How Hollow Knight was Beaten Blindfolded

Hollow Knight has finally been beaten with a blindfold! This is an incredible feat, and in this video, I break down Cactus' blindfolded Hollow Knight completion and showcase some of the clever strategies and tricks he used to pull it off!
ORIGINAL VIDEO: • Beating Hollow Knight ...
CACTUS STREAMS ON TWITCH: / xmypetcactusx
Thank you so much for watching! More videos soon. In the meanwhile, you can catch me here!
I stream Hollow Knight Speedruns here: / blue_sr_
Join My Discord: / discord
Chapters:
00:00 - Hollow Knight Blindfolded
21:52 - Interview with Cactus
24:40 - Endgame
MUSIC USED:
Hollow Knight Original Soundtrack by Christopher Larkin
Hollow Knight Piano Collections by David Peacock and Christopher Larkin:
materia.to/hkpiano
Thumbnail by Frogmarss

[@MyPetCactus]

Thanks for the video Blue!! Great summary. You did me dirty using the voice crack clip twice though 😂😂😂

[@ghostsoffishandcrows7341]

It's him! It's the boy!

[@BlueSR]

You’re lucky i didn’t show them that time you accidentally shut down the game and rebound your keybinds lmao

[@MyPetCactus]

@@BlueSR HAHAHAHAHA OKAY IM SORRY I TAKE IT BACK

[@3thanism]

@@BlueSR we need that clip.

[@TheDefaultClass]

This is incredibly impressive man. The sheer amount of memorization, determination, and patience is unreal. I cannot begin to imagine the amount of time it took to plan this run out, not to mention memorizing and then executing it. Absolutely amazing that you made this happen, hats off to you. I hope that you feel very, very accomplished

[@unproffessionelll9103]

I find it unreasonably funny that even though he is blindfolded, he still has to buy lumafly lantern.

[@shrochrome]

Not sure if you've seen this yet, but blue said it was so he don't get reset back to the entrance of the room everytime he falls into spike in deepnest

[@mystical_horn3176]

@@shrochrome he also needs it to enter crystal peaks since the gate cant be opened without it

[@Longcat_1]

@@mystical_horn3176 dive entrance

[@guilhermefrotamonte8533]

Suspicious.. right?

[@Alargecheese]

@@guilhermefrotamonte8533bro, he has played the game for hundreds of hours, he doesn’t need it normally

[@NimbusLightest]

small correction: dung defender being in the route is not a mistake, he's in the route because he's the best character and a run of hollow knight cannot truly be completed without him 👍

[@MyPetCactus]

Based and true

[@ziwuri]

FAAAAAAHHH FUNDAAAAA DOMA DOMA HAHAHAHAAA

[@spudonion5339]

Wait but you can’t get ismas without flipping the dung defenders lever? Right?

[@herecomespatsky]

@@spudonion5339theres a skip

[@canadadry5449]

It's about sending a message.

[@ghostsoffishandcrows7341]

5:56 he didn't just shut down the game, he re-binded the controls and we had to tell him lmao

[@spoonkitchenware]

that's amazing, is there a clip somewhere?

[@Mushi_epic]

Damn no way

[@TheGalaxyWings]

@@spoonkitchenware clips.twitch.tv/ImpossibleUglyAniseLitFam-_Yn_3qPrmCq3Wbz4

[@MyPetCactus]

Wtf ghost why did you out me, ur straight banned frfr no cap

[@MyPetCactus]

@@spoonkitchenware I think there’s a clip of it in my original blindfolded video somewhere

[@rubdulbah3201]

A game being beaten while blindfolded is the ultimate testament to how good its sound design is.

[@theunknowman12]

Or how the fanbase is truly insane

[@NotTured]

and smell

[@dusk._]

​@@NotTuredand taste

[@Pabloto-dq3sx]

@@dusk._and *touch*

[@psachickennugget8617]

Yeah I think we’ve all lost it XD

[@numbermumber7382]

With another extreme challenge done by the members of the Hollow Knight community, I truly wonder what else is there to achieve while, almost endlessly, waiting for Silksong.

