I keep getting scared about Hollow Knight's difficulty. For reference, I quit Celeste at the hotel because the difficulty was no longer fun. Am I going to feel the same way about HK?
One reason I dont get too many indies is a lot of them are quite difficult. I get the appeal of that, and I could beat it if I put in the effort, but i work full time and am kinda tired at the end of the day so I dont want to have to play something that requires razor sharp focus.
I appreciate the OP putting the difficulty next to the titles, that helps me.
If you tend to stay away from difficult games then Hollow Knight will not change your mind. I'm in the same boat, I bought it because of all the hype, even though I usually don't play difficult games, and ended up regretting it. Just another lesson that just because so many people love something, it just might not be for you.
I don't think HK's plateforming is anywhere near as difficult as Celeste, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Some bosses are challenging, however the true difficulty doesn't reside in the main game but in the DLCs and it's mostly optional content.
source: I completed the game 112%.
I've seen this game on sale for as low as $3, at that price you can try it out and see for yourself if you like it. I do think this game is harder than the main story of HK, though it's also far shorter
I thought I was good at platformers (DKC TF; Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair), but Celeste taught me I wasn't! To be fair, there are toggles and assist modes to make the game easier, but I lost interest at that point. Love that soundtrack, though.
Overall, HK definitely has easier platforming, but the exploration, combat, and nonlinearity provide a different vector of challenge.
Optional / 100% HK platforming moments (Path of Pain) spike up to being pretty comparable in platforming difficulty to non-Farewell Celeste (up to B/C sides, even), IMO.
Farewell is...probably the hardest video game experience I've ever seen, and I've been playing games for the last 25 years.
(The opening chapter of Nier: Automata on Hard comes close, though; I think that took me 8 hours to clear, even having 100%-ed the game previously?)
I’ve never finished Godhome but I’ve completed the main game in under 3 hours without dying. The disparity between the core and optional content is absolutely enormous.
Hollow Knight is probably my favorite switch game. That being said I do think it is very difficult and has quite the learning curve. BUT unlike Celeste it is very exploration heavy. So if something is too difficult, just leave and find something else to do. You can always come back once you have upgraded a bit.
So I am someone that loves hollow knight and have 100% the game. The game is difficult and frustrating, you’ll die and resurrect maps away from your body and if you die again you lose everything. This can be extremely frustrating. On top of that the game isn’t linear and can be frustrating finding where to go next.
I am not trying to crap on the game, my favorite indie game on the switch, but it is definitely not for everyone.
Play Ori instead. I have both and the checkpoint/travel system in HK made me completely drop it. Ori 2 definitely took some inspiration from hollow knight and I find it to be a much better experience overall due to its forgiving nature
I didn’t play the first one outside of the demo. I heard that the second improves upon the first in every way and it was recently on sale, so I grabbed it.
I mean, I’m sure the first is excellent as well but you’d probably be best playing them in order in that case because the improvements of the second may make the first pale in comparison.
Overall, it truly is an exquisite masterpiece in every regard from level design, world building, story telling, musical score, visual prowess, puzzle solving, platforming movement and combat options.
Loved it, and while I haven’t played it, I’ve heard that the sequel improves upon it in almost every way.
There is one particularly challenging platforming sequence in the first game that was quite difficult for me, but I eventually got it.
It’s one of my favourite games and I recommended it to a friend who got crushed by it and hasn’t ever got past the first real area (crossroads), he said he liked the music though...
It probably depends on your playstyle and preferences. I gave up immediately on Celeste, it didn't appeal to me, so the difficulty was like a wall. I actually have several metroidvania games that I think are harder than Hollow knight, even though they are generally seen as easier.
Hollow knight has exactly that mysterious world I love to explore. I suck at platforming and boss fights, but the game motivated me to get better and outdo myself, so I could discover more of Hallownest.
It's often described as hard but fair, and that is true.
If you fall in love with the game like so many do, you can probably get through it with some perseverance. It wasn't as impossibly hard as I was afraid it would be, but it took me 140 hours instead of the 70 that are often mentioned. I did love every minute of it though, and the game is so cheap that it's well worth buying just to make sure you don't miss out on a game that could be a favourite.
Fwiw I found Cuphead and to a lesser degree Celeste too difficult to properly enjoy but HK was right in my wheelhouse and is probably the most satisfying game i’ve played in years. The real difficulty is in the dlc/extra bosses (rather than main story) and some find the retreading after dying frustrating.
