As the video game industry gets older, we see less mind-blowing new concepts and more clever variations on established ideas. While pummelling foes with the downward shovel attack in Shovel Knight — the hugely successful title now also heading to Sony systems — we were reminded of DuckTales; that's absolutely fine, as taking great ideas and adding a unique spin is an entirely valid approach, especially when the final result is an excellent experience in its own right.
Which brings us to Hollow Knight, a Kickstarter project that has now added a — relatively obtainable — Wii U stretch goal following support from Nintendo. The name alone should tip you off a little, while the protagonist's paddle is used for a downward swipe (useful for platforming off an enemy's head) and also breaks up mounds of earth for goodies; there are obvious similarities.
That said, in no way can this effort from new three-man studio Team Cherry be accused of being anything other than an original game. Citing inspiration from sources such as Zelda II and Metroid, this is an action adventure game in which you explore a sizeable world, rather than a structured stage-based platformer like the aforementioned Shovel Knight. It also has a rather attractive, painterly art-style and a relatively muted colour palette.
You can see more game footage below.
The Wii U stretch goal is $50,000AUD, with the project having raised nearly $25,000AUD of its initial $35,000AUD goal — there are 8 days to go in the campaign; naturally it needs a major boost in its final week.
You can check out the Kickstarter page for more details. Is this a project that appeals to you?
Comments 26
Looks nice but I think the Wii U stretch goal is too high.
Taking inspiration from games is one thing but I do wish developers could be more creative with their names.
Frenchy Bird... Hollow Knight... The first thing I think is 'that's an uncreative title designed to make me think of another game, why should this game be worth my money if it's not distinctive and the developers want me to think of another game when asking for my money?'.
Looks cute. And @Vriess that's a very reasonable stretch goal for committing to a Wii U release.
Looks fantastic!
@cornishlee I'd tend to agree. While the game looks like its own unique thing, I'm not sure the name choice is the best.
Art style is very nice and stands out. Can't think of anything to directly compare it with.
Shovel Knight and Hollow Knight are pretty obviously not remotely related just by looking at it for a couple seconds. The game mechanics of both are pretty closely lifted from previous games (just like most platforms). It's what they add that makes it important.
How about:
Knight Hollow
Anyway, going to the kickstarter page to check it out.
This game looks so solid. It's a shame it's not fully supported yet. Beautiful design.
Couple of other similarities: A Black Knight character who guards the way (in fairness, this is from Arthurian legend, right?) and he has horns reminiscent of Shovel Knights helmet. Plus, some of the rewards are similar, but emulating Shovel Knight's kickstarter in that way seems like a good thing to do.
Anyway, I don't think the similarities should be held against it at all.
This is far from a copycat game and the design shows incredible promise and originality within the scope of a metroidvania action platformer.
Cute!
I'm finished with kickstarter. If an indie dev cant afford to make the game they want, or even feed themselves then I'm not supporting them.
I'll look at it if and when it's released.
Indies, rolls eyes more than he did in 2012
Over it.
I absolutely love the look of the game. The art design is simply goregous, and the insect designed characters and such look adorable and fitting for the grey tones of colour used throughout.
Gameplay also looked neat, looking like something I'd enjoy.
The off-putting thing is how far off it is from it's Wii U stretch goal. As someone who doesn't play PC games, and who plays primarily on the Wii U (in particular when it comes to download games, Nintendo's eShop's are certainly the easiest to navigate), getting a free PC, Mac, or Linux version wouldn't do me much good and having it only available on those systems means I'd unlikely ever play it.
Here's hoping it picks up over the coming 8 days, and I'll see about whether to fund it or not closer to it's closing date.
Anything that goodly resembles Shovel Knight deserves money. Shovel Knight is by far my game of the year, because of its importance and impact - but mainly because is pretty damn fun.
I'd love to be able to donate enough to have a spirit bug in the game (I'd pick the recently discovered tortoise shelled beetle as my spirit bug) but I can't throw 150 at this game)
Awesome, bring it on. Shovel Knight could use a bit of competition.
Looks interesting, I'll definitely keep track of this.
Wow, the character model and art style look gorgeous! Honestly it reminds me more of a Metroid game then Shovel Knight.
Backing this game right now, and wow it's only $8.52 USD for a copy of the game!
Why can't they have a better name? I can see this leading to confusion galore with some people. Heck, the name "Hollow" would work.
@B3ND3R I used to make games all the time, and it can be hard to find names that haven't been copyrighted or trademarked. Heck, sometimes you just come up with a goofy name for something and decide you like it and wanna keep it. :3
Oh god, please change that name and make it more orignal. The game looks nice and has a good art style.
Yeah I'm backing this game. This looks as solid as they come.
@ThomasBW84
Beats some of Nintendo recent name choices though.
Aside from visuals that look a little too "flash" esque, the visual style is great. I hope some of the clunky looking aspects smooth out once funded. Unfortunately I still find it to be a terrible time to be a Kickstarter game. Still buying current games myself, leaving not much time to help fund some great looking projects. I likely can't pledge my support for a game until a good one is shown after March.
@B3ND3R I'm sure this developer rather prefer a more creative title for their game than simply just choosing one random word from a dictionary. Besides there's already a Kickstarter game called Hollow released for PC in October 2014.
If it hits Wii U, I may well check it out.
@cornishlee
Good point.
I hope the game won't be that gray through out it. I suspect it might be, but it feels like something I would get tired of, also I think it would be confusing for me to tell the difference of where I have been and not, assuming the game has some backtracking.
Who knows, it might work great, its my concern though and the reason I probably won't get it.
Metroidvania? Looks pretty nice!
it made the Wii U stretch goal just so you guys know.
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