Why Hollow Knight is perfect in FOUR MOMENTS

[@jerichode]

Another day another bug.

[@TheBluePhoenix008]

The fact that the first release of Hollow Knight was broken asf makes this so much funnier

[@unmeiidesu]

@@TheBluePhoenix008no

[@hollowknightenjoyer]

@@unmeiidesu yes

[@unmeiidesu]

@@hollowknightenjoyer no

[@hollowknightenjoyer]

@@unmeiidesu yes

[@Spiney09]

I just love hearing people say good things about Hollow Knight.

[@ecklynn]

I think my favourite Hollow Knight moment is when you find Marissa the singer in the pleasure house. On my first and only playthrough I dream-nailed almost all the dead folks you see around to get a few essence, except for her. The fact that you can sit there and just listen to her singing is so poetic, the kind of beautiful moment that strikes you hard after hours upon hours of wandering around in depressing environments, killing bugs, dying to bosses etc. In the pleasure house you can finally see the knight getting some rest and you can feel all the sadness and contemplation in his void eyes. How the fuck was I suppose to dream-nail her, when she politely asks you if you want to listen to her I was on the verge on crying lmao. What a wonderful game, I didn't expect it to go so hard on the emotional side

[@devileater777]

I dreamnailed her without knowing that she would never be there again. I thought that it was for the better and continued playing the game, until I realized that she was living her best life even after her death and that I just stopped it meaning that no one could hear her beautiful voice ever again. This realization that made me so sad I had to stop playing. I later restarted the game just to have a run where I didn't dream nail her so I could feel better about my playthrough.

[@DwAboutItManFr]

Why the fuck you dreamnailed the ghosts

[@Drekromancer]

@@devileater777 Now THAT'S a story that encapsulates the emotional impact of this game. Thank you for sharing.

[@rosevalety3408]

@@devileater777 Did the same (didn't even know you could spare the blacksmith before finding out people talking about it), I though for a long part of my experience that we were playing the bad guy, killing anything on our path even though they weren't doing harm at first, just wandering around (especially greenpath, that felt full of life and quiet). Even Hornet and the Dreamers were agaisnt us, and they didn't look like evil being, though we had to defeat them without even understanding why, as if an unconscious force was cnstantly pulling us towards it. Well, now I know it was indeed an unconscious force, the Shadow Lord, bringing us to fight their mortal enemy Radiance, but what made me the most sad, was that I nailed. Every. Single. Spirit, in the resting grounds, in Hallownest too. And I nailed the guardian. Their last words just cutted deep, cimpletely destroyed from what they were meant to be, I've though a lot about that, and I found that there are two readings about why you should or should not nail the spirits : 1 - Don't nail them, after all they are not aware that Hallownest is gone. They probably died from the Radiance plague a long time ago, or maybe something else, but they are living their dreams at last for eternity, in their last stronghold, they are still fighting for what they beleive, or what they hope for. They do no harm to anyone, they are just remnants of the past that want to live on, just beautiful and innocent spirits trying to move on. 2 - Nail them. Hopes and Dreams is exactly what Radiance is. The fact they are still around is because Radiance does not let them go in peace, they keep them traped in the Realm of Dreams, not alive, but not quite dead either, hoping for things that will never come because Hallownest is Dead, and as the Knight, it is your duty to put them at rest, it is what the King and the Shadow Lord made you for, to end Radiance's reign. Strangely, I've been very very moved by Marmu's story, the Queen once promised they would come and teach them how to fly, so they waited. They died, as the Queen guards died, they still waited, the Queen locked herself up, unaware that Hallownest died too, she forgot about her promise, she would never teach Marmu how to fly. Should you let a soul hope in vain or free them, let them be able to grief and move on. This game somehow made me think about that : should you hold on the past, on something that doesn't exist anymore, or should you let it go, hurt for a time but then heal and accept the present. I think that's what the Knight embodies, grief. It comes and steals your dreams, then vanishes without a trace, leaving you with a void, able of healing. Now here comes my third reading, but it's more about something a bit different. What GodHome Ending means. If you let the Void kill the concept of Light and Dreams itself, the True Radiance, by letting your responsabilities aside (fighting the Hollow Knight) then you might as well end the world and let Shadows and Chaos engulf everything. Let the Shadows win and you will get a worse ending than anything else, you will destroy everything. It is why the Knight doesn't kill True Radiance at the end of the fight, the Shadow Lord does, because you are not the Knight in the GodHome, you incarnate the essence of the Void, you are the Chaos Vessel. But you can somehow save the world even in this ending, by giving a delicate flower to the GodSeeker. The last hope that will never fade away. Is it Love ? Grief ? I personnally read it as 'True Innocence', it is a simple childish gift to someone, just a little flower that seems to break if only shook or hurt, that's traveled so far, just to be given to someone we just met, that we were never physically able to talk to even if we wanted to. That alone will stop the end of the world because it is just that powerful.

[@xplode09]

worst part for me was that this was when i first discovered that you could dream nail the dead 😭😭

[@Williamatics]

My favorite moment was when I went into the open part of the City of Tears for the first time and hear the music change. Even though I did not fully understand the lore yet, I still felt a profound sadness about what had happened to the city.

[@acuerden]

Oh, aye. And the sounds of the guards in there. So much personality in little noises, while knowing they're mindlessly repeating the long past...

