![]() The general pace of Hollow Knight is brisk-it’s an exploration action game, which demands constant movement-but measured. I’m not sure I’d rank it as Hollow Knight ’s best fight, but it’s certainly up there. The difficulty is balanced, the length is good, and the pace is excellent. The changes in space are great for the Soul mechanic, where striking enemies fills a reserve of magic you can spend to either heal or fire a powerful blast. The balls bounce around the stage, as does he at points, which sets up the game’s mix of precise platforming and Souls -like dueling. He’s a fairly standard one at that he throws fecal balls at you, swims through the mass of waste that forms the arena’s floor, and gets a quick boost of power after losing half his health. The Dung Defender is the other main boss of the Waterways. The Waterways is a horror level, no bones about it. These lower sections get more and more removed from that they are primordial, stink of death, seem barely alive, and what is alive is ugly and angry and mean. You come to a kingdom that’s dead, realize it’s merely dying, and fall in love with the joyous life that’s there. The beginning of Hollow Knight had some of this, but it was easier to miss as you came across the gothic City of Tears, the soft foliage of Greenpath, and zany sidekicks like Cornifer the mapmaker. If you squint, you can just make out the other severed half of the Flukemon that’s chasing me. And like the other deep areas, it eschews the game’s haunting yet whimsical score for a spooky, discordant ambience. Parts of it are so dark that you need a lantern, one of the most expensive items in the game, just to explore safely. Their “marm,” an optional boss, is obscene. The breathing noise they wheeze makes your heart palpitate. The main enemies are these hideous flukeworms that chase you relentlessly, and their bodies split into equally hideous new monsters when you kill them. The Waterways are Hollow Knight ’s take on the loathed sewer level, and they’re about as disgusting of a sewer level as you’re likely to find. So, naturally, we need to follow that up with the grotesque. ![]() No matter what, though, you’ve seen grand architecture, stunning beauty, and a sense of community by the time you take the plunge. It’s possible to hit Deepnest, which alongside the Waterways and Ancient Basin forms the nasty underbelly of Hallownest, first, too. Usually, you’ll have first scaled the glamorous Crystal Peak, found the plot and critical path in the Resting Grounds, and returned to the Howling Cliffs where the game started. ![]() You can technically get there early-it has two entrances, the first of which needs a key you can find right as you leave the city-but that’s unlikely for a first-timer. It’s right under the gorgeous, waterlogged City of Tears, where the nonlinearity really opens up. You’ll probably reach the Royal Waterways pretty late into a casual run, maybe over the halfway point. And the brightest, most unexpected one of all happens to shine brightly in one of the worst, most deeply horrific places. Much like Dark Souls or Burton’s admittedly few better movies, there’s a score of wacky, lovable side characters who brighten the place up. And it’s all buoyed by this Tim Burton tone that finds sweetness within the dirt and darkness. It’s dark, visually speaking, but there’s always a wealth of color and shade to guide your way. Hallownest is a dark world, punishment and danger lurk around every corner, and it’s filled with truly scary enemies, but that’s not all it is. There’s a constant aura of oppression and threat about, only fended off by precise platforming and tactile combat.Īll of this sounds as though Hollow Knight is a painfully dark and spooky game, when that’s not at all the case. The setting-a deathly kingdom of bugs that’s falling under the sway of a great poison-is ripped straight from those games. Its sharp and precise combat against large knights evokes Dark Souls. It’s an exploration action game, the kind of maze-like adventure that Metroid and Castlevania pioneered. There are a lot of games that feel like Hollow Knight. Several show technical polish, while others tell stories through their fights. Many of these are brilliant, some of them poor. ![]() In Big Baddies Breakdown, Wolfman Jew analyzes all sorts of boss fights across the games industry. Big Baddies Breakdown: Dung Defender (Hollow Knight)
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