Hollow Knight, the Metroidvania action-adventure from Team Cherry, is considered one of the finest examples of its genre. In the game, players take control of a nameless insect-like knight as they traverse the kingdom of Hallownest. It’s a dark world, decaying and plague-ridden, with many of its insectoid inhabitants already fallen to the spreading infection. Hollow Knight‘s story is just as sinister, and has multiple endings depending on the player’s actions.
Praised for its simple yet nuanced combat system, Hollow Knight delivers the perfect balance of difficulty, exploration, and growth. It’s a classic Metroidvania adventure, tightly-wrapped in a cocoon of unsettling, dreary horror. However, it’s not alone in being a great pick for a dark and creepy Halloween gaming-session. Here are four other titles that not only share similar mechanics, but are equally-suited to the pervading gloom of October 31st.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps, along with it’s predecessor Ori and the Blind Forest, is a critically-acclaimed Metroidvania platformer. In both games players take on the role of Ori, the guardian of an ancient, magical forest. In classic Metroidvania-style, the world slowly expands as Ori gains new abilities and upgrades. The movement in Ori and the Will of the Wisps is fluid and satisfying, as Ori jumps, climbs, glides, and swims through his forest-home.
Both of the Ori games have been particularly praised for their beautiful artwork and atmospheric audio. While the tone of the games might not be quite as dark as Hollow Knight‘s, Ori’s forest-home possess a melancholy, haunting beauty. The various twisted creatures that Ori must contend against are more classic Halloween fare. Some particular standouts are Shriek the insane, half-petrified owl, and Mora the spore-corrupted spider queen.
Developed by Spanish studio The Game Kitchen, Blasphemous is a gory and unsettling Metroidvania title. Players take on the role of The Penitent One, a wandering knight and sole survivor of the Brotherhood of the Silent Sorrow. The game’s world of Cvstodia borrows heavily from Christian-iconography, with a particular Spanish-Catholic influence. Cvstodia twists this imagery into a hellish landscape, hallowed by an unknowable supernatural force called The Miracle. The game shares a tone with some of the best fantasy-horror out there, including FromSoftware’s Bloodborne and Berserk, the influential dark-fantasy manga.
Gameplay in Blasphemous follows in the footsteps of the Castlevania series. The Penitent One is armed with both sword and spell, and uses them to overcome all manner of monstrosities. As a result, players must learn the attack patterns of each new horror in order to smite it. The unpleasantly-named Bile Flasks take the role of healing items, and The Penitent One will respawn at the last checkpoint if his health is fully depleted.
Salt and Sanctuary is an indie RPG-platformer developed by a one-man studio. It’s been accurately described by critics as a combination of Dark Souls and Castlevania. In particular, the game draws inspiration from 1997’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Proudly wearing the influence of these heavy-hitters on its sleeve, it’s impressive that Salt and Sanctuary retains its own identity so well. The game uses a 2D, hand-drawn art-style that simply bleeds unsettling horror. As players guide their blank-slate protagonist across a dark and dangerous world, they must contend with evils both great and small.
Gameplay is as open as a Soulsborne title, with players able to pick up a variety of weapons and magical attacks. The game also implements many classic RPG elements, such as classes, backgrounds, and skill trees. For those players who don’t want to face the horrors alone, it’s possible to play with local co-op. For those who want to be a fresh terror for their friends, there’s a versus mode too.
The only isometric title on this list, Hades ditches platforming for a greater focus on visceral combat. The new title from Supergiant Games also falls firmly in the rogue-like camp, expecting players to make multiple runs. Despite these differences, Hades and Hollow Knight do actually have quite a lot in common. Both titles test their players against increasingly chaotic 2D battlegrounds, with evolving enemies and tactics. Likewise, both games use NPCs as both vendors and story-tellers, allowing the player to expand their understanding of the world along with their skills.
Set in the Underworld of Greek mythology, Hades puts players in control of Zagreus, a young god trying to escape to Olympus. Unfortunately, Zagreus is the son of Hades, and must battle his way out of their hellish home to escape. He is aided in this by the other Greek gods, who offer gifts in the form of permanent buffs. Players must use these gifts to escape the Underworld, along with whatever weapons, upgrades, healing items, or keys they’ve acquired.
Three years after its launch, Hollow Knight continues to hold a special place in the collections of many gamers. It’s simple-yet-effective gameplay style, enthralling atmosphere, and impeccable art are hard to top. We’ll have to wait and see if the game’s own sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, can surpass its predecessor when it eventually releases.
Hollow Knight is out now for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
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