[@Yas-gs8cm]

Holy, me too... just wanted to type that and it was the second comment! Opening the gates of City of Tears felt like home. There was this ancient life before, figures, heroes and villains. And it was you... Late to the party... Seeing the end and the tragedy only... No connection to the world.

[@ramblingwhitedog7346]

I remember laughing my ass off when I first fought Grey Prince Zote. I was in sheer disbelief that, in such a terrifying, perilous world, the power of blushing fangirls created something more dangerous than most of it combined. It was one of my favorite moments of all time.

[@shadysheep539]

Same here! I couldn't even get mad when I died. That happieness did go away in pantheon 3 though.

[@TheManDude]

@@shadysheep539 And again in P5 when he shows up again just after Fuckface Markoth.

[@SMAB2007]

@@TheManDude And then again when you inevitable start beating all the bosses in Radiant, also just after Fuckface Markoth

[@focshi5805]

Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games, and there is one moment that I will never forget. I was at kingdom's edge, doing some exploring, jumping around, bodies falling all around. I slipped, and fell exactly on the platform where I saw Tiso's body. I was struck with grief. Horrible, painful grief. I hadn't seem him in a while, I was wondering where he was less than 10 minutes ago, could I have done something? I didn't even think I liked him this much, why did it hurt so much? Who would have thought that a game about bugs would make me realize how sudden and unstoppable death can be.

[@kamilziemian995]

You capture so much about "Hollow Knight" experience in your words.

[@0kr4m]

@@kamilziemian995ciro gomes

[@caguay]

the "I don't think I liked him that much even" part of it is what hit me the most in that moment, as well, I went through almost the exact same thought process. It's the question that popped up in my head moments after: "what if he had survived and I got to meet him a bit better, like other characters?" the feeling of being robbed from a potential friendship, a long-lasting camaraderie, that the kingdom keeps throwing at the player over and over. You meet someone, but have no guarantee that you'll never see the last of them in some tragic way. And I was always left with that sorrowful feeling of emptyness, of someone missing, of a friend I never got the chance to know, or someone I liked that didn't get to stay

[@kamilziemian995]

@@caguay Well said.

[@ScrewdriverGaming]

I think the moment that stuck with me most was the birthplace cutscene. Climbing up from the abyss as other vessels rain down all around you, with the distant voice of the Pale King: "No mind to think... no will to break... no voice to cry suffering..." Dang man.

[@anxious3]

the music in that moment was perfect as well

[@buddyimboden8444]

I got this game for free during my first year in college and it somehow felt like this game was just as much a friend of mine as the people I met and lived with. I vividly remember meeting that singing ghost in the city of tears and sobbing quietly while listening to her sing to an audience she no longer has. That moment singlehandedly made this game unforgettable to me.

[@tdrendru2230]

There are so many moments in hollow knight that were a pure joy to me when I first experienced them, but one that will truly stick with me forever is when you find the ancient statue called "Shade Beast" in the game files holding the bowl of void that upgrades your dash ability. There's no way I can do justice to this moment through this comment alone, but I will do my best. After passing the lighthouse built by the king, I did not expect to find anything other than caves and natural formations so deep inside Hallownest. Instead, I find myself walking all the way through this haunted cave, to be met by the hollow gaze of an eerily well-preserved monument. In the deepest, darkest corner of this world, this graveyard of all of the king's mistakes, you find this remnant of a forgotten civilization of which we know close to nothing about. And yet, that gaze... it really gave new meaning to the quote "if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." It felt alive, arms stretched towards us as if it was waiting for us to find it - as if It was making an offering to Us. As if this civilization left a piece of itself behind in anticipation of our arrival !! And the reaction of the hollow knight with the void in the plate made it clear as daylight that that thing was built there for us to find it. Made me wonder "Who the Hell were these bugs, and what exactly do they know about me [the protagonist] that I do not?" This moment also packs some lessons about proper worldbuilding and mystery in a story. Because this ancient civilization is not just something we barely learned of. They are at the core of the entire story, they worshipped the darkness which we embody. Their ruins and discoveries provided the building blocks with which the king created the Pure Vessel and all the ones before it. We do not see them play a role in the story because they are dead at the time the story takes place, but none of the events in the game would take place without them. This is not the product of some pathetic attempt to create the illusion of depth in a superficial storyline; this is the pinnacle of building mystery through environment and atmosphere. And it's not just mystery in the sense that "Oh, we'll leave it to the player's imagination" - no. NO!! I hate it so much when people say that. When an author says that, it's literally them admitting they were too lazy to finish their story (*cough* the ending from Scorn *cough* that took 8 years to make *cough*). That's not the case here. There's mystery, but there's also a solution to the mystery, and there is enough information in the game to allow us to piece together all the elements of the story in a way that is similar to what the devs had in mind. Emphasis on "what the devs had in mind" - the devs HAVE DEFINITELY THOUGHT OF ALL THESE DETAILS that are left unrevealed !!! I'm certain that if you ask the devs behind hollow knight (I forget their name) for some details regarding this ancient civilization, they will be able to give a more satisfying answer than "whatever you imagine them to be." - because they know what they are, and they integrated them in the story with that idea in mind. And that is more than what many creators of stories out there can say about their works, unfortunately. Long story short: that statue is the mark of god-level worldbuilding talent.

