Every Hollow Knight Area RANKED

Every area in Hollow Knight is unique with its own music, upgrades, aesthetics, and bosses that help them stand apart from one another, but which is best? In this video, we will take a look at each to see what they bring to the table in an attempt to answer that question. But please let me know what you think!
What is the best area in Hollow Knight? Do you agree with my order or did I not give your favorite section enough love? Drop a comment and let me know!
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0:00 Intro
1:05 15
3:14 14
4:53 13
6:32 12
8:18 11
10:01 10
11:51 9
14:04 8
15:27 7
17:26 6
19:17 5
21:37 4
23:47 3
25:55 2
28:52 1
#hollowknight #indiegame #silksong

[@AtomBacon]

The crystal peaks hold a special place in my heart. In my first run I failed to find the entrance to Fungal Wastes from Greenpath, and thought crystal peaks was the only way forward. After spending an hour or so grinding geo on a pair of moss knights I bought the lantern and set forth. Subsequently I didn't know that I had gotten the dream nail WAY sooner than I was supposed to, and it led to the most brutal difficulty spike in the game, fighting Soul Tyrant without a single nail upgrade (I didn't even know nail upgrades were even a thing)

[@MrDrBoi]

Wow, I'm sure nothing else felt as difficult as beating Soul Tyrant like that. That's pretty impressive.

[@AtomBacon]

@@MrDrBoi I was so close to beating it, and couldn't make it to the basement phase without fail after a while, but his multi-clone rush attack always overwhelmed me. I eventually gave up and came back stronger, but I still consider getting past the first phase in that state an achievement as is.

[@AtomBacon]

@@MrDrBoi Sadly the inverse of this routing was that by the time my dumb ass finally found the fingal wastes the Mantis Lords were a pushover and I had already done most of deepnest via the upper entrance so they were super anticlimactic.

[@Parafusion69]

My favorite game of all time.

[@MrDrBoi]

It creeps up my list with each new playthrough.

[@mother_brightmoon4833]

I agree. Definitely one of the best games I've played; if not *THE* best.

[@gameplayboy5686]

100%

[@George-sn3bt]

Yep that checks out

[@slugintub2836]

I dont personally agree but i love it too and respect your pick

[@heyguysitsmepete]

Incredibly professional, well made, and entertaining video. You did a really great job with it. I hope your channel starts getting the recognition it deserves!

[@MrDrBoi]

Thank you, appreciate the kind words!

[@fsmjolnir]

@@MrDrBoi I agree, im slowly going through all your videos and this is top-tier quality content, keep it up, liked and subbed

[@A_nerd679]

Same

[@Cerby9]

Somewhat surprised you didn't bring up the giant spider boss in the beta. While I understand why they didn't add it in the end, Nosk isn't enough of a payoff to the horrors of the Deepnest imo, and I wish there was some giant horrifying monster lurking around near the end.

[@MrDrBoi]

I actually didn't know about that, or at least I don't remember hearing about that. Definitely a good point though, surprised Deepenest didn't have a scarier boss.

[@sledgen.]

back in my first playthrough a few months ago, I was always fascinated with hollow knight's areas and secrets, and how they made a 2D game so immersive. Love ranking videos like this!

[@MrDrBoi]

Thanks and have to agree, it's such an easy world to get lost in!

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

What I like about Crystal Peak is that it has a lot more platforming than any area except white palace, but unlike white palace it's still a pretty open area and it's relatively simple so you can smoothly traverse it without having to focus on what you're doing too much. I hope that this is how Silksong's areas will be.

[@tannereustace]

Love how in-depth you talked about each area! When people make these kinds of videos they often neglect to talk about the good aspects of the items that are ranked towards the bottom or the bad aspects of the items ranked towards the top, but you were very thorough :)

[@MrDrBoi]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed :)

[@nexneedsanewvessel7571]

great video! imo the forgotten crossroads are easily forgotten *because* theyre a great starter area. since it's intentionally made to be tame and easy on the palette of new players, nothing stands out about it. there's lots of minor tests, minor bosses, kind characters, and more just so you can run around and get accustomed to the rules of the game. i don't think it's *meant* to be memorable and i don't think it's *meant* to be a standalone area. it's a sick tutorial with lore!

[@ubnubmaster]

Such a great video man keep up the great work!

[@MrDrBoi]

Thanks!!

[@dusan578]

Underrated KZbinr, Great video .

[@MrDrBoi]

Thank you!!

[@2ganons69ing2]

Definitely happy to see my favorite area in the top spot. Great video!

[@MrDrBoi]

Thanks!

[@Juxyphlux]

Great vid

[@MrDrBoi]

Thank you!

