Hollow Knight Wiki

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About HK ♦ The Knight ♦ Patch Notes ♦ Controls ♦ Combat ♦ DLC ♦ FAQ

 Charms ♦ Items ♦ Nail and Nail Arts ♦ Spells and Abilities

Locations ♦ Maps ♦ NPCs ♦ Merchants ♦ Bosses ♦ Enemies ♦ Quests ♦ Lore

Getting Started ♦ Walkthrough ♦ Endings ♦ Trophy and Achievement Guide ♦ 100% Completion Guide

Hollow Knight Features

• Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
• Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
• Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds, and ruined cities.
• Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
• Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength, and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
• Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!
• An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
• Over 140 enemies! 30 epic bosses! Face ferocious beasts and vanquish ancient knights on your quest through the kingdom. Track down every last twisted foe and add them to your Hunter's Journal!
• Leap into minds with the Dream Nail. Uncover a whole other side to the characters you meet and the enemies you face.
• Beautifully painted landscapes, with extravagant parallax, give a unique sense of depth to a side-on world.
• Chart your journey with extensive mapping tools. Buy compasses, quills, maps, and pins to enhance your understanding of Hollow Knight’s many twisting landscapes.
• A haunting, intimate score accompanies the player on their journey, composed by Christopher Larkin. The score echoes the majesty and sadness of a civilization brought to ruin.
• Complete Hollow Knight to unlock Steel Soul Mode, the ultimate challenge!

The Mysterious Black Egg

Awaiting in the Forgotten Crossroads lies the source of the infection: The Temple of the Black Egg. As a vessel named the Hollow Knight, it is your duty to rid Hallownest from the infection by unlocking the Egg and destroying the infection from within. To do so, you will need to break the seal by defeating the 3 dreamers of Hallownest: Monomon the Teacher, Lurien the Watcher, and Herrah the Beast. As a vessel, you must find the bodies of these 3 dreamers and wake them from their eternal sleep in order to open the Temple of the Black Egg. You will face many perils and dangers in pursuit of unlocking the egg, and exploring the ruined regions of Hallownest; From gargantuan bugs to infected monstrosities, you must face anything the vast world throws at you, and become strong enough to save it.

It is here in The Temple of the Black Egg where you will face the challenge of how you will defeat the infection, and save the kingdom of Hallownest from The Radiance and its evil corruption. How you choose to do so will determine which of the Hollow Knight Endings you will get. After getting one ending, you can try to get the other endings on the same save file, so dont worry about locking in to one ending you like.

A Ruined Kingdom Awaiting a Savior

On The Knights journey to save Hallownest, he will find the various regions of Hallownest which have been transformed as a result of the infection. The constructed roads in the caverns of Dirtmouth which used to conviniently led to the kingdoms capital have been overrun with vegetation, and infested with not just infected bugs, but also toxic mushrooms and more. In reflection of the state of the Kingdom, the capital's name which had been long forgotten was named The City Of Tears, also mirroring the endless rain that falls onto the once prospering city.

The further you venture into this decaying kingdom, the more secrets you will unveil about its old ruler, The Pale King, including your purpose and role as a Hollow Knight in the liberation of Hallownest from the infection which threatens to cause the extincion of all bugs and ultimately bring about the downfall of Hallownest.

Explore Hidden Areas with New Spells and Abilities

Hidden behind Bosses or within secret Locations lies a variety of spells and abilities which can be used to unlock new areas of the game, or simply create shortcuts between certain Locations. Each ability The Knight acquires marks a new milestone in the progression of the game. There are a multitude of paths which you are prohibited from entering from the moment you step foot into Hallownest, and you will find yourself lost in options of which way to go after acquiring a new traversal spell.  

You are given the freedom to choose whichever path entices you the most in the game, and are always rewarded for any exploration you do, be it with Geo, new Spells and Abilities or Key Items that help you progress the game. There are many times you will feel lost from the freedom that you are given, but the moment you unlock one of these new paths is an experience that is unique to Hollow Knight.

Master Ancient Nail Arts

The Nail is the primary and signature weapon of The Knight, requiring no Soul to use. It can be upgraded later on in the game, and can also be utilised to master the ancient Nail Arts which have been mastered by various NPCs you meet. You will be offered teachings by the Nailmasters to acquire these special skills, and utilise them against the Enemies and Bosses you face later.

The damage of the Nail Art also depends on the type of Nail that is equipped or upgraded as well as Charms that can also change certain effects such as damage and charge time. Be sure to use Nail arts in between damage phases for maximum damage potential against Bosses.

Unique and Powerful Charm Buffs

You will recieve up to 40 Charms throughout the game, with each benefitting The Knight in a different, unique way. Some Charms may simply increase The Knights Nail damage/range, or decrease the Soul cost of Spells and Abilities. Other charms can provide you with companions to fight alongisde with, or give you a unique healthbar which has extra masks or maybe even regenerates over time. 

There are dozens of different effects that Charms can provide, and its up to you how you wish to build The Knight; whether that is becoming the ultimate exploration master or becoming extremely formidable in Combat. There are also Charms in the game which can be upgraded by either progressing an NPCs storyline, or spending heaps of Geo to do so. These Charms are especially powerful, and can be unlocked later on in the game.

Overcharming The Knight

If you are a high risk high reward player, you may be interested in this mechanic. If you equip a Charm which has a Notch Cost which would exceed your current Notch Limit 5 times, you may become Overcharmed. In this state, you have all the buffs from the Charms you have equipped, including the one which would exceed your Notch Limit, but you take twice the damage.

Overcharmed in Hollow Knight is an extremely risky mechanic to utilise, and only some can pull it off. It becomes necessary in the later stages of the game where some special Bosses can defeat The Knight with one hit, making the double damage debuff obsolete. However, if you are willing to risk the damage potential, you can become extremely strong by overcharming up to 4 Notches.