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82-561: Hollow Knight is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by independent developer Team Cherry. The player controls the Knight, an 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

164-463: A Kickstarter campaign for Castlevania -influenced Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019), which was the highest-funded video game on Kickstarter at the time. While the word "Metroidvania" is commonly used presently to describe games in this genre, or games that have elements of this genre, the origins of the term are unclear; Igarashi notes that he did not coin the phrase, though is grateful for

246-483: A "continue countdown" screen, in which the player has a limited amount of time (usually 10, 15, or 20 seconds) to insert additional coins in order to continue the game from the point where it had ended; deciding not to continue will result in the displaying of a game over screen. The continue feature was added to arcade games in the mid-1980s due to arcade owners wanting to earn more money from players who played for longer periods of time. The first arcade game to have

328-540: A "twisted ritual". He gives the player the Grimmchild charm, which absorbs the flames into itself, progressing the ritual and allowing the Grimmchild to attack the Knight's enemies. Eventually, the Knight must choose to either complete the ritual by fighting Grimm and his powerful Nightmare King form, or prevent the ritual and banish the Grimm Troupe with the help of Brumm, a traitorous troupe member. More content

410-431: A Metroidvania featuring "soft locks" – obstacles in the form of boss characters that are difficult but not impossible to defeat when the player-character is starting out, and become much easier to defeat with increased experience and abilities. The third-person action/brawler Batman: Arkham series also uses similar concepts as a Metroidvania, with Batman collecting new gadgets to access new areas. The 2017 title Prey

492-800: A Vessel known as the Hollow Knight to trap the Radiance, leaving the rest locked in a pit called the Abyss. After the Hollow Knight was locked within the Temple of the Black Egg, the Radiance persisted within the Vessel, weakening the temple's seals and allowing the Infection to escape. Throughout the game, it is implied that the Knight was a Vessel who managed to escape the Abyss. They gradually defeat

574-485: A continue feature was Fantasy , and the first home console cartridge to have this feature was the Atari 2600 version of Vanguard . As a result of the continue feature, games started to have stories and definite endings; however, those games were designed so that it would be nearly impossible to get to the end of the game without continuing. Salen and Zimmerman argue that the continue feature in games such as Gauntlet

656-550: A huge variety of upgrades ... removing them felt like trading a part of myself for a better chance at an upcoming battle." The difficulty of Hollow Knight received attention from reviewers and was described as challenging; Vikki Blake of Eurogamer called the game "ruthlessly tough, even occasionally unfair". For Nintendo World Report ' s Adam Abou-Nasr it also seemed unfair—he had " 'so frustratingly hard that I cannot recommend this game' angrily scrawled in [his] notes"—but "it eventually clicked". Whitaker "never found any of

738-582: A large interconnected world map the player can explore, although parts of the world will be inaccessible to the player until they acquire special items, tools, weapons, abilities, or knowledge within the game. Acquiring such improvements can also aid the player in defeating more difficult enemies and locating shortcuts and secret areas, and often includes retracing one's steps across the map. Through this, Metroidvania games include tighter integration of story and level design, careful design of levels and character controls to encourage exploration and experimentation, and

820-448: A means for the player to become more invested in their player character through role-playing game elements. While early examples were usually two-dimensional side-scrolling platform games, the term has since been applied to top-down and 3D games. The first Metroid game in 1986 established principles of the non-linear platformer that were refined through multiple iterations, with Super Metroid in 1994 considered to have polished

902-477: A powerful healing spell may affect anyone within a certain range of the caster (often only if they are a member of the caster's party ). Some games also have what are referred to as "aura" abilities that will affect anyone in the area around the person with the ability. For example, many strategy games have hero or officer units that can improve the morale and combat performance of friendly units around them. The inclusion of AoE elements in game mechanics can increase

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984-612: A reduced amount of Soul. Players need to defeat the Shade enemy to recover lost Geo and carry the normal amount of Soul. The game continues from the last visited bench the character sat on, which are scattered throughout the game world and act as save points and places where the player can change their charms. Initially the player can only use Soul to "Focus" and regenerate masks, but as the game progresses, players unlock and collect several offensive spells which consume Soul. Additional Soul Vessels, used to hold more Soul, can be acquired throughout

