The expansive metroidvania with hand-drawn animations got a little bit bigger. The second of the slated free content updates dropped just in time for Halloween.
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Hollow Knight [Official Site] is one of my favorite releases of this year. Players take control of a lone bug and explore the ruins of a forgotten kingdom still full of dangerous creatures and treasures. It can be a slightly challenging experience but also a really rewarding one and it's a game where a playthrough can easily be over 20 hours.
The developer, Team Cherry, is committed to adding new content for free to the game and earlier this year released the first content update. This added new quest, new areas to explore and other goodies. This second content update, called The Grimm Troupe, similarly adds new enemies, music, a quest and generally more to enjoy. As with the previous content update, it can be tackled at whatever point of the main adventure players want.
We had to wait a few days to get the latest update on Linux as the developer was busy ironing out bugs (the software kind!) before pushing the update to other platforms. Just as well as the patch notes show that a lot of annoyances have been fixed.
A third and final free content pack is set to come at some point in the future, though Team Cherry is still mum about specifics like theme and release date. If it’s anything like these first two packs, it’ll be well worth waiting for.
You can grab Hollow Knight on Steam, the Humble Store or GOG. It’s currently discounted for the Halloween sales. You can read Liam’s thoughts on the game as well; this is a game that’s easy to recommend to all fans of metroidvanias and platformers.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Sir_Diealot Oct 31, 2017
Quoting: Anjune“Slightly challenging”... “20 hours”...
If only. If only...
Yeah, I gave up on this title to be honest. Two things kill it, despite the awesome gameplay. First, I hate not having a map for an area, especially in a spacially confusing game like this where a lot of the corridor areas are very similar. Two, the insane rareness of the benches (savepoints).
There were also long periods where I was like "what now?". So, armed with a new ability, you have to tediously check every old area, wondering if you can now get across, up, or through whatever inaccessible places you've previously encountered. Which would be cool if the world weren't so vast, the stagroads so few and the benches just as rare.
It became a chore. Such a cracking mechanic too.
Salt and Sanctuary, on the other hand... well, some of the same criticism applies, I suppose, but at least they put a temple practically right next to each boss fight. I still have nightmares about defeating the Mantis Lords in Hollow Knight - it was like a five minute journey to the arena each time I died and that fight was insanely tough.
no_information_here Oct 31, 2017
Quoting: scaineYeah, I gave up on this title to be honest.
That is too bad. I have over 70 hours clocked and I haven't even gone back to play the updates yet. Once I got used to the save point and map system, it didn't bother me anymore. I could see it might punish the impatient, though.
I did hear they adjusted the fast-travel system with one of the updates, but I haven't gone back to try it yet.
Salt & Sanctuary is another absolutely brilliant game, but Hollow Knight stands right beside it in terms of quality story and gameplay.
(*I thought it was 90+, but now it shows 70+)
Quoting: no_information_hereI love this game! Can't wait to see what the third update will bring.
Quoting: scaineYeah, I gave up on this title to be honest.
That is too bad. <snip>
Aw, nah. I've given the wrong impression I think - I've mostly enjoyed my near-30 hours in the game. I don't regret buying it, at all.
But compared to S&S (where I have nearly 70 hours with two play-throughs), I suppose the difference is that starting off Hollow Knight from scratch again would be punishing and tedious, but starting a new character in S&S is exciting. HN is more of a metroidvania, while S&S has that character building element that really differentiates it. For me, anyway!
no_information_here Nov 2, 2017
Quoting: Anjune-- but after 70+* hours in the game I feel stuck.
Quoting: scaineAw, nah. I've given the wrong impression I think - I've mostly enjoyed my near-30 hours in the game. I don't regret buying it, at all.
You both have my respect -- 70 and 30 hours are plenty to give a game a good chance. Sometimes things just don't click, and that is a personal thing. I guess the patient exploration and skill building for bosses appealed to me more. The only remaining thing I wanted to complete in the original game is the colosseum's third trial, but it was just a bit too brutal. I was fine as it was completely optional.
I do agree that S&S is a brilliant game. The soulsvania niche of games is very cool, I think. A lot of careful thought went into both games. Not really a "souls"-inspired game, but Axiom Verge is another one that had an impressively crafted world.
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Oh and the name doesn't mean anything but coincidentally could be pronounced as "Buttery" which suits me just fine.
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