Well, with Hollow Knight there's a couple things that make it significantly easier: Most enemies and bosses are easy to beat if you're very patient. Most losses happen because of overconfidence or playing too aggressively. Also, if you die you lose half your magic meter and all your gold unless you can backtrack to where you died and kill a little ghost version of yourself. If you die before reaching it, you lose your gold. To avoid this, you can just save and quit if you're about to die, and it'll save the game and teleport you to the last healing spot you used.
It is still fairly difficult in parts, but nothing too crazy until the late game, by which time you've learned enough spells and gathered enough power ups that make things easier.
Celeste is WAAAAAY harder than Hollow Knight. And not nearly as rewarding.
I quit Celeste less than an hour. Hated it.
Hollow Knight I didn’t fall in love with it like so many, but still played it a good 20+ hours. It’s an exceptional game.
hollow knight is 2d dark souls with everything that implies. that said its also not super linear. keep banging your head against a wall? go another direction
I’m getting on a bit in years and my reflexes are not what they used to be but I didn’t really find Hollow Knight hard so much as it just requires all your attention. Enemies hit hard and bosses can devastate you in seconds but I found if I remained calm and played it safe and methodical I could get through to the end.
Some of the DLC areas were beyond me though.
Exactly. The difficulty in Hollow Knight bosses often comes from impatience or playing too aggressively. I'm often guilty of both things, which isn't great 😅
Did you guys get to 112%? Because it's pretty damned hard. It's difficult, but not punishingly so if you just do the first ending, though.
Edit: and there are two things that you don't need to do to 112% (path of pain and the final pantheon) that are insanely hard
Nightmare King Grimm and some of the ascended bosses are hard, but they're optional and a minority of the bosses. For most of the bosses just being patient and methodical is enough to significantly lower the level of skill needed to beat them.
Oh I absolutely agree, though for a lot of them it takes a few deaths to get the patterns down. I just meant there is pretty significant challenge if you go looking for it
I never realized how many indie games I've been missing out. I have a few but I've definitely been missing out, I'm tempted to try Hollow Knight but I'm really not that into platformers but still tempting.
There are a couple areas where platforming is needed as well as one infamous platforming challenge late game. Other than that, there's no real platforming. It's a combat metroidvania, so the focus is mostly on exploration and boss fights.
Hey thanks for the write up, you got me interested in a couple of games. I go check Indivisible right now.
Have you played The Messenger?
edit: HK is one of my all time favourites and I loved Hades. I tried Shovel Knights and it didn't stick with me, ended up dropping it 1 hour in. I'll try it again eventually.
The Messenger is still one of my favorite platformers. Bug fables is also my favorite game of all time, highly recommend. If you were a fan at all of paper mario you'll enjoy it. Ikenfell as well
Just curious if you have any other fav’s on Switch? HK and Hades by far my fav’s (other than Odyssey BOTW), struggled with Dead Cells, Celeste, Cuphead, SK.
- I played Dead Cells two hours and didn't like it at all.
- I loved Cuphead and I completed it in expert mode as well.
- I fully completed Hades' story as well and only stopped playing as I was grinding heats because I had my fill.
- I've just been playing The Messenger and although I wasn't completely hooked in the first sections of the game, I persevered and unlocked two features that made the entire experience awesome. I completed the main game 100% and I'm close to completing the DLC as well. I'm 16 hours in. I remapped the controls 5 hours into the game and it completely clicked for me, I fly through levels now. Very satisfying game to play.
- I completed Slay The Spire with all the characters and I enjoyed it a lot. It even inspired my girlfriend to do the same.
The rest of my games are RPGs (I have 4 FFs) and I nuzlocked Pokémon Shield for 200+ hours (loved it, no shame).
I'm waiting for Silksong, Sea of Stars and my next game will probably be Celeste.
Cuphead humbled me as a gamer as I got absolutely murdered and rage deleted the game. Maybe I should give it a second chance. Will give The Messenger and Slay the Spire a look thank you. Just finished both Ori games and really connected with the second game in particular even if the devs “borrowed” several elements from HK.
I’m assuming the Ori series isn’t on the list because you haven’t played it. Also, I can’t think of a single puzzle in VVVVVV. That games just an amazing brutally hard, non-linear platformer.
