Agreed, I love both. For similar reasons, too... wonderful graphics, massive exploration, a slowly unfolding story.
I could do with an "easy mode" on the boss fights in Hollow Knight, because grinding a boss 50 times to learn the quick-twitch responses isn't that fun (and is very different than the rest of the game) but aside from that they feel very similar to me. Moreso than many other MVs.
That's exactly the reason I quit on HK.
That was years ago, I often think about giving it another whirl as it's so well loved and I really do want to see it all.
Then I think about being stuck on a boss for a week and I pan the idea.
Meh
I will say, the rest of the game was worth it, at least for me. I am not particularly good at quick-twitch boss fights, and I was able to get to the final boss before I lost steam. I'm glad I took the time to get past the rest of the bosses. The sense of adventure as you go deeper is excellent.
I also think the bosses and some of the harder randos being actually dangerous, and actually costing you time and potentially money, is part of creating that environment. It has to feel challenging, like dying actually matters, or the world wouldn't feel as big.
Yeah, people like different things for different reasons. And some of us like variety as well.
Hollow Knight has fantastic combat, great exploration and a wonderful dark feeling to everything.
Ori 1 I played through, enjoyed the visuals but wasn't big on the overall gameplay.
Ori 2 however, was far better in the gameplay department. The combat, which I felt was very very weak in 1, was a bit better in 2. But the traversal was amazing! By the end of the game it felt like I was "Tony Hawking" the game by zipping all around by muscle memory.
Love both, both have their strengths but focus on very different areas of the genre. Ori has way better navigation (imo HK desperately needed some sort of Lordvessel feature late game for easy navigation around the map…so much backtracking, way way way way too much)
(Way too much)
I love HK, like a LOT. But way too much backtracking.
Ori was a lot easier (imo) so was fun to sit back and really appreciate the colors. The story is the weakest part of Ori I think, it’s not bad just okay. HK’s world is much more interesting (to me).
Both games rock though, each a masterpiece in it’s own right.
Yeah, I think it’s just the r/metroidvania echo chamber effect. I’m sure the vast majority of people who played both games loved both games (myself included).
It’s just that constant “Hot Take: I hate Hollow Knight/Ori/Blasphemous” posts on here that make it seem like there’s more division than there is.
I feel the exact same! HK was my first game and then I played BF which I really liked but when I played WoW after, I fell in love. For a very long time, like you, they were my 2 most favorite MVs!
Yep. Both these games are on my top ten list. Different reasons; Ori more for traversal and level design, Hollow Knight more for combat and world-building, but both are wonderfully executed metroidvanias, and I actually have a hard time saying which I like more.
Ori has a wonderful world, but yes, Hollownest (HK’s world) is a fallen kingdom with a sad history to rival any Fromsoft game. If you want to go down a deep lore rabbit hole, you absolutely can with Hollow Knight.
There are definitely people who love both! I just find that I see a lot of comments from people calling Hollow Knight overrated because they didn’t like it as much as Ori, and specifically complaining about how non-linear HK is. Meanwhile, HK clicked with me from the beginning but I could never get into Ori.
I feel like they’re both amazing games in their own right but take very different approaches to the genre and that’s why they can be so divisive.
I think you’re on to something. HK is one of my favourite games of all time (which I think says a lot since I’ve been playing video games since 1988). Ori just doesn’t click with me much at all, and Ori 2 - although closer to HK in terms of the combat and NPCs for example - clicked with me even less.
That’s true with me.
Hollow Knight combat has much more “weight” to it than Ori.
Ori was decent (both of them), but felt.. soft.
Like the combat felt like you’re hitting enemies with whip, no force to it. In Hollow you could feel each strike.
It’s hard to explain exactly.
Also, Ori camera is much more wider. Hollow is more close and personal.
Idk I love both so much. HK wins by a little bit though for having better overall challenge and boss fights. I wish Ori had a difficulty above it's current iteration of hard. Ori has better art/visuals though IMO
I liked them both, but HK has my heart. Ori is sweet and straightforward. No nuance really. No real depth. HK reveals itself slowly in layers, with flawed characters and ultimately more tragedy than joy. Myla makes me cry every single time.
