Recent reviews by Fathomm

Good

good

Hollow Knight is an absolute masterpiece.

Don’t take that sentence lightly, either. I’m not exactly an easy person to please… when it comes to any form of media, I’ll find any flaw I can that I can use to rip the game design apart. I had no such issues with this game.

Right off the bat, you’re hit with a sense of mystery. Who are you? What happened to this mysterious kingdom, and why do no explorers ever seem to return? It’s your job to find out, and unraveling that mystery is what propels you throughout most of the early game.

As you become more acquainted with the ruins of Hallownest, you start to see just how much effort went into crafting the atmosphere of this game. There is an amazing amount of diversity between the different areas of the map in this game, and stumbling into a new place is one of the most exciting things.

What really sells it is the art design and the soundtrack. I am in love with this games art direction - the painterly backgrounds are absolutely stunning, and combined with the simply drawn, cartoonish characters and foes, the gameplay is made more fluid as well, and an appealing contrast is achieved. The soundtrack is also amazing, and completes the tone of the game so well. I will avoid spoiling, but I remember when it was past midnight and I first stumbled into a certain wet area and first heard the ambiance and music blend together into the most beautiful atmospheres I’ve ever experienced in a game. I actually just sat there, listening and taking it all in. There are many places in the game where you get a similar feeling, and words can’t do it justice.

The game’s story is also fairly interesting. I will avoid spoilers, but I personally enjoyed unraveling the lost history of Hallownest more than the games plot, since it tends to take a backseat to the gameplay. However, I’m okay with this.

I’ll finally address the gameplay. One of my biggest pet peeves with many games is the lackluster controls. In many titles, it feels like the responsiveness of the player character and the actions they perform is made into an afterthought. In Hollow Knight, the controls couldn’t be any greater. There is no annoying acceleration or deceleration in the players movement, and the jumping has a lot of initial lift. In general, the combat and platforming feel tight, snappy, and responsive, which is an especially important feature to have in a game with such fast-paces combat. It’s not like Souls games, where combat is calculated and weighty; not that it’s a bad thing in Dark Souls or any other FromSoft title, but it certainly wouldn’t fit Hollow Knight.

The combat is simple to learn, but you’ll quickly find that it’s very acrobatic and fast paced, requiring you to react super fast and learn the patterns of the bosses and enemies. In that regard, it is a bit similar to FromSoft games, but it’s definitely more forgiving, as the pace is much faster. The bosses have relatively limited move sets, and are much easier once to learn to be patient and don’t over-react to any one move.

My only critique of this system, and it’s a very minor one, is that some of the bosses, even if they have simple move sets, can be pretty frustrating, especially when the nearest respawn point is about 5 rooms away. I don’t really get why they did that. Thankfully, once you get to the late game it becomes less of an issue, because they start putting save points 1-2 rooms away from the bosses. That’s just a minor nitpick though, don’t let me make it sound like a major issue, because it’s not.

Overall, this game is an absolute 10/10. $15 is an insanely low price point for such an amazing experience, and I cannot recommend it enough. What an absolute work of art.

Best game ever made

i have genuine criticisms but game still fun

good

good

⡯⡯⡾⠝⠘⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢊⠘⡮⣣⠪⠢⡑⡌ ㅤ
⠟⠝⠈⠀⠀⠀. ⠡⠀⠠⢈⠠⢐⢠⢂⢔⣐⢄⡂⢔⠀⡁⢉⠸⢨⢑⠕⡌ ㅤ ⠀
⠀ ⡀⠁⠀⠀⠀⡀⢂⠡⠈⡔⣕⢮⣳⢯⣿⣻⣟⣯⣯⢷⣫⣆⡂ ⢐⠑⡌
⢀⠠⠐⠈⠀⢀⢂⠢⡂⠕⡁⣝⢮⣳⢽⡽⣾⣻⣿⣯⡯⣟⣞⢾⢜⢆⠀⡀⠀⠪
⣬⠂⠀⠀⢀⢂⢪⠨⢂⠥⣺⡪⣗⢗⣽⢽⡯⣿⣽⣷⢿⡽⡾⡽⣝⢎⠀⠀⠀⢡
⣿⠀⠀⠀⢂⠢⢂⢥⢱⡹⣪⢞⡵⣻⡪⡯⡯⣟⡾⣿⣻⡽⣯⡻⣪⠧⠑⠀⠁⢐
⣿⠀⠀⠀⠢⢑⠠⠑⠕⡝⡎⡗⡝⡎⣞⢽⡹⣕⢯⢻⠹⡹⢚⠝⡷⡽⡨⠀⠀⢔
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⣿⢾⠀⢌⠌⠀⡁⠢⠂⠐⡀⠀⢀⢳⢽⣽⡺⣨⢄⣑⢉⢃⢭⡲⣕⡭⣹⠠⢐⢗
⣿⡗⠀⠢⠡⡱⡸⣔⢵⢱⢸⠈⠀⡪⣳⣳⢹⢜⡵⣱⢱⡱⣳⡹⣵⣻⢔⢅⢬⡷
⣷⡇⡂⠡⡑⢕⢕⠕⡑⠡⢂⢊⢐⢕⡝⡮⡧⡳⣝⢴⡐⣁⠃⡫⡒⣕⢏⡮⣷⡟
⣷⣻⣅⠑⢌⠢⠁⢐⠠⠑⡐⠐⠌⡪⠮⡫⠪⡪⡪⣺⢸⠰⠡⠠⠐⢱⠨⡪⡪⡰
⣯⢷⣟⣇⡂⡂⡌⡀⠀⠁⡂⠅⠂⠀⡑⡄⢇⠇⢝⡨⡠⡁⢐⠠⢀⢪⡐⡜⡪⡊
⣿⢽⡾⢹⡄⠕⡅⢇⠂⠑⣴⡬⣬⣬⣆⢮⣦⣷⣵⣷⡗⢃⢮⠱⡸⢰⢱⢸⢨⢌
⣯⢯⣟⠸⣳⡅⠜⠔⡌⡐⠈⠻⠟⣿⢿⣿⣿⠿⡻⣃⠢⣱⡳⡱⡩⢢⠣⡃⠢⠁
⡯⣟⣞⡇⡿⣽⡪⡘⡰⠨⢐⢀⠢⢢⢄⢤⣰⠼⡾⢕⢕⡵⣝⠎⢌⢪⠪⡘⡌⠀
⡯⣳⠯⠚⢊⠡⡂⢂⠨⠊⠔⡑⠬⡸⣘⢬⢪⣪⡺⡼⣕⢯⢞⢕⢝⠎⢻⢼⣀⠀
⠁⡂⠔⡁⡢⠣⢀⠢⠀⠅⠱⡐⡱⡘⡔⡕⡕⣲⡹⣎⡮⡏⡑⢜⢼⡱⢩⣗⣯⣟
⢀⢂⢑⠀⡂⡃⠅⠊⢄⢑⠠⠑⢕⢕⢝⢮⢺⢕⢟⢮⢊⢢⢱⢄⠃⣇⣞⢞⣞⢾
⢀⠢⡑⡀⢂⢊⠠⠁⡂⡐⠀⠅⡈⠪⠪⠪⠣⠫⠑⡁⢔⠕⣜⣜⢦⡰⡎⡯⡾⡽

good game

fun game