The History & Evolution of Hollow Knight (2014-2018)

A complete retelling of Hollow Knight’s development history all the way from ideation to final project. Enjoy!
Website Sources:
hollowknight.com/
teamcherry.com....
www.mechanicala...
Video Sources:
• Hollow Knight Soundtra... - Team Cherry
• INTERVIEW W/ ARI GIBSO... - Frame Freak Studio
• Hollow Knight Interview - Artistry In Games
• Hollow Knight: Godmast... - CrankyTemplar
• What Came Before Hollo... - The Embraced One
Article Sources:
brutalgamer.com... - BrutalGamer
kotaku.com/the... - Kotaku
www.gamasutra.... - Gamasutra
www.kotaku.com... - Kotaku AU
www.eurogamer.... - Eurogamer
Video Edited by: EienRinnegan (Gilberto Dias)
Written, Voiced, & Additional Edits by: “Rusty”
Join the official Hollow Knight Discord!
/ discord

[@Phirestar]

"My hope with the confirmed and upcoming Hornet DLC is that Team Cherry will surprise us even more..." OHH, did they.

[@jxiza]

Phirestar I won’t be able to sleep anymore.

[@pownotthere]

Phirestar Yes, they did

[@michi08]

It's no dlc it's a whole game

[@Nylspider]

The surprise was very welcome I'm down for a full hornet GAME

[@aspidacctvods]

E

[@DementedDuskull]

The thumbnail made me realize that for each update, The Knight was slowly just lifting up its head.

[@lukasnovella9001]

Demented Duskull hold up...

[@Grim-c8n]

It's like Halo all over again... (Master Chief looks from left to right on the covers of Halo 1-4)

[@lukasnovella9001]

WAit.... if you look closely at the Grimm Troupe, it’s head is slight facing down. But other than that... yeah

[@DementedDuskull]

Lukas Novella Yeeaaahhh I noticed that too

[@NoMustang273]

Ascension

[@helios1_]

“I need to eat every 10 seconds or I will DIE.” so relatable lol

[@trunksx2497]

Lol

[@theanomaly2587]

XD

[@sleepy1684]

Basically you get a game that should be the price of a regular Nintendo game but it’s under $20 so you should buy it and it’s worth every penny

[@Naokarma]

based on quality it should be the price it is ADDED to your regular nintendo game. I love nintendo, but they produce games. Hollow knight isn't a game, it's an experience, and a treasure.

[@chuggaa100]

@@Naokarma god this is such a fucking circle jerk.

[@darthporg9859]

Got it for free on ps plus! Awsome game, my next fight right now is to fight a flying Eclectric ball guy who can teleport In the tear city, or something like that, can't wait to play it on ps5!

[@dando541]

@@darthporg9859 I think the flying electric ball guy is soul master.

[@that_one_duck9117]

@@dando541 yep lol

[@thewombleensemble26]

Hollow Knight is my single most loved game of all time, this is a true testament to how it came to be. Great job man!

[@deadshotgamer4215]

No my fav is witcher 3

[@darkthedemon255]

Me to but I completely suck at it

[@tofu9673]

I found hollow knight not that long ago and ever since i bought it i havent played anothe game than it

[@raincastmusic]

Same

[@Rhobeni]

@@darkthedemon255 Same man.

[@PLScypion]

AAA developers may have the money and people but they do not have the most important thing needed to create games: A heart to give to the game.

[@pelieskola5708]

Now this is why i prefer indie. Just think about it. This,celeste,undertale.propably more. Every of these games is praised. And i don't know any AAA game that has been praised like these. Sure there are some good ones also but they always have problems. And as you said mostly AAA developers want only one thing from their games. Money. EA and Bethesda as examples.