[@JaySk8n]

there's a majority that I agree with here, but I'll have to disagree on the fact that "left up to your imagination" is a bad thing. In some cases, it can be really great, and in fact, that *is* what Team Cherry (the game's creators) do here. They give tiny snippets, little details that seem to point to a larger picture, as you mentioned, but they never give you that picture itself, you're making the assumption that there's only one picture they're trying to paint, but they've said themselves, part of the experience is imagining it for yourself, your own interpretation to immerse you further. That just does work if they go "here is the one intended way we wanted this to be viewed". It can still totally be done in bad ways, but to say "leave it to the imagination" is always a bad thing is an injustice to the very thing you're trying to praise.

[@w00dyexist46]

For me, I have experienced many moments, but one stands out - the battle against Nightmare King Grimm. This battle not only felt epic in concept but in execution as well. The game not only makes you perform everything you've learned but also makes you choreograph it. This battle is like a show, and you are the main performer. That is the idea going through your head as you not only time shots on the boss but use those hours you spent on the Path of Pain to dodge his bullet hell. Winning this fight felt so grand, and even though I have done many things more complicated, this idea keeps jumping back into my mind. Hollow Knight is my favorite game, and this is just one of the many reasons why.

[@prockstudios5319]

Yk, getting the monarch wings wus rlly rewarding. Also that moment where u first find the city of tears with quirrel

[@aidansilli4257]

It's my favorite game of all time, so it's hard to narrow it down to one moment. However, the moment where the game really clicked was greenpath. I thought I would just be going through dark caverns like the first area. However, I knew this game would be magical once it placed me into greenpath. To see such a lively, lush, colorful area made me speechless.

[@masternamer1959]

Quirrel at the Blue Lake.... Let me stay there forever. That moment, creating the tears of the city below, creating tears within me... returning to only find a Nail.

[@ThatDiabeticChemist]

The blue lake reflection moment with Quirrel is my favorite moment I’ve ever experienced in a video game. I’ve never felt that emotion before in a video game!

[@smpg329]

Exploration, combat, platforming and story. They really are the four pillars of what makes this game so amazing and honestly I shared a lot of these moments (except the crystal peak one, I used mantis claw to get up there) but I think the one from my playthrough that stands out to me the most is the final fight with the Hollow knight. And, the Raidence. These fights are amazing to me, in how they're able to tell a story that even when I didn't know the lore at the time of fighting them, I was able to get a pretty good idea of it through nothing but the fights and the moments in them. The Hollow knight stabbing itself as the music gets sadder as it just continues to scream is something I'll never forget, Hornet coming in to let you into it's mind to see just what's really been behind this infection, and then that last moment where you're climbing up to her as Siblings start appearing behind you and it all builds up to you landing one last hit on the Raidence, and finally destroying her with help of the hollow knight. I just felt the weight of seeing all these things come together and it was one hell of a finale. It showed so much without any dialogue with any of these characters (besides hornet before the fight), kinda like the beginning of the game. It marries combat and storytelling so well, and it was definitely one of my many highlights with this game. And what a high note to end on.

[@atroris5450]

I think beating the Absolute Radiance in the Pantheon of Hallownest is one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had. Not only are all the other bosses first, but the tension buildup in that fight alone (with the climb at the end mostly) made it feel like actual life and death for me in the end. To have all that stress pay off with the feeling of triumph was incredible ❤

[@plugshirt1762]

Yeah I feel like there is no feeling of satisfaction that could have come close to that in the whole game. I felt blessed to beat her on my second try after practicing a ton once I unlocked her. That fight on radiant mode is such a painful experience though

[@benetringer571]

On the contrary, beating the path of pain was both the best feeling, and the worst feeling at the same time, on one hand, you get huge bragging rights, on the other hand, all you get is a STUPID 3 SECOND CUTSCENE OF THE HOLLOW KNIGHT AND PALE KING LOOKING AT EACHOTHER.

[@EaterOfGeese]

​@@plugshirt1762I could not beat pure vessel, and I was too stubborn to practice, so I tried, tried, tried, tried, died, and gave up. Then I came back, practiced it until I won 3x in a row, and beat it first try. Worth it.

[@plugshirt1762]

@@EaterOfGeese lol same pure vessel was way harder than abs rad to me because after pure vessel everything else felt easier because I had to improve so much to beat that boss

[@jonh3141]

The moment where I found the collector I was just like “WHAT THE BUG”

[@easthastings1346]

QUIRREL IS VERY MUCH NOT DEAD AND VERY MUCH ALIVE AFTER YOU TALK TO HIM AT BLUE LAKE :( since other people also mentioned other moments precious to them, i gotta say, i love all the interactions with the nailmasters. finding their secluded huts, learning new abilities, making new friends, learning their story and their motivations for being where and how they are, learning who THEIR master was, and god damn sheo and the nailsmith painting together

[@benetringer571]

Sheo and the nailsmith are honestly by far my favorite part of this game.

[@notinsideyourwalls]

quirrel_death_nail is the sprite name of the nail he leaves at the blue lake, sorry

[@easthastings1346]

@@notinsideyourwalls death nail is just his nail's name :DDDDDDDDDDDD

[@littlelockheart3657]

​@@easthastings1346denial is a river in Egypt and you are drowning in it, dude.

[@EaterOfGeese]

​@littlelockheart3657 Zote doesn't die if you leave him, his nail's name is Life Ender, so he killed the vengefly, see?!

