Hollow Knight Review 2026: Should You Buy It?

What is Hollow Knight?

Hollow Knight is a masterfully crafted action-adventure game that belongs firmly within the 'Metroidvania' genre. Developed by the small, Adelaide-based studio Team Cherry, it first launched in 2017 to immediate critical acclaim. The game casts you as a diminutive, silent knight, venturing into the vast, ruined insect kingdom of Hallownest. The premise is one of melancholic exploration: a once-great civilisation lies in decay, its citizens infected by a mysterious, mind-controlling plague. Your journey is to uncover the secrets of this downfall, piece together your own purpose, and confront the source of the corruption. It is a game defined by its atmospheric world-building, challenging combat, and a profound sense of discovery, where every new path and hidden chamber feels like a meaningful revelation.

Gameplay

In our view, the gameplay of Hollow Knight is a near-perfect synthesis of precise platforming, demanding combat, and non-linear exploration. At its core, it feels exceptionally tight and responsive. Your knight moves with a satisfying weight, and the basic actions—jumping, attacking with your nail (a needle-like sword), and later dashing—are immediately intuitive. The genius lies in how these elements are layered. The learning curve is steep but fair. Early areas teach you the fundamentals, but Hallownest quickly becomes a labyrinth of branching paths, locked gates, and perilous environmental hazards.

The game’s progression is gated by abilities, a hallmark of the genre. Discovering a new power, such as the Mantis Claw for wall-jumping or the Monarch Wings for a double jump, is thrilling because it recontextualises the entire map. Previously inaccessible ledges become reachable, opening up vast new zones to explore. This loop of discovery is incredibly compelling. Combat evolves from simple slashes to a nuanced dance. You learn to incorporate spells, which consume Soul gathered from hitting enemies, and later, powerful 'Nail Arts' charged attacks. Boss fights are a major highlight, serving as skill checks that are punishing but ultimately conquerable through pattern recognition and perseverance. The game does not hold your hand; mapping the world requires purchasing maps from a friendly cartographer, and even then, you must fill in the details yourself. This creates a genuine, and at times daunting, sense of being a true explorer in a hostile, living world.

Who is Hollow Knight for?

Hollow Knight is unequivocally for players who relish a challenge and the satisfaction of hard-won mastery. It is a hardcore, single-player experience that demands patience and observation. While its charming art might suggest accessibility, its difficulty—particularly in its optional late-game content—is formidable. It will deeply satisfy fans of classic, challenging action games and meticulous exploration.

If you enjoyed the interconnected world and ability-gated progression of games like Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Hollow Knight is an essential play. It also shares DNA with the atmospheric storytelling and brutal difficulty of Dark Souls, though translated into a 2D plane. It is not ideally suited for the casual player seeking a straightforward, guided narrative experience. Those who become frustrated by retracing steps, dying to tough bosses, or navigating without explicit objective markers may find it overwhelming. However, for those willing to immerse themselves in its rules and rhythms, it offers one of the most rewarding and complete adventures in modern gaming.

Graphics and performance

Hollow Knight’s visual style is a monumental achievement in hand-drawn 2D art. The world is rendered in a beautiful, sombre palette of greys, blues, and earthy tones, punctuated by bursts of eerie luminescence in fungal groves or crystalline caverns. The animation is fluid and full of character, from the knight’s determined slashes to the quirky, often tragic movements of the bugs they encounter. Each of the game’s distinct regions—from the rainy, oppressive Forgotten Crossroads to the elegant, deadly City of Tears—has a unique and unforgettable aesthetic that reinforces the lore and mood.

On a technical level, the game runs exceptionally well across platforms. On PC, it is remarkably undemanding, capable of running on modest hardware at a flawless 60 frames per second, which is crucial for its precise platforming and combat. We encountered no notable bugs or performance hitches during our playthrough. The art direction does the heavy lifting, proving that timeless, expressive design trumps raw graphical power.

Value for money

In terms of value, Hollow Knight is arguably one of the most generous offerings in gaming. A single, thorough playthrough to see the standard ending can easily take 25-35 hours. However, that merely scratches the surface. The game is packed with substantial, free post-launch content, including new boss fights, entire new areas, additional story beats, and a brutally difficult bonus game mode. For completionists aiming to achieve 112% game completion, defeat every optional boss, and conquer the infamous 'Pantheons', well over 60 hours of gameplay is a realistic expectation.

Given its modest asking price, the density and quality of the experience are staggering. You are paying for a vast, hand-crafted world with an astonishing amount of meaningful content. In our view, it represents not just good value, but exceptional value, offering more depth and playtime than many full-priced AAA titles.

Verdict

Hollow Knight is a modern classic and a pinnacle of the Metroidvania genre. Team Cherry has crafted a world that is as deep in lore as it is vast in scope, married to gameplay that is consistently challenging, precise, and rewarding. Its stunning hand-drawn art and melancholic score create an atmosphere that is utterly absorbing.

We wholeheartedly recommend Hollow Knight to any player with a taste for exploration, challenge, and atmospheric world-building. It is a must-play for fans of games like Dark Souls, Ori and the Blind Forest, or Super Metroid. However, its deliberate pace, high difficulty ceiling, and hands-off approach to guidance mean it may not resonate with those who prefer linear, narrative-driven experiences or who have a low tolerance for repeated failure. For everyone else, the descent into Hallownest is an unforgettable journey, and an absolute masterpiece of indie game development.