บทวิจารณ์ล่าสุดโดย Yummo Wickersham

Hollow Knight changed the way I view video games. Just until now, I was a naïve gamer with roots in taking movies really seriously that spilled into my other hobbies, especially gaming. If there was no in-game motivation to continue playing then I would lose the desire to continue. It's the reason why I dropped so many games that would be considered "prestigious", where platformers would never be a consideration again after my disappointment with Mario Odyssey and Rayman Origins. Not that these games were bad or not well-made, they could have had the best platforming mechanics for all I know, but without the cinematic qualities of the games I'm used to - I dropped them.

Then here's me on a whim, hearing about the praise this game is getting and it sitting in my library for an unspecified amount of time. I decided to play a game that was the complete antithesis to what I enjoyed - a 2D platformer Metroidvania without a narrative. I've tried to play this game at least a few times, but I never got past 20 minutes due to me being confused.

But for some reason I just felt the urge to try at least one more time. At least one more to make sure I have an opinion on this game.

Went into it with low expectations.

Turns out I loved it. This game is a top contender for why games can be considered art without trying to replicate other aspects of mediums. It is a game that can only exist as a game that doesn't borrow anything else. Platforming controls are refined to a touch, making movement and combat feel smooth and rewarding. It may be simplistic, but it is with this simplicity it excels. The combat and movement incrementally upgrade, but never complicate the fundamentals of the game.

But the best part of this game is exploration and how rewarding it is to revisit locations that were once unattainable after getting an ability. The game teases these locations frequently, but there is no indication as to where and how you get there, relying on the player's intuition to put two and two together. It does not hold your hand at all - which is why I was once lost when I first began. But that is the point: the game makes you feel lost, but rewards the feeling of being rudderless as you explore new areas without a map at first.

Each new area is expertly designed to be a challenge to navigate without being an annoyance, but rewards exploration. The game is not easy, but it's rewarding to venture through the caves and build a pathway in your mind as to how to venture through the caves. This game relies on creating an atmosphere that is gloomy and dark, without inducing a sense of dread. It is mysterious with lore sprinkled throughout without much explanation as to what it may be. It is there without calling attention to itself, but rewards those who seek to find more information.

My only major complaint with the game is the fact that enemies do damage to you when they shouldn't, such as when they scurry away from you. But this is a nitpick at most - it does increase the tension of every encounter.

Other than that: Hollow Knight is art. It is art that changed the way I view this medium and only furthered my appreciation for gaming without a story. The most rewarding aspect is the way this game builds upon concepts and rewards intuition of the player. This game is not easy - it may be one of the hardest games I've played, but it is just so much fun to continue finding out with this game has to offer that it doesn't get in the way of enjoyment.

The campaign is actually kind of difficult if you play it legitimately but ultimately is rewarding

However being able to mess around in the sandbox mode now with workshop mods makes this some of the most mindless fun I've had. This game is great to chill out listening to a podcast or an album as you just wreck stuff in unique ways.

Takes what made Arkham City great and doesn't do anything with it, which would make it a middling complaint but it actually is made worse by level design that squanders the fun of Arkham City's mechanics - making it not only a copy, but an inferior replication by comparison.

Stealth levels that are too open and consequently too easy. This exposes just how braindead the AI can be at times (on Normal mode, which you cannot change the difficulty of) when they refuse to look around corners and go down predetermined paths. It ruins the immersion and even the tension of enemy encounters as you just become frustrated at the mechanics rather than your actions.

The combat never evolves from what was shown at the beginning, creating a plateau of challenge and interest. Several of the same enemy types, but too few of the variety. While at the same time, Batman's combat animations do not carry over from Arkham City and instead repeat the same four counters and finishers - making every combat experience seem too similar not only in feeling but in presentation.

The story itself is a huge let down - suffering from telling, and not showing. Already showing its inferior hand of storytelling compared to the predecessors: exposition used through so many cutscenes, without any interest, and introducing the antagonists in ways that do not spark any interest. Telling us we should be intimidated: but we are not, instead we are told all these facts. It fails to make any impact on the player.

There's also too much the game inundates us with and dulls the experience even further.. Too many combat exposures, too many stealth levels, all of which go on for too long. Which with my brief time with Arkham Origins, I saw the flaws readily available from the beginning without much sign of improvement. The second the world opened and didn't allow you to grapple to readily accessible areas, the game was in trouble. Once you were on the ground and saw how empty and lifeless the world was, not only in NPC population (obviously by choice), but in design. There is not much incentive to explore as the buildings all feel the same with similar architecture, and unless you enjoy the combat, there is not much to do except to get into empty feeling brawls with thugs for the one hundredth time and fine Riddler puzzles.

4/10

It's like a stealth based XCOM without the punishing RNG attached. A part of me may even prefer it to XCOM on account of it being more manageable and accessible. It takes itself less seriously than its rather action-oriented counterpart, and I think it is all the more better for it. It is challenging just enough even on the beginner difficulty without having it be due to the roll of the die and instead be on the player. The game requires intense tactical thinking at times when it comes to maneuvering through the environment and outside enemy eyesight.

Each character is unique and brings their own advantages, wand makes for interesting synergy when getting the right team. The game is entirely randomized each time so the game is literally endless in true rogue like fashion.

This software in conjunction with Rainmeter (which is free!) is perfect, and the quality you get from the community of both is worth the $4. You'll spend a lot of your time looking at your desktop, so you may as well pimp it out.

The performance effect is minimal if you have it pause when an application goes into full screen (etc.), so no need to worry about it consuming your CPU and RAM if you use it wisely.

This game shouldn't be as great as it is with its laughably simple concept, but it is with the simplicity that it focuses on delivering one of the most relaxing experiences Steam has to offer. Even calling this a "game" is stretching it, and while there are strategic elements to the game such as managing your sleep and fuel while trying to keep on time, there is not much to it besides obeying the traffic laws while getting from Point A to B with seldom anything else in-between. But it is with the simplicity that the game thrives, where it is not about the destination you arrive to but how you get there along the journey. There are no multiple paths to take, you are just a mere courier following directions on a map, but with the right kind of music, podcast, or audiobook to accompany you on that journey along Europe - that journey becomes not only much more bearable, but relaxing.

Seeing the European countryside through the scenery of my peripheral windows while having an entire Queen album blast from my radio is something that should not be as fun as it is; the simplicity of the game enhances my ability to listen to the words or lyrics being spoken to me with the upmost of clarity. It almost becomes a tool to allow me to focus to what I want to listen to, where the mind would wander otherwise if I tried to do anything else that required more mental effort than walking. This game is soon to be my most played game eventually, now with my newfound adoration for audiobooks and podcasts.

It's bad. Reeeeaaalllly bad. There is nothing good to say about this game. It's not even so bad it's funny, it's just bad bad.

This one surpasses the original in every way. With a better soundtrack, a fresh new take on bosses and enemies, and an infinite amount of added weapons, the differences are leaps and bounds better than the first. Enough good can't be said about this game.

An extremely short game with an extremely simple, yet effective story. You experience curiosity, boredom, interest, and devestation all under 6 minutes. I recommend it.

The most fun I've had in a video game. Ever.