Field report · Bearing North (Challenge) · Team Cherry, 2017
Hollow Knight
A vast, ruined underground kingdom of insects, drawn by hand and full of secrets. Tough, but fair.
The journey
You explore Hallownest, a fallen bug kingdom, finding new abilities that open up paths you passed earlier. Fights are precise and demanding, and the map has to be bought and filled in as you go.
Who should go
Patient players who love getting lost, finding secrets and slowly getting better at a hard game.
Getting lost is the point
You start without a map, and that is deliberate. Look out for the cartographer humming in each new area, buy his map and a quill, and sit on benches to update it.
A hard but fair fight
Bosses take practice. When you are stuck, explore somewhere else for a while: there is almost always another route, and you will come back stronger.
How big it really is
The main story takes around thirty hours, and the free expansions double that for completionists. It is huge value for a small price.
Supplies
- Stunning hand-drawn world
- Precise, satisfying combat
- Enormous for the price
Hazards
- No difficulty options
- The early map system can frustrate
Survey
Final mark 4.8 out of 5, the average of the four survey lines.
In the logbook
One of the great adventures of the last decade, for players who enjoy a challenge.
Played to the end and filed on 27 October 2026. Details can change with updates; check the official page before buying.