[@cobalttheprotogen312]

12:10 Hallownest is a vast and wonderous thing, but with as many wonders it holds, i've seen none quite so intriguing as you. That line just. Something about it seems... Im not quite so sure the words to describe it.

[@draytonalger2651]

"-The Walls are replaced with spikes, The Air is replaced with spikes, Your Immediate family members are replaced with spikes-" "PPPPPPFFFFTTT BWAAHAHAH" *Is still teary eyed and laughing as I write this* ✍️ 🤣

[@VulpineFox7]

Yes I loved that

[@randombat3477]

My favorite moment in Hollow Knight is that room in City of Tears where the music first kicks in. I remember just sitting on the bench with Quirrel for a few moments, simply staring out the rainy window.

[@eranbenzeev627]

my facourite momen was first time coming to greenpath after the dark blue and despair of the forgotten crossroads, coming to the beautiful green and peacful music was the moment I fell in love with the game and wanted to explore more

[@atherisGAY]

I love Quirrel so much. He tells you in the City of Tears how he always wondered where all the water came from. It comes from the giant lake above. Him sitting by the lake in the end, all the riddles solved and he being so melancholic and tired, all the hardships we both went through, it made me cry. ❤

[@leyulis8882]

I swear i can't help but always feel sad whenever i see Quirrel's last speech, it's something not many games are able to pull off, but team cherry genuinely created one of the best characters in media, not only just because "haha funny comfort character" but because Quirrel legitimately seems like a friend of yours, it creates a bond with you; the player and him, then the game takes that away from you not before giving Quirrel his final words, it is a sad thing to see and now that i look in detail of what i'm saying, it feels... Familiar, have you ever had friends you just, stopped talking to? Those you you used to know, but you have lost all contact with them, and you don't even know if they are still alive? Quirrel sorta feels like that and he genuinely gives me a similar vibe to remembering a friend i miss.

[@Goat_Clown]

I wish I was good enough at games like this to be able to enjoy the story

[@brots3]

Trust me I’ve never played a metroit vania but I still loved it

[@acidic_pasta_sauce906]

I'm not very good at video games either, and I struggled a LOT during my play-through. The key is repetition and perseverance, and you will get it right eventually. It feels AMAZING when you do!

[@EnderAscendant]

To put it into perspective, in my first playthrough I had around 40 attempts on the first Hornet fight. Now I can easily beat her (almost) hitless. Just keep it up if you're still having fun and you'll get good eventually

[@MrBombSTI]

I found Quirrel at the blue lake after having finished the game and felt a huge wave of sadness wash over me realizing that theres nothing left to do and I just sat there with Quirrel to reflect on everything I got to experience. What an outstanding game.

[@Venom_1462]

Hollow Knight is one my favorite games. I would say that one of my favorite moments would be when we regain our memories and are climbing the abyss and we have the narration "No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void. You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams. You are the Vessel. You are the Hollow Knight." Some of the saddest moments in the game for me were finding out about Tiso's failure, Quirrel's apparent suicide, Myla's death and the Hollow Knight trying to kill itself during our fight (Also the fact that there was no sound when it was screaming i.e. a reference to "No voice to cry suffering")

[@loud-whistling-yes]

one of my fondest moments of hollow knight came from my first playthrough while exploring the city of tears. i remember so vividly fighting my way through the guards in the tower right after fungal wastes, and i was BAD at the game. i barely made it to the nearest bench alive, and when i tell you i screamed when i saw quirrel, i SCREAMED. it was absolutely delightful. and the fact that i get to share a bench with him watching the rain? that small moment alone is probably my favourite part of every playthrough. every next time i sit on that bench without him just doesnt feel the same.

[@kghhkjhm]

i wouldn't say my favourite, but the moment that broke me in hollow knight was just after i got the void heart, i left the void and promptly died somewhere for probably the thousandth time. i made the usual trek back to my shade, ready to just kill it quickly before it could attack me. but then i got there, and it just floated there. not attacking, just watching me. after an over 80 hours of fighting my shade over and over, it just floated there. i cant explain why, but that broke me.

[@alinavioleta86]

Combat and platforming aren’t my strongest suit, but I love the exploration and experiencing all the art, characters, scenery, and music for the game. ❤️

[@plugshirt1762]

I feel like my favorite moment from the game besides some of the bosses had to be when I was exploring deep nest and realizing I was utterly and hopelessly trapped within as it felt like such an insurmountable labyrinth that I would never escape only to finally find the fast travel out

[@nwchef]

my absolute favorite moment in hollow knight and maybe all of gaming was finding out about the howling cliffs. i kind of spoiled myself for a lot of the areas in the game, but i'd never heard of howling cliffs... deciding, at one point, to go back through the gate using claw and wings and just revisiting the tutorial area was awesome on its own, but seeing that there was an area "before" the tutorial was just absolutely unmatched

[@dark_lighterexe5874]

I have played the game for the first time about a year ago or more, oh my this was the best choice I have ever done in my life and if I start talking about how beautiful and purely perfect this game is I won't stop talking so I will save you the pain say this, I have finished the game not long ago and i almost got depressed after knowing that I finished it cuz like "what now" and I remembered some areas that iam well aware of them existing in the game and a lot of other secrets I gotta uncover myself (besides the great amount of spoilers I got) I was so freaking happy ready to play and grind every single area not leaving a stone unturned, that was truly rewarding, just my exams coming soon enough when I finish them I won't be happy for my freedom of the thing called studying but for the fact that finally I have time to truly finish this game. Thanks for reading this far and half a great day. :)

