Hollow Knight
| Hollow Knight | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Team Cherry |
| Publisher(s) | Team Cherry |
| Designer(s) |
|
| Programmer(s) |
|
| Artist(s) | Ari Gibson |
| Composer(s) | Christopher Larkin |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | Base game
Content packs
|
| Genre(s) | Metroidvania |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Hollow Knight is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by Australian independent developer Team Cherry. The player controls a nameless insectoid warrior exploring Hallownest, a fallen kingdom plagued by a supernatural disease. The game is set in diverse subterranean locations, featuring friendly and hostile insectoid characters and numerous bosses. Players have the opportunity to unlock abilities as they explore, along with pieces of lore and flavour text that are spread throughout the kingdom.
The concept behind Hollow Knight was conceived in 2013 in the Ludum Dare game jam. Adelaide-based Team Cherry wanted to create a game inspired by older platformers that replicated the explorational aspects of its influences. Inspirations for the game include Faxanadu, Metroid, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Mega Man X.[1] Development was partially funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that raised over A$57,000 by the end of 2014. It was released for Windows, Linux, and macOS in early 2017 and for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2018. After release, Team Cherry supported the game with four free expansions as downloadable content.
Hollow Knight was well received by critics, with particular praise for its music, art style, worldbuilding, atmosphere, combat, and level of difficulty. It has since been regarded by some critics as one of the greatest games of all time.[a] The game has sold more than 15 million copies. A sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, was released on 4 September 2025.
- ^ "Straight from the Source: Ari Gibson & William Pellen (Team Cherry)". Source Gaming. 9 April 2025. Archived from the original on 3 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ "The Top 100 Video Games of All Time". IGN. 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ "The 50 Greatest Video Games of All Time". Rolling Stone. 6 January 2025. Archived from the original on 6 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
- ^ "The 100 greatest video games of all time, ranked by experts". GQ. 10 May 2023. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ Cosolo, Tony (26 January 2024). "A definitive ranking of the top 30 video games of all time". USA Today. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ GLHF (27 January 2023). "The best 100 games of all time, ranked". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ Brigstock, Jake; Fletcher, Harry (28 February 2025). "The best 100 video games of all time". indy100. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "Top 30 Video Games of All Time". GamingBolt. 11 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
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