[@Garbageday666]

This is just untrue. There are a ton of AAA developers who put there heart and soul into it. Hell smash ultimate just came out. The smash teams are some of the most dedicated developers out there. Theres also witcher 3 Breath of the wild Persona 5(which only had a AAA budget after sega bought atlus) and a whole bunch of others

[@rbwjakfjenwbw1009]

@@Garbageday666 While what you said is true, the games you mentioned are more of the exception than the rule. Most AAA games nowadays are focused on sucking your wallet of it's money with micro transactions and seek to be not much more than mediocre. Indie games often aspire to be more than just ok. They seek to push the creative boundaries of the industry, and often they do that well.

[@baklanos]

You mean voidheart? =)

[@PLScypion]

@@baklanos ba dum tss

[@smgtercero]

One of my favorites games of all time, even with all the praise it received, i think it was still not popular enough

[@riseoftheflutes1739]

Dude same!! Huge fuckin fan of their work!!

[@megguenther9901]

I remember hearing from somewhere throughout all the platforms it was released on (switch, pc and now xbox) it has sold nearly over a million copies but yeah you're right it still deserves more praise haha that's why I recommend it to literally anyone I know who plays games.

[@eoghancallaghy9254]

I think we are coming up on 2 million soon. They sold over 1 million on PC alone. 250 thousand on the Switch after only 2 weeks after its release.

[@adroitws1367]

@@eoghancallaghy9254 where did u guys get that data?

[@eoghancallaghy9254]

@@adroitws1367 Team cherry's Twitter acount

[@blobbyghost4270]

"my hope for the upcoming Hornet DLC" you guys heard that? that man said "DLC", hahaha.

[@sheepgoat3843]

At the time it was dlc

[@anglo-aspidmapping8870]

@@sheepgoat3843 r/wooooooooosh

[@megguenther9901]

obligatory: loved the game, but it was full of bugs badum tss

[@snaskatasken3857]

omg best comment, up you go

[@nerfy1166]

Ye but WHEN did u play the game

[@petrifiedpanda2869]

This is the best comment in the history of comments :D

[@stingerstinger413]

Lame

[@lyynad6245]

Do u mean _bugs_ ?

[@ElyssaiscsPowellesc]

"I hope that the upcoming hornet dlc will surprise us even more" team cherry: "oh we will" team cherry: releases new game entirely

[@privatizitat815]

Hahaha, he said releas

[@epilepticsquid8856]

@@privatizitat815 haha, your right

[@privatizitat815]

@@epilepticsquid8856 I laugh the pain away yet it's still so far

[@mkks4559]

*plans a new game.

[@steelsoulorgtfo_3108]

This video is way too damn well edited for its own good. Brilliant work.

[@razeguy9639]

GIT GUD

[@jameslantieri2282]

Geo. Kalala

[@melissaardon2294]

@@jameslantieri2282 Bapanada.

[@Strausburg]

Hollow Knight: A game so nice, I bought it twice.

[@Plasmawielder]

Strausburg same

[@vincentcho9990]

*thrice

[@lucasbernardo6255]

@@vincentcho9990 Thrice?

[@jellynautile7182]

I am the man who ruined the 69 like

[@melissaardon2294]

@@jellynautile7182 *monster.*

[@the42nddoctor27]

Rusty: "My hope for the upcoming hornet DLC is that team cherry will surprise us even more" Everyone after reveal of Silksong: Oh you'll be surprised all right

[@mysticalmadeline4793]

When it actually comes out.

[@demoniob4019]

@@mysticalmadeline4793 almost there

[@ThatDwag69]

Actually.....no​@@demoniob4019

[@camthedestroyer1490]

“Upcoming Hornet DLC” Silksong: *laughs in entirely new game*

[@ironjellyfish4476]

Major AAA studio: makes a 60 dollar game with 50 dollars of expansions and micortransactions, game still sucks. Team cherry: Makes an incredible game they could easily charge more than 15 dollars for and releases all expansions for free. Really, these guys need more recognition.

[@Rainbowgamergirl03]

True.