[@dex1o_15]

When I first played through Hollow Knight, I sat with Quirrel at the lake briefly, but left quickly. I came back not long after and found him gone, with his nail stuck in the ground and I just knew that he was gone, and I immediately regretted not spending just a moment longer with him. I replayed the game again last year, and when I met him at the bench in the City of Tears, I sat with him for a lot longer, so happy and content to be able to make up for the lack of time I spent with him in my previous file. And when I found him at the lake again, I sat with him for longer than that. I could have just not spoken to him - he would have stayed alive if I didn't activate the dialogue - but that just felt like a disservice, like denying him the ending to his story. And when I left, I felt a little bit empty, but satisfied, as I'd seen his entire arc be fulfilled and come to a close and this time truly appreciated every moment I spent with him. This game is the only game I'm mad I didn't spend more money on LMAO

[@alex2707dl]

My favorite moment in Hollow Knight will always be when you arrive in the City of Tears and you can sit in a bench next to Quirrel, admiring how the rain falls and relaxing to the beautiful music. For me is the most peaceful moment in the game, each time I reach that point I just stay there for a while.

[@tkienjoyer]

I completely agree with your first moment. The feeling of like, "oh shit, i can do this" is a feeling i havent felt since. I also specifically remember trying to get up to the area with walljumps for a solid 5 minutes after deciding to actually play the game. When I got the mantis claw, I thought back to that thing, the light shining above me there. I wanted to see what was shining up there. Then I forgot about it as I raged at soul sanctum for the next 2 days. Then i went through crystal peak, and then got to the elevator and sent it. Looking back its kind of disappointing knowing you can just walljump up there, but that doesn't change how I felt in the moement. A sense of relief that I no longer have to question what is up there, what lies just outside of reach (and then i found my favorite boss of all time in howling cliffs -gorb- grimm)

[@garretiswright8532]

My moments were: First time stepping into greenpath (after only seeing the emptyness of Kings pass, dirtmouth, and forgetten crossroads), the dreamers, Blue lake with Quirrel, and the HK fight phase 2 music transition, final cutscene of dream no more. Those moments made the game and I would pay anything to foget about the game entirely so I could replay it again from start to finish

[@jungmusohn5230]

This game feels like such an important milestone in my life On par with riding my bike for the first time, making my first friend, graduating university, getting a job, etc. It changed me as a person just like a friend or important moment in my life would do.

[@evolv-art706]

One moment that truly stuck with me was around the second battle with Hornet, I'm not that good of a gamer, so the whole game I had been using alternative ways to fight enemies and bosses alike, rather than direct, nail-on-nail, close combat confrontation, I used weaversong, grubsong, thorns of agony, grimmchild, anything that could do damage for me while I just focused on dodging and healing, and it worked great, until that fight, no matter what I did or how much I dodged, hornet ended up beating me every time, I changed my build, tried defenders crest + sporeshroom, Baldurs shell + shape of unn, every charm combination that allowed me to continue my habit of not attacking directly, with no use, she still beat me again and again and again. Then I started to think about the first fight with her, one of the fights that I struggled with the most of any game, I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say I fought Hornet around 70 times before beating her for the very first time, I tried to remember what I did to beat her, I had none of my fancy charms, not a double jump, not even a dash, it was just me, the ability to jump, and my nail, that's when it clicked, this wasn't just another fight with some infected bug, it was a duel, a duel to prove I was worthy of the kings brand, and to prove it, I would have to go back to basics, so I got rid of all my cheesy charms, and I equipped quick slash, unbreakable strength, mark of pride and Iaunched into battle, I faced her head on, slashed my nail against her needle, and beat her, after so many tries, and that victory felt like glory

[@Piggy24]

Hollow Knight has always been one of the few works of art to fully impress me beyond what words can convey.

[@ragingmonkeycritic]

"I'm told this cutscene is also amazing" This made me release how far down the rabbit hole I am because I can tell you exactly what makes that cutscene so good but I wouldn't sound sane while doing it

[@EnderAscendant]

I fell in love with this game when I got to Greenpath for the first time. The brilliant, lush green everywhere after wandering around in cold, dark caverns was just so beautiful. The creatures in this zone don't really seem like enemies and you can pretty much leave them be if you decide to. The music was also what hooked me on this game. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to the piano cover of Greenpath, but its just so calming and relaxing, while also personifying the richness of life in the area. I just can't get enough of all the fantastic music in this game. Cristopher Larkin outdid himself with this beautful soundtrack.

[@jordankulikowski5956]

My favourite Hollow Knight moment was beating The Pantheon of Hallownest. There is just something about it being the final pantheon, the ultimate test of your combat skills. Beating every boss in the game on hardest difficulty and the final fight with The Absolute Radiance. I can't stress this enough how much sanity and patience I lost when trying to beat this version of the Radiance. To the point that I celebrated it with my friends, who also played this game, when I finally overcame this challange. And the final cutscene alone is just so rewarding, showing the Knight turn into a void monstrosity and tearing the Abs Rad to shreds. It makes you, the player, feel absolutely unstoppable. But what I mostly felt was relief. Like a soldier finally returning to his home after a war. It obvously is an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Despite all the pain it had caused me, Hollow Knight will always have a special place in my heart.