1066-399: A risk-reward system". Hollow Knight had sold over 500,000 copies by November 2017 and surpassed 1 million in sales on PC platforms on 11 June 2018, one day before releasing on Nintendo Switch, where it had sold over 250,000 copies in the two weeks after its launch. By July 2018 it had sold over 1.2 million copies. By February 2019, Hollow Knight had sold over 2.8 million copies. The game

1148-428: A single large, interconnected map, generally with discrete rooms or sections. Not all areas of this map are available at the start, often requiring the player to obtain an item (such as a weapon or key) or a new character ability to remove some obstacle blocking the path forward. Often, this item is protected by a boss character , providing story-driven challenges throughout the game. Maps are non-linear, and often require

1230-502: A specified area. For example, in the role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons , a fireball spell will deal damage to anyone within a certain radius of where it strikes. In most tactical strategy games artillery weapons have an area of effect that will damage anyone within a radius of the strike zone. Often the effect is stronger on the target than on anything else hit. See also: Splash damage Area of effect can also refer to spells and abilities that are non-damaging. For example,

1312-720: A vein similar to "open world". CBR has also proposed "platform-adventure". An equivalent Japanese term is 探索型アクション or "search-action", which is used alongside the romanised メトロイドヴァニア (Metroidvania). Wall jump Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry , the players , and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. Also isometric graphics . Also triple A . Also badge , trophy , medal , cheevo . Also aim down sights . Also control stick and thumbstick . A term used in many role-playing and strategy games to describe attacks or other effects that affect multiple targets within

1394-576: Is credited with establishing key principles of Metroidvanias through his work on other Castlevania games. In the 2010s, a resurgence in Metroidvanias came about due to several critically praised, independently developed games . While not the first game of its kind (for example, Below the Root was released in 1984, or Brain Breaker in 1985), Metroid (1986, Nintendo Entertainment System )

1476-480: Is generally considered the most influential game for the Metroidvania genre. Nintendo 's goal for the title was to create a non-linear adventure game to set it apart from other games at the time, requiring the player to retrace their steps while providing permanent power-ups in contrast to how other adventure games only offered power-ups with temporary effects. The series was popular, and future titles refined

1558-633: The Atari 8-bit computers of the late 1970s and 1980s, the term attract mode was sometimes used to denote a simple screensaver that slowly cycled the display colors to prevent phosphor burn-in when no input had been received for several minutes. Attract modes demonstrating gameplay are common in current home video games. Also aim-assist . Also bunny hopping . Also backfilling . Also achievement . Also banhammer . Also beta testing . Also story mode and campaign . Also character select . Also clutching

1640-463: The "Dreamgate", are encountered later. As the player enters a new area, they do not have access to the map of their surroundings. They must find Cornifer, the cartographer , to buy a rough map. As the player explores an area, the map becomes more accurate and complete, although it is updated only when sitting on a bench. The player will need to buy specific items to complete maps, to see points of interest , and to place markers. The Knight's position on

1722-531: The "Lifeblood" update was released, bringing various optimisations, changes to the colour palette, bug fixes, minor additions as well as a boss fight. On 23 August 2018, the final DLC, Godmaster was released, containing characters, boss fights, music, a game mode called Godseeker as well as two endings. It was renamed from its former title of Gods and Glory due to trademark concerns. All four DLC packs are free. Hollow Knight ' s PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions received "generally favorable" reviews and

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1804-549: The Dreamers and their guardians, removing the seals on the door. Inside, they encounter and battle with the infected Hollow Knight. Depending on the player's actions, multiple endings can then be achieved. These endings include the Knight defeating the infected Hollow Knight and taking its place containing the Radiance, defeating the Hollow Knight with Hornet's assistance, or using the Void Heart item to directly fight and defeat

1886-609: The Knight, players can equip various charms, which can be found or purchased from NPCs. Some of their effects include improved combat abilities or skills, granting more masks with or without the ability to regenerate them with Soul, greater mobility, easier collecting of Geo or Soul, the ability to gain more Geo per enemy, and other transformations to the Knight. Equipping a charm takes up a certain number of limited slots, called notches. Hallownest consists of several large, inter-connected areas with unique themes. With its nonlinear gameplay Metroidvania design, Hollow Knight does not bind

