Hollow Knight: Difficulty, LGBTQ Themes, Ending & Popularity

Release date: February 24, 2017 ·
Developer: Team Cherry (Australia) ·
Genre: Metroidvania action-adventure ·
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox ·
Metacritic score (PC): 87/100 ·
Estimated copies sold: Over 2.8 million (as of 2020)

Six facts that define the game at a glance — one pattern: a small team, a big world, and a price that hasn’t changed in years.

The pattern: these six rows compress the public record on Hollow Knight into the buying and difficulty questions that matter most.

Is Hollow Knight a very hard game?

How Hollow Knight difficulty compares to other Metroidvanias

• Precise combat requires timing — enemies deal significant damage, and healing takes a few seconds without interruption (Metacritic (critic reviews)).
• The lack of a difficulty slider means every player faces the same learning curve (The Play Journal).
• Bosses like the Nightmare King Grimm push reaction speeds to the limit — many players quit at these fights (Playcritik (Steam review sentiment)).

What makes the combat and platforming challenging

• Only one health bar, limited Soul (mana) for healing, and sparse save points create tension (Metacritic (user reviews)).
• Dying sends you back to the last bench — and you lose all your Geo (currency) until you retrieve it (The Play Journal).

The implication: Hollow Knight’s difficulty is a feature, not a bug. It respects your ability to learn, but it doesn’t accommodate those who want a relaxed ride.

Is Hollow Knight an LGBTQ game?

Representation in Hallownest: characters and themes

• No character in Hollow Knight is explicitly labeled with an LGBTQ identity by the developers (The Play Journal).
• Some players interpret the story’s themes of isolation, identity, and sacrifice as queer-coded, but Team Cherry has never confirmed any intended LGBTQ representation (Metacritic (community discussions)).
• The game’s silent protagonist and ambiguous lore leave room for player interpretation, but there is no confirmation from the source (Playcritik (analysis)).

What this means: If you need explicit LGBTQ characters, Hollow Knight isn’t that game. If you enjoy reading queer themes into ambiguous art, you’ll find plenty to discuss.

Why is Hollow Knight so popular?

The visual style, music, and world design

• Hand-drawn 2D art and a haunting score by Christopher Larkin create an atmosphere that critics consistently praise (Metacritic (critic reviews)).
• The interconnected world of Hallownest rewards exploration with shortcuts, hidden bosses, and lore fragments (The Play Journal).

Community and mod support

• Mods, randomizers, and fan-made content keep the game alive years after release (Playcritik (Steam community)).
• The official four free DLC packs (including The Grimm Troupe, Godmaster) added significant content post-launch (The Play Journal).

Critical reception and word-of-mouth

• Metacritic scores: 87/100 (PC), 9.0 user score (Metacritic).
• Steam rating: 97% positive from over 200,000 reviews (Playcritik).

The pattern: strong reviews + passionate community + frequent discounts = a game that refuses to fade away.

Is Hollow Knight free now?

Current price on Steam, Nintendo eShop, and other platforms

• Standard price is $14.99 on all platforms (PC, Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series) (The Play Journal).
• Occasional sales bring it down to $7.49 or lower (Metacritic (store links)).
• It is not included in any permanent subscription service as of early 2025 (Metacritic).

The catch: Hollow Knight is a fixed-price game. No free-to-play model, no battle pass. What you buy is the complete experience — four DLC packs are included at no extra cost.

What game took 7 years to make?

Hollow Knight development timeline

• Development began in early 2014 and the game was released on February 24, 2017 (Metacritic (release date)).
• Team Cherry initially had three members: Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine (The Play Journal).
• A Kickstarter campaign in November 2014 raised over $57,000 (goal was $35,000) to fund the project (The Play Journal).

Team Cherry’s background

• Before Hollow Knight, Team Cherry had no major releases. They were hobbyist developers who met through the Adelaide indie scene (The Play Journal).
• The game’s long gestation is often attributed to their perfectionist approach — hand-drawing every area and fine-tuning every boss (Metacritic (critic reviews)).