[@blooe8448]

Exactly thank you

[@DonCurrywurst]

A few dudes with (more likely) genius or near genius level IQ (amazing artist are never on a low IQ), highly talented and skilled (won awards in animation). Dont get me wrong, they deserve every credit that they can get, but they arent just some guys...they are top of the food chain-guys (on the bases of skill and talent) and on top of that: hard working as well.

[@lilliesupreme9767]

@@DonCurrywurst there's still only three of them

[@cfalcon8342]

cough cough red dead redemption 2

[@pelieskola5708]

Hornet dlc is gonna be like the last time to feel magig of this game to me. I'm only 15 and i will never forget this game. I guess this gonna be my nostalgia at some day. My childhood.

[@jordyisdrunk]

Peli Eskola no one cares

[@pelieskola5708]

@@jordyisdrunk no shit. Whats your point to come here and waste your time saying it then?

[@jordyisdrunk]

Peli Eskola to let you know that no one cares

[@xavierpg9482]

@@jordyisdrunk I care about it, so shut up ^^.

[@hypocriticalsailboat2143]

Hey, if it's any consolation, I care. Great game.

[@ccherry3340]

I literally impulse bought this game on my switch after I got some money from Christmas. Holy shit, the best impulse buy I've ever done. This game is absolutely astounding. I personally don't like platformers but this game just struck a cord with me, I absolutely love the art style of the characters, the game play and the amazing story. I really hope this game keeps receiving updates and the love and support from its fans :D

[@illusion9423]

I remember buying hollow knight around june because it was on discount and the front page of the steam store and I couldn't believe an indie game like that was getting so many good reviews EVERYWHERE It was too good to be true, but it was true The game is unquestionably good, and I think this team of 6 people never expected to get so successful with only 1 game out

[@BRoyce69]

team cherry: can i has 10-50k upfront for game dev time plz people: heres 60k :D -release game- heres 600k!!!! god damn! -updates regularly with fre dlc- fans: this games 15$? TAKE MY MONEY!!

[@privatizitat815]

It went to the point where people actively refused to buy the game when it was at a discount

[@swagy_mushroom]

21:35 Team Cherry: you have no idea, mortal

[@donslipo]

For it's price, this game has so much content that each time you download a DLC for it it feels like you are stealing it ;p

[@QreeWii]

Its canon, the knight we play as is named the Hungry Knight

[@odedil87]

It's not a bug, it's a feature. (obligatory bug joke) Great vid, thank you rusty :)

[@estebanvelazquez353]

7:41 yo what!?!? Hornet and zote were originally gonna be playable?! Now I’m kind of sad

[@NocturneFexy]

Hornet will still be playable, just in a paid DLC in the future. EDIT: It's not actually a DLC anymore, it's now a FULL-ON SEQUEL this time.

[@Faun471]

@@NocturneFexy sauce pls

[@NocturneFexy]

@@Faun471 The just released some info about it a day or so ago in their website: teamcherry.com.au/hollowmas/

[@Faun471]

@@NocturneFexy love you no homo

[@NocturneFexy]

@@Faun471 thank

[@sahvant338]

I've wanted this game ever since I learned about the kickstarter, but my PC isn't powerful enough. About 1-3 months ago I woke up, looked at the xbox store and saw the voidheart edition. I have like 100 hours on it now...great game, in fact my favorite game. Jeez I love it.

[@cee_ves]

Honestly I find it so cool that people got to design their own characters and, instead of sending the usual “thanks for the art, we appreciate it” like most other game companies, they actually made a model for their favs and put them in as dreams in a grave site, giving them dialogue and all

[@dialog_box]

16:39 I like how he doesn't catch the typo even when he says it out loud

[@Rusty._]

"steamer" LOL. Nice catch.

[@ronniewhitedx]

It's crazy to see that even in team cherries prior work their programming knowledge and their overall understanding of the industry is quite incredible so it's no surprise that they were able to create the masterpiece that is hollow Knight.