[@baummger5551]

Programing Silksong by ourselfs

[@sans6993]

well, this speedrun was only for any%, so theoretically you can try doing True Ending and 112% blindfolded, but it would take months if not years for someone to do it

[@numbermumber7382]

​@@sans6993 you, most definitely, can TRY

[@sans6993]

@@numbermumber7382 nah mate, i wouldn't even be able to beat an easy enemy blindfolded let alone beating the entire game, im just here to give some ideas

[@100mcuber4]

Blind, hitless any radiance only nail no charms

[@adamkonvalina1671]

Bro he plays better when he is blindfolded then i play when i see

[@dertpert]

Bro plays better then me in my dreams😢

[@00Cubic]

bro plays better then me when im on the title screen💀

[@sans6993]

bro plays better then i start the game

[@hen618]

i doubt that... anyone can play better than him

[@idontwantahandlethough]

in your defense, it's significantly harder to second guess yourself (and inevitably overcorrect) when you're blindfolded ;)

[@dreadmask4031]

I love how Cactus can remember a 5 hour speedrun but forgetting he put in Isma's tear and does the skips anyway.

[@BlueSR]

Hey! I just want to answer some questions real quick! Firstly: This is not cactus' first time doing the blindfolded run! He did it about a year ago, but used QoL mods and switched patches. this time was the first "legit" clear, which is why I only mentioned this run in the video. Secondly, the main reason to get Lantern is to prevent yourself from warping back to the entrance of rooms in deepnest any time you fall in spikes, because that would make the area incredibly painful. Thanks for watching!

[@eduardoarsz]

imagine how hard it would be to do dark rooms blindfolded

[@100mcuber4]

Broo I'm pretty sure it's impossible

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

thought you said 'dark souls' for a second

[@OpurpleO]

this would be as hard, as pass usual room, because he already blindfolded

[@100mcuber4]

@@OpurpleO wooosh

[@YouWillNeverKnowMan]

@@100mcuber4 There is always one, eh? :D

[@zpkspiano]

I can't imagine what unspeakable feats will be achieved by the community when Silksong is released

[@hen618]

"unspeakable feats" 🤓🤓

[@tetra_kirby5691]

​​@@hen618 A man may not scribe simple English unto the comments of a description of a recording of a simple entertaining game without being met with constant adversity from simple plebians like you due to his mildly extensive vocabulary? Pray tell, why is that?

[@HenrayPatter]

“smh too easy bosses aren’t even one hit kill”- Hollow knight fans after Silksong releases in 3033

[@DiaomBayet]

@@hen618 getting mad over a word? really?

[@hen618]

@@DiaomBayet lol not mad just sounds kinda nerdy but i get what hes saying its just kinda .. . . .. . 🤓🤓

[@Thedragon5881]

Honestly, a really big mental barrier that I could see is sitting there for nearly 5 hours, pressing buttons but completely blind. All you have is the tactile feel of the keys and the sounds of the game.

[@gohzy7425]

When waiting for silksong has resulted in superhuman capabilities

[@mihael64]

silksong super serum

[@AbsolutelyCasual]

Growing up I remember playing such long sessions of COD nazi zombies or RuneScape that when I went to sleep I'd be laying there with my eyes closed and I could literally still see and hear the game even though I was in a silent dark room, I'm sure this guy has played so much he can see every room in his mind

[@hen618]

same sometimes i hallucinate and hear the audio of hollow knight.. idk if audio is hallucinating but whatever

[@tetra_kirby5691]

​​@@hen618 I think auditorial hallucinations are real yea, but don't take my word as medical advice. Also I think both of y'all should consider taking a break lol

[@hen618]

@@tetra_kirby5691 honestly ive been playing lots of valorant recently, and i just got back into hk and been playing for like about a week or maybe like 5 days, idk why its kinda weird maybe its like when a good song gets stuck in ur head maybe the music is just that good?!?!?

[@tetra_kirby5691]

@@hen618maybe

[@brianbethea3069]

The Tetris effect! I got it with Kirby Air Ride all the time. I'd see little top speed and glide patches falling all over the place.

[@wqftyzfs2y6]

a true legend. he managed to beat the game WITHOUT WAYWARD COMPASS. can you imagine that?

[@baummger5551]

I watched glitched runs before I can understand how it feels to not see anything

[@blackholesun4942]

Daily silksong updates guy !! 🤯🤯

[@JHWaWa]

Guy silksong updates daily

[@florianpasselaigue6115]

Cactus : "anyone could do it" Also Cactus : *has a solid HK speedrunning career before tackling this challenge* Still Cactus : *spends 6 hours a day for a month and a half practicing a single run*

[@helion_ut]

What he meant by that is that it's not some kind of talent you are born with. Anyone could do this if they just tried hard enough.

[@tyranosaurusbex2950]

every time i think i've had my mind blown for the last time, this community once again yeets me into awe. insane run

[@goldencapybara7952]

He is a true legend, not only for speedrunning Hollow Knight BLINDFOLDED but also for wearing a Critical Role cardigan while doing so!

[@sapphis_lazuli]

amen!

