#22
Hollow Knight (PS4, PC)
YoY: =
The best metroidvania game ever made as far as I'm concerned, Hollow Knight is a perfect example of a game taking influence from a number of different sources and making them its own in an absolutely wonderful way. From the obvious Metroid and Castlevania influences in terms of world structure, to the inspiration taken from Dark Souls when it comes to the way it handles leveling and how the world often twists around itself, Hollow Knight is in many ways an amalgamation of the best aspects of a number of different video games.
However, it's the brilliant design of the world that rewards exploration, the understated storytelling, numerous interesting characters you meet on your journey, the gorgeous visual style and soundtrack, and the absolutely brilliant gameplay that make Hollow Knight much more than the sum of its inspirations. The combined feeling of dread, awe and discovery was prevalent throughout the experience, and it made traversing the kingdom of Hallownest wonderfully rewarding. Hollow Knight is one of the absolute best games of the last 10 years, and a title I will be going back to many more times in the future.