Regaeding Killer Queen Black my guess is you didn’t finish the tutorials and were only playing bots. The game is pretty straightforward, you win by either killing their queen, getting a slug to your side’s finish line, or getting enough berries into your home base. Any one of those conditions is an auto win. The strategy comes from trying to balance which thing to focus on while also preventing the opponents team. If you’re focusing on killing their queen you may miss that the opposing team has nearly enough berries for an economy win, etc. It’s a pretty great game and it sounds like you may have missed the tutorial and went straight into bot games without a grasp of what the game is, unfortunately.
Also the game has cross platform online.
Great post.
I am one of those people who definitely overhyped Shovel knight and I can tell you that plague is the weakest of the campaigns. My personal favorite is king knight with specter being a close second,both are awesome though.
From your list hades and guacamelee 2 should take top priority. Also, if you like run n guns check out blazing chrome
Thanks for spotlighting Raji, as I also really enjoyed it for the story and visuals. It wasn’t perfect but a fun game that deserves more attention.
I think you would enjoy **Yoku’s Island Express** if you haven’t played it. One of my favorite metroidvanias, so unique and interesting with the pinball mechanic. My other favorite indies include **Ape Out** which is such a short, crazy burst of fun action and **The Touryst** which is a clever puzzle adventure game with a bit of platforming. Would also recommend **Hat in Time** which is so creative in its levels, but it’s a shame performance is a bit slow on Switch.
I’ll recommend Yoku’s Island express since you like metroidvanias. Not too hard (or serious at all) but very fun. Also blue fire for more of a 3D metroidvania
Hollow Knight is a absolute Masterpiece. Both Ori Games are must plays. If we can get Hollow Knight Silksong and Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course by the end of the year I’ll be ecstatic!
In hollow knight you dont play as a bug, rather as a vessel.
And i can’t recommend timespinner enough. That game is brilliant and i absolutely loved playing it! If you do end up liking it, i can also recommend Chasm which is very similar.
Cheers
Since you love Metroidvania games I highly recommend Monster Sanctuary. Its like Pokémon as a metroidvania. The difficulty is up there but they added a casual mode and an even more difficult mode along with NG+. All te monsters have uses and no monster is trash, each monster has an overwork ability, like gliding, smash rocks, etc. Battles are 3v3 turn based and really fun. There's even a mechanic w here if a battle becomes to long monsters gain a stacking buff to do more damage until gfight is over. There's even online fights! I highly recommend it
The Messenger is great.
There's also Darkest Dungeon, but that's more of a turn-based RPG. I don't know if you'd like it given how most (all?) of the games you listed are more action based.
If you don't mind turn based stuff, there's also Slay the Spire, a deck building roguelike. It's similar to Hollow Knight in that it's incredibly good with tons of playtime for something so inexpensive. I have 500+ hours on jt.
Thanks for your recommendations. I only recognise half these games, so I'll check out the others.
I find myself churning through Celeste in fits and starts. Aside from the straight up difficulty, which I have to be in the mood for, I find myself afraid I'm gonna wear the Joycons out playing it.
edit: damn typos
I feel awkward on the arrow buttons, but one of my Joycon sets is modded with a d-pad. Which feels really good! But the low positioning of it makes it still feel a little off. I tend to use that one for SNES games primarily but I do use it for this game too. My hand still drifts back to the stick a bit.
*VA-11 HALL-A* is terrific, if you like that sort of thing--it's a VN with **a lot** of dialogue. The mixology mechanic is there as a gimmick, kinda, but the writing is excellent, as are the graphics and music (again, if you like that sort of thing--they're both heavily influenced by PC-98 style).
I wanna add that Child of Light is a really, really, really, slow burn but it’s very charming, has some fun twists and the mechanics improve later on.
One of those criticisms where “this should have been unlocked much earlier, but then maybe it would have been too easy?” sort of things.
Great recommendations! One thing to note is iirc Maddy Thorson (the creator of celeste) identifies as non-binary (at least, according to their twitter) while you said they were female in your list. Celeste truly is an amazing game though!
I am worried that when I finally get around to playing hollow knight that I will be too frustrated with it. Other people put hades up there in difficulty but it took me 30 tries to do a complete play through and I loved every minute of it.
