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Full Release (2017)
Hollow Knight is considered a hard game that demands strong execution, attention, and consistency.
Players often find this game difficult because of several demanding mechanics:
Hollow Knight is likely to be difficult for many players, especially beginners or those unfamiliar with the genre. Players with prior experience in similar games will usually have an easier time adapting. Players who rated games like Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, and Dark Souls at a similar challenge level may find Hollow Knight broadly comparable in difficulty.
Based on 69 ratings on Normal/Default difficulty, the average score is 8.1/10. Most players rated this game between 8 and 9.
Developer(s)
Team Cherry
Publisher(s)
Team Cherry
Genre(s)
Platform, Adventure, Indie
Platform(s)
PC (Microsoft Windows), Wii U, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, Mac, Nintendo Switch
Keywords
hand-drawn, metroidvania, shop keeper, skill-based, crowdfunding, the game awards - best debut indie game - nominee, 2d, action-adventure, steam achievements, shielded enemies, parrying, explorable world, giant insects, the game awards - nominee, silent protagonist, sword, dark, insects, controller support, steam, merchants, atmospheric, fast traveling, achievements, the game awards 2017, steam trading cards, money, controller recommendation, 2d platformer, boss fight, armed bugs, interconnected-world, xbox controller support for pc, creature compendium, crowdfunding - kickstarter, crowd funded, best debut indie game: nominee - 2017 (the game awards)
A 2D metroidvania with an emphasis on close combat and exploration in which the player enters the once-prosperous now-bleak insect kingdom of Hallownest, travels through its various districts, meets friendly inhabitants, fights hostile ones and uncovers the kingdom's history while improving their combat abilities and movement arsenal by fighting bosses and accessing out-of-the-way areas.
Users also rated
Players who rated Hollow Knight also rated the games shown below, with Bloodborne (8.0), Dark Souls III (8.0), and Dark Souls (8.1) being most similar in difficulty!
Rerun for July 2026 after a wave of new votes doubled the sample. Aeterna Noctis still leads at 8.74/10, Nine Sols climbs to #3, and Silksong pulls clear of Hollow Knight. Blasphemous surges nearly a full point. Six newcomers crash the list and push every Castlevania out of the top 20.
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Super Meat Boy leads at 9.03/10 from 30 ratings. Getting Over It sits at 8.67, Jump King at 8.13. Celeste, the most-rated entry with 38 votes, averages 7.82. Fan games excluded. Player-voted difficulty rankings of the hardest precision platformers.
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Early ratings suggest Super Meat Boy 3D is hard, but the jump to three dimensions may have taken some of the bite out of the original's legendary ferocity.
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Sekiro carries an 8.7 on HDII and outranks Elden Ring, Hollow Knight, Silksong, and the Souls series, but it still doesn't take the site's top spot.
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Wishlists
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Favourites
Difficult game especially for new players but once you get the hang of it plus the DLCS besides Pantheons youll Git Gud.
As a gamer later in life, this was a challenging game and took around twice as long as suggested on How long to beat. I would recommend when taking this on you focus only on this game for muscle memory and break it up into 1 hour chucks over a couple of days until you finish it.