Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight
Developer(s)	Team Cherry
Publisher(s)	Team Cherry
Designer(s)	Ari Gibson William Pellen
Programmer(s)	William Pellen David Kazi
Artist(s)	Ari Gibson
Composer(s)	Christopher Larkin
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Windows Linux macOS Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Xbox One
Release	Windows 24 February 2017 Linux, macOS 11 April 2017 Nintendo Switch 12 June 2018 PlayStation 4, Xbox One 25 September 2018
Genre(s)	Metroidvania
Mode(s)	Single-player

Hollow Knight is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by independent developer Team Cherry. The player controls the Knight, an insectoid warrior exploring Hallownest, a fallen kingdom plagued by a supernatural disease. The game is set in diverse subterranean locations, featuring friendly and hostile insectoid characters and numerous bosses. Players have the opportunity to unlock abilities as they explore, along with pieces of lore and flavour text that are spread throughout the kingdom.

The concept behind Hollow Knight was conceived in 2013 in the Ludum Dare game jam. Team Cherry wanted to create a game inspired by older platformers that replicated the explorational aspects of its influences. Inspirations for the game include Faxanadu, Metroid, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Mega Man X. Development was partially funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that raised over A$57,000 by the end of 2014. It was released for Windows, Linux, and macOS, in early 2017 and for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2018. After release, Team Cherry supported the game with four free expansions as downloadable content.

Hollow Knight was well received by critics, with particular praise for its music, art style, worldbuilding, atmosphere, combat and level of difficulty. By February 2019, the game had sold 2.8 million copies. A sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, is in development.