Finally being released on 9/4. Hollow Knight is probably a top 5 game of all time for me, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Hard to believe this was announced 6 years ago

I really need to finally play Hollow Knight...

Can't wait for this.

My son has been anxiously waiting for this announcement for the last 2 years!!

boy09 said:

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I really need to finally play Hollow Knight...

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It good.

Played Hollow Knight on Switch in 2023, and it instantly vaulted into my top 20 games of all time.

I only recently got into Metroidvanias, and I've been playing all the ones I could get my hands on in the last few years.

(Ori 1-2, Guacamelee, all the 2D Metroids...)

I also happen to be a lover of movie / video game soundtracks, and HK's soundtrack is a masterpiece.

So, needless to say, this is a day 1 purchase for me. Crazy that it's not even gonna be a full price game. This game could be $60 and would still be worth it.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Played Hollow Knight on Switch in 2023, and it instantly vaulted into my top 20 games of all time.

I only recently got into Metroidvanias, and I've been playing all the ones I could get my hands on in the last few years.

(Ori 1-2, Guacamelee, all the 2D Metroids...)

I also happen to be a lover of movie / video game soundtracks, and HK's soundtrack is a masterpiece.

So, needless to say, this is a day 1 purchase for me. Crazy that it's not even gonna be a full price game. This game could be $60 and would still be worth it.

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This sounds exactly like me. I played Ori 1 and 2 and loved them as well as Hollow Knight. Any other suggestions?

Guacamelee is a great one, not quite on the level of the Ori games, but still a solid and fun game.

Obviously the Metroid games are highly recommended, if you haven't played those already.

I would go Zero Mission, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Metroid Dread.

(All of those except Dread are on NSO.)

You could also try Dead Cells - it's a rogue-like Metroidvania that I found pretty enjoyable.

I've always enjoyed the side scrolling Metroid games and tried the original Hollow Knight a couple years ago. I think I just had a hard time visually keeping track of where I was because everything looked so similar. It just seemed too overwhelming to keep track of, so I dropped it and never finished it. I may need to try again some time.

I thought Metroid Dread was a fantastic game.

I thought the same thing when I first started Hollow Knight and thought it was a bit boring but I'm really really glad I stuck with it. It really is amazing if you like the metroidvania style.

And some of those bosses are hard as hell.

Radiance (final boss of HK) took me 2-3 days to beat.

So satisfying though.

Claude! said:

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You could also try Dead Cells - it's a rogue-like Metroidvania that I found pretty enjoyable.

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I'll have to add that to the list.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Radiance (final boss of HK) took me 2-3 days to beat.

So satisfying though.

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That was Nightmare King Grimm for me. I had a love/hate relationship with that fight.

Jimmy McNulty said:

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I thought the same thing when I first started Hollow Knight and thought it was a bit boring but I'm really really glad I stuck with it. It really is amazing if you like the metroidvania style.

And some of those bosses are hard as hell.

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Agreed here. I thought it was just good until I hit the Mantis Lords fight. By that time, you have a better idea about the map and playstyle, and that fight is fun as hell. I would consider that the end of the early game, and it really starts to shine once you head into City of Tears.

Highly recommend Blasphemous 2. Silky smooth gameplay, great pixel art and animations.

Also, give Animal Well a shot if you haven't already. It is not combat focused, but the puzzles are so unique. Very innovative entry in the genre.

Axiom Verge is another one I liked.

Loved Axiom Verge 1 and 2. Very different games, but both fantastic. Looking forward to what else that developer puts out. Supposedly he has ideas for several more games in that universe!

Hollow Knight: Silksong (Switch Digital) preorder is $19.99 at GameStop https://t.co/k7FnWgekQ9 #ad

most likely has a Switch 2 upgrade pic.twitter.com/5tyQruMPY2

— Wario64 (@Wario64) August 29, 2025

Man. Hollow Knight was a game I tried so hard to like, but it just turns out metroidvanias aren't for me. Dead Cells is about as deep into that I can go and that's still pretty linear. For me there's a pretty fine line between exploration and "banging your head against every wall that exists to see if something happens that lets you progress" and I just bounce off that.