[@thisexists6588]

My moment was probably the city of tears, I couldn’t stop but admire it for a while. The atmosphere of everything the rain drowning out the world…. That or the moment when the Knight crawled out of the Void. That felt rlly powerful to me. Or even when you earn hornets respect enough for her to rescue you. Idk, so many cool moments but my fav will always be city of tears.

[@yosobro9193]

My favorite moment is probably when you find Quirrel at the start of the city of tears chilling on the bench and you can just chill with him listening to an amazing soundtrack while you stare at the rain pouring down on the city through the window. This moment is what made me truly fall in love with the Hollow Knight's soundtrack, and let me appreciate how beautiful the game is.

[@essneyallen6777]

Favorite moments in hollow knight are for sure: the first bench in greenpath, the one with the lamppost and the waterfall, there I knew for sure I was in love with the game; the absolute defiance of the little knight when you challenge the very sun; the rush of triumph when fighting Grimm I realized he could not kill me before I killed him: the fight was over even if he was not down yet. This game is very good at making you feel all of the emotions, and even more. Beauty, power and hatred indeed.

[@fading-sun-studios]

It is a masterpiece made with pure soul and heart in everything. Gameplay, lore, music everything is TAS level perfect. Many people blame it to be hard but within my heart it lies as one of the most challenging and entertaining games.

[@sirlight-ljij]

7:43 My god, that is a killer joke. The floor is replaced with spikes, the platforms are replaced with spikes, the ceiling is replaced with spikes, the air is replaced with spikes, your immediate friends and family are replaced with spikes

[@thalina2228]

Hollow Knight was the first video game I played since I was a kid. Took a really long time to learn since I forgot “obvious” things like slashing down = pogo, but I fell completely in love with it and the genre. I think I will never not get chills entering Green Path as the music starts. For me it was the greatest reward, spending hours in a cold, sad and liveless place and then discovering this. Also the first time I decided not to ascend via the metal chain from the Crossroads to Dirtmouth but instead went “what if I climb the walls” and then was rewarded with a wanderers journal

[@elerinwen]

I'm on my third play through and I love that I still keep finding little secrets and things to learn. My favorite moment however, or at least the one that made me fall in love with the game, has to be the Mantis Lords. They're the epitome of how boss battles should always be, challenging but incredibly motivating and rewarding. It feels more like a beautifully choreographed dance that you're challenged to learn than a brute force fight, and the respect you earn when you're finally done is so satisfying it leaves me giddy for days every time.

[@ibrahim5463]

Scaling the abyys and making it to the top,hearing the music gets louder and LOUDER.then the cutscene plays you gain controlls and all the shades stop atacking you This is my favourite moment

[@DoodleDragons6399]

My favourite thing about hollow knight is that it's massive, as an artist, I find the backrounds amazing, it's just so big and knowing that we can only phisicaly a fraccion of this world blows my mind. A nother thing is that I have 117+ hour on this game and I'm still finding out new areas and quests. All the missions you have to do to complete the game take a long time and I love that because it keeps me interested. This game has certain parts that you just want to stare at and give your self a pat on the back, for example, seeing the pale king for the first time, I just wanted to appreciate every second of being in his presence because I know I will never have that again.

[@KyleMcMullan_Musician]

One of my favourite things was the realisation that most of the bugs at the start don't attack you. Killing them gets you money that you pretty quickly exhaust all of the uses for. And you can get it from other places anyway. No one told you to kill the bugs.

[@Zisujitsu]

The thing I love most about Hollow Knight is the creative inspiration that it gives to people, videos such as yours are truly the missing 5th pillar of the game, an expanded story that is vastly different yet shared among many minds to enjoy

[@Mement0MoRi-]

As someone who is *DEEPLY* afraid of bugs i had to literally turn off my audio in Deepnest, and i was fuckin traumatized after my first fake grub, I literally gave up on all grubs till i got (somewhat) used to the fake pill bugs in Deepnest

[@EnderAscendant]

I did a similar thing in dishonored 2. Whenever I had to fight bloodflies I literally had to mute my tv or take off my headphones just to get through the (many) areas where those things were

[@JackTomlinson-d3i]

one of my favourite moments was the first time you cross the blue lake just the sheer majesty of it filled me with wonder and i hope people felt the same way.🙂

[@akmod607]

When Zote appeared at the end of the Colliseum of Fools that got me XD. I chose to save him every time and now he's the final boss of the Colliseum and you take him out in one hit? That was the funniest bit.

[@ScribbleCube_]

My favourite moment has got to be the climb to the top of the abyss after dream nailing yourself. I thought it was a very satisfying payoff to all the questions I had about our character. I also loved the mantis tribe showing respect after defeating the mantis lords, such cool world building. And something about the broken vessel/lost kin rematch really stuck with me, I remember spending at least an hour on it knowing full well I was under geared and I should've went and upgraded my nail, but I eventually got it and it felt sooo satisfying.

[@VulpineFox7]

This video expressess so many things i like about my favorite game, Hollow Knight

[@galacticjester_]

My favourite moment is probably that cutscene in the City of Tears with the Hollow Knight statue, where Hornet flies in. When I saw it for the first time it honestly really stuck out in my brain - I already loved the vibe of the City and that just felt like such a beautiful moment. It also feels like a big turning point - Hornet going from 'another vessel I have to kill' to 'maybe there is a chance for change after all'. Its just one of many points where it feels like you really build a connection with her, from her trying to kill you to her trusting you enough to let you either replace the Hollow Knight or take on the heart of the infection. She seems to start believing in you more and more throughout the game. There's also the contrast between your first battle where she tries to kill you and doesn't care for you at all VS the second fight where she wants to test you and is willing to have faith in you, and when you prove yourself she actually saves you from death

[@Axol8989]

Best moment: THK screams and starts stabbing themselves. The music completely alters and you kinda just stare.