[@Savemyfeels]

I’m pretty new to gaming on a computer, and my friend highly recommended Hollow Knight to me. Since I’m a noob, I gave up pretty quickly, failing to even kill non boss characters. But then I saw her play the game it gave me hope that I could do it. I’m almost 40 hours in and I’m nowhere close to being done yet, I’ve hit a bit of a wall in terms of difficulty, but I’ve overcome all the other ones, so I’m confident I can do this as well.

[@mathaeis]

I just started playing this like 10 days ago. 102% in and I cannot get enough. It's so, SO freaking well done. Easily one of my favorite games I've ever played.

[@rosey8514]

I was unaware that Shade Soul Blasts were nearly as big as a great hopper... That actually kind of scares me

[@hexdio551]

The sealed vessel ost really doing wrk in the end

[@thanatosdraga]

Love how I can come back to the game after ages of not playing, just by watching some HK vids. Keep up the good work my dude ^^

[@koi4087]

Hollow Knight mod called "More Gruzz" where every enemy is a varient of a gruzzer

[@DrnMontemayor]

This was such a well made and interesting video.

[@ophiraloni9438]

I think that the only reason that team cherry move to unity was because of *Unity's Particle System*

[@MintyNyah]

19:45 actually, the hollow knight’s head appears if you look closely on the top

[@lone_wolf738]

Stumbling upon this video and hearing hornet DLC just give me some major nostalgia Hyped for Silksong

[@MiruninOath57]

there will always be a soft spot in my heart for this games incredible soundtrack.

[@halodragonmaster]

RUSTY IS THAT YOU? 0:38 *RUSTY WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE THIS ISN'T TGN! Good video

[@Rusty._]

Surprise. I'm everywhere.

[@evan-moore22]

Noice video my dude. Obviously a lot of attention to your editing and content here. Keep it up.

[@Rusty._]

oh hey

[@ty_sylicus]

The Dream Gate sounds amazing! Sadly, I never discovered that.

[@bigboi8673]

Ooookay I didn't even know that I had the void heart edition and was going to ask my dad for the extra dlc's now I'm really exited. Also, since they're making silksong, how cool would it be if they made a game for every surviving knight?

[@dexterbodford1125]

Well you see your not getting 3 games your getting 3 games and a new god

[@reisei1]

16:02 good news, the physical edition is back on track, along with a collectors edition

[@assafbaron7239]

Just completed pantheon of hallownest!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[@viggen88]

Good job!

[@megguenther9901]

aaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@sahvant338]

Nice!

[@fuzzyd1436]

@The Bullet you clearly haven't beaten that pantheon if you think of that achievement so little.

[@fuzzyd1436]

Any welcome to the club enjoy your stay

[@madengineerkyouma]

13:27 That's the moment in the video where Jirard Khalil screams in pain.

[@theknight8197]

Just finished the game and I'm crying from how amazing the game is and how amazing the team is... Now just to play silk heart, can't wait

[@wielandnayeri9212]

"an update with a few crucial bugfixes was definitly necessary - exspecially for a sucessfull nintendow switch release later that june..." Somehow this reminded me of Skyrimports or remasters with the old bugs in them... :D

[@blupaduddle]

I was just watching Hollow Knight vids and well...this pops up from today! Great video!

[@The_Court_Poet]

Yea I’ve seen 5 other people talk about Hollow Knight’s development. Yes I’m gonna watch another one.

[@lowdavey9474]

Hollow knight been out a few years and I just got it last week, I was deff missing out. It's a masterpiece it has the lore feel of soul but gives me the nostalgia of super metroid and symphony of the night....yea I'm old enough that i played those games in their prime lol. But team cherry hit a homerun here 😉

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

The best looking Stencyl game is Ghost Song. It's like Metroid, but slower-paced, and focuses more on world-building. It has parallax scrolling.