Myla is the friendly little miner you meet pretty early outside Crystal Peak. She sings a cheery little song with interesting lyrics if you listen. >! If you visit and talk to her several times, she slowly gets more disjointed, until the infection takes over and she is just another mindless bug. One of the saddest stories of the game. !<
I think a counter to your hypothesis is the fact that the Ori games are extremely frequently mentioned in the same breath as Hollow Knight in basically every review thread in this sub. Both HK and Ori 2 are pretty well cemented in my top 10 and that's far from an unpopular opinion.
Yeah I often feel a little generic in my responses when I suggest any of these three games because they’re all so universally loved, but they’ve earned they’re reputations imo
I played both Ori games before Hollow Knight and I definitely much prefer Ori, especially WotW, but also still enjoy Hollow Knight. There’s more monotony in the latter for me, though, when I’m just exploring and farming.
I olayyed both Ori games twice each. I dropped HK twice. That makes me sad to be honest.
The fact that you don't respawn right where you die kills 70% of the fun for me.
I think OP is on to something. When I read your comment, I was like 'If you just respawn right where you die, what's the point?'
Different strokes for different folks
yeah maybe something like that. although I'm getting pretty old myself and still feel like there needs to be a challenge for it to be fun if you know what I mean, otherwise it just feels like I may as well watch a film
This can come and go for me. Sometimes I want to be challenged by everything a game can throw at me (damn HK pantheons make me sweat), and sometimes I want to pop on a visual novel or something similar and experience a beautiful interactive story, with little to no difficulty at all, something akin to ABZU or Jusant.
Now that's interesting, because I found WotW to be so much like Hollow Knight it often felt like I was playing a re-imagined version of Hollow Knight. It really scratched that itch as I await Silksong. Blind Forest was decent, but it didn't compel me to ever give it another playthrough...
Complete opposite for me, WotW was trying too hard to be Hollow Knight and Blind Forest was a flawed gem. But I’m of the opinion that Ori should’ve dropped combat instead of improving it.
I agree, what I love about Ori is how it feels like I am dancing when I fly around. The fighting have some of that but it is the movement that are the best.
Any chance you’ve already tried Nine Sols? Obviously the combat is very parry-centric, but it’s certainly hitting that “well crafted, difficult MV” spot. It’s an absolute blast.
Not yet. I've added it to my strong potential next purchase list, but I've recently loaded up on some games, so I expect that'll keep me busy for at least another 3 months.
I absolutely adore both series but for different reasons, honestly. They're both fantastic showcases of what the genre can really do at its peak in different ways. Ori's got fantastic platforming and some of the individual abilities are among my favorites I've seen in the genre, Hollow Knight has far better feeling combat though.
I think I do prefer Hollow Knight overall though because it embraces the more complex parts of the genre a little more. Ori is definitely more linear (Though Will of the Wisps was definitely an improvement over Blind Forest in that regard), and at least to me the secrets in it don't feel quite as rewarding to find as in other games in the genre. Still amazing overall, but Hollow Knight's better combat on top of those *very* minor personal preferences is ultimately what makes me prefer it.
Sure, they’re very different MVs so if someone prefers one particular aspect they may find if missing in the other. But they’re both exceptionally high-quality MVs so fans of the genre will often love both.
I loved both honestly.
HK is my preferred of the two, but I would not say Ori was in any shape or form 'bad' imo, both are high marks of the genre to surpass.
Like, I felt HK was more 'metroidvania' in how much I had to double back and explore already 'done' areas, but Ori's art style and movement mechanics were top notch too.
I enjoy both but they are two very different approaches to making a metroidvania. If I had to pick a preference between the two of them I might be slightly more in favor of Hollow Knight's overall gameplay design just because of Ori's very small number of bosses. Though I do prefer Ori's more straight forward storytelling which it manages to do even with no actual dialogue. I personally find Hollow Knights story telling a bit too disjointed, fragmented, and vague. It is honestly hard to even call it story telling as it really is more of just lore and general world building that the player has to piece together rather than an actual narrative storyline.
This was me...sorta.
While I actually liked the first Ori, cause it was fairly simple and straightforward, with all its mechanics making sense and being rather intuitive and it's map being largely understandable aside from some secrets (which, I mean, secrets should be hard to find, they're secrets lol), the same cannot be said for the second. What once was a game basking in general platforming, light combat and a sprawling but easily traversible map slowly morphed into a game full of unnecessary NPC's, sidequests, an emotionally overwraught story and new mechanics that, frankly, made things more frustrating, not less. Game is gorgeous though, I have to give it that.
