The developers took Hollow Knight and improved everything that was great about it. The dark and somber vibe that set the tone for like half of Hallownest and got old very fast is replaced with a vibrant atmosphere that changes drastically between every area. The themes and lore of the story are woven thickly into every inch of this world. The audio alone is stunning, and the visuals make Hollow Knight look like an NES game. Every NPC you meet breathes life into the world with amazing voice acting & character design, filling your heart with wonder. The floor moves as you walk on it, everything you touch and hit makes a sound, bugs fly out of bushes as you run by, your voice echoes when you are in a big open area, and every frame of this game contains more details than you could possibly notice.
Many things that were bad in Hollow Knight have also been improved. Enemies have also become more interesting. Where in Hollow Knight many simple enemies simply needed a few well-timed hits as you stand in front of them, many now require you to reposition between hits. In the first areas, bench density has increased greatly, so dying is not as punishing as it used to be, and there is a mechanism to prevent some loss of your money too.
However many things that were awful about Hollow Knight are even worse. Exploration used to be second to boss fights, now exploration is a boss fight. Even the simplest enemies usually requires 4+ hits, often 10+. The average miniboss requires more hits to kill than most HK regular bosses. While some enemies are more interesting, half of the new enemies just walk so fast that you have to back up after each hit. Dashing away after each attack is not really an interesting mechanic, and it just slows down traversal. The walk-backs to bosses, which seemed pleasantly short at first, quickly become longer as the game goes on, and due to the enemies on the way being so tanky and complex, they take even longer. Many enemies don't drop any money, so it doesn't even feel like you are at least making progress. The fact that you lose your money if you don't find your cocoon is repeating the by far worst design decision in Hollow Knight. Dying doesn't mean "oh well, try again, or maybe come back later", it means "crap now I need to go to one specific place or I lose all my money". It introduces stress, pressure & frustration into a game that works best the opposite way. The world normally feels open and free, it feels like there are a million places to explore. But only until you die, and then the world suddenly becomes very linear and frustrating. It completely takes the fun out of the game for me, but I can stop playing. The difficulty is also insane, even compared to Hollow Knight. Some enemies and most bosses deal 2 points of damage, giving you effectively 3 masks of health in a bossfight, all while healing is both less flexible and less powerful. Meanwhile, the hitbox of the needle is pathetically small, a flying enemy approaching you diagonally can sometimes not be hit at all without repositioning. The dash is nerfed. Pogos require far more skill to pull off but are required much more than before. Hollow Knight was hard and that was fun. But even my girlfriend could play hollow knight, it was a struggle but it's possible for her to enjoy it. She doesn't even want to try this game after watching me play.
If you want a game that is just more hollow knight both in the good and the bad ways, this game is for you. If you value your mental sanity, I suggest you avoid it. Unfortunately the game is too pretty for me to not play it so I have to torture myself by continuing to play it. The only one currently enjoying this game in our house is my girlfriend watching me lose my marbles as I play.
