#aphk

[mostlydeadallday]

🌹🌹🌹

I only want 3 words

-aphk

sdnfnsdnfns okay

“Hollow, lie down.”

for every "🌹" received in my inbox i'll post one random sentence of a random WIP i'm currently writing

[mostlydeadallday]

SILKSONG

SILKSONG

SILKSONG

SILKSONG

-aphk

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[mostlydeadallday]

It's crazy how once you get to the city of tears, the game feels completely different. I have so much freedom to do whatever whenever I want, as long as I git gud enough. Don't know if it's weird, but I feel this strange bond with the developers that wasn't there before in previous games I've played. Like, they trust me to go romp around in this giant playground they've built and I don't need my hand held to find my way around. It's oddly sweet of them, even if it's more a metroidvania staple than anything else. Am I making any sense?

-anon playing hollow knight (APHK? APHK.)

yes yes YES. I know exactly what you mean, and as a writer it's one of my favorite things about this game: the fact that the developers trust their audience. Being set loose to explore this lovingly crafted world, with little or no guidance besides a gentle nudge out the door, is part of what makes Hallownest seem so real—there's little to no author intrusion or breaks to suspension of disbelief.

And the fact that this design choice means that no two people will ever have the same experience with the game, and that the devs are secure enough in their artistry to know that that's okay, and that it actually adds to the richness of the story to discover that there's more to it than any one person can find, and they know that fundamentally every piece of art will impact everyone differently and they lean into that instead of trying to standardize the experience--all of that just makes me love them all the more. And it gives me a massive respect for them as artists, because unless you're a creator yourself you probably don't realize how monumentally hard it is to resist the urge to explain yourself.

And that restraint ultimately results in a piece of media that rises above "good" and into "great"--in an experience more captivating than any I've had in a long time.

[mostlydeadallday]

I beat the game with the hollow knight ending.

I...was not ready to lose both quirrel and hollow in one day. Honestly, I don't think any of this game hit as hard as watching the blue lake with quirrel, knowing I had the power to end the peace and letting him die, and that it was the only way to continue. I wanted it to stay that way forever... but I also had to keep going. And it was that power that I alone had to choose when it was enough and when I wanted to leave quirrel for good... dang. That's a power only the art of video games can accomplish.

Oh. My condolences. 💀

Yeah ending 1 is just... brutal. I remember sitting there with my mouth open while the credits rolled, then desperately rebooting the game trying to figure out if I could go back. I couldn't believe it had ended, let alone like that.

The power of that ending cutscene gives me chills every time. The devs knew exactly what they were doing and how much it was going to hurt.

Quirrel hurts, too. Just the fact that he's one of your most constant companions throughout the game, you happen upon him in some of the most memorable areas, and he's always so polite and gentlemanly, and treats you like a friend even though you never speak to him—for the devs to make you witness his slow descent into irrelevance and then his death? That's cruel.

(Sidenote: I'm writing a scene in my fic right now with a Quirrel cameo. I just couldn't resist writing him in. He's the bestest boi.)

[mostlydeadallday]

I planned to get back in contact when I played SS

Looks like that's coming closer than anticipated!

Tbh... though the HK DLC is super polished I have to say my favorite part of the game was exploring and discovering new areas and upgrades and characters. So having challenges based entirely around combat don't really interest me. So to see that SS is going to have more of a focus on platforming...

hype hype hype HYPE

I still can't believe it I'm—

long inhale

Every time I think I've nailed down why I'm most excited for this game I find another reason. I can't wait for new lore. I can't wait for new music. I can't wait for new bosses new challenges new platforming new NPCs new dialogue new places to explore new secrets to find new story that I know is gonna make me cry—

Honestly that itch to explore was what kept me going through nearly the entirety of Hollow Knight, even when I was really bad at it. I fell in love with the combat eventually, and when there's no more exploring to do the Pantheons are a fun challenge, but I'm right there with you—I'm so motivated by exploration and discovery that the thought of new environments to immerse myself in is making me just giddy with excitement.

[mostlydeadallday]

I rescind my earlier statement. I now have the deepest respect for all of team cherry... except the one sadist who programmed that pitfall into deepest. DID YOU NOT THINK I WAS MAYBE PUTTING OFF THAT AREA TIL LATER BECAUSE I WAS NOT MENTALLY PREPARED FOR IT?!?!?!?!

I'm not laughing. I'm not laughing.

Maybe I'm laughing a little bit. 😂

That was one of two moments I almost cried while in Deepest. It's so genius and so, so cruel.

[mostlydeadallday]

Back on the grind for nkg. Wish me luck!

-aphk

YESSSSS good job! Honestly < 1 hour is pretty darn good; I probably spent 2 weeks practicing him on and off before I got anywhere close to beating him. I just watched an episode of a let's play where the player practiced and beat NKG in somewhere close to your time. It always amazes me that there are people good enough to do that, but also it's satisfying to see that even good gamers struggle with his fight to some extent.

[mostlydeadallday]

I tried steel soul mode for kicks

Ended up dying by an acid pit in greenpath lol

Make way, true God Gamer here! (God I want silksong)

-aphk

I feel you. 😂 I lost two Steel Soul runs to stupidity and bad planning before I made it halfway through my current one, and then I chickened out because I was afraid to fight Hornet Sentinel.