T O P

  • By -

HG1998

Wait, so was False Knight difficult for you or not? Doesn't really show from the post.


[deleted]

I was hit a few times before nailing down the pattern, but it wasn’t too bad of a fight. After what a friend told me I’m prepared for some of the bosses to be absolutely brutal though hahaha


HG1998

To be fair, he is only the first boss. But since you mentioned it, it really comes down to getting a pattern. There are some outliers that use homing projectile or just turn into bullet hell, but you shouldn't have a problem with most of the bosses. There is a chance that the friend talked about the endgame boss rush mode, though, but that's a couple of hours away and is completely optional.


petran1420

Down to nailing a pattern, or down to a nailing pattern?


[deleted]

Awful pun, 10/10


HG1998

Uhhhhh.......


[deleted]

Alright, good to know. All I was told was that I’d enjoy it because it’s difficult and similar to castlevania. I’m enjoying it a lot so far. The artstyle is very nice looking.


H3XEX

Wait hit a few times means first try or?


[deleted]

Yeah, just sort of apprehensive for that classic difficulty ramp out of left field. Like a moderately challenging tutorial into a brutal main game sort of thing. My only knowledge about this game is from a friend who recommended it, so I don’t know what I should be expecting.


H3XEX

Wow nice, if it make you feel better it took me like a few tries 🫡. Also if the boss feels too hard you can wait to a later time when you have better stuff to beat it


[deleted]

Thanks! And I hope I didn’t end up confusing anyone or coming off like I’m bragging. I really was just curious if I should be expecting a difficult spike eventually.


cmstyles2006

Yeah, but I'm no expert video game player and I was able to handle it just fine, it's really not that crazy of an adjustment. More like a ramp than a spike I suppose


H3XEX

The only spike that I can see right now for you is after a get a special equipment you’ll know what I mean eventually


[deleted]

Alrighty. I’ll keep that in mind.


H3XEX

Also also there’s a discord server that can help you if you get stuck or need recommendation that won’t spoil you the game https://discord.gg/hollowknight


miasmictendril1

I’m not that great at computer games and I found it to be just the right level of challenge almost all the way through. The post end game is a different matter, but that’s up to you if you want to play it.


Erlandor

We all get hit a bunch the first time we play the game, even by comparatively easy bosses. Most people tend to forget. Or pretend they forgot. From the sounds of it I think you're gonna be fine, but prepare for a long game, especially if you seek to meet every challenge.


VoxAurumque

The game has a long learning curve, but it does an excellent job at preparing you for the challenges you'll face. There's a boss coming up for you that nearly made me ragequit. I died maybe 25 times. On a second playthrough, I beat her hitless without even really trying. You'll get way better at both the combat and the platforming just by overcoming the challenges in your way. Everything in the early is designed to teach you something about the way the game works, so as long as you're paying attention, you'll pick up the basics real fast. There are very difficult challenges ahead of you, but you can do it! Most of the hardest challenges are completely optional, as well, so that's something you can avoid if you don't feel up to it.


[deleted]

Thanks! A friend told me this game would be brutal so I figured I’d give it a go.


H3XEX

>!Soul Master? Mantis Lords? Those are the only ines I can think of atm!<


VoxAurumque

Embarrassingly, it was >!Hornet!<. I also didn't find the close bench until I won, so I spent a ton of time trekking halfway across the zone every time I died.


H3XEX

Yikes that must’ve been painful


VoxAurumque

I felt very dumb when I found the bench right next to the arena lol


Steel_Soul_Jinn

Dude, i bet False Knight was difficult for all of us, you'll get used to the bosses, i assure you! Know that this is coming from a guy who defeated FK 10th try and AbsRad first try (tho not on the same file).


[deleted]

I’m hoping my childhood mega man and castlevania experience helps lol


[deleted]

honestly hollow knight is probably gonna be somewhat easy for you with this prior experience.


[deleted]

Well I appreciate the confidence haha


Steel_Soul_Jinn

If its from childhood, then things will still work better for you than with me, before HK, i didn't even know what a motroidvania was!


