Hollow Knight

Overview

{{For|the [[Bosses (Hollow Knight)|boss]] of the same name|the Hollow Knight}}

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{{Infobox Game
|title1 = <i>Hollow Knight</i>
|image1 = HK first cover art.png
|developers = [[Team Cherry]]<br/>
Shark Jump <sup>(<i>[[Voidheart Edition]]</i>)</sup>
|music = Christopher Larkin
|platform = Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X<nowiki>|</nowiki>S
|release date = February 24th, 2017 <sup>(Windows)</sup><br/>April 11th, 2017 <sup>(macOS, Linux)</sup><br/>June 12th, 2018 <sup>(Nintendo Switch)</sup><br/>September 25th, 2018 <sup>(PlayStation 4, Xbox One)</sup><br>February 5, 2026 <sup>(Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X<nowiki>|</nowiki>S)</sup>
|version = 
[[Updates (Hollow Knight)#1.5.12620|1.5.12620]]
}}

{{Quote
|Beneath the fading town of Dirtmouth sleeps a vast, ancient kingdom. Many are drawn beneath the surface, searching for riches, or glory, or answers to old secrets.
As the enigmatic Knight, you'll traverse the depths, unravel its mysteries and conquer its evils.
}}

Hollow Knight is a 2D side-scrolling action adventure video game in the Metroidvania style. It was developed by Team Cherry and first released for Microsoft Windows on February 24th, 2017, followed by macOS and Linux. It was ported to the Nintendo Switch on June 12th, 2018 by Shark Jump Studios, and later on September 25th, 2018 as Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It received an updated version with graphical enhancements for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on February 5th, 2026, advertised as Hollow Knight: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.

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Gameplay

The Knight can explore the large interconnected world of Hallownest using a variety of movement and combat techniques. In classic Metroidvania style, there are areas of the world that the Knight cannot access until they obtain particular Items or Abilities. Maps for each area must be bought from a shopkeeper generally hidden somewhere in that area, and the Knight can also buy upgrades that place markers on the map or allow them to reveal parts of the map as they explore. Many areas have a 'boss' enemy that the Knight must defeat in order to continue, and have a number of sub-bosses that drop useful rewards or upgrades.

Defeated enemies drop Geo, a currency that the Knight can use to buy items from shopkeepers. If the Knight is killed, they respawn at the last place they rested and lose all their Geo. They must then return to their place of death and defeat their Shade in order to recover the currency. The Knight also gains SOUL by attacking enemies, which they can then spend to recover lost health or activate special abilities. Health can also be recovered at Hot Springs, which are located around the world, or by resting at a Bench.

Development

The game was first announced through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that ran from November 19th, 2014 until December 19th, 2014, raising $58,893 AUD. Free additional content and updates were added over the two years following the initial release. Some of the leftover backers rewards as well as the 2nd player character goal were fulfilled in the game's sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, with more set to appear in its expansions.

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Reception

The game was well-received, with the PC version having a score of 87/100 on reviews aggregation website Metacritic, and the Nintendo Switch version having a score of 90/100.

Tom Marks, writing at PC Gamer described the game as "the most beautiful hand drawn game [he'd] ever played". Jed Whitaker of Destructoid gave the game a 10/10, stating: "Truly a masterpiece of gaming if there ever was one, and certainly art worthy of being in a museum." Some reviewers were critical of the game's lack of innovation in certain areas, such as Metro GameCentral, who said: "Gorgeously presented and cleverly designed, this impressively realised Metroidvania excels in every area except originality."

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Credits

* A game by * Team Cherry

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* Ari Gibson William Pellen

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* Technical Director * David Kazi

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* Sound & Music by * Christopher Larkin

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* Marketing & Public Relations * Matthew 'Leth' Griffin

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* Systems & Tools Programming * David Kazi

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* Additional Programming * Jack Vine

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* Additional Coding Tools * David Lancaster * Michael Jenkins

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* Additional Environment Dressing * Tyler Bartley * Nathan Elmer

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* Additional Character Voices * Makoto Koji * Tyler Bartley * Hari Dimitriou * Matthew Griffin * Hannah Murdoch * Bill Northcott * Zara Pellen * Victoria Roberts * Cassandra "Friskk" Reyna * Not Shalulu

