Hollow Knight: Difficulty in games. Why it's okay to not want a challenge

Difficulty in video games has always been a sort of sore subject for me. As someone who has delved into indies and Triple AAA titles, I had always thought my skills would be substantial and even improve. However, as time goes by, I find myself stumped by difficult games and exhausted by the challenge. It made me start to wonder if that is what I look for in my experience with playing games and if I should be ashamed of it. People arguably look to games as a hobby to escape the stress of everyday life; they look for comfort in this experience, and more often than not, there is a link between games having to be challenging and being fun or fulfilling. The silly meme phrase ‘just get good’ is actually quite damaging to those that struggle with certain genres of games (I’m looking at you platformers), and it's only in recent years that people like me have risen to claim the title of cosy gamers. Players who look for comfortable experiences that are absent in stress. I’ve always fallen into this category, always floating towards life sims like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon. But cosy gaming has now expanded to encompass other games, mainly in the Nintendo franchise. From Kirby to Pikmin, games are now starting to be categorised even more, as there is an often-gendered divide between those who play 'souls-like' games, or rogue likes, and those who play farming sims or visual novels. Despite this divide, I like to try and push myself now and then to tackle labelled ‘hard’ games, as I’m constantly trying to sample new genres and understand why people like and enjoy these games. Just because I find relaxation in organising systems in farms doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy tackling a combat system in JRPGS. The game that helped me see this appeal was Hollow Knight.

Games that make my brain go whir tend to be aesthetic, visually enriching, and aligned with the feel of the game. This is definitely an aspect that corresponds with many Nintendo and indie games, as they stand out as companies or genres that boast individuality and popping art styles. This (in my opinion) sets them apart from the games that come from Microsoft and Sony to generalise, as I often find their games stick to realism. To have a style that is unique and fun pulls me into their game, and Hollow Knight does this perfectly with their bug-inhabited world and atmospheric, haunting soundtrack paired with eerily rich environments. There is always a mood to be felt in Hollow Knight, and in its traversal across vast, unknown landscapes, you can feel the enchanting mystery of what there is to find in each area. In Greenpath, you can feel the playful melodies signifying the life that is hidden in every nook and cranny, from the poignantly hopeful vocals in City of Tears to highlight the contrasting beauty and encasing ever-present rain. Each area feels distinct and charming; for 'Metroidvania', a game that presents itself as a maze-like challenge, everywhere felt realised and unforgettable, often only simply because of its soundtrack.

Another aspect of its aesthetic is its characters. The choice to inhabit its world with bug people has felt like a conscious choice to represent Hallownest as a re-occurring threat to the people who inhabit it. To have a small bug-like person try and conquer its depths sets the precedent that you were helpless and about to be swallowed by the monsters that lurked within it. Another way the bug design is powerful is in how it contrasts the backgrounds. Pairing a cartoony character with the grungy, detailed backdrops of the Crossroads places the focus on your character prevailing against what is thrown at them. This already established storytelling style is invaluable to my experience with this game; there wasn’t a time where I didn’t put my switch down and squint at what the backgrounds were trying to tell me. Of course, this kind of lighthearted aesthetic appeals much more to me than, say, the mediaeval landscapes of Dark Souls. While both games boast this impeccable talent to convey the world and its story, it’s the lighter-hearted style of Hollow Knight that made it more enticing to me.

Now I can sit here and praise Hollow Knight for its art style, story, and soundtrack, which are aspects that don’t really factor into what makes games hard and why I found this hard game fun. Hollow Knight has a way of beating you up within an inch of your life, then carefully plop you back down outside the boss area to ask you if you want to try again. Souls’ games mostly follow the disjointed structure of allowing you to tackle bosses in pretty much any order. There is often a criterion for what bosses you must slay to progress the story, but they are known for bulking up the roster with mini bosses you can completely ignore. Finding one too hard? You don’t have to do it, and if you do, then you can leave for a while and try something else. You aren’t locked into a set path and it's this freedom that soothes you into the experience as a first-time soul’s player. Bosses in general tend to have their own shtick, a gimmick that they are formed around, and it's this you need to work around and conquer to beat the boss. It’s this reliance on the rinse and repeat pattern that creates a sense of security in the challenge that opposes you. It doesn’t trick you with a half-bullshit move that can't be predicted. Realising this when playing Hollow Knight gave me a newfound appreciation for people who enjoy these types of games and what makes Hollow Knight challenging but fair. It's not only this pattern system that makes me want to keep trying, however, but each boss is also packed with personality and treats to be won. This can range from a new charm notch, a whole new power, or just money—all items that amalgamate together to make you better and give you more options to explore. Echoing the 'collectathon' that sims normally are, I find so much pleasure in simply ticking off items that I could use in the next fight. There are also bosses that present you with more story and insight into characters. One of these is Flukemarm. Hollow Knight provides you with a handful of recurring characters that are fun and quirky enough to make you go ‘oh!’ when you see them again in a different area. For example, in Quirrel, an explorer like yourself is roaming about looking for the secrets imbedded in Hallownest. A familiar face in a bleak landscape, the conclusion of you joining forces with him to beat Flukemarm (a completely missable boss, mind you) is a simple yet effective touch that presents you with player choice and freedom. It personalises your experience and makes Hollow Knight a multi-layered adventure to uncover.

Hollow Knight isn’t just some soulless souls’ game that slams you into a rinse and repeat slog of unfair bosses, but an enchanting, fulfilling adventure that lets you ease into your own pace of difficulty in games. It was the first ‘difficult’ game I played all the way though, and there was nothing more thrilling and rewarding than making my way through this game and finally saying I had beat a soul-like game.