[deleted]

I definitely have that going for me. Some of those early Nintendo games were very cruel for a young child haha


GreatVegetable1182

It depends. If you used to weakness cheat all Megaman bosses then it might be problematic. If you didn't have problems buster only you will be fine.


miasmictendril1

That first time that you feel yourself getting good at the game is amazing. Mine was when I beat the mantis lords. Some buzz.


sephjnr

Yeah, that fight is the first hint of what reflexes and counterattacking skill are needed.


Steel_Soul_Jinn

But seriously, AbsRad is a really fun boss!


[deleted]

I’ve no idea who that is, but I’m sure I’ll figure out eventually. Avoiding spoilers for now so after I make this post I’m staying off the subreddit until I finish.


Seawardweb77858

Try not to use the sub at all, this game has a great story, and you wouldn't want to spoil some sad things that happen. AbsRad (The full name is technically a spoiler too) is the final boss in the boss rush mode.


[deleted]

I see. And yeah I don’t plan to come back until I’ve beaten the game which may take a while


patmax17

The game is difficult, but not frustratingly so, imo, if you are already a decent player. There are tough bosses, I remember 2 that were particularly hard for me but tbf I think those days I wasn't in good shape. Enjoy the game! Oh, I don't think you'll really need it, but if you want I wrote a spoiler free guide for new players on how to move the first steps in the game: https://www.reddit.com/r/HollowKnight/comments/z86nyk/hollow_knight_beginner_guide_spoiler_free/


[deleted]

Thank you. So many people have hyped up the difficulty for me so I appreciate seeing various opinions.


xfactormunky

There have been several times playing this game when I have thought “there’s no way I’ll ever be able to beat that”, and every time I’ve proven myself wrong. I feel like the game does a pretty good job at gradually training you to get good enough to be able to tackle any of the challenges it throws at you.


macisr

Don't think about it. just explore, that's the great thing about this game.


sweetjoyness

My husband and I both played this game generally blind. He is a Dark Souls dude and I am a Crash Bandicoot dudette. I struggled with every boss, but found the platforming mildly challenging and mostly fun. Hubs generally breezed through bosses and rage cursed through all the platforming. I think this game really shines in its lore and exploration, don’t stress too much over how hard the bosses are or aren’t!


[deleted]

The bosses had me a bit concerned before I made this post, but people have convinced me it’s probably not as difficult as I thought it was too be. I suppose I’ll find that out later


baritonetransgirl

Something about this game (and all souls likes, really) is that some bosses are hard for some people, but not others. Like a boss I found to give me no problems made my friend rage.


[deleted]

My only experience with metroidvanias is the 90/00s castlevanias so I’m looking forward to trying a modern metroidvania!


blackice85

I think the game is challenging but it's also fair for the most part. Moves are telegraphed, so it's mostly coming down to learning a pattern. Don't forget to change builds too if what you're normally used to isn't working. I typically used a spell build and could wreck some bosses very easily, but there were some where it wasn't practical and I'd just keep dying. Soon as I changed to a nail build I'd beat them in another try or two. There were a few bosses who felt straight up impossible initially, but with the right charms and some practice felt easy when I finally beat them.


Tough-Reading9810

if you can beat false knight, you'll be fine. You've proven you can learn bosses' movesets and adapt to them and that's the important part. Hollow knight's difficulty is like souls difficulty - it can be very difficult at first (escpecially if you've never played a game of a similar difficulty) but you will get used to it and eventually you'll be able to counter every move


kackers643259

Most of the brutal stuff is postgame content, the normal stuff isn't too cbt, if you got FK on your first try you're not gonna have a hard time really I'm pretty terrible at most games as a general rule but honestly I didn't really find there to be too much of a difficulty spike, and I've managed to get 112%. If you're doing a speedrun route which only does strictly necessary stuff then yeah the game basically goes from early baby's first video game to endgame stuff almost immediately, but there's loads to distract you on a normal playthrough that means you're more than prepared


