So, I opened my map and was almost immediately blindsided by a vengefly, little screeching fliers that infest the shallow ruin levels. In fact, I was so focused on my feet that I didn’t realize how far off course I was, or if I was even taking the right course. I set out for a fourth time stridently watching the shadows and picking every leap with care. It was on my third trek back that I started to wonder if that earlier bravado was dooming me. The next time, I was ready for the shifting monster but not the spiky wall beyond. She handed me another of these alleged rare blooms, muttered something about having hope, if not confidence, and urged me onward. I trotted back to the Grey Mourner, who was obviously upset her messenger failed so utterly and immediately. In the very next room, I dashed into a disease-riddled enemy who had been lurking in the darkness of the catacombs. I’d completed the Path of Pain by this point in my playthrough and was riding on a sizable proud cloud. So, it was a test of avoidance? No problem. Attempting to travel via “those jolting transit beasts” or trams will destroy it, as will taking damage. This flower is beyond precious and very delicate. I even had a general idea of where this daughter’s grave was. Combined, methods for traversing the underground kingdom were always relatively accessible. At this point I had mapped the majority of Hallownest and its surrounds, which included access to numerous Stag Stations (think living taxi services) and a derelict but still serviceable tram. The daughter to a traitor king who was cast out and exiled to the verdant wilds far beyond civilization, their romance died before taking root.Įasy, I thought. Deliver this flower to the grave of my love, she said. When the Knight approached her, she saw a chance for hope. Draped in what must have once been brilliant white robes, she bent low beneath the weight of a love long lost. Inside a darkened structure behind the crumbling walls of Hallownest’s Resting Grounds, the Grey Mourner held vigil. Sure, your current trials are tough, but you know it’s in service to something greater.īut Hollow Knight had another kind of challenge, less assuming at first. You know your path will eventually lead you to the ever present reminder of what lies ahead. These challenges are important landmarks on the road to mastery – raw checks of skill and endurance that can be discovered, attempted and left for later if players find their mettle can’t yet withstand the pounding. The rest of of the game pales in comparison to the wringer you just went through, and your confidence couldn’t be higher. Completing them might reward a cool cutscene, bit of lore, or the simple satisfaction of knowing you surmounted the worst a game could throw your direction.
![palace grounds hollow knight palace grounds hollow knight](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hollow_knight_full_cover_art.jpg)
While not always optional, these sections can test the limits of players’ ability and patience.
![palace grounds hollow knight palace grounds hollow knight](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/faqs/39/76039-188.png)
This is typical fare for the Metroidvania genre: Ori and the Blind Forest had the Ginsu Tree and Mount Horu. The home of the fallen kingdom’s monarch was already festooned with spikes and saws and deadly foes, but the Path of Pain took things to a sadistic level by thrusting the player through a nightmarish stretch of tunnels and passages rarely bookended by safe ledges where the player could breath, relax, and shake out their white-knuckle grip on the controller. Such was the Path of Pain, tucked away behind a hidden wall in Hollow Knight’s White Palace. One thing I keep chewing, more than the stellar atmosphere or boss battles that often left me apoplectic, is my experience with two specific sections that forced me to reckon with everything I had learned so far.Ī secret path in a endgame area allowed access to the game’s most unforgiving gauntlet of platforming challenges that can only be overcome by a combination of determination, exhaustive use of abilities, and raw time. I recently finished Hollow Knight, Team Cherry’s breakout game officially released in 2017 (but finding new critical and commercial success thanks to a Switch port), to a point where I feel comfortable putting it down and digesting my thoughts. This piece contains spoilers for Hollow Knight Then an unsuspecting sidequest put all his skills to the test. Our reporter Chase thought he’d mastered Team Cherry’s atmospheric Metrovania adventure.