Playing Elden Ring convinced me to 100% Hollow Knight

polygon.com:

I didn’t beat Hollow Knighton my first playthrough in 2018. I didn’t even come close. I never attempted to fight the Dreamers and barely scraped through a few of the Warrior Dream fights, much less the Dream Nail variants of slain bosses. I noped out of Deepnest, thanks to an abiding fear of spiders that kept making me shriek and drop my Switch like a hot potato. I got completely lost (and utterly disgusted) while fighting the Flukemarm, the enormous, grunt-spewing Royal Waterways boss, eventually bouncing off of the game altogether.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about my time in Hallownest — the sad little bugs and their decrepit kingdom, Myla’s haunting mining song, or Bretta’s sweet blush. With 30 hours under my belt, I declared Hollow Knight one of my favorite games, and became that person who won’t shut up about it. (Writing this is my penance.) I could return to it anytime, I told myself. But I didn’t. Instead, I set the game aside for four years — until Elden Ring, and its extensive online community, finally inspired me to pick it back up again.

I’m typically an exploration, puzzling, and platforming video game enjoyer. Whereas other Metroidvanias might make a player double back often, Hollow Knight’s interwoven regions create the impression of constant forward, if circuitous, movement. I became obsessed with the various hidden entryways. Bosses were a thrill; beating them came with excellent rewards, like accessing new areas or adding a new charm to my collection. But they also intimidated me, so I tended to leave optional bosses behind. I didn’t feel like I could actually defeat them, given the game’s intimidating reputation — I was content to simply enjoy the elegant dance of the Mantis Lords’ attacks, while