[@KylerJones]

Goddamn I was trying to find that shirt the whole time, never would have guessed. Don't watch critical role but might have to buy this anyway lmao

[@idontwantahandlethough]

whoa, he's basically using his nail as a cane! That's kinda neat lol (you know, like blind people do in the real world!) edit: @18:37 he misses the last platform and you can tell he realizes it; cactus physically cringes as he realizes he's still in the air somehow 😂

[@JuggR]

Are we not going to talk about that flukemarm fight

[@calvindang7291]

it's a really nice strat, too bad they nerfed dive

[@legendofzelda2324]

@@calvindang7291 I accidentally dive on him sometimes. I suck

[@theknightikins9397]

I know that the joke is that since Silksong hasn’t released, the community is doing anything and everything, but I’m kind of thankful. Silksong not coming out has forced the community to make these incredibly skilled runs to constantly up the ante for this game. If Silksong came out, we never would have gotten bored enough to make the game interesting.

[@GardenVarietea]

Honestly, this crazy community is kinda fun right now. Especially cuz it's (for a lot of people) done solely for the bit. The Reddit War over the Infected was definitely weird, but reading about Shadow Weaver, Scarlet Mansion and Mecha Zote was more than amusing.

[@nerdknight9]

This community is both literally AND metaphorically insane

[@spicymilk2685]

that happiness shown after getting past the lasers for crystal hearts shows just how much effort was put into this

[@defiiiii]

This is the speedrun of all time

[@j.fischer707]

no doubt

[@MazerTime]

I feel like he glanced over lantern so heres why: While its completley possible to do dark rooms, and trivial for a blind run, stuff that require prompt to interact are the only stuff that DONT work in dark rooms, unless you got lantern. So its impossible to pay the tall to get that gate open, to enter cristal peak. As far as i know the only other place lantern is required is No Eyes boss fight

[@mptyalln]

i think the face mask blindfold should be improved

[@jan_Masilijun]

this is a certified silksongless moment™️

[@kamo7293]

you know its always so cool to se how some games have such amazing audio design that people used it to beat the game blindfolded. there was a blind gamer who completed abes oddysee and legend of zelda ocarina of time. he played on emulator for ocarina of time to use save states and custom controllers, abe comes with save slots

[@PorkShark]

This man beat the entire game blindfolded in less deaths than it took me to beat False Knight for the first time _with eyesight_

[@The-fn3mz]

He actually did a blindfolded run before this but it took 12 hours

[@HaleyMikeska]

that fake mobile game ad killed me 😂

[@ghostsoffishandcrows7341]

As someone who was there throughout a lot of the practice, majority of the first run in 2021 (I missed about the first 3 hours of cpeak, it was a rough run), and through a decent amount of the recent practice and run (school kept me from a lot of it, truely a crime), I can confirm that cactus is sick as hell

[@average_oddity]

Bro did this blindfolded better than I can with sight

[@hen618]

no anyone can do better than him

[@tetra_kirby5691]

​@@hen618 depends on your definition of can.

[@hen618]

@@tetra_kirby5691 what well i mean most people can do it way better than him hes acting like he did it BETTER than him which is prolly not true at all tbh

[@tomohawk2177]

@@hen618 it’s an exaggeration

[@drvofoka7033]

@@hen618 Please speak coherent English. You don't make any sense.

[@toplad3310]

Hornet impressions were spot on 🥶🙌🏻

[@vencelfoldi8236]

The dedication some people have towards their favorite games is lowkey psychotic, and there's nothing I like more than watching these people.

[@AssJagger]

A blue video, definitely the best thing that’s ever happened on Easter

[@mys3cretskill]

Finally got a chance to watch this. Great video blue!

[@Bubzia]

Awesome video, such an amazing feat by MyPetCactus!! GG

[@fonze5664]

Thinking how hard the few dark rooms I feel comfortable with doing are, which are among the most simple of them, this is truly amazing! Well done mypetcactus!

[@egekahraman8985]

this man needs silksong stat

[@BrckoOo]

Some might say it was a fluke, but we all know it was flukenest

[@T4coTV]

Amazing summary! And INSANE RUN by cactus! Cactus if you're reading this... good flippin job mate!

[@LoominousShroominous]

the wait for silksong is doing so much to people

[@jem5636]

From listening to channels like you and fire, I thought a blindfolded run had already been done? Unless people had tried this before but hadn't yet won. I am super excited to see how it was done though.

