick facts

Beginner walkthrough

Start with movement and mapping

Progress in Hollow Knight often hinges on unlocking movement skills, such as an extra mid-air jump, wall jumping, or dash. The game also includes mapping tools, including compasses, quills, maps, and pins, so you can keep track of Hallownest’s many connected areas.

Use Soul and charms carefully

Hitting enemies builds Soul, which can be spent to Focus and restore masks or later fuel offensive spells. Charms are limited by charm notches, so choosing them is part of how you shape the knight’s combat and utility.

Expect detours and recovery runs

If you die, a Shade appears near the place you fell, and you lose your Geo. You must defeat that Shade to recover it and restore your lost Soul capacity. If you die again first, a new Shade replaces the old one.

Use stations to move around

Fast travel arrives through Stag Stations, which connect to a network of tunnels. They unlock over time, giving you a practical way to return to earlier places or move across the kingdom more quickly.

Key characters

• The Knight player character

  The silent insect warrior explores Hallownest, fights with the Nail, and grows stronger through new abilities and charms.

• Hornet major recurring figure

  Hornet appears repeatedly during the journey, and the plot summary identifies her as the daughter of a key figure in Hallownest.

• The Pale King fallen ruler

  The Pale King tried to contain the Infection inside the Temple of the Black Egg before Hallownest collapsed.

• The Dreamers living seals

  These three bugs guard the temple door, and the protagonist must find and kill them to reach the source of the Infection.

Our take

Hollow Knight is a deliberate, structured action-adventure with enough movement, combat, and exploration tools to keep its ruined kingdom interesting. The open world design gives it room to breathe, while charms, bosses, and the free expansions add variety. It is not subtle about making you work for progress, but that is part of the shape of it.

FAQ