[@jjs3755]

Great video, as always. In my opinion, green path and fungal waste are my top 2 of hollow knight. While City of tears has beautiful music and challenging enemies, nothing comes close with the ambience of green path, its music and the fact that it is the area where HK expands on the lore and on its mechanics to the point you start to fall in love with the game and its aesthetics. Fungal waste has my personal favorite power up, which is the wall jump, that reminds me of megaman x (my favorite game). Nevertheless, I agree with all your ranking. What a great game. Still waiting eagerly for Silk song and all that Team Cherry has on the bag. (Sorry for the broken english).

[@MrDrBoi]

I kind of glossed over it, but getting the wall jump is probably my favorite moment in Hollow Knight. The way it opens up the game and transforms how you view the world is honestly magical.

[@jamesbrincefield9879]

My grandchildren are going to be so excited when Silksong finally launches!

[@OrangeStaringCat]

Crystal peak that low? Imo it is very underrated. My personal list would be: 15: Howling Cliffs 14: The Hive 13: Resting Grounds 12: Fog Canyon 11: Royal Waterways 10: Forgotten Crossroads 9: Dirtmouth 8: Kingdom’s Edge 7: Ancient Basin 6: Crystal Peak 5: Queens Gardens 4: Deepnest 3: Greenpath 2: Fungal Wastes 1: City of Tears My favorite things about Crystal peak is the ambience and the aesthetic. It really looks like a busy mine and the music fits well. When you are in a calmer area the music really suits well with the calmer outskirts of the mine Lmk what you think about it

[@Flynnisthename]

Hey I know this didn’t get as many views as the LOZ videos, but I’d love to see more hollow knight videos from you (:

[@MrDrBoi]

Thanks, I'm sure I'll do more HK content in the future!

[@bluevines1303]

I love the city of tears not only dose rain and snow jsut put me in a trance but the music puts me in a gnuine state of peace not only that but the history you feel there is beyond compare onky rivailed by the forgotten crossroads and the white palace witch is also my second favorite with its music the white palace music makes me cry everytime i hear it i dont know why the city of tears and the white palace is what made hollow knight to me

[@BramoStork]

Really good video

[@MrDrBoi]

Thank you!!

[@chaseb.4811]

I was surprised when I saw the likes and views on this video. Figured this level of content would have hundreds of thousands of views. Keep up the good work

[@MrDrBoi]

Thanks so much!

[@Schwagg86]

Crazy to think about now but i hated this game the first time i tried it. I thought it was boring and didn’t even get past Greenpath. I remember going to a negative review post on Reddit to get feedback and getting a response like “just play til you get the dash, then everything changes.” I thought that sounded so dumb at the time… but i still listened. Once I fought Hornet I was hooked. Now I play it at least once a year and watch any video like this that comes across my suggestions tab

[@MrDrBoi]

I really like this story because it reminds me of my relationship with Super Smash Bros. Melee. I was always really negative on it growing up because I thought it was too fast and difficult to control but then I came back to it later on and fell in love with it. I now follow the competitive scene and have even hosted two tournaments because I love the game so much.

[@feddy1103]

Great video I agree with the whole list

[@MrDrBoi]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@myweirdsecondchannelwithap9070]

You have the best top 5 I've seen (other than my own, where I place ancient basin at #5 over kingdoms edge)

[@MrDrBoi]

Thanks!

[@dragmire3D]

Interesting that you combined the Ancient Basin with the Abyss. I believe they are two separate areas and as a result, I would put Abyss way down despite the upgrades and story beats there because it's so empty(Ancient Basin would also go down as well due to having less stuff than listed as a result). An Abyss Beast boss of some kind would have elevated it for me but as it is, you spend 5 minutes there for the upgrades + Lifeblood core and come back later once you have the stuff for Voidheart. The sound of the flukes freak me out more than anything that Deepnest throws at you. I'd probably lower Howling Cliffs to the bottom with Abyss just above it. I dislike places that are boring to traverse and the Cliffs don't have the enemy variety or is visually interesting enough for me to enjoy being there. I'd rate sewers higher and Resting Grounds lower. I'd remove Dirtmouth from the list entirely. It feels weird to compare a town hub to an actual section of the map. Sidenote: I rate exploration/discovery very highly, areas that have little to see or explore I rate lower even if they have important lore.

[@MrDrBoi]

You know originally I had the Ancient Basin, the Abyss, and the White Palace all as separate areas, but I didn't feel like any of them really offered enough by themselves. All three would have ended up in the bottom third, so I decided to combine them because the Anicent Basin is the only one shown on the map.

[@dragmire3D]

@@MrDrBoi Very understandable position to take. It just feels wrong to me if someone told me, for instance, that shade cloak is obtained in the Ancient Basin.