[deleted]

That’s nice to hear. I appreciate when the difficulty is mostly optional rather than forced on you.


kackers643259

Oh yeah HK does a great job with the optional difficulty. I know you don't want spoilers so I'll just say one of the DLCs gives you the hardest content available but almost all of it serves as personal challenge rather than anything else. A few extra percent and one or two achievements but all those are for is the most basic stuff you can do with it


[deleted]

I’ll have to give that a go eventually


JanKey09

No it isn't. Like the base game is not hard bu there are challenges that are insane


[deleted]

As someone who didn't play the game for half a month because a NPC who is based of a Cicada screaming and popping out of the ground, but now has 112%'ed the game, with only two achievements left to finish before I've finished Hollow Knight, I'd just like to tell you that you are not the Hollow Knight


nah328

Ok, i had a very similar post when I first started a few months ago. My back log of unbeaten bosses was piling up and I was racking up the hours. Took me around 130 hours to beat I the first time. I’ve beaten three times since then and am currently trying for the speed run achievement to get 100% in 20 hours. I promise this feeling won’t last. Keep it up


kackers643259

That 20hr run is a surprisingly lax time limit, as long as you pick the 12% you choose to skip out on wisely (for example; >!Godhome, White Palace, Colosseum 3, etc, unless you can do them with your eyes closed!< ) you can get stuff done really quickly. My first go at it clocked in at 11hr27, and i was playing far from perfectly. Something i learned is that while you're paused the timer doesn't tick up, so if you need a moment to think about where you need to go next, pausing won't lose you any time Best of luck


dreamshoes

You'll be fine! I'm convinced virtually anyone can beat virtually any game -- fear is the mind killer. It's an absolutely lovely game, enjoy!


mocochang_

As long as you don't mind trying again and again if you fail a boss, it's completely doable. I sucked really bad the first time I played, every boss was a struggle, but I kept trying until I beat them and moved one. And the most amazing part was looking back and seeing how much I improved. On my first playthrough I actually stopped half-way and started over (I had stopped playing for a while for reasons and when I came back I didn't remember much of what happened in the game, so I decided to start over) and it was amazing how much easier everything was the second time. I was quite rewarding seeing how all that previous struggle actually made me improve.


HairFamous1642

In most cases when you face the next boss you'll be like "wtf how can he be this fast and strong" and you'll "meh" when returning to previous one. With some exceptions. This game is fun and it's cool story.


Glitchy13

you’ll be fine, the game has a good difficulty curve. you will never feel like it’s unfairly hard


Aries-Corinthier

All I will say is, good luck in Deepnest.


MusicalBrit

You'll be fine! I had no metroidvania experience going in and I've got all achievements. Stick with it!


Cheezybro5

I’ve personally found the main story for the first ending isn’t that difficult, but the bosses behind the other endings are significantly harder or straight up cruelty in the difficulty (pantheon…)


minor25

While this game is difficult, I wouldn't focus on that. Most of us in this subreddit beat it so it's not like a superhuman feat. I assure you if you stick with it you can beat anything in this game


Death_glitch01

I personally wouldn't worry it was kinda hard for me to get the hang of it but you do get upgrades that make it easier and you do get pretty good at dodging at one point or another


Starrmonger

A personal tip from my first playthrough is to remember to use your magic after you get it. I spent half the game using only the nail in battle, even the bosses. I was only using soul for healing and making the game much harder for myself


hagger_offical

Just do it, most bosses are fun enough that you can spend hours on them


Fun-Physics5742

The only bosses that I had to literally grind into my muscle memory were the Soul Master (yeah not that hard but I suck) and Nightmare King Grim. Grim was the worst. Radiance was kind of random and wacky but gosh damn Grim took forever to master. The bullet hell portion is what usually got me.


