The developers of Hollow Knight, Team Cherry, crafted a remarkable Metroidvania game that has captured the attention of gamers worldwide. Despite the frequent comparisons with Dark Souls, the co-directors, William Pellen and Ari Gibson, revealed that their inspiration didn’t directly come from Dark Souls. Pellen admitted he hadn’t played much of Dark Souls during Hollow Knight’s development. The similarities, he explained, arose from referencing games that Dark Souls also drew inspiration from.
Instead, the team found their creative muse in classic NES games like Zelda 2 and Faxanadu, as well as titles such as A Link to the Past and Majora’s Mask. These games, according to Gibson, embodied a sense of the unknown and discovery, reminiscent of an era when players had limited information due to the absence of the Internet. The essence of those early games, filled with unexpected moments and uncharted territory, influenced Hollow Knight’s design philosophy.
In essence, Hollow Knight was shaped by a desire to capture the feeling of exploration and the expansion of the game world beyond players’ initial expectations. While the similarities with Dark Souls are apparent, the common thread lies in the shared influences, resulting in two exceptional games that have earned their places among the greatest ever made.
Hollow Knight is currently available on PC and Nintendo Switch, with releases planned for Xbox One and PS4 in the coming year.