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* Vocals - City of Tears * Amelia Jones

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* Viola * Tim Cheel

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* Additional Atmos * Tim Whitt

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* Localisation Lead * Matthew Griffin

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* Translation - French * Not Shalulu

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* Translation - Russian * Alexander Preymak

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* Additional Translation - Russian * Danila Evstifeev * Andrey Torbin * Alexandra "Alphyna" Golubeva

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* Translation - Chinese * Yun Wei 韦昀 * Ruiyuan Li 李锐媛 * Xuan Su 玄素 * Kust 卡斯特 * Wesley King 王凯 * Steven Sun 孙天乐

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* Translation - Italian * Federica Gaeta * Marco Bortoluzzi * Vecna

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* Japanese Localisation * Ryu Ito

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* Japanese Publishing Support * Kakehashi Games

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* Translation - Brazilian Portuguese * Lucas "Luska" Fernandes * Vinícius "Viniuau" José * Jonas Breda "Poteiga!" * Luiz Fernando S. M. Maia * Guilherme Antonio Canani * Vinícius de Medeiros Miguel

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* Additional Translation - German * Tobias Gut * Alessandro Raffaele Addamo * Daniel Spiekermann * Mercedita

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* Additional Translation - Spanish * Daniel Ruiz "TheBrightKing"

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* Additional Translation - Korean * Junho Basil Won

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* Testing Lead * Matthew Griffin

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* Game Testers * Hari Dimitriou Ayako Hibino * Tyler Bartley Ben Newhouse * Lili Carlyle Pirate-Rob * Joshua Clark Unborn_Pho3nix * Andrew Cook Kyle Pulver * Shannon Cross Greg Smith * Vero "Embraced" Reichert Luke Souris * Rohan Fraser Matthew White * Nassim "Simo" Gebrail Kein Zantezuken * Tobias Gut Benjamin Zarb

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* Game Testers - Mac * David Keen * Marcus Herrick * Jonathan Penney * Wayne Psaila

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* Shark Jump Studios * Matt Le Krupa * James Pearse * Tom Lee * Brad Wesson

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* Porting Lead - Shark Jump * Matthew Le Krupa

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* Testing Lead - Shark Jump * James Pearse

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* Indie Fund * Jeffery Rosen * John Graham * Ben Newhouse * Kyle Pulver * Ron Theis

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* Figurine Sculptor * David Díaz Patrón

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* Additional Enemy Behaviour * Pat Sigley

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* Interns * James Gillham * James Ross McNabb

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* Special Thanks Music * Jeff Van Dyck * Russel Larkin * Mitchell Larkin * Fabian Malabello * Andriana Tran * Angelo Valdiva

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* Special Thanks * Ludum Dare * Warren Fenn * Rohan Fraser * Ben Gibson * Makoto Koji * Trent Kusters * Morgan Jaffit * Rod Jago * Tim Mcburnie * John Millard * Jason Pamment * Zara Pellen * Victoria Roberts * Lilly Sim * Nicola Stark * Sharyn Stone * Steven Sun * Matt Trobbiani * Dan Treble * Peter Yong * Jenni Vigaud * Chris Wright

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* Extra Special Thanks to * 2158 Backers * & Kickstarter

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Gallery

{{Main|Hollow Knight/Gallery}}

Trivia

* While making Hollow Knight, Team Cherry's inspirations were games such as Zelda II, Faxanadu, Super Metroid, and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.

<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/6rvds8/we_are_team_cherry_the_developers_of_hollow/dl85887/ Team Cherry AMA comment]</ref>

* The model for movement in Hollow Knight was the Mega Man and Mega Man X series.

<ref>[https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/10/16/the-making-of-hollow-knight The Making Of Hollow Knight]</ref>

{{Refs}}

{{HK Nav Releases}}

Hollow Knight (juego) Hollow Knight (jeu vidéo) Hollow Knight Hollow Knight (gra) Hollow Knight Hollow Knight Hollow Knight 空洞骑士 (游戏)

[[Category:Hollow Knight| ]]