[@DNAHCKR-eo9nd]

I love all alike and deepnest is my favorite because I just loooooooove me some spooders. Other than that Abyss is my top pick because when the first time I discovered it, it gave me chills like none other ever had or maybe will. The quiet dark atmosphere, the void civilization, the statue that gives shade cloak, the voices that are heard (Abyss Shriek), my siblings whom I just bow to pay respects and the Birthplace... Wow I still know all the dialogues. This all hit me when I was fighting radiance in Black Egg Temple and GodHome that how void comes to aid me and my siblings rising for me, all of it just touches my soul hugs it even

[@jakepervine3341]

Incredibly common City of Tears W

[@MrDrBoi]

That music is so good!

[@ShabyUwU]

I need to get back to playing this game.

[@brots3]

Queens gardens is so beautiful of an area

[@MrDrBoi]

That color scheme is just 🤌

[@brots3]

And that bench is so cool as well

[@J0J0Jetz]

Green path was when I fell in love with this game

[@MrDrBoi]

Such an amazing discovery!

[@snodog00]

Regarding the Royal Warerways, I think if, when you drained the water, the area lit up as well, it would fix a lot of issues. Part of the reason I don't like it is because it's dark and gloomy, even though that's what they were going for in it's design. However, you're not supposed to get to Dung Defender until about halfway through. So if the first half is dark and gloomy, but the second half is a bit more lit and comfortable, it would do a lot to fix the negetive feelings associated with it. Part of the reason I don't go back is because it feels claustrophobic. While the same could be said about Deepnest, it has some lit areas like the Failed Tramway area that feels a little more open, and the claustriphobia goes together with the entire desifn asthetic. Plus, the Flukes aren't anywhere as creepy as the spider-like enemies in Deepnest and don't require darkness to be effective. Just give us some light so we have a better understanding of our direction and position and make it feel more rewarding to get to Isma's. Think about it. It starts all gloomy and shut in and it's hard to feel like you're sure you know where you're going, even if you are. Then you beat DD and it lights up and the shut in feeling and claustrophobia and the feeling of being lost is gone and you can have a comfortable jaunt to get your Isma's Tear reward.

[@AbsoluteDark]

I love city of tears and the abyss the most.

[@NathanMelo92]

My Rank: I include Godhome and White Palace. 17: Howling Cliffs 16: Fog Canyon 15: Royal Waterways 14: Forgotten Crossroads 13: The Hive 12: Resting Grounds 11: Dirtmouth 10: Greenpath 9: Fungal Wastes 8: Ancient Basin 7: Godhome 6: Crystal Peak 5: City Of Tears 4: White Palace 3: Deepnest 2: Kingdom's Edge 1: Queen's Gardens

[@MrSpartan993]

City of Tears at the top? …yeah, agreed.

[@Franko_L_L]

Need more people playing this game

[@MrDrBoi]

Agreed, I hope when Silksong drops it brings in a bunch of new fans.

[@Ignited_.]

Personally, i would switch crystal peak with greenpath, and put greenpath on the fifth place. Greenpath assured me i was playing a masterpiece, but it doesnt have alot to do there. Also city of tears soul master boss fight was the one boss fight which made me go "wow, i cant wait to see more of great bosses like this one"

[@MrDrBoi]

Soul Master/Tyrant is one of the best in the game, definitely felt the same way.

[@guffthebir72]

Ive already beat this game with invincibility mods and all that just to see the lore because im bad at games, but ive just started a legit thing but my only problem is the stupid distance between each bench at times. I spend atleast 10-20 minutes trying to get to the mantis village after the leg eater (im bad at platforming dont judge me) and then i die twice and all my progress is gone. I know its a skill issue but its still stressfull.

[@rpgfan1187]

Great video! Hollow Knight is my second favorite indie game behind Disco Elysium, and it also managed to surpass Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to become my favorite Metroidvania of all time. My personal ranking: 15. Fog Canyon 14. Royal Waterways 13. The Hive 12. Howling Cliffs 11. Resting Grounds 10. Dirtmouth 9. Ancient Basin 8. Forgotten Crossroads 7. Deepnest 6. Queen's Gardens 5. Kingdom's Edge 4. Crystal Peak 3. Fungal Wastes 2. Greenpath 1. City of Tears

[@MrDrBoi]

Thank you!

[@guffthebir72]

Godhome is the only reason i have ever been to waterways

[@rachelbrimelow7528]

My poor little royal waterways. It has the best boss. Its atmosphere is beyond anything else in the game. And i live the lore of it, that the kingdom is dumping its waste in the fungal wastlands

[@ricklewis2068]

While I agree with all your points about The Hive, I also have to say, to me it’s the most beautiful area in the game to look at.