[@ghostsoffishandcrows7341]

Cactus completed his first blindfolded run in September of 2021 and recently completed his second, idk why they said "a couple days ago" at the beginning of this video since the first run was over a year ago and the second was a couple weeks if not over a month ago

[@MyPetCactus]

The first run used mods and switched patches from cp to 1221, so this was the first ‘legit’ clear

[@jem5636]

Ooo, interesting.

[@ondrejandydlohos]

​@@MyPetCactus Ah so that's why. I was also confused, maybe Blue could state this in the description so others who know about the first run are not as confused as us 😅

[@marioruiz5758]

I wonder if lamp was even necessary since he had dive and... Well, every room is blind

[@mememan1546]

​@TheRealSavio one of the peaks entrances also requires lantern.

[@Dragostorm21]

​@@mememan1546 dive

[@ondrejandydlohos]

​​@@mememan1546 Yeah, bud since he had dive for the second entrance, he needed it probably as Savio stated 🙂

[@teathesilkwing7616]

Iirc if you don’t have it, falling into spikes and stuff brings you to the start of the room instead of the last ledge, so it’s just to make things easier

[@femboyChristmas]

Explained in the video, you dont gain any hazard checkpoints when in the dark so deepnest needs to be perfect or youre back to the beginning

[@cuttululu]

wow the waiting room for silksong is getting better everyday, we need that game asap

[@LosEnD]

This was like 5th video I see from you and I tought I were subscribed but I were not so now I am. Amazing content!

[@erikyes]

Awesome video blue!

[@quietlychaotically]

woooo it's time for blue's once-in-an-era upload!

[@meowlotow]

People be out here beating the game *blind* meanwhile I can't beat failed champion on normal difficulty with max HP charms

[@randomusername6]

There's almost no soul gain and very few heal windows, so an HP build doesn't work that well for him. Stack DPS charms instead (fragile strength + quickslash). Hit him two times after he does an attack, focus on avoidance at all other times. The period when he gets up after a stagger is also a good time to get a lot of hits in.

[@cameron6538]

If you can down him once, you can kill him. Shaman stone is the only really mandatory charm for this to work. Down him, dream nail, hit him in the back (resets his stagger count, but doesn't damage him), dream nail, repeat until full. Now hit him to unstagger, cast abyss shriek, move to a corner and spam shade soul double hits as he does his middle attack. You only need three double hits with shade soul after abyss shriek if all 4 hits register. To avoid this uncertainty, hit him once or twice with the nail right after he stands up, then cast shriek. Soul twister to reduce cast cost if you want even more margin for error. Shaman stone, Soul twister, fragile strength, quick slash

[@meowlotow]

@@cameron6538 thanks SM for the help! I might even get back into HK because of this :)

[@TheNamesFathom]

truly impressive how he pulled off dark deepnest amongst all the other challenges in this run

[@Anterbok]

Truly masochistic, well fucking done.

[@Light_Souls]

*Oh no…* Here we go again…

[@dertpert]

AGAIN?

[@sion_9698]

@@dertpert This is the second blindfolded run. The first one was made a year ago, you can find a video about it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnTVp4qNiqyXopI

[@dertpert]

@@sion_9698 thanks!

[@noxietm]

reminds me of "i was the first to beat trackmania nations forever blindfolded" by wirtual, top tier video blue, keep it up!

[@UltraMeWeSwagMan]

15:34 sounded majestic

[@timeneses]

I remember when he was mapping Kings' Pass. Glad to see him succeed.

[@mrt8043]

what an absolute gigachad

[@gqueirogabr]

This is unreal

[@DataLabsYes]

I remember seeing this video a while ago! It's interesting to see how it was accomplished.

[@andrezu8251]

I thought this was from long ago not today LMAO

[@eater9494]

hollow knight has the most wondorously dedicated speedrunning community I've ever seen

[@Arion661]

Maybe Team Cherry is holding off on releasing Silksong because they're still waiting to see what other crazy shit these content hungry speedrunners can achieve

[@quiteafancyemerald]

Just when you think another barrier of difficulty has been reached you get this (absolutely insane)

[@xarin42]

I feel like this video did a good job showing that this probably wasn't cheated, which might not sound like a big deal, but I've watched a surprising number of blind run documentaries that don't. Which considering that I've seen multiple fakers for blind runs exposed in the past ... Unfortunately, that becomes a bare minimum for this kind of video. That it was also done in a fun and engaging way where you're excited to hear about how it was a challenge overcome makes it even better. I've sean one or two alternative styles where it feels more defensive and embarassed which are just less fun. This style feels more proud of what the person featured was able to acomplish while using the interesting explanation of the method to justify the results in a natural way.