That said, I celebrate these dude's success and hope it's a banger of a game people love. I'm just gonna hang out over here in the corner playing galaga while the cool kids have fun.

I said the exact same thing and did not "get" the genre at all.

Braid is still my favorite metroidvania puzzler. Game is beautiful, story feels meaningful, puzzles are awesome.

Two days!

I think my theme for '25 is playing catch up on games. Got sequels to Death Stranding and Hollow Knight but here I am just now playing the originals.

Hollow Knight is really good. Super Metroid and Castlevania SOTN are two games that I've played through multiple times. It's just a fun genre and Hollow Knight has a ton of character. I like it.

My kids play the original. This has been stuck in my head forever:

This crashed the Nintendo eshop for 20 minutes.

Finally got it purchased. Downloading now.

Pretty crazy for a game made by 3 people.

Pretty. Good. So. Far.

I couldn't beat the second boss in the original HK game and rage quit. I'm too old for this.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Guacamelee is a great one, not quite on the level of the Ori games, but still a solid and fun game.

Obviously the Metroid games are highly recommended, if you haven't played those already.

I would go Zero Mission, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Metroid Dread.

(All of those except Dread are on NSO.)

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You forgot Metroid: Samus Returns. I guess it would go after Zero Mission. The game is a little easier than Dread, but I never beat the final boss in Samus Returns, and I got stuck somewhere near the end of dread. I've only beaten Zero Mission, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion. I think what annoys me about the ones I haven't beaten is the damn button timing mechanic that it forces you into for boss fights. It's extremely frustrating.

Thunderstruck xx said:

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I couldn't beat the second boss in the original HK game and rage quit. I'm too old for this.

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Am I missing something? That looks really really easy.

I didn't forget, I just haven't played it since I never had a 3DS.

Yes, the fact that it only looks easy when you see someone fighting it who's died many many times and learned all the patterns.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Yes, the fact that it only looks easy when you see someone fighting it who's died many many times and learned all the patterns.

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Obligatory:

Well I'm about 20 hours in. Summary of my thoughts so far:

I feel the game is considerably harder than HK in some aspects, but easier in others. For instance, two masks of contact damage from bosses is really punishing, to where it feels like one wrong move and you're done. Also, some of the arena fights are grueling as hell. A ton of enemies with awkward/unpredictable move sets. (Currently I'm stuck on Savage Beastfly which is the best example of both of these. The thing summons an insane amount of enemies in a fairly small arena, which makes it incredibly difficult to move around and you can be easily cornered.)

On the other hand, I like the fact that you no longer have to fight your shade after you die, making permanent deaths just a little easier to avoid. (Also, converting rosaries to necklaces is a nice system which I prefer over the old bank.)

Really enjoying the addition of tools, crests, and quests. (And really glad they made healing not take up a tool slot like the charm did in HK.) These all make the game feel a lot more "full", and more customizable to however you like to play. (Quick vs heavy hits, projectiles vs bombs, etc)

And everything that was great about HK is still true in this game. Beautiful art style, game design, and awesome music.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Well I'm about 20 hours in. Summary of my thoughts so far:

I feel the game is considerably harder than HK in some aspects, but easier in others. For instance, two masks of contact damage from bosses is really punishing, to where it feels like one wrong move and you're done. Also, some of the arena fights are grueling as hell. A ton of enemies with awkward/unpredictable move sets. (Currently I'm stuck on Savage Beastfly which is the best example of both of these. The thing summons an insane amount of enemies in a fairly small arena, which makes it incredibly difficult to move around and you can be easily cornered.)

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That seems to be a popular opinion from what I've read. Mainly that the combination of reduced i-frames, lack of health upgrades, and double damage on bosses really ups the difficulty. I'm only a few hours in, and I've definitely died more than I did in Hollow Knight. I've only faced a couple bosses, though, and they haven't been too crazy yet. The diagonal pogo is taking some time to get used to.