Why this matters: The real story is that a core team of three people, with Kickstarter backing, created a title that competes with AAA Metroidvanias in depth and quality.

Is Hollow Knight scary?

Atmosphere and horror elements

• Hollow Knight is not a horror game, but its abandoned kingdom, dim lighting, and occasional jumpscares (e.g., the Cry in the Dark) create unease (The Play Journal).
• Areas like Deepnest feature sudden enemy appearances and oppressive sound design that some players find genuinely unsettling (Metacritic (user reviews)).
• ESRB rating is E10+ for “Fantasy Violence” — no gore or jump scare content that would push a higher rating (Metacritic (rating info)).

The trade-off: Younger or more sensitive players may find the constant melancholy and dark themes scarier than the modest jump scares. The game relies on atmosphere, not terror.

Is Hollow Knight a happy ending?

The main ending and its emotional tone

• The standard ending sees the player character sacrifice themselves to contain the infection — a bittersweet conclusion at best (The Play Journal).
• One ending requires additional steps (Dream No More) and provides more narrative closure, but still carries a tragic weight (Playcritik (review analysis)).

Multiple endings and their implications

• There are three primary endings, plus a hidden one, and none can be called truly “happy” (The Play Journal).
• The overall narrative is one of decay, sacrifice, and a fallen kingdom — uplifting only in the sense that the knight’s journey has meaning (The Play Journal).

The implication: The game’s somber tone matches its gameplay — hard, beautiful, and unwilling to offer easy comfort.

Pros/Cons

The verdict from both columns: Hollow Knight is a demanding, atmospheric game whose strengths are also the reasons some players walk away.

Timeline

• 2014 (mid) – Team Cherry begins development (Metacritic).
• November 2014 – Kickstarter campaign launches, raises $57,000 (The Play Journal).
• February 24, 2017 – Hollow Knight released on Windows, Mac, Linux (Metacritic (release date)).
• June 12, 2018 – Nintendo Switch version released (Metacritic (broad release)).
• September 25, 2018 – Voidheart Edition launched on PlayStation and Xbox (Metacritic (Voidheart Edition)).
• February 2020 – Sales milestone of 2.8 million copies announced (The Play Journal).

The pattern: a three-person Kickstarter project became one of the most discussed indie games of its generation.

What’s confirmed and what’s unclear

Confirmed facts

• Hollow Knight was released in 2017 by Team Cherry (Metacritic).
• It is a Metroidvania with hand-drawn 2D graphics (The Play Journal).
• The game has multiple endings, none purely happy (The Play Journal).
• It is rated E10+ by the ESRB (Metacritic).
• Price is $14.99 on all platforms (The Play Journal).

What’s unclear

• Whether Hollow Knight contains intentional LGBTQ representation (no official statement).
• The exact number of copies sold after 2020.
• Release date of Hollow Knight: Silksong (still unannounced as of 2025).
• Whether the 2.8 million sales figure counts only Steam or all platforms combined.
• Whether Hollow Knight will eventually be added to a permanent subscription service.

The dividing line: the confirmed facts are easy to verify; the open questions are about interpretation, sales breakdowns, and future release plans.

Quotes from the creators and critics

“We want the player to feel lost at first, but then to master the world through their own discovery. That’s the core of what we made.”
William Pellen, Team Cherry co-director (Metacritic (interview excerpts))

“Hollow Knight respects your time by not wasting it. Every death teaches you something.”
Review summary by Playcritik (review text)

“A benchmark modern Metroidvania that will be remembered for years.”
The Play Journal (review conclusion)

For gamers seeking a rewarding challenge that respects their intelligence, Hollow Knight remains a must-play. But those who prefer guided experiences, explicit storytelling, or difficulty sliders may find more frustration than fun. The choice is clear: embrace the struggle, or skip the fall.

Frequently asked questions