Follow the hollow

There is hardly a genre as difficult to be successful as indie games. While big brands with big budgets can usually reduce the risk of failure through marketing and their core clientele, many small development studios usually start from scratch - including Team Cherry, the developers of 2017's Metroidvania Hollow Knight. They have exactly one game on their release list and only the sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, in the pipeline.

Nevertheless, thanks to its fanatical fanbase, the sequel is considered one of the most anticipated, as the main game was nominated for numerous awards, including the prestigious Game Award for Best Debut Indie Game. I myself was later tempted to play Hollow Knight by the positive reviews. With around 30 hours on the clock, I had only completed 26 of the 63 achievements and probably missed out on some content, but I had had enough of the gloomy, dreary story about the 'hollow knight'.

I liked the atmosphere, the flair and the challenging gameplay. Conversely, both my sense of direction and my frustration tolerance were put to the test, which is why I was glad to see the credits at the end. Did I have fun and can I understand the fans' euphoria? Absolutely! Nevertheless, I like Ori a little more in direct comparison. We'll now find out whether the same can be said on a musical level.

The score

Hollow Knight's OST comprises 26 tracks (running time approx. 1 hour) and was composed by Australian composer Christopher Larkin, who should not be confused with the American actor of the same name. Meanwhile, the scores of the two Metroidvanias cannot really be compared. While Larkin relies on mostly classical sounds, Gareth Coker's work for the story of the forest spirit is much more modern.

However, this review is not about that one, but about the music of Hollow Knight. It builds on the keyboard of classic orchestral game music and follows in the footsteps of Child of Light and other indie gems. The Hollow Knight Hollow Knight–wiki describes the score as follows:

The score for Hollow Knight captures the vast underground world of the game. The story begins with soft piano notes echoing the Hollow Knight-theme, and as the player explores further, orchestral forces swell to an operatic scale as the fate of the knight unfolds.

There is basically nothing to add content-wise, but I would still like to share my observations and personal favorites. Larkin understands perfectly how to marry the seemingly contradictory worlds of elegant classical music, as in DirtmouthChristopher Larkin4 and Mantis LordsChristopher Larkin4 , with the wildness of the undiscovered game world. This tribal quality shines through in pieces such as CrossroadsChristopher Larkin4 or NoskChristopher Larkin5 which are probably the most comparable to the Ori-games, but never reach their opulent musical power.

This is probably largely due to the limitation to classical instruments such as wind instruments (White PalaceChristopher Larkin5), harps (The White LadyChristopher Larkin3) or strings (False KnightChristopher Larkin4). Mantis LordsChristopher Larkin4 and Soul SanctumChristopher Larkin5 round off the image of an ancient orchestra with the use of harpsichord and organ, while Decisive BattleChristopher Larkin5 softens this impression again with its drums. Nevertheless, it becomes clear, especially towards the end, that the Dark Souls-series may have been the inspiration for the ecstatic moments of the score. The opening of Sealed VesselChristopher Larkin5 in particular captures its spirit very well, but is not a copy due to its reduced scope.

Auch schön ist das HornetChristopher Larkin5-Theme. Dabei handelt es sich um das Thema für die nadelschwingende Hornet, die uns während unseres Abenteuers immer wieder über den Weg läuft und auch die Protagonistin von Silksong sein wird. Durch den Einsatz der Streicher fängt ihr Thema die Idee des Hornissen-Schwarms gekonnt ein, der als Mischung aus Präzision und Grazie umher tanzt. Insgesamt also einer der besseren Scores für eines der besseren Indie-Games.