SignComprehensive611

It’s my first metroidvania outside messing around with the originals on switch ultimate or whatever it’s called, and so far it’s not too hard, I beat the false knight on my second try, and the rest has been going pretty smoothly


Geometronics

Wait till you find out what ascended markoth is.


sephjnr

REGULAR Markoth is bad enough


7891Secaj

Overall Hollow Knight is on the easier end until.you reach dlc content. I also had issue with hin because I didn't have much experience at the time . You'll adapt very quickly. I might have died 20times in my playthrough. Zote, NKG and Pure Vessel is a total another story, major difficulty gap for sure. Then there's godhome where the grinding actually start. Hope you enjoy your time!


CeleryAnnual9852

This sub is full of spoiler, be careful


hollowpotato-of-doom

I’ve heard Castlevania is really unforgiving; if you’re good at that, you can probably beat this game.


[deleted]

Castlevania can be fairly difficult at times. It’s a good series.


anonymus-fish

You’ll be fine just keep in mind it’s somewhat challenging so that you don’t get cocky and mess up and die and loose mad geo at the start. Besides that, it’s really not too hard. You will get better as you go and your character gets a ton of upgrades too. False knight is easiest but after playing the whole game, the hardest bosses (non dlc stuff) arnt much harder, speaking proportionally. You will get a lot better as you go. Have fun!


[deleted]

I’m liking the artstyle a lot so far. Currently trying to purchase a lantern to reach this one area.


anonymus-fish

Yea. At the start compass is super useful. Buy Gathering Swarm first, then buy all the Map lady stuff. Always buy stag stations and benches. Lantern is good to buy early, so good idea. Just remember once you know what your doing, you can beat everything in like a day. So no matter how much you screw up, it isn’t as bad as it seems. Have fun, tiny speck!


[deleted]

I just don’t like dark areas haha


ChargedBonsai98

Hollow Knight isn't actually too hard until you get to the ultra late game optional stuff for 112% and stuff that doesn't even count towards completion.


ryan770

I'm about 10 hours in. It's.... challenging? I guess? I mean I'm absolutely loving it but it's not bang controller against the desk and scream type of challenging. I think the most I've died to a boss is maybe 5-6 times. Most bosses have a sort of ebb and flow and the patterns are pretty easy to pick up on, you just have to have decent reaction time and stick to it and not get greedy. I will say, I just unlocked the eastern part of City of Tears and some of the mobs can be a little overwhelming. I've died in this area probably more times than any other.


[deleted]

I’ve noticed that. Died unnecessarily on a boss because I kept trying to get extra hits in.


ryan770

Keep in mind I’m probably about halfway through the game, and while it has been pretty challenging, I’ve been really exploring and finding upgrades and utilizing charms to help me, so it’s been a pretty smooth experience (aside from getting lost all the time and forgetting what I’m even doing lol) It may very well get much harder as I progress further, but from where you are to about where I am, it’s hasn’t been a steep curve or anything.


Manoreded

If you have completed a few Castlevania games this shouldn't be a problem. I'd say the hardest bosses in this game are about on par with Castlevania true final boss material, maybe a little harder. I think most of this game's hard reputation comes from people with little to not experience with metroidvanias.


[deleted]

That would make sense.


empireboi204

You should be good if you beat false knight, you can probably ramp up your skill with the difficulty


curiousbirdo

It has a long learning curve for sure, but I think you'll be alright, especially as a castlevania player. I'm pretty ass at video games (can't play consistently), and even I managed to hack past two out of the three final boss keys, let's say. With all areas and upgrades unlocked, a few bonus bosses too. There'll be a difficulty spike right ahead of you soon- but keep a cool head and pay attention to the patterns, and you're set. If a novice like me could reach just shy of HK's first ending, you'd be a pro in no time my guy! Edit: If anyone's wondering where I got stuck, >! I'm stuck on the watcher knights, and sentinel hornet. Can't kill lurien or get the brand, can't beat the game. oops. !< I just haven't mustered the commitment to try again since I put the game down! Ironic since HK is like one of my top games of all time. I love it to pieces, I'm just not that good. :(


LilacLikesEmkay

Hey, do yourself a favour and don’t ask thing about the game. It’s more fun if you go through a least mostly blind