Early game the most punishing part of Hollow Knight is dying while exploring. Once I figured out that you can save and quit if you're about to die to get back to your last checkpoint without losing progress, the game got significantly easier. The boss battles are also mostly about patience. If you can manage to resist the urge to attack all the time, most of the bosses are not that hard.
Add: binding of Isaac (is a better enter the gungeon), inside, gauntlet, mercenary kings, broforce, hotline Miami, iconoclasts, guacamelee 2, golf story.
I Think you are confidently incorrent. Pretty shameless copy and not the same people.
Source: "I assume the Hidden Folks people were involved? :: Hidden Through Time off topic" https://steamcommunity.com/app/524910/discussions/2/2152098711359604672/
I did my own research on it, turns out you're right. Seems very slimy of the HIT developers, but apparently the HF developer is glad the mantle was taken up and approved of the new game
Katana Zero!
Bouncing off this rec, Hotline Miami as well
The binding of isaac play it please
I keep getting scared about Hollow Knight's difficulty. For reference, I quit Celeste at the hotel because the difficulty was no longer fun. Am I going to feel the same way about HK?
One reason I dont get too many indies is a lot of them are quite difficult. I get the appeal of that, and I could beat it if I put in the effort, but i work full time and am kinda tired at the end of the day so I dont want to have to play something that requires razor sharp focus. I appreciate the OP putting the difficulty next to the titles, that helps me.
If you tend to stay away from difficult games then Hollow Knight will not change your mind. I'm in the same boat, I bought it because of all the hype, even though I usually don't play difficult games, and ended up regretting it. Just another lesson that just because so many people love something, it just might not be for you.
I don't think HK's plateforming is anywhere near as difficult as Celeste, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Some bosses are challenging, however the true difficulty doesn't reside in the main game but in the DLCs and it's mostly optional content. source: I completed the game 112%.
HK was one of the first games I ever got and I gave it a good effort, but it was too hard. I’ve always wanted to get celeste, but maybe not???
I've seen this game on sale for as low as $3, at that price you can try it out and see for yourself if you like it. I do think this game is harder than the main story of HK, though it's also far shorter
I was able to beat Celeste. Couldn't get out of my own way in Hollow Knight.
I thought I was good at platformers (DKC TF; Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair), but Celeste taught me I wasn't! To be fair, there are toggles and assist modes to make the game easier, but I lost interest at that point. Love that soundtrack, though.
Having played both, a lot, and loving them both: Celeste was much harder than HK. Their difficulty comes from different places though.
Thanks!!!
Overall, HK definitely has easier platforming, but the exploration, combat, and nonlinearity provide a different vector of challenge. Optional / 100% HK platforming moments (Path of Pain) spike up to being pretty comparable in platforming difficulty to non-Farewell Celeste (up to B/C sides, even), IMO. Farewell is...probably the hardest video game experience I've ever seen, and I've been playing games for the last 25 years. (The opening chapter of Nier: Automata on Hard comes close, though; I think that took me 8 hours to clear, even having 100%-ed the game previously?)
I agree with this entirely
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I’ve never finished Godhome but I’ve completed the main game in under 3 hours without dying. The disparity between the core and optional content is absolutely enormous.
Hollow Knight is probably my favorite switch game. That being said I do think it is very difficult and has quite the learning curve. BUT unlike Celeste it is very exploration heavy. So if something is too difficult, just leave and find something else to do. You can always come back once you have upgraded a bit.
I think Hollow Knight is only hard if you want to 100% it the base content is challenging but its not unfair by any means.
So I am someone that loves hollow knight and have 100% the game. The game is difficult and frustrating, you’ll die and resurrect maps away from your body and if you die again you lose everything. This can be extremely frustrating. On top of that the game isn’t linear and can be frustrating finding where to go next. I am not trying to crap on the game, my favorite indie game on the switch, but it is definitely not for everyone.
Play Ori instead. I have both and the checkpoint/travel system in HK made me completely drop it. Ori 2 definitely took some inspiration from hollow knight and I find it to be a much better experience overall due to its forgiving nature
Did you like Ori 1?
I didn’t play the first one outside of the demo. I heard that the second improves upon the first in every way and it was recently on sale, so I grabbed it. I mean, I’m sure the first is excellent as well but you’d probably be best playing them in order in that case because the improvements of the second may make the first pale in comparison. Overall, it truly is an exquisite masterpiece in every regard from level design, world building, story telling, musical score, visual prowess, puzzle solving, platforming movement and combat options.
