Hollow Knight
Games review
As of Aug 11, 2026, Hollow Knight is rated 90/100 on Metacritic (30 critic reviews), and 97% positive on Steam (556,399 reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
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Is Hollow Knight worth it in 2026?
A 97% positive rating across 556,399 Steam reviews is not a fluke, Hollow Knight earns it through world design, art, soundtrack, and combat that reviewers consistently single out across all four categories, backed by a Metacritic score of 90 from critics. The game is intentionally cryptic and large enough that getting lost is a near-certainty, not a possibility: one reviewer lost six months to a single area after running out of movement items, and the world offers minimal signposting to pull you back. The optional and late-game content is where difficulty stops being challenging fun and becomes a genuine filter, two reviewers explicitly flagged frustrating late-game sections, one person logged over 50 hours and still couldn't recommend it, and some optional bosses can be replayed repeatedly with no guaranteed reward.
Players who want a dense, atmospheric metroidvania and can tolerate, or enjoy, a world that withholds direction and will occasionally stop them cold for hours or longer.
Getting lost is baked into the design, and the optional boss content can eat repeated attempts without yielding any reward, if you need clear progression signposting or can't afford extended soft-locks, this game will frustrate rather than satisfy.
AI-generated editorial synthesis of the source scores and sampled review themes, not a hands-on test. Reviewer experiences and allegations are not independently verified facts.
Pros
- exploration and world design6
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- This game redirected my taste for video games. I had more fun playing it than I ever imagined. I managed to achieve every single achievement, play through different randomizers and...
- There's a reason Hollow Knight is considered one of the best metroidvanias out there. Every time you think you've seen everything, the game opens up another path, another secret, o...
- [h3]I liked Hollow Knight and I can't recommend it.[/h3] After more than 50 hours, I think Hollow Knight is not a bad game. I enjoyed exploring Hallownest, discovering new areas...
- art style and visuals4
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- There's a reason Hollow Knight is considered one of the best metroidvanias out there. Every time you think you've seen everything, the game opens up another path, another secret, o...
- ---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's jus...
- Just about basically everything in this game is great, the music is the best part and the 2d artstyle is phenomenal. The whole "discover a ruined interconnected kingdom plagued b...
- music and soundtrack4
see reviews +-
- This game redirected my taste for video games. I had more fun playing it than I ever imagined. I managed to achieve every single achievement, play through different randomizers and...
- ---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's jus...
- Just about basically everything in this game is great, the music is the best part and the 2d artstyle is phenomenal. The whole "discover a ruined interconnected kingdom plagued b...
- combat and boss fights4
see reviews +-
- This game redirected my taste for video games. I had more fun playing it than I ever imagined. I managed to achieve every single achievement, play through different randomizers and...
- There's a reason Hollow Knight is considered one of the best metroidvanias out there. Every time you think you've seen everything, the game opens up another path, another secret, o...
- Just about basically everything in this game is great, the music is the best part and the 2d artstyle is phenomenal. The whole "discover a ruined interconnected kingdom plagued b...
- replayability and content3
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- I personally love this game, its a go to whenever I'm bored or out of games. Give it a shot, great first pick
- This game is so much fun! I recently got steam and downloaded it here, making it the third device I have this game on! I have over 500 hours in this game total. It has amazing repl...
- Depending on how you are, you might enjoy Hollow Knight in a way or in another (or not at all). People that love metroidvanias will rush this game. My cousins has 112% an all achie...
- emotional impact3
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- Bought the game one month after its initial release, solely bought a controller just to play it even, got all endings for the time, waited for each DLC update, raged against NKG at...
- Amazing game! Honestly, changed my life lol... I didn't like games that much before, but after Hollow Knight... I really got carried away, experienced more fun than i had in months...
- This game changed my life one day i stumbled on this game i thought man its on sale for only 5 dollars and i bought it what ensued was me playing this game everyday for hours findi...
Cons
- getting lost in world3
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- Did the game lose me for six months when I got lost in the massive bug area with no movement items? Yes. Did I replay the same optional boss 5 times expecting to get a prize or mor...
- good game, I got lost at like every spot. I had to ask for help from my friend cause of how bad I was it was a good game though
- Depending on how you are, you might enjoy Hollow Knight in a way or in another (or not at all). People that love metroidvanias will rush this game. My cousins has 112% an all achie...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 18 sampled reviews with text; the scores above reflect all 556.4K ratings. Counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.
Rated near Hollow Knight
Closest scores in games, on the same source.