Hollow Knight has grown far beyond its humble beginnings, first launching on the indie scene in 2017. Since then, it has become considered one of the best Metroidvanias out there, a great success on the Nintendo Switch and other platforms, and an instant classic for its story, characters and visuals. Even those who don’t tend to be fans of the genre can easily find themselves bewitched by the game’s atmosphere.
Since its launch, the fan base for the game has expanded exponentially. As is always the case on the Internet, that passion has manifested itself in the form of mods, forums, discussion videos, and memes that poke fun at various aspects of Hallownest and its denizens.
10 The Game Starts Hard And Only Gets Harder
Let’s not beat around the bush here: Hollow Knight is hard. In fact, it has become rather infamous for that difficulty, especially with its many bosses. Hornet, the protagonist of the upcoming follow-up, was just one of many. First-time players will tend to encounter her early on, and though she puts up quite the fight, she’s far from the toughest hostile force waiting within Hallownest (as Reddit’s Myster_Pylyp points out with this meme).
From the massive, mace-wielding False Knight to the fast and vicious Nightmare King Grimm, Hollow Knight definitely offers a variety of unique (albeit frustratingly difficult) bosses that players will grow to both love and hate.
9 Slyly Making Huge Amounts Of Geo
Players will find Geo in most areas, which can be used to buy a variety of things, most notably a map. Sly is a character the Knight saved early on in the game in the Forgotten Crossroads, who goes on to open a shop in Dirtmouth. Many of his items are integral to progression, such as the elusive Simple Key, Charms, and the Lumafly Lantern. As Redditor cavespider12 shows, though, these items don’t come without a price.
In order to get most of them, players will have to make an effort to acquire quite a lot of Geo. This task can be make easier using the Unbreakable Greed Charm and defeating enemies. By the end of all the grinding, Sly will have quite the stack. They don’t call him the God of Opportunity for nothing!
8 The Worst Enemy Of Them All
If you ask a veteran Hollow Knight player what the most annoying enemy in the game is, you’ll receive a range of responses. Some may mention a particularly difficult boss, such as Nightmare King Grimm. As Reddit’s a real_persan suggests with this meme, though, Primal Aspids will be a common pick.
Not only do they shoot out three projectiles at once, the area players typically encounter them in is rather large and will take a some time to get through. This wouldn’t be so bad in a world where they didn’t endlessly follow the Knight in droves, leaving no clear route of escape and making traversing one of the most unique areas in the game a constant chore.
7 That Moment When You Get Vengeful Spirit And Can Finally Deal With That Bulder
One integral aspect of any Metroidvania is obtaining new abilities that are crucial to progress. Certain areas will be unreachable until the player find the associated ability or item, and such an obstacle can be found early on in Hollow Knight with the Bulder enemy.
This armadillo-like armored beetle blocks the path connecting the Forgotten Crossroads to Greenpath, until the player obtains the Vengeful Spirit spell. As this meme from Reddit’s shortestnegotiations suggests, expelling the powerful ball of soul energy is enough to take the wretched thing down. At last.
6 How Many Times Did You Fail To Deliver That Flower?
Hollow Knight offers up a variety of platforming challenges for the player, with each area testing their skills in a different way. Once substantial progress in the game is made, these challenges may become easier to tackle as your mastery of the Knight’s moveset develops. Easier when taken individually, at least.
The Delicate Flower delivery quest requires players to revisit several parts of the map, which sounds easy on paper, except for one thing: they must have the skill to avoid taking any damage at all, or their flower will be destroyed (as Deviant Art’s GrimmSkitz points out). Players will have to deal with dark caverns, spiky paths and exploding bugs just to get the job done.
5 A Complicated Relationship Between Knight And King
Hollow Knight’s lore is fed to the player through tablets laid throughout the landscape and vague lines of dialogue. However, as miles mac shows in this meme, gaining an understanding of what exactly is going on reveals a poignant tale of sacrifice, fear, and ruin.
In order to save his Kingdom from the looming threat of the Infection, the Pale King looked for a ‘Vessel’ to contain the source of the Infection itself. This Vessel had to be entirely devoid of any emotion, thought, or will in order to be perfect for the job. Sadly, the Vessel’s bond with the one who created it proved just enough for the Infection to leak out. This led to the king abandoning his kingdom as it crumbled to ruin, leaving the Vessel to bear the curse of the Infection forever.
4 Hornet Just Doesn’t Give You Time For Exploration
Hornet is one of Hollow Knight’s most iconic characters. Over the years she has become a fan-favorite, the promise of being able to play as her in Silksong only increasing anticipation for the game and the new and familiar features it will bring.
In the original Hollow Knight, however, she doesn’t start as an ally. In fact, as Deviant Art’s diamond-destination jokes in this meme, she insists on doing battle with the Knight early on (and again much later). While many fans may still love the dashing defender of Hallownest, it’s hard to forget that first encounter.
3 When You Stack Nail-Extensions Together
One of the most unique innovations in Hollow Knight’s combat system is just how customizable it is. Players have the ability to essentially adapt the game entirely to their playstyle using Charms, each of which grants the Knight different abilities and can even have special effects that stack. A perfect example would be the Longnail and the Mark of Pride, which, as Reddit’s YaBoiZacc points out in this meme, can be combined together to extend the length of the Knight’s weapon by an absurd degree.
This can allow the Knight to hit foes from much further away than normal, granting them a degree of extra safety in combat. Once-tough bosses can become a walk in the park with clever use of this Charm combination.
2 Never Underestimate The Pantheon Of Hallownest
By the time you reach Godhome in the Gods and Nightmares DLC, you should have already beaten most of Hollow Knight’s bosses. Godhome allows players to rematch them all in different Pantheons, a task even seasoned veterans find arduous. Each one also offers a new boss, perhaps the most infamous of which is the tricky Pure Vessel.
The ’true form’ of the titular Hollow Knight, this boss does two masks of damage instead of one and is fought after going through an entire line of tough bosses, as Redditor Janyeo jokes in this meme. Practicing against them is as simple as entering the Hall of Gods, but even so, they make for one godly foe.
1 Probably The Very Worst Charm In The Game
Not all Charms are created equal. Some will soon become obsolete, or prove to have almost no practical use whatsoever. Most of the Charms considered good are those that increase the Knight’s stats, like Unbreakable Strength, Longnail, and Quick Slash for instance. Others are more useful early on in the game but become less so as progress is made, like the Bulder Shell or the Dashmaster.
The Carefree Melody Charm, as Reddit’s galaxze jokes here, could be the worst of all. This Charm has to ability to block damage, but only after the Knight has taken a number of stacked hits. The chance of the block actually working, then, is very low, as players will not just stand still soaking up damage on purpose until it does.
NEXT: Hollow Knight: Pieces Of Cut Content