[@MrDrBoi]

It definitely is mesmerizing.

[@paulgrotebeverborg1119]

Music is also the most beautiful out of the ambient tracks

[@evanboone7161]

I just wanna say, that room in fog canyon with the charm notch made me lose my first steel-soul run. 😤

[@MrDrBoi]

Damn, I feel your pain.

[@evanboone7161]

I’m pretty sure it went like this; I hit a jellyfish and it exploded on me, bringing me to 2 masks, and knocked me into more of those bubble mines, and so then my I-frames ran out.

[@mother_brightmoon4833]

I never knew you that could actually kill Millibelle (the "Banker"/theif).

[@MrDrBoi]

Yeah and you actually get more geo than you gave her in the first place!

[@mother_brightmoon4833]

@@MrDrBoi Oh, neat! Do you just attack her when you find her at the Pleasure House in the City of Tears?

[@MrDrBoi]

@@mother_brightmoon4833 Yep, just pogo her when you find her!

[@mother_brightmoon4833]

@@MrDrBoi Okay. I've honestly never tried that.

[@gustavocamargo9277]

I'll NEVER agree with greenpath being high up

[@MrDrBoi]

That's interesting, what don't you like about it?

[@gustavocamargo9277]

@@MrDrBoi Wasn't expecting such a nice response to my half assed comment haha thank you. What I think is that Greenpath is too big and twisty to be so early in the game, I have seen lots of people lost in it, wich for me it is bad with the few traversing and movement abilities. I think Queens Gardens is prettier within the same aesthetic, although it is also a place people get very lost and stranded. And in general I don't think there is anything that remarkable

[@feddy1103]

​@@gustavocamargo9277skill issue

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

@@gustavocamargo9277 I think the issue with Greenpath is that many of its big horizontal and vertical rooms look too similar. Generally, HK does a good job at making rooms that feel distinct in one way or the other, and if I see a screenshot of the game, there are only two areas where I might not be instantly certain of where that room is: Greenpath and Deepnest. Deepnest feels intentional: it's a claustrophobic area that wants to be confusing. Greenpath does not feel intentional. It's just too big for its own good, it lacks substance.

[@hydrome5826]

Wether if an area is hard or not that doesn't make me hate the area. I love fog canyon for it's atmosphere and lore. Jelly fish fields for the win

[@MrDrBoi]

That's totally fair! It really does have a great atmosphere, even if I do get annoyed traversing the area.

[@NatalieExists]

crystal peak? MORE LIKE CRYSTAL MID

[@ericschuster2680]

Crystal Peak? More like Crystal PEAK AREA.

[@guffthebir72]

Hive counts as an area?

[@youngtoonfish6891]

My favorite area in hollow knight?… Yes 😅

[@MrDrBoi]

Haha basically

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

Hallownest* Hollow Knight*

[@masterflo8854]

Fog cayon last place because it's too hard seems like a skill issue to me

[@MrDrBoi]

LOL

[@Laezar1]

I don't like resting grounds a whole lot cause when I got here my thought was "oh wow this is such a well integrated DLC area" because I actually thought initially that the dreamers, all the dream nail abilities everything dream related was the content of the hidden dream DLC. And at first I was really impressed with how seamlessly it fit into the game and the amount of content. And then I realized most of the stuff that I thought was DLC was actually in the base game and it made it suddenly look jarring the fact that it felt like a "good DLC area". Yes I even reached the white palace still thinking it was hidden dream DLC. It's only when I finally realized that the dreamers were probably opening the path to the last boss of the game as I started to uncover the limits of the map and that there was nothing more that it dawned on me that nope this was just the goal of the game all along and not a sidequest I was doing lmao.

[@gameplayboy5686]

When someone doesnt like city of tears: 🤡💀🗡

[@MrDrBoi]

Can't even fathom not enjoying the City of Tears.

[@Gabcec]

I'm playing the game for the first time ever(btw, i'm totally in love with it), and i gotta say, i fucking HATE deepnest dude, it makes me so uncomfortable, i know it's the purpose of it, but holy shit it is agonizing, the bugs, the dark, the abscent of music, just sounds of crawling centipedes, it freaks the shit outta me

[@jeremysmulik7292]

You go from saying that areas are ranked low for not having much lore and only combat then rank other areas low for being a break and only having lore?

[@Trees7420]

Erm, actually, you forgot the other 2 best areas... godhome and white palace 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓

[@Lilhajxjk274]

Bro is playing on 480p

[@DragonOfPureGoofiness]

I didsagree so much

[@MrDrBoi]

Haha that's how it goes sometimes. What's your favorite?

[@TheloniousDrake7]

Great vid

[@MrDrBoi]

Thank you!!