1968-542: The Metroidvania.com site that has attempted to catalog all known Metroidvania games, acknowledges he helped to popularize the term but had learned it from his former co-worker at 1UP.com , Scott Sharkey, who had used the term to describe the games in the Castlevania series that had adopted some elements from the Metroid series. The term 'Metroidvania' is most often used to refer to a platforming game that features

2050-437: The Night distinguished itself from prior non-linear platformers via the incorporation of console role-playing game elements with the means for the player to improve their character's attributes through an experience system . The changes for Symphony of the Night proved popular with players, and most subsequent games in the series would follow this formula. With the releases of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of

2132-496: The Night , the formula these games presented would form the foundations of what are considered Metroidvanias today. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had also become a critical and financial success over time, establishing that there was a desire by players for Metroidvania-style games. As this neologism started to be adopted, Igarashi reacted Symphony of the Night was more inspired by Zelda , not Metroid , although he stated that Metroidvania "fits very well". Other figures in

2214-551: The Nintendo Switch version received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Jed Whitaker of Destructoid praised it as a "masterpiece of gaming" and, on PC Gamer , Tom Marks called it a "new classic". IGN praised Hollow Knight ' s visuals, sound, music, and "a million other details" in building atmosphere. Critics recognised the combat system as simple and nuanced; they praised its responsiveness, or "tightness", similarly to

2296-718: The Radiance continued, allowing her to remain alive inside the Dream Realm . Hallownest prospered until the Radiance began appearing in the dreams of its people, poisoning their minds with the Infection. In an attempt to contain the menace, the Pale King used an ancient power called Void to create the Vessels; creatures that could trap the Infection within their own bodies. Due to the Vessels being made from Void, they are considered to not have free will, thus allowing them to not be infected since they cannot dream. The Pale King chose

2378-614: The Radiance inside the Dream Realm. In the second expansion to Hollow Knight , a "Nightmare Lantern" was added to the Howling Cliffs. After using the Dream Nail on a masked bug, the lantern summons a mysterious group of circus performers to Dirtmouth, who identify themselves as the Grimm Troupe. Their leader, Troupe Master Grimm, gives the Knight a quest to collect magic flames throughout Hallownest in order to take part in

2460-406: The Radiance, a primordial being who could control the minds of other bugs. When the Pale King arrived at Hallownest from afar, he used his powers to give sapience and knowledge to the creatures of the realm. The moths soon joined the other bugs of Hallownest in worshipping the Pale King, draining the power of the Radiance as she was slowly forgotten. Beneath the notice of the Pale King, some worship of

2542-522: The Wizard (1987), and Adventure Island IV (1994). They argued that such games, while having 2D platforming gameplay and power-up based progression systems, lacked good level design, which at their time had not been well-refined in the industry, and provided little or no information relayed to the player to help them to know where to go next, exemplified by the cryptic clues from Simon's Quest . The three also agreed that as games transitioned from 2D to 3D,

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2624-440: The ability to interrupt one's jump with a dash. This was meant to make the player feel that any hit they took could have been avoided right up until the last second. To create the game's art, Gibson's hand-drawn sketches were scanned directly into the game engine, creating a "vivid sense of place". The developers decided to "keep it simple" in order to prevent the development time from becoming extremely protracted. The complexity of

2706-518: The aforementioned Shadow Complex , or with Metroid Dread . The exploration and character development concepts of Metroidvanias can be used in other genres, though these games typically are not categorized as Metroidvanias. For example, the Metroid Prime trilogy is a first-person action adventure game that builds on the same style of exploration play as Metroid . Dark Souls is a third-person action role-playing game loosely considered

2788-609: The best-selling downloadable titles on the Xbox 360 service. Due to games like these, the Metroidvania genre began to take off in both publisher-driven and independent games development. Drinkbox Studios ' Guacamelee! (2013), Moon Studios ' Ori and the Blind Forest (2015), and Team Cherry's Hollow Knight (2017) are examples of modern indie Metroidvanias that have reached critical acclaim. The genre's indie renaissance did not go unnoticed by Igarashi. In May 2015, he released