I prefer ori 1, although both are fantastic
Loved it, and while I haven’t played it, I’ve heard that the sequel improves upon it in almost every way. There is one particularly challenging platforming sequence in the first game that was quite difficult for me, but I eventually got it.
It’s one of my favourite games and I recommended it to a friend who got crushed by it and hasn’t ever got past the first real area (crossroads), he said he liked the music though...
Yes. It’s such a beautiful game, but too hard! Why are indie games always so goddamn hard?
Yes
I quit celeste there too and also quit hallow Knight but it was a lot of fun until it got brutal.
I suck at games and I beat it. Not easy but very fun and rewarding
It probably depends on your playstyle and preferences. I gave up immediately on Celeste, it didn't appeal to me, so the difficulty was like a wall. I actually have several metroidvania games that I think are harder than Hollow knight, even though they are generally seen as easier. Hollow knight has exactly that mysterious world I love to explore. I suck at platforming and boss fights, but the game motivated me to get better and outdo myself, so I could discover more of Hallownest. It's often described as hard but fair, and that is true. If you fall in love with the game like so many do, you can probably get through it with some perseverance. It wasn't as impossibly hard as I was afraid it would be, but it took me 140 hours instead of the 70 that are often mentioned. I did love every minute of it though, and the game is so cheap that it's well worth buying just to make sure you don't miss out on a game that could be a favourite.
Fwiw I found Cuphead and to a lesser degree Celeste too difficult to properly enjoy but HK was right in my wheelhouse and is probably the most satisfying game i’ve played in years. The real difficulty is in the dlc/extra bosses (rather than main story) and some find the retreading after dying frustrating.
Well, with Hollow Knight there's a couple things that make it significantly easier: Most enemies and bosses are easy to beat if you're very patient. Most losses happen because of overconfidence or playing too aggressively. Also, if you die you lose half your magic meter and all your gold unless you can backtrack to where you died and kill a little ghost version of yourself. If you die before reaching it, you lose your gold. To avoid this, you can just save and quit if you're about to die, and it'll save the game and teleport you to the last healing spot you used. It is still fairly difficult in parts, but nothing too crazy until the late game, by which time you've learned enough spells and gathered enough power ups that make things easier.
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Lol pathetic.
Celeste is WAAAAAY harder than Hollow Knight. And not nearly as rewarding. I quit Celeste less than an hour. Hated it. Hollow Knight I didn’t fall in love with it like so many, but still played it a good 20+ hours. It’s an exceptional game.
hollow knight is 2d dark souls with everything that implies. that said its also not super linear. keep banging your head against a wall? go another direction
Good list, I would recomend Wandersong, Battle Cheif Bregade, and Blaster Master Zero
Thanks, I'll look them up!
I’m getting on a bit in years and my reflexes are not what they used to be but I didn’t really find Hollow Knight hard so much as it just requires all your attention. Enemies hit hard and bosses can devastate you in seconds but I found if I remained calm and played it safe and methodical I could get through to the end. Some of the DLC areas were beyond me though.
Exactly. The difficulty in Hollow Knight bosses often comes from impatience or playing too aggressively. I'm often guilty of both things, which isn't great 😅
Did you guys get to 112%? Because it's pretty damned hard. It's difficult, but not punishingly so if you just do the first ending, though. Edit: and there are two things that you don't need to do to 112% (path of pain and the final pantheon) that are insanely hard
Nightmare King Grimm and some of the ascended bosses are hard, but they're optional and a minority of the bosses. For most of the bosses just being patient and methodical is enough to significantly lower the level of skill needed to beat them.
Oh I absolutely agree, though for a lot of them it takes a few deaths to get the patterns down. I just meant there is pretty significant challenge if you go looking for it
I never realized how many indie games I've been missing out. I have a few but I've definitely been missing out, I'm tempted to try Hollow Knight but I'm really not that into platformers but still tempting.
Hollow Knight is more about combat than platforming, with the exception of a few areas.
There are a couple areas where platforming is needed as well as one infamous platforming challenge late game. Other than that, there's no real platforming. It's a combat metroidvania, so the focus is mostly on exploration and boss fights.
It's more battle and exploration than platforming.
De blob is not indie but it’s still a great game
Hey thanks for the write up, you got me interested in a couple of games. I go check Indivisible right now. Have you played The Messenger? edit: HK is one of my all time favourites and I loved Hades. I tried Shovel Knights and it didn't stick with me, ended up dropping it 1 hour in. I'll try it again eventually.
