About Hollow Knight
An extraordinary achievement from a three-person studio. Explore Hallownest, a bug kingdom consumed by an ancient plague. Atmosphere, world design, music, and combat are all exceptional.
Is Hollow Knight Right for You?
Best for
Hollow Knight is the metroidvania for solo players who want a vast, atmospheric world and combat they can actually master. You explore the ruined bug kingdom of Hallownest, earning abilities that open new areas and tuning your build with Charms, and it is perfect for patient players who relish learning a tough boss until it falls.
Maybe skip it if…
Skip it if you want multiplayer or hand-holding; it is strictly single-player, gives minimal direction, and its difficulty and backtracking will frustrate anyone who dislikes dying and re-learning.
How to Play Hollow Knight
Setup
Begin as the Knight with a nail and 3 masks (health).
On Your Turn
- Real-time: slash, dodge, jump.
- Collect Geo (currency). Die and leave a shade with your Geo.
- Equip Charms to customise abilities.
How to Win
Defeat the Hollow Knight. 3 different endings.
💡 Strategy Tips
Buy maps from Cornifer early. Charms dramatically change gameplay. Boss patterns always become learnable.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not buying maps from Cornifer in each new area, then getting hopelessly lost.
- Hoarding Geo instead of spending it, then losing it all to your shade on death.
- Ignoring the Charm system instead of swapping Charms to suit each boss or platforming stretch.
- Forgetting you must reclaim your shade where you died to recover lost Geo and full soul capacity.
Advanced Strategy
- Build Charms around your fight: Quick Slash and Mark of Pride for aggression, or Shaman Stone and Spell Twister for a spell build.
- Learn to pogo (down-strike) off enemies and spikes to cross hazards and chain damage.
- Heal during boss openings only; the Focus animation leaves you exposed, so bait an attack first.
- Explore thoroughly for Mask Shards and Vessel Fragments to expand health and soul early.
Variants & House Rules
Free content updates (Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, Godmaster)
Four substantial free DLC packs that added new bosses, charms, quests, and the brutal Pantheon boss rush.
Steel Soul mode
A permadeath challenge mode where a single death ends the run, for players who have mastered the base game.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
We consider Hollow Knight one of the finest metroidvanias ever made and an absurd amount of game for the money. The difficulty is real but always fair, and the world is hauntingly beautiful. If you enjoy the genre at all, buy it now; the long wait for Silksong only proves how special this one is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hollow Knight single-player or co-op?
It is single-player only. There is no multiplayer or co-op mode.
Is Hollow Knight too hard for beginners?
It is challenging but learnable; deaths teach you, and Charms let you tailor difficulty. Patient newcomers do fine, but it is not a casual game.
How long is Hollow Knight?
A focused main run is roughly 25 to 40 hours, and full completion with all the free DLC content can exceed 60.
How do I find the map?
Buy each area's map from the wandering cartographer Cornifer, then visit the shop Iselda in Dirtmouth for pins and markers.