2870-541: The bosses to be unfair". Destructoid and Nintendo World Report reviewers felt a sense of accomplishment after difficult fights. Critics also made comparisons to the Dark Souls series, noting the mechanic of losing currency on death and having to defeat a Shade to regain it. Destructoid praised this feature, as well as the holding down of a button to heal, because "[t]hey circumvent a couple of issues games have always had, namely appropriate punishment for failing, and

2952-581: The character Hornet exploring the kingdom of Pharloom. Game demos of Hollow Knight: Silksong demonstrate similar combat styles to the original game, but with several gameplay differences. The player character Hornet is more mobile than the Knight, and uses tools instead of Charms. It was announced in February 2019. Team Cherry had previously planned this game as a DLC for its predecessor, but decided to market it an individual title as its content grew too large. Metroidvania These games usually feature

3034-400: The cost of their civility, causing madness and undeath . Hallownest's ruler, The Pale King, had previously attempted to lock away the Infection in the Temple of the Black Egg. Despite the temple's magical seals, the disease managed to escape and Hallownest fell into ruin. The Knight's mission is to find and kill three bugs called the Dreamers, who act as the living seals on the temple door. Once

3116-457: The creation of Hollow Knight originated in a game jam , Ludum Dare 2013, in which two of the game's developers, Ari Gibson and William Pellen, developed a game called Hungry Knight , in which the character that would later become the Knight kills bugs to stave off starvation. The game, considered "not very good", used to hold a 1/5 star rating on Newgrounds , but has since increased to 4/5. The developers decided to work on another game jam with

3198-472: The currency called Geo. The Knight starts with a limited number of hit points , which are represented by masks. Mask Shards can be collected throughout the game to increase the player's maximum number of masks. By striking enemies, the Knight gains Soul, which is stored in the Soul Vessel. If all masks are lost, the Knight dies and a Shade enemy appears where they died. The player loses all Geo and can hold

3280-492: 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. By February 2019,

3362-442: The exploration approach while adding more story elements to the title such as with Super Metroid (1994, Super Nintendo Entertainment System ). Super Metroid refined several aspects from the previous Metroid games, including a diverse array of locations and adding many secrets for players to find; these secrets also enabled players to find ways to break the expected sequence that the designers had envisioned players would approach

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3444-447: The game and coming in clutch . A common term in video games for the option to continue the game after all of the player's lives have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning. There may or may not be a penalty for doing this, such as losing a certain number of points or being unable to access bonus stages. In arcade game s, when a player loses or fails an objective, they will generally be shown

3526-436: The game had sold 2.8 million copies. A sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong , is in development. Hollow Knight is a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania . The player controls a silent insectoid protagonist called "the Knight" who explores an underground fallen kingdom called Hallownest. The Knight can strike enemies with a sword-like weapon called a Nail and can learn spells that allow for long-range attacks. Defeated enemies drop

3608-472: The game industry have since used Zeldavania interchangeably, with the Zelda series recognized as following the same formula. The concept of Metroidvanias started to gain more attraction when other parties began to develop games in the same style. Cave Story (2004, Microsoft Windows) was developed by Daisuke Amaya as an homage to Metroid and other classic games; the game was critically praised showing

3690-412: The game is not being played. Originally built into arcade games , the main purpose of the attract mode is to entice passers-by to play the game. It usually displays the game's title screen , the game's story (if it has one), its high score list, sweepstakes (on some games) and the message " Game Over " or "Insert Coin" over or in addition to a computer-controlled demonstration of gameplay . In

3772-525: The game or alternate forms of original bosses. If the Knight completes the Pantheon of Hallownest, the Absolute Radiance, a more powerful version of the Radiance, appears, acting as the new final boss. Upon defeating it, two unique endings can be achieved, each involving the destruction of Godhome by a powerful Void entity. A new game mode called "Godseeker" was added too. The idea that prompted

3854-558: The game, making it a popular title among speedrunners . However, in retrospect, Super Metroid was still considered an example of a highly polished non-linear platformer. During this time, the gothic horror-themed platformer series Castlevania was gaining popularity. The original Castlevania (1986, NES) featured discrete levels that the player completed in a sequential manner. It was followed by Vampire Killer (1986, MSX ) and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987, NES) which experimented with non-linear adventure gameplay, before