[@ImAmity]

When the Hornet DLC becomes a FULL Sequel Game! I am super excited for Hollow Knight: Silk Song

[@joshuapatrick682]

The linearity of the game was not less confusing. I’m an avid gamer who’s spent years playing thousands of titles. because I wanted no spoilers I didn’t look up anything about the game and it took me 40 hours to get 106% on my first play through. My 2nd was done in 18 hours and my 3rd in less than 13 in steel soul mode, all Radiance endings. I’m currently practicing The Pure Vessel fight for Pantheon 4 a month after having picked it up.

[@Shohiko]

"A winged version of Nosk, jesus fucking christ." I just recently defeated regular Nosk and good lord what an arduous pain in the ass that was. LOVING the game so far! Boyfriend got me the Hollow Knight plush + Switch download bundle for Christmas! Yay merch!

[@yourlocalReptillian]

"Confirmed and upcoming hornet dlc" Haha, nobody knew

[@erroldtumaque3430]

the more i play this game, the more impressed i get and the higher it climbs as my favorite goat

[@Dendroapsis]

'With the upcoming Hornet DLC hopefully Team Cherry will have more surprises for us' You have no idea!

[@powerblazer9390]

The only problem that I have with the grimm troupe, godmaster and all that DLC is that they're using already established map area to add on the extras, so they are not easy to find. I can't find any of the grim troupe, and I just happened to stumble upon the godmaster content after googling how to get the last simple key (far end of the arena). I feel like the DLC is easily missable, and that really shows in the flow of the game.

[@SquashGuy02134]

you can play the game for a hundred hours and you're still gonna miss somthing. unless you're willing to bust out the spread sheets.

[@jackiea9246]

I just started playing and love it so much so far 😭😭

[@samshaw7087]

21:03 that’s what she saidddddddd

[@endoskel9262]

Don’t need a big name to break the mold All triple A games are takin notes Timeless stories, innovation And the memories that we’re makin -J.T. music

[@LunaMinuna]

“Nosk but with wings, Jesus Fucking Christ” yeah me too. Me too. That’s terrifying

[@ParadigmZwei]

I've only played a small amount of Hollow Knight thus far (it's a high priority on my backlog), and I got the impression that the DLCs were mostly just woven into the main game. Can they be approached sequentially then? Because that's how I'd much rather play through the game. I love the notion of watching a game like this evolve through its various updates when I wasn't able to do so as it was all released. Amazing video for sure. This just randomly popped up in my recommendations and I instantly knew I had to watch it ASAP, :)

[@Furiousa96]

21:45 holy shit I didn't know that's what happens if you die to the collector.... that's such an interesting detail to me.

[@3F34N1M4T3S]

I want a round of applause for my big brother. My favourite games are Hollow Knight and Souls series (Dark Souls, Bloodborne etc.) and I learned both from my brother.

[@ChristopherMoom]

Batman: The Hollow Knight

[@Bendy26_]

Chara Dreemurr - Christopher Moon xD

[@tedkorff971]

i see you everywhere

[@Ferna471]

Man game jams are so fun, i would encourage everyone to go to one if you can, i go every year it's my favourite moment of every year

[@nikolasbartell2194]

I really wish that the Grimm troupe tent would stay after you beat grimm it was so cool

[@21Stephen12]

I usually hate games that have insanely hidden shit that doesn’t really guide you at all, but this game is insanely fun. I’m still trying to 100% it, I just can’t believe anyone can do everything within 20 hours.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

The 112% world record is 3h23... Lol

[@Lumpfriend]

I disagree that you should experience the content packs in the order they were released- most of the additions made by the updates (except for godhome and the path of pain) are better experienced alongside the main story. I think this is particularly true for the grimm troupe questline, since getting the flames *as* you explore the world is I think a lot more fun then getting them all after you've already uncovered near everything else.

[@tuomasrantalainen]

Completely agree. Not complaining in any way whatsoever at the free content they graciously still provided us, but the cool boss fight aside, the whole Grimm Troupe is basically a long fetch quest

[@cervixcrusader85]

One of the very first games I've ever played was Metroid Zero Mission and its still one of my favorite games. Dark Souls is probs my favorite, and what do you know; Hollow Knight is a mix of both :0 Team Cherry deserves so much more recognition for their efforts, I hope they create more titles in the future.