[@snowkracker]

I can’t wait for silksong sometime this year. I hope it lives up to my expectations

[@bapanada]

silksong has gotta fucking come out soon dude these people are going insane

[@MegaWebik]

Great video Blue! Shoutouts to MyPetCactus for this amazing feat

[@Coding_Makes_Me_Insane]

Saw my notification and can't believe it. Started watching it now!

[@cameronzeferino6938]

0:25 "CACTUS LOOK OUT"😂 28:18 😂

[@ghostsoffishandcrows7341]

Ikr I'm so funny ;)))

[@cameronzeferino6938]

@@ghostsoffishandcrows7341 I'm dead☠️

[@deez1238]

Bro the amount of skill you need for this i have insane respect for this dude

[@mkks4559]

Can't wait for someone to beat Hollow Knight without focusing, and I don't mean the healing focusing, I mean the concentration focusing. It's actually possible to detect when a person zones out, so if Silksong doesn't come out soon, it'll probably be done.

[@RyderBaker-rs2mo]

Holy crap this is mind blowing team cherry needs to release the next game or the community will beat the game with their non dominant foot

[@hades5076]

"This is my pet cactus" -blue sr

[@luigio8484]

I love how he gamer leans vs the hollow knight, it's so ingrained in us lmao

[@keithturnbull5625]

Your pet cactus is incredible at Hollow Knight

[@Skaypegote]

The luxmix song at 27:22 ! That is a LoL reference from a golden era. Nostalgia

[@Youwanttodream]

Excellent video :)

[@chargegarg8234]

Bro plays better blindfolded than I do normally

[@hen618]

nope

[@jkraemo]

When I first saw a blindfolded speed run (Super Mario 64 - 70 Stars blindfolded by Bubzia), one of the most fascinating things about that to me was Mario 64 being a 3D game. How wrong I was to think that it being 3D is the big thing. Both very amazing speed runs, I can only recommend watching the 70 stars blindfolded show run when he was featured in Games Done Quick. Bubzia also did 12h 120 star blindfolded speed run which is just pure insanity.

[@Xibyth]

'Because false knight is so simple' That cuts deep man....

[@nathanspaulding7380]

The meme at the end is the greatest thing I have ever seen

[@theunnamedaccount4009]

Wasn't expecting that hand reveal there. Had me in shambles

[@ATSM_33]

I did a bit of mental math for the THK Segment, and he got roughly a 3 minute time save. Adding up all the previous segments, he had 29 minutes and 13 seconds to spare to get an overall time save.

[@aVeryAngryMoth]

Ah yes, menuing, the true bane of all blindfolded runs

[@Jamlord2061]

it seems extreme but is plausible the closest thing to this kind of skill i have is being able to beat most terraria bosses while focusing on a youtube video on high difficulties.

[@-IONUT-]

We need silk song , we get bored waiting , the best exemple is this dude.

[@obenohnebohne]

Blindfolded speedruns are the greatest gaming achievements. Insane. Congratulatins to MyPetCactus for pulling it off.

[@blackholesun4942]

Blinfolded runs are 80% memorization. And for most people games are about more than that, so personaly I don't think they are the pinnacle of gaming acheivements 🤔🤔🤔

[@svartdraken]

I was listening to this video audio only and I started wondering how could a pet cactus beat hollow knight

[@tariqulislam891]

Very impressive

[@patiodoorman]

2:39 "False Knight is trivial for cactus to take down because its a fight that doesnt require much thinking or positioning at all" me who took 8 tries to defeat false knight: ._.

[@atherisGAY]

Aw we all start out somewhere

[@otakurecluso9422]

POV It's 2028 and Team Cherry didn't released silksong yet: "Hey guys, today I'm going to pass though path of pain blindfolded"

[@Vextious-theChaosDemon]

bro i struggled with soul master for like, 8+ hours and this guy beat it blindfolded??? crazy

[@joshuapatrick682]

For the life of me I couldn’t fathom why he was getting Isma’s tear then I had the brainwave about getting into deep nest without fighting Mantis Lords blind, which is probably essentially impossible.

[@piosenki001]

18:56 alright cactusy, now to path of pain blindfolded, i believe in u

[@hydraxel]

Did anyone notice how he was 23 geo short from killing the run at 8:40 since he could almost afford quick focus?

[@FranticFrog]

your cactus is talented

[@eduardpeeterlemming]

Absolute insanity

[@jasperkooij1891]

So impressive

[@Master_Cinar]

So youre telling me bro can get speedrunner 2 achivement blindfolded while people struggle to get it? Insane 😮

[@sinfyl.]

18:50 That was sick but that celebration was so zesty 😭