3936-435: The game. Many areas feature more challenging enemies and bosses which the player may need to defeat in order to progress further. Defeating some bosses grants the player access to new abilities. Later in the game, players acquire the Dream Nail, a special item that can access the minds of Hallownest's creatures. Hitting most enemies with the Dream Nail deals no damage but gives the Knight extra Soul compared to hitting them with

4018-583: The genre focuses on exploration of a large world map, and advancement of the player-character abilities over time. Metroidvanias are sometimes referred to as "platform adventure games" due to this scope. Metroidvania is generally associated with game levels/maps that are laid out as two-dimensional side scrollers, with the player character moving left, right, up and down through the level. These games typically are rendered using two-dimensional graphics, but can include 2.5D -rendered games using 3D graphics engines but limiting player movement to two dimensions, such as

4100-426: The genre that draws in players, working off the natural human instincts to explore, and giving the players the sense of discovery and self-control during the game. Donald Mustard of Chair Entertainment, the creators of Shadow Complex , said that a good Metroidvania helps the player come to epiphanies that enables them to progress in the game, describing an example of a ledge that is initially too high to reach, and as

4182-402: The genre. These include designing maps that encourage exploration but which still guide the player on a main path through the game and providing means where the player can be aware of where they are in the game world at any time. This can be accomplished by graphical themes through the game's world, visually unique milestones at key game point, overall map and player status information screens, and

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4264-414: The invention of the term. Igarashi noted that with Symphony of the Night the goal was to have exploration closer to the top-down Zelda approach, but with the side-scrolling nature, it was compared more to Metroid , and believes this is how the portmanteau came about. A similar portmanteau "Castleroid" is sometimes used as well for describing this genre. Video game journalist Jeremy Parish, who manages

4346-520: The kingdom. The concept behind Hollow Knight was conceived in 2013 in the Ludum Dare game jam . 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 . Development was partially funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that raised over A$ 57,000 by

4428-404: The later parts of the game. Access to new abilities can also open up shortcuts that reduce travel time, as well as discover secrets that help to improve the character's abilities. For example, gaining access to double jump or wall jump abilities can give players more mobility, while obtaining the ability to transform into a smaller object can let the player slip through narrow corridors. As such,

4510-607: The map can only be seen if the player has the Wayward Compass charm equipped. At the outset, the Knight arrives in Dirtmouth, a quiet town that sits just above the remains of the kingdom of Hallownest. As the Knight ventures through the ruins, they learn that Hallownest was once a flourishing kingdom which fell after becoming overrun with "The Infection", a supernatural disease that can infect anyone who has free will. The Infection gives its subjects heightened strength but at

4592-579: The means of moving around the map quickly. Russ Frushtick from Polygon observed that many modern Metroidvanias not only have these qualities, but also find a means to tell a narrative through the world's environments without necessarily relying on cutscenes or dialog. In a 1UP.com video discussion between Parish, Sharkey, and Chris Kohler of Wired in 2007, the three discussed some older games that had elements associated with Metroidvanias but would not be considered true Metroidvanias, including games like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987), Legacy of

4674-445: The movement system. On IGN , Marks stated: "The combat in Hollow Knight is relatively straightforward, but starts out tricky ... It rewards patience and skill massively". In his review on PC Gamer , Marks praised the "brilliant" charm system: "What's so impressive about these charms is that I could never find a 'right' answer when equipping them. There were no wrong choices." Adam Abou-Nasr from NintendoWorldReport stated: "Charms offer

4756-412: The player acquires abilities, will discover how they can reach that ledge on their own. From a developer's standpoint, the Metroidvania genre also provides benefits. The genre encourages tight connection between level design and game story, and can give developers opportunities to create an immersive world for the player. Level design of such games can also be challenging as to make sure the challenge to

4838-579: The player to one path nor require them to explore the whole world; there are places that can be missed when finishing the game, though there are obstacles that limit the player's access to various areas. The player may need to acquire a specific movement ability, skill, or item to progress further. To fast travel through the world, the player can use Stag Stations, terminals connected to a network of tunnels that are traversed via giant stag beetles; players can only travel to previously visited and unlocked stations. Other fast travel methods, such as trams, lifts, and