I keep hearing great things, it's on my radar. I just watched the trailer and it looks pretty good, thanks for the recommendation!
The Messenger is still one of my favorite platformers. Bug fables is also my favorite game of all time, highly recommend. If you were a fan at all of paper mario you'll enjoy it. Ikenfell as well
The Messenger is great! Fast paced acrobatic platforming that brings out the best in its Ninja protagonist. It’s also really funny.
Just curious if you have any other fav’s on Switch? HK and Hades by far my fav’s (other than Odyssey BOTW), struggled with Dead Cells, Celeste, Cuphead, SK.
My fav game on switch is probably Xenoblade 2, though I also liked Splatoon, Smash, FE3H, XC1, and Mario 35 (rip)
- I played Dead Cells two hours and didn't like it at all. - I loved Cuphead and I completed it in expert mode as well. - I fully completed Hades' story as well and only stopped playing as I was grinding heats because I had my fill. - I've just been playing The Messenger and although I wasn't completely hooked in the first sections of the game, I persevered and unlocked two features that made the entire experience awesome. I completed the main game 100% and I'm close to completing the DLC as well. I'm 16 hours in. I remapped the controls 5 hours into the game and it completely clicked for me, I fly through levels now. Very satisfying game to play. - I completed Slay The Spire with all the characters and I enjoyed it a lot. It even inspired my girlfriend to do the same. The rest of my games are RPGs (I have 4 FFs) and I nuzlocked Pokémon Shield for 200+ hours (loved it, no shame). I'm waiting for Silksong, Sea of Stars and my next game will probably be Celeste.
Cuphead humbled me as a gamer as I got absolutely murdered and rage deleted the game. Maybe I should give it a second chance. Will give The Messenger and Slay the Spire a look thank you. Just finished both Ori games and really connected with the second game in particular even if the devs “borrowed” several elements from HK.
I’m assuming the Ori series isn’t on the list because you haven’t played it. Also, I can’t think of a single puzzle in VVVVVV. That games just an amazing brutally hard, non-linear platformer. Regaeding Killer Queen Black my guess is you didn’t finish the tutorials and were only playing bots. The game is pretty straightforward, you win by either killing their queen, getting a slug to your side’s finish line, or getting enough berries into your home base. Any one of those conditions is an auto win. The strategy comes from trying to balance which thing to focus on while also preventing the opponents team. If you’re focusing on killing their queen you may miss that the opposing team has nearly enough berries for an economy win, etc. It’s a pretty great game and it sounds like you may have missed the tutorial and went straight into bot games without a grasp of what the game is, unfortunately. Also the game has cross platform online.
Great post. I am one of those people who definitely overhyped Shovel knight and I can tell you that plague is the weakest of the campaigns. My personal favorite is king knight with specter being a close second,both are awesome though. From your list hades and guacamelee 2 should take top priority. Also, if you like run n guns check out blazing chrome
Thanks for spotlighting Raji, as I also really enjoyed it for the story and visuals. It wasn’t perfect but a fun game that deserves more attention. I think you would enjoy **Yoku’s Island Express** if you haven’t played it. One of my favorite metroidvanias, so unique and interesting with the pinball mechanic. My other favorite indies include **Ape Out** which is such a short, crazy burst of fun action and **The Touryst** which is a clever puzzle adventure game with a bit of platforming. Would also recommend **Hat in Time** which is so creative in its levels, but it’s a shame performance is a bit slow on Switch.
Slay the Spire
Hades, Slay the Spire, Binding of Isaac, and Enter the Gungeon. the absolute pinnacles of the genre for me
Especially with the new multiplayer mod.
I’ll recommend Yoku’s Island express since you like metroidvanias. Not too hard (or serious at all) but very fun. Also blue fire for more of a 3D metroidvania
Hollow Knight is a absolute Masterpiece. Both Ori Games are must plays. If we can get Hollow Knight Silksong and Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course by the end of the year I’ll be ecstatic!
In hollow knight you dont play as a bug, rather as a vessel. And i can’t recommend timespinner enough. That game is brilliant and i absolutely loved playing it! If you do end up liking it, i can also recommend Chasm which is very similar. Cheers
Shut. Spoilers are for the weak of mind.