[@PokemonProfessorNebula]

Real talk I always wanted to hug Quirrel when I saw him at the Blue Lake. I tried to return and sit with him again but only found his nail, plunged into the shoreline. Hope he is doing well wherever he ended up

[@caguay]

My moment, which was the moment I knew Hollow Knight was a more special game to me than I was giving it credit for, was when I arrived at City of Tears. And not *until* I rode down that one elevator that takes you to the bottom floor of the city, when the music swells in just the right moment, and the title card of this new place appears at the top of the screen. And I remember tearing up, feeling the pressure of crying all of a sudden, and I didn't know why. I still find it difficult to describe, and just thinking about it in retrospective still elicits the same reaction. All I could think of was just how sad and beautiful everything was... and I gave up, I had to admit it out loud to myself: *this game is a work of art*

[@scar-gninja5957]

One of my favourite moments was when I finally completed the mantis Lords (yes it took me a while I'm very inexperienced with games like hollow knight) and whilst leaving all of the mantis bowed down to me and I felt so much pride

[@owenmudgett1343]

Sitting with quirrel on the city of tears bench is easily my favorite part of the game. The vibes are unmatched.

[@Killerdroid]

When you activate the second phase of **The Hollow Knight** that was a perfect combination of story and gameplay as well as the change in the music was a moment I will never forget.

[@ondrejmrazek8209]

My favourite moments in chronological order: 1. Elderbug: "Perhaps dreams aren't such great thimgs afterall" 2. Entering City of Tears 3. Climbing out of abyss scene

[@mrblakeboy1420]

i used the mantis claw with precise jumps to get back to king’s pass before getting the crystal heart. i didn’t get to howling cliffs until way later, i didn’t know there was another room to the left

[@Avocado_san]

I cried when I first got to the City of Tears and heard the music. there was so many moments in Hollow Knight that were perfect

[@wiktor3727]

HK was my first metroidvania so skills like double jump were literally game-changers for me

[@siegdarklyon1900]

Being a combat junkie, facing off against the mantis lords, grimm, and nightmare grimm were my iconic moments.

[@michaelknasel1641]

When I first made it to the city of tears I stopped playing for like 3 minutes to take in the music and nearly cried with how good it is

[@Totalier]

That moment when the Hollow Knight fight turns into more than just a battle. When the cutscene played afterwards I suddenly understood.

[@darkmaple404]

By far the best moment in my Hollow Knight journey was the fight against the Radiance: Brutally hard, agonizingly painful to do. The willpower it took to rise up again from the bench in the Black Egg Temple and fight the Radiance again is something that I have always remembered. Because the fight isn't just a normal boss fight, it's a story; one about quenching the light and engulfing it with darkness, one about dreams and betrayal, and one of loss. Sure, you may have ended the Infection, you may have unlocked the true ending, but what did you really earn? Nothing.

[@Possume]

my favorite moment is beating Nightmare King Grimm, i struggled on him for about 2 weeks and when i beated him, i almost did it hitless, i screamed at the top of my lungs and jumped all over my couch, no other game has made me felt this way and i played a lot of hard games

[@AndrewSego]

Awesome vid. Great job encapsulating what makes this game special

[@VulpineFox7]

Some moments from my playthrough: Wandering through the Forgotten Crossroads, completely lost, and finally finding the path. Fighting in the aspid arena and being very bad at the game. Fighting Hornet, trying to heal, dodge, and get hits in to the amazing, fitting, and intense music of the most fun skillcheck ive ever experienced. Crystal dashing above Dirtmouth from Crystal Peak and finding myself back in Kings Pass. Looking back at how much worse i was, getting lost in the tiny Crossroads and dying to aspids. The tension and relief of winning a tough battle. Beating pantheon 1, something i never expected i could do. Finally making it past that final room in path of pain, finally not having to deal with the mach 10 sawblade i named Liam for some reason. Fighting Marmu another time and completely flipping my opinions. Looking back, in form of slug, and looking back, seeing how much ive improved. Flowing through the Radiance battle as the amazing music played.

[@zachmain155]

That part in the Colosseum where the walls close in and the spikes show up is unironically the hardest thing I’ve done in this game.

[@joemazis2647]

I spent a few hours, maybe 2 ish, when I found the mantis lords trying to beat them. I learned how to dodge and overall handle the regular mantises on the walk between the boss room and the bench, learned to fight the mantises by dodging and dealing damage simultaneously, and although the real reward is deepnest, the reward I felt was walking through the mantis village with the respect of the mantis tribe. This was the moment for me that I realized just how good of I game I was playing

[@drdapper1899]

The room with the Baldur shell charm is pretty good for me, as well as the drop into the oasis in deepnest. Both of these moments owned me in the best way, I fell for each of them hard. If you know you know 😂

[@choomintheroom]

my favorite moment was when i made it to the far right side of the abyss, and found a statue with a bowl. I decided to jump in the bowl for some reason, and was (needless to say) very well rewarded for it.