4920-443: The player to traverse the map multiple times during the course of the game. Weaker monsters will inhabit other parts of the level, re-spawning when the player revisits those rooms, and often can be defeated to gain health, ammunition, or experience points . Larger games generally feature save points as well as the ability to transport the player quickly between certain rooms on far sides of the map, eliminating tedious backtracking in

5002-513: The player's abilities to be tested more rigorously throughout all of the levels. Ori and the Will of the Wisps executive producer Daniel Smith said: "I don't think people generally consider how difficult it is to make a Metroidvania game. Everything is so interconnected that if you change one aspect of the game, it's just inevitable that it's going to influence the rest". There is some opposition to

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5084-423: The players of the game is fair and enjoyable, and achieving this goal can be seen as a sign of a success for a developer. Thomas Mahler of Moon Studios, who developed Ori and the Blind Forest , said that it was important to design a cohesive world with memorable settings for a Metroidvania, since "players remembering the levels is part of the core design". Large-scale development in this genre requires one change in

5166-490: The plot and lore, offer aid, and sell items or services. The player can upgrade the Knight's Nail to deal more damage or find Soul Vessels to carry more Soul. Players acquire items that provide movement abilities including an additional mid-air jump (Monarch Wings), adhering to and jumping off walls (Mantis Claw), a quick dash (Mothwing Cloak), and a speedy super dash (Crystal Heart). The player can learn other combat abilities, known as Nail Arts, and spells. To further customise

5248-661: The porting process. Initially, Team Cherry planned the Switch version to arrive "not too long after the platform's launch"; subsequently they delayed it to early 2018. A release date was not announced until the Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2018 on 12 June 2018, when it was unveiled the game would be available later that day via Nintendo eShop . Versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were released as Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition on 25 September 2018. An Hollow Knight Piano Collections sheet music book and album

5330-491: The regular Nail. It also enables the player to face more challenging versions of a few bosses and to break the seal to the final boss. If the player defeats the final boss, they are given access to a mode called "Steel Soul". In this mode, dying is permanent , i.e. if the Knight loses all of their masks, the save slot will be reset. During the game, the player encounters bug-themed non-player characters (NPCs) with whom they can interact. These characters provide information about

5412-403: The role of strategy, especially in turn-based game s. The player has to place units wisely to mitigate the possibly devastating effects of a hostile area of effect attack; however, placing units in a dense formation could result in gains that outweigh the increased AoE damage received. Also display mode and show mode . A pre-recorded demonstration of a video game that is displayed when

5494-407: The scope of what one person could do, and highlighted another take on the Castlevania and Metroid games, as well as vitalizing the 2D platformer genre as a viable indie game format. Shadow Complex (2009, Xbox 360 ) by Chair Entertainment was developed based on the premise that Super Metroid was "the pinnacle of 2D game design". The game received highly positive reviews, and remains one of

5576-492: The seals have been removed, the Knight may confront the source of the Infection. This quest brings the Knight into conflict with Hornet, a warrior who tests their combat prowess in several battles. Through dialogue with non-player characters, environmental imagery, and writings scattered throughout Hallownest, the Knight learns the origins of the Infection. In ancient times, a tribe of moths that lived in Hallownest worshipped

5658-419: The sense of wonder and discovery of games from their childhood from such games, in which "[t]here could be any crazy secret or weird creature." Believing that control of the character was most important for the player's enjoyment of the game, the developers based the Knight's movement on Mega Man X . They gave the character no acceleration when moving horizontally, as well as a large amount of aerial control and

5740-410: The series returned to the more linear style of the original Castlevania . Series lead Koji Igarashi found that as they continued to produce sequels to cater to fans of the series, experienced players would race through the levels, while new players to the series would struggle with some stages. To try to make a title that would be more widely appreciated across play levels and extend the gameplay time of

5822-421: The style of gameplay core to Metroidvanias. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in 1997 is considered the defining Metroidvania game, incorporating role-playing game elements from The Legend of Zelda series with non-linear traversal within the Castlevania series; most subsequent Castlevania games followed its approach and refined the genre. Symphony of the Night 's assistant director, Koji Igarashi ,

