Team Cherry's Hollow Knight has become one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed indie games of the 2010s. On the surface, Hollow Knight is a straightforward Metroidvania platformer with players navigating a nameless knight through an ancient kingdom. However, much of its success can be attributed to its impeccable world design, gorgeous hand-drawn artstyle, and rich lore.
While many Metroidvanias have a heavy emphasis on exploration, Hollow Knight is able to inspire a sense of awe in its players as they traverse through the majestic world. Every small detail in the lore and narrative are tightly interconnected with its gameplay and progression systems. Hollow Knight succeeds because its intricate world design is linked with the narrative, and they work together to elevate the experience.
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One of the first things that Hollow Knight players will notice is how memorable and distinct the artstyle is. The nameless knight has a strong outline and a playful, blank face that's reminiscent of cartoon characters. Much of the enemies and NPCs that appear in the game are also similarly striking against the atmospheric backgrounds. With recurring features such as large eyes or simple antennae, Hollow Knight characters give players a strong sense of familiarity. While the characters in Hollow Knight favor simplicity, the world design is quite complex, and this slowly draws players in.
The gigantic world of Hollow Knight is interconnected with a wide variety of areas from overgrown wilds to ruined cities to dark caverns. Each of these new areas feature color scheme changes, different environmental details, and even lighting effects to punctuate the atmosphere that players immerse themselves in. The stark contrast between the cute, light feel of the characters and the dark, gloomy world design draws players in and encourages them to delve further into the underground world. As the nameless knight traverses the world, the hand-drawn backgrounds evoke senses of both wonder and urgency as the color palette shifts and transforms.
Rather than having the art serve as static backgrounds for exploration, all of Hollow Knight's areas feel alive and ever-evolving along with the player progression. Since each area features a distinct and recognizable design, players will also notice these subtle shifts as they backtrack through the world. The visual design of Hollow Knight doesn't just exist as an afterthought to gameplay, they depend on each other to immerse players into its world.
Another key component of Hollow Knight's success is its richly detailed lore. Beyond just the scope of the story, the artstyle and design encourage players to discover as much as they can about the world around them. To accomplish this, Hollow Knight is purposely vague and turns the nameless knight into a silent protagonist. Although this decision eventually serves a narrative purpose, it also allows NPCs to project their feelings and fears onto the player allowing them to experience the world from unique perspectives.
Moreover, much of the side narratives and lore are only revealed through deeper exploration. Lore can be locked behind environmental interactions such as monuments or the Hunter's Journal, a compendium of information about the enemies encountered. Players cannot merely depend on cutscenes in Hollow Knight to discover information, they must also actively seek it out themselves. As a result, the mystique of the world goes hand-in-hand with Hollow Knight's emphasis on exploration and discovery.
Hollow Knight manages to make its world design serve an important purpose in both the narrative and lore of the game. Though it isn't the first indie game to do so, Hollow Knight sets a new bar for other games and developers to emulate. It's rare for players to experience a game that connects its world design so tightly together with the gameplay mechanics. Neither component feels complete without the other and this is why Hollow Knight has become renowned for its sense of wonder and adventure that it instills in players.
Hollow Knight is currently available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.