Hollow Knight is Team Cherry's extraordinary metroidvania — a handcrafted underground kingdom of insects, forgotten gods, and infected ruins delivered with artistic vision and mechanical depth that rivals the genre's greatest entries. The kingdom of Hallownest lies beneath a forgotten world, its ancient civilization consumed by a spreading infection. You play as the Knight, a silent wanderer who descends into the depths to uncover what destroyed it.
The combat is built on deliberate, precise nail strikes in a 2D platformer. The nail (sword) has reach and timing requirements; Vengeful Spirit and other spells provide ranged options; and Focus (hold the Focus/Cast button) spends Soul, earned by hitting enemies, to heal masks, creating constant resource decisions. The Charm system — equipping passive abilities in limited notch slots — provides extensive build customization.
Hallownest is an interconnected underground kingdom explored largely without handholding: there is no quest log or waypoint marker, and you buy area maps from the cartographer Cornifer. The atmosphere is melancholy; the lore is delivered mostly through NPC dialogue and environmental storytelling. Four free content updates (Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood and Godmaster) were added after launch. The sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, was released on 4 September 2025. The original launched on PC on 24 February 2017 and reached PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 on 5 February 2026.
An interconnected underground kingdom with 40+ hours of content discovered through exploration — no quest log or waypoint markers.
Equip passive charms in limited notch slots to customize your build — hundreds of combinations from quick slash to spell amplification to health focus.
Combat earns Soul; Soul powers spells and heals via Focus. Every fight is a resource management decision as well as a skill test.
A free update (August 2018) that adds Godhome and the Pantheons — gauntlets of boss fights back-to-back and a demanding optional challenge.
Release facts, mechanics and boss details on this page were checked against these sources on 12 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us.