Opinion: Hollow Knight Is Still One of the Best Souls Like Games on Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch has a huge library of excellent video games. And there’s no shortage of top souls like Metrovania titles on it. From Blasphemous to Hollow Knight to Dark Souls, it has gotten ports of a number of exciting titles over the years. Yet Hollow Knight stands out as one of the best and one of the most original titles on the platform.

Team Cherry really came up with an excellent idea and did not falter in its implementation one bit. Let us take a look at the reasons why Hollow Knight is still one of the best experiences to be had on the Nintendo Switch!

4 reasons why Hollow Knight is among the best souls like titles

Environmental Storytelling

Years ago, when Dark Souls launched, players were a bit confused. They did not know what to do in that game. They did not understand where to go or whom to talk to. But all thanks to FromSoftware’s masterful environmental storytelling, they always knew what was going on in the world around them.

Hollow Knight gives its players a similar experience. Every time they entered a new location, a detail in the art told them a lot. Solving those puzzles, answering your own questions about what might have happened in one area, and connecting the dots to finally get the whole story is what this game allows its players to do. And Hollow Knight does this very effectively.

Combat

Of course, when we talk about a souls like, combat is a must. Super-fast-paced action, the ability to parry, and tough decisions to be made on the fly just give this game’s combat so much depth.

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Imagine fighting a boss and having to decide if you should heal or use that focus to do a special attack on your opponent. This just adds to the tension.

Visuals

Now, many people who play Hollow Knight do not complete this game. Further, most do not even succeed in completing the first area. It is just made that way: to challenge people, designed to make them want to come back or just exit. But no matter how long they play this game, players will not forget its visuals.

Dark and gritty environments, lit by dim, foggy lamps, and gradient colors, make it a very moody game. But that adds to its charm.

Music and sound design

It’s like this game is a sentient being, and it knows what notes to play and when. Connecting the story bit by bit with its notes and introducing us to new characters and locations. Just like its inspirations, Hollow Knight does not pull any punches when it comes to music.

Christopher Larkin’s music really ties this little game into an exciting package.

Yes, all of these points end up mentioning Dark Souls games in one way or another, but that’s the intention of every Souls-like game, right? To be compared with the OGs. This game succeeds in translating the souls like a formula into a 2D world, and it does it commendably.

Let’s hope Team Cherry does something similar with Hollow Knight: Silksong too.

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