[@Brianworldwide_7]

This game as Stardew Valley and TLOU are pure labours of love. They took the right steps and people loved it, they gave their community a lot and that's something that we have to respect, not much companies do something like that.

[@Prince_-vu4wu]

i love how well this aged "hornet dlc" naaah we getting a game!

[@albertwitten3648]

God, everytime I see a video with HK it reminds me of how good the game really is. Looking forward for more content from team Cherry!

[@RikuMatsuoSF9]

I just love this game so damn much. Team Cherry really put their effort into it and there are 4 DLC FOR FREE! That makes me feel guilty as I bought it on sale...

[@c.r.bouton1842]

This game is absolutely AMAZING!!! It deserves all the praise it gets!

[@Alberich_Prince_of_Dwarves]

I'll forever be sad that I didn't hear about Hollow Knight until its kickstarter had ended :C

[@skidmark5308]

"In symphony of the night" Dude that pic is from rondo of blood.

[@mjolnirsoul9214]

"hornet DLC" HA

[@michaeljohnson5167]

This video is awesome, so it pairs pretty damn well with one of if not the best game I've ever played. By the way, that is one hell of a thumbnail.

[@tristanmorse3633]

Team cherry has done it again XD

[@IronianKnight]

Oof, I loved that view of the lighthouse in the Abyss at the end. Would use that as a background if I could get a high resolution shot

[@silly_goobie]

“To be as ground-breaking as they wanted it to be.” That seems like a reference to desolate dive, but I don’t think it is.

[@eternalrewind2190]

I thought this was another shovel knight game. It plays, looks like it and has knight in the name

[@rangerryz1490]

My dogs name is rusty... And therefore you get another sub.... Thank the doggo

[@georgewatts6790]

I started playing it and this vid will have me keep going

[@KellyMcAllister626]

I love this game and I do have voidheart Edition I really only start playing this game a week ago and I'm already halfway finished and I'm hoping to unlock everything

[@Brickedup4life]

I just started playing hollow knight a couple days ago and I love it so much I’ve already put 45+ hours into it

[@joexonyou593]

Wait a mi-

[@hyuntaryehezkiel812]

14:40 that's why i love this game

[@nightniro131]

Waiting till "Hollow Knight Silksong history 2020-2025" (it might last longer idk)

[@pegres5339]

I hope they also add DLCs to Silksong

[@projectsanctuary7944]

game so good that i actually bought it - i usually pirate singleplayer games, im a terrible person

[@brauliodiaz3925]

I have 50 hours in HK and still haven’t finished it. Trying to beat king Grimm, and that pesky Trial of the Fool it’s so loooong. But man it’s such a good game, it has so much content it’s ridiculous. I even like it more than SoTN.

[@whyme5210]

In true team cherry form they turned the hornet dlc into an entire other fucking game

[@wesleyward5901]

Rusty: play voidheart edition if u have a console. Me: boi it was free for ps plus last month so u bet I got it.

[@bryanquinn5573]

It's free with Playstation Plus right now such a great game.

[@Jonconji]

Almost there to beating the last boss (NKG) before i start the pantheon stuff and things. Holy shit i love the difficulty and i can’t wait to introduce people to this game. And soon after i heard the release of the second game and i... just ..😩😩😩😩 FUCK i can’t wait

[@KM-rj4iu]

Now the game is so good that after getting 112% completion I'm sad that there's nothing to explore more

[@logixindie]

Chào đồng hương. At least you are sad for a good thing.

[@KM-rj4iu]

@@logixindie có đồng chí thích game này cũng hiếm vl😂

[@b1battledroid9824]

P5

[@seichoseicho4136]

7:34 if they got 68,000 zote would've been playable😔