Amongst the multitude of video game genres, Metroidvanias have been my least played. Not because I was afraid of them, they just never caught my interest compared to big-name games.

Why play Dead Cells when I could play Marvel’s Spider-Man?

That all changed when I played Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown earlier this year. The game offered a challenging 2D platforming experience, pushing me to be creative with a wide variety of powers. It encouraged backtracking to explore areas previously blocked by obstacles I could now overcome with new abilities.

It challenged my understanding, or misunderstanding, of Metrodivanias, and once I rolled credits, I started looking for similarly built titles to play.

Enter Hollow Knight, arguably considered one of the GOATs of the genre, with a sequel being worked on that seemingly wasn’t near launch (I figured I had time to play and beat the first game, but Team Cherry had other plans).

One of the greatest disservices a gamer can do is go back in time and expect modern enhancements to be found in older titles. Lost Crown was worlds faster and easier to grasp, since you have a map at the game’s start, making it easier to chart a course to where you’re headed and where you’ve been.

I gave up on Hollow Knight right before I found Cornifer, the map seller who’s name I wouldn’t know until I put my pride aside and tried again.

Long aside, I did try again. After putting many hours into Hollow Knight and completely ignoring Ghost of Yotei, I feel comfortable in saying this is a great game. There are nitpicks, of course, knock-backs when you hit an enemy to avoid cheesing them, the “runback” phase of going back to a boss fight are just a few of mine.

But the good mightily outweighs my prior sin of not pushing through to find the map. The art style is delightful, so warm and cozy. The joy of overcoming an obstacle, aka beating that stupid boss after 10 tries, or getting a new ability that makes everything so much easier, far outweighs the gripes I have.

I’ve still got much more to do in-game, but this is an experience like no other. I’m on the hunt for Dreamers; should be fun, right?

I intended for this post to be a review, but how can I review a game I haven’t rolled credits on… I mean, I could, but that feels a little disingenuous. So, here are some quick thoughts instead.

The journey to become the Hollow Knight continues.