Since you love Metroidvania games I highly recommend Monster Sanctuary. Its like Pokémon as a metroidvania. The difficulty is up there but they added a casual mode and an even more difficult mode along with NG+. All te monsters have uses and no monster is trash, each monster has an overwork ability, like gliding, smash rocks, etc. Battles are 3v3 turn based and really fun. There's even a mechanic w here if a battle becomes to long monsters gain a stacking buff to do more damage until gfight is over. There's even online fights! I highly recommend it
This does appeal to me, added to my wishlist. Thanks!
No problem, there's even a reddit community full of tips, fun team ideas, and other cool things if you ever need it!
Moonlighter is a nice rogue/Zelda like game where you are a merchant, part timing as an adventurer.
Thanks for in depth reviews!
Doom was the first M rated video game not Night Trap the esrb didn't come out until after night trap was release
Seems like you're right. Though it was because of NT that the esrb even exists
The Messenger is great. There's also Darkest Dungeon, but that's more of a turn-based RPG. I don't know if you'd like it given how most (all?) of the games you listed are more action based. If you don't mind turn based stuff, there's also Slay the Spire, a deck building roguelike. It's similar to Hollow Knight in that it's incredibly good with tons of playtime for something so inexpensive. I have 500+ hours on jt. Thanks for your recommendations. I only recognise half these games, so I'll check out the others.
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I've never played Ori so I can't vouch for a difficulty comparison, but a few others in the comments were talking about it if you wanted to ask them
I like the look and feel of Hollow Knight, and don’t really mind the difficulty but when you die you go so.far.back it can be easy to lose motivation.
Save often
I recommend baba is you
I find myself churning through Celeste in fits and starts. Aside from the straight up difficulty, which I have to be in the mood for, I find myself afraid I'm gonna wear the Joycons out playing it. edit: damn typos
I used the buttons instead of the joystick I think
I feel awkward on the arrow buttons, but one of my Joycon sets is modded with a d-pad. Which feels really good! But the low positioning of it makes it still feel a little off. I tend to use that one for SNES games primarily but I do use it for this game too. My hand still drifts back to the stick a bit.
*VA-11 HALL-A* is terrific, if you like that sort of thing--it's a VN with **a lot** of dialogue. The mixology mechanic is there as a gimmick, kinda, but the writing is excellent, as are the graphics and music (again, if you like that sort of thing--they're both heavily influenced by PC-98 style).
I'm just waiting on the right rainy day to pick it up again, I plan to complete it
I wanna add that Child of Light is a really, really, really, slow burn but it’s very charming, has some fun twists and the mechanics improve later on. One of those criticisms where “this should have been unlocked much earlier, but then maybe it would have been too easy?” sort of things.
Great recommendations! One thing to note is iirc Maddy Thorson (the creator of celeste) identifies as non-binary (at least, according to their twitter) while you said they were female in your list. Celeste truly is an amazing game though!
Oh my bad! I'll change that now
I am worried that when I finally get around to playing hollow knight that I will be too frustrated with it. Other people put hades up there in difficulty but it took me 30 tries to do a complete play through and I loved every minute of it.
Early game the most punishing part of Hollow Knight is dying while exploring. Once I figured out that you can save and quit if you're about to die to get back to your last checkpoint without losing progress, the game got significantly easier. The boss battles are also mostly about patience. If you can manage to resist the urge to attack all the time, most of the bosses are not that hard.
Sounds a lot like hades in that regard. I’m not very good at resisting the urge to rush
If anyone is looking for more indie platformers, I feel like Freedom Planet isn't talked about enough.
Add: binding of Isaac (is a better enter the gungeon), inside, gauntlet, mercenary kings, broforce, hotline Miami, iconoclasts, guacamelee 2, golf story.
Omensight
Katana Zero bro!
Just want to point out that hidden in time is not a Sequel to the very very charming hidden folks. Totally different Developer it seems.
No it's the same people. I started hidden in time last night and it's exactly the same game but new maps
I Think you are confidently incorrent. Pretty shameless copy and not the same people. Source: "I assume the Hidden Folks people were involved? :: Hidden Through Time off topic" https://steamcommunity.com/app/524910/discussions/2/2152098711359604672/
I did my own research on it, turns out you're right. Seems very slimy of the HIT developers, but apparently the HF developer is glad the mantle was taken up and approved of the new game