[@Toxoplasmosis679]

My favorite part hollow knight was how badass I felt after beating the watcher knights. It took me hours, because I had minimal equipment

[@skelecow]

beating nkg gave me a feeling ive never been able to feel again... a month of on and off trying at him and finally beating him on 1hp ... felt so good

[@sgt.cumsalot4076]

My greatest Hollow Knight moment is when i met my new wife, Hornet.

[@TheCursedJudge]

wil ca gi speed wall

[@lilbruh1300]

4:42 “pure enjoyment”, yeah this was hell for me; fun, but hell

[@maestromarat6195]

Surprising approximately no one my favorite moment in hollow knight is the birthplace scene followed shortly by the defeat of the radiance when all the lads come and circle beat the overgrown moth.

[@vizthex]

i was concerned about that Steel Soul footage in Crystal Peaks, and it seems i was correct lol massive oof to die to the guardian though, rip that save.

[@katelynsullivan4400]

5th moment: all of the music. The score is perfection.

[@MrocnyZbik]

The moment i finally delivered this blasted flower I screamed so loud my partner come over to check what happened. I no longer cared about award for it, I have completed this accuresed thing and it was so satisfactory.

[@jackely7073]

Gonna be honest, best moment for me was challenging radiance the first time, with no knowledge of what was gonna happen. Having gotten 100% of the achievements it still stands out to me

[@user-me5fh3yu1j]

I always go the impression I would eventually get a prompt to take Myla back to Dirtmouth and it never happened

[@duffyscottc]

Thank you for making this!

[@Jbcampello]

this needs more views!

[@vizthex]

i did the Trial of the Fool solely to get the achievement (been trying to 100% the game since i got it), and i chuckled a bit after finishing it because i realized that by beating it, i *was* the fool. maybe it wasn't intentional, but i like to think that the lack of reward was made as a funny joke against the player - the game itself questioning why you would do something so difficult for a fancy golden-bordered box in your Steam library. course i just did it cuz i wanna 100% the game (and it's kinda fun), but still.

[@TheYouTubeFox]

This is quite a good video

[@Labyrinth_Guard]

I've never been one for difficult games, which when hollow knight came out that was what it was called, difficult. So I didn't play it, but I did love the art style. Finally, about 3 years ago I downloaded the game from my brother's library and began to play. It was very difficult at first, but it wasn't unfair, there was a learning curve and I worked through it. While the gameplay is something I can appreciate, the artistic direction is what makes Hollow Knight the best game I've ever played. (though I can't say I've finished it, I can get through the first 2/3s of the game pretty quickly but the traitor lord and the hollow knight are roadblocks for me) The story, the music, the style of the characters vs the style of the backgrounds, how characters speak, theming, atmosphere. Hollow Knight brims with personality, with a world that while dead is still alive. It makes me wonder what hollow nest looked like before the infection, what quirrel lived, who these bugs were, why the many npcs came to hollow nest, the reason they stayed, the reason they've survived. It makes me think so much about what the world outside of hollow nest could be with the given lore. The story, the small bits and the larger picture fill my heart. quirrel's journey, the unremarkable and unseen death of Tiso who boasted none stop when he was alive, the dreamers, the king. The nailmaster brothers and the mystery of their separation, the choice to kill or spare the nailsmith, the ability to save cloth. Each character's design not only is interesting but often shows what or who the character is/was. Shape language is absolutely a core in their designs. Tiso is sharp and most of his weight is in his upper torso which makes him appear strong. Hornet is both sharp and flowing, for her speed and skill. Quirrel, while round and hunched, rests his hand on his nail, he is clearly kind but not weak. The bosses all range in size and shape, many being large and bulky, which makes npc bosses like hornet and Sly very unique for their smaller and slimmer statures I could ramble for hours about the game's design, story and art, but to simplify, its a game synthesizes so many features in an incredible fashion

[@PhilipTheBird]

I've discovered your channel recently and I like it. Keep it up!

[@brutemouse6024]

*My* moment.. is in the Soul Sanctum. On the other side of an elegant door, where you find a poor shaman bug. There is no dialauge, but there is so much story-telling in that 5-second cutscene than most people would even consider. It's one of my favorite moments in the game. The hidden nuance of that Soul Shaman, the information you get about experimentation and the failing attempt at curing this "disease" of Hallownest. I made a quote about it a little while ago. "Poor bug was clearly a victim of immoral, unlawful and non-consentual experimentation. And as Hallownest fell to ruin, they were stuck there.. for a long, long time. Until finally, one day, one small bug came through, beating the odds. As you examine the shaman, it screams, releasing all the pain it had suffered over all those years, but yet also releasing the absolute joy it felt when they realized that they could be free, free at last from the isolation, loneliness, and above all... pain. So it gives one final gift to the world, something that could make a difference. May that shaman live in peace for the rest of their days, knowing that their power was put in good hands."

[@mmelo7832]

Are we not gonna mention how quirrel leaves his nail and disappears when you come back to the lake? It’s heavily implied that he dies there 😞

[@acuerden]

This might be an odd moment - but realising the game developers set up Godhome's boss rushes, which I didn't feel I could beat, that I don't think I have the skill for... as the leadup for a semi-bad ending. It was a relief. I can do it if I want, but didn't have to. Other than that, sparing the Nailsmith, and seeing his new life, and giving the flower to Elderbug. Two moments of actual joy in a dark game.