Is Dark Souls more difficult than Hollow Knight? Veteran gamers say no.
As an avid gaming enthusiast who has battled through the ups and downs of both franchises, I firmly believe Hollow Knight surpasses Dark Souls in terms of sheer difficulty and frustration. While the Souls series pioneered hardcore gameplay, several factors make Hollow Knight an even more brutal test of reflexes and determination.
The Legacy of Difficulty
Dark Souls
The Souls series (including Demon‘s Souls, Dark Souls I-III, and BloodBorne) popularized tense, high stakes combat where death means losing progress. Cryptic storytelling and layered RPG builds also provide challenge. According to Metacritic, average critic reviews range from 89-92%, while user scores sit between 8.3-8.7 across the series. This cements its status as a seminal franchise. But also a benchmark in difficulty.
Hollow Knight
As a 2D soulslike Metroidvania, Hollow Knight takes clear inspiration from its 3D counterpart. But injects even more treacherous platforming, a heavier emphasis on combat versus environment, and a massive interconnected world. With a 92 Metacritic critics rating and 8.9 user score, it stands as one of the best indie games ever made. However, many also regard it as more difficult than the infamously hard Dark Souls.
Key Challenge Factors
| Challenge Aspect | Dark Souls | Hollow Knight |
|---|---|---|
| Combat Style | Methodical, defensive | Aggressive, reckless |
| Bosses | Learn patterns. | Random, relentless |
| Levels | Twisting maps. | Platforming gauntlets |
| Death Penalty | Lose progress/currency | Sparse save points |
As this comparison shows, Hollow Knight doubles down on many of the trademarks of a Souls game and amplifies them through platforming challenges.
Bosses: The Ultimate Skill Check
Bosses in both titles exemplify the razor‘s edge you walk between victory and defeat. However, Hollow Knight‘s faster, more unpredictable movesets give you fractions of a second to respond – as opposed to Dark Souls‘ patterns you can study.
For example, the iconic duel against Knight Artorias in Dark Souls is a dance slowly learned through each attempt. Conversely, Hollow Knight‘s Nightmare King Grimm introduces himself by literally setting the floor ablaze under your feet as he charges you. This gives you barely enough time to gather your senses before his next attack.
While Dark Souls bosses can eventually be dissected, Hollow Knight says: prove your reflexes NOW or die.
Levels and Environments
Lordran of Dark Souls envelops you with winding paths, hidden shortcuts, and dimly lit rendered vistas. However Hollow Knight‘s hand drawn 2D kingdom asks you to platform across spikes, sawblades and other instant-kill traps using precise jumps and moves. Areas like the White Palace and Path of Pain are like walking a tightrope over an abyss the entire time. This razor sharp design surpasses Souls sadistic architecture.
According to HowLongToBeat, the Souls series averages 30-60 hours for casual playthroughs, while Hollow Knight falls on the quicker end at 24.5 hours. However, Hollow Knight only has a 17.5% Steam completion rate versus Dark Soul‘s range of 30-60%. This suggests far more players are willing to see credits roll on a Souls adventure rather than fully completing Hollow Knight‘s grueling quest.
Reviews and Reception
Both franchises garner wide acclaim, but gaming publications consistently praise Hollow Knight‘s ability to push difficulty further while keeping it fair. Destructoid calls it: "a gauntlet, one that constantly threatens failure, subtly suggesting that you aren’t good enough." Meanwhile,VG247 says "Hollow Knight feels like a direct response from the indie development scene to the Bohemian waltz of Dark Souls games."
My Take As A Gaming Veteran
In my opinion, Hollow Knight pulls no punches. While each Souls game finds a balance between hard but fun, Hollow Knight often traffics solely in hard. I‘ve played through Demon Souls, Dark Souls (1 & 3), and Bloodborne suffering each step alongside the best. And I maintain Hollow Knight is more difficult than all of them. It‘s a trial by fire platformer rather than methodical RPG. This means no stat grinding or co-op summons to save you. Only your fingers on the controller and razor sharp reflexes.
While Souls wants you dead, Hollow Knight wants your pride – asking not if you’ll fail, but how many times before you finally clinch that victory? For me, it easily cements itself as the harder bastard of its 2D and 3D heavyweights.
Do these nightmarish fairytales of dying and repeating speak to you? Which sucked more hours of your life away? Let me know in the comments!
