Hollow Knight is one of the most beloved indie games of all time. Millions of gamers fell in love with its eerie atmosphere and challenging gameplay. It has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” player rating on Steam. Since the release of the highly anticipated sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, you would think that people would be revisiting the original game and giving it some more positive reviews, right? Well, no. It turns out that the opposite is true.
Hollow Knight is Getting Negative Reviews??
According to SteamDB, the original Hollow Knight has received over 660 negative reviews in the first ten days of September, which is more negative reviews than it has received at any point in time in the past. If you look at the game’s Steam page, you’ll see that the recent reviews are in the “Very Positive” range, instead of the usual “Overwhelmingly Positive.” This isn’t enough negative reviews to put a dent in the game’s overall “Overwhelmingly Postive” rating, but it still raises some eyebrows.
What Is Causing the Negative Reviews?
One cause of the negative reviews is the poor Chinese translation of the game, although Team Cherry has said that they will release a patch for the translation in the near future. Another possible cause is the recent release of Silksong. The sequel is causing people to seek out the original game, perhaps expecting to be blown away, and then finding themselves disappointed with the game’s high difficulty or lack of direction. When your expectations are incredibly high, it’s very easy to be disappointed. In addition, Silksong only has a “Very Positive” Steam rating, and players who were disappointed in Silksong might be more sensitized to the original game’s flaws now.
Conclusion
I had never played Hollow Knight until I reviewed it for my Weekly Indie Spotlight column. I was enchanted with the graphics and music, but I will admit that the gameplay has some flaws, such as the necessity of backtracking when you die. Still, the game will remain a classic, regardless of people’s complaints. The flaws do not diminish the unique experience. However, if the difficulty gets you to a point when you are not having fun, then you’re free to play something else.