5904-550: The theme "Beneath the Surface", but missed the deadline. However, the concept gave them the idea to create a game with an underground setting, a "deep, old kingdom", and insect characters. Influences for the game include Faxanadu , Metroid , Zelda II: The Adventure of Link , and Mega Man X . Team Cherry noted that Hallownest was in some ways the inverse of the world tree setting in Faxanadu . The team wanted to replicate

5986-488: The title, Igarashi and others on his team looked toward the ideas used by The Legend of Zelda series into the development of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PlayStation ). With Symphony of the Night , Igarashi introduced new concepts into the Castlevania series from Zelda such as a large open world to explore and the need to acquire key items to enter certain areas, elements already present in non-linear platformers like Super Metroid . However, Symphony of

6068-406: The true meaning of "Metroidvania" had become diluted, as 3D-based games can hide facets of Metroidvanias. The popularity of the Metroidvania genre is stated to be tied to the ease with which platformer games can be learned, while giving the player a character that they can grow over the course of the game. Many developers of independent Metroidvania titles cited the exploration as a core element of

6150-465: The use of the term Metroidvania, as it is derived from specific games rather than being a more direct description of gameplay. Comic Book Resources compared the use of Metroidvania to "Doom clone" in the 1990s, a term which was eventually replaced by "first person shooter" as the medium developed. Game Developer has also suggested that the term is too broad, as it encompasses a wide range of 2D and 3D games, and instead proposed "unlocking world", in

6232-406: The world was based on Metroid , which allows players to become disoriented and lost, focusing on the enjoyment of finding one's way. Only basic signs are placed throughout the world to direct players to important locations. The largest design challenge was creating the mapping system and finding a balance between not divulging the world's secrets while not being too player-unfriendly. Hollow Knight

6314-500: Was added to Hollow Knight with the fourth and final expansion, Godmaster , in which the Knight can battle harder versions of all of the bosses through a series of challenges. The main hub of the expansion is known as Godhome. Within Godhome are five "pantheons", each being a "boss rush", containing a set of bosses that must all be defeated consecutively without dying. The final pantheon, the Pantheon of Hallownest, contains every boss in

6396-484: Was developed as a first-person-perspective immersive sim but using Metroidvania level design concepts to require the player to traverse the setting multiple times as they gain additional tools and abilities. An even earlier attempt at bringing metroidvania gameplay to a first-person shooter was the console versions of the game PowerSlave in 1996 and 1997, as opposed to the more traditionally linear PC version. Igarashi described what he believed were key elements in

6478-754: Was nominated for "Best PC Game" in Destructoid ' s Game of the Year Awards 2017, and for "Best Platformer" in IGN' s Best of 2017 Awards. It won the award for "Best Platformer" in PC Gamer ' s 2017 Game of the Year Awards. Polygon later named the game among the decade's best. A sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong , is in development by Team Cherry as of 2019, and is set to be released on Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 , and Xbox Series X/S . The sequel will revolve around

6560-720: Was released for Windows on 24 February 2017, with versions for Linux and macOS being released on 11 April of the same year. The Nintendo Switch version of Hollow Knight was announced in January 2017 and released on 12 June 2018. Team Cherry originally planned to make it available on the Wii U . Development of the Wii U version began in 2016, alongside the PC version, and it eventually shifted to Switch. The creators of Hollow Knight worked with another Australian developer, Shark Jump Studios, to speed up

6642-634: Was released in 2019 by video game music label Materia Collective, arranged by David Peacock and performed by Augustine Mayuga Gonzales. On 3 August 2017, the Hidden Dreams downloadable content (DLC) was released, featuring two optional boss encounters, two songs in the soundtrack, a fast travel system, and a Stag Station to discover. On 26 October 2017, the second DLC The Grimm Troupe was released, adding major quests, boss fights, charms, enemies, and other content. The update added support for Russian, Portuguese, and Japanese languages. On 20 April 2018,

6724-598: Was revealed on Kickstarter in November 2014, seeking a "modest" sum of A$ 35,000 . The game passed this goal, raising more than A$ 57,000 from 2,158 backers, allowing its scope to be expanded and another developer to be hired—technical director David Kazi—as well as composer Christopher Larkin . The game reached a beta state in September 2015 and continued to achieve numerous stretch goals to add in more content after an engine switch from Stencyl to Unity . Hollow Knight

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