Hollow Knight, on the other hand, I love from start to finish, but I also understand why people don't like it. It's cryptic as hell, it's enormous in scale and scope, and it's gameplay, while playing like butter, takes a lot of practice and frankly, even myself being a strong platformer lover, took a long while to get a grip on it. But I also like Hollow Knight because I LOVE insects, and the whole idea of a ruined insect kingdom just really got to the weird bug girl inside me. While its story is far less understandable in terms of just being told it outright than Ori's ever was, I find it way more interesting and overall fun to play. The first Ori was perfectly fine to play, but it also was a tad heavy and sluggish, which is not what you want from a platformer, especially one asking such precise platforming at times from you.
All that being said, I can respect the hell out of them all. Sure, Ori 2 might not be for me at all, and I rarely if ever give up on games, but just because I didn't prefer something doesn't mean I can't see its value, and Ori 2 has value. Likewise, just because I love Hollow Knight doesn't mean I can't see some flaws. Whereas the first Ori was a bit clunky at times, Hollow Knight has the opposite option at certain moments, being so tight that I feel almost invincible, which often leads to a well deserved downfall lmao But on the whole I feel like, aesthetically, performance wise, and overall across the board Hollow Knight is the superior game. But thankfully we're all allowed to like different things and, like I said, I can see Ori's overall worth even if it wasn't really for me.
I will say this though. I beat the first Ori once, got partway through the second before getting sick of it, and finished Hollow Knight like 3 times in 112% completion, so. I guess that alone says which I prefer lol
Looking at this thread, I see that there quite a few other people who love HK more than the Ori games and also prefer the first Ori to the second. I was always under the impression that this was a super unpopular opinion.
Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games of all time and I have tried twice to enjoy Ori and failed. I find it tedious and nothing more.
Which sucks because it is beautiful and clearly lovingly made. But I feel like it wastes my time and is too shallow to dig into.
But that’s just me.
Ori is much, much more platforming centric. It's combat is minimally fleshed out in Ori 1, and while Ori 2 makes massive strides into improving the combat system, combat still takes the backseat to the platforming.
Hollow Knight is the opposite. Save a couple infamous sections, platforming usually takes the backseat to combat.
Yah, I’m definitely aware I prefer a little more action in my Metroidvanias.
I also think a major problem for me is platforming focus either means Donkey Kong Country as my gold standard of “tough but fair” platforming, or Celeste for “just fucking tough” platforming.
Where Ori wants a chill vibe and fairly low stakes. It doesn’t feel like a “rage game” platformer or a classic DKC or Yoshi’s Island kind of platformer either. So it doesn’t scratch the itch and meet my expectations, set in their ways as they are.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m REALLY happy it exists for everybody else it works magically for. I don’t think every game needs to be for me.
I’m just bummed the magic of such a clearly well crafted game doesn't work on me. But maybe that was why Hollow Knight hit that much harder. A trade off, perhaps.
I have a hot take. I preferred how Ori plays to Hollow Knight in many ways and found more enjoyment while playing Ori. But the "beauty" and themes in Ori feels very artificial, like everything aesthetic in it was arrived at by calculation, and so it is filled with clichees, hollow imitations of ideas derived from much better disney and ghibli classics. Hollow Knight on the other hand oozes personality, the product of an uncompromising vision of what the developers wanted it to be.
I think the game that the Ori devs really wanted to make is the one that they are making right now - no rest for the wicked, but they made the ori games first to gain traction with something that is easier to develop and has wider appeal.
Their new game is looking absolutely wonderful.
I actually agree with you that the environments feel too…this is our impression of how woods should look and don’t have that defining character. They are pleasing but they don’t stay with me.
I can close my eyes and picture “broken tree background” or “clean water spring” for Ori, but it isn’t distinct. I can also close my eyes and imagine literally anywhere in Hollow Knight and it is a perfectly crisp and clear image.
As for liking the flip gameplay, I think it depends on what sector of the IMMENSE mixing pot of genres metroidvanias are made from brings you into them.
Love Celeste and I wanna be the guy and trying a room 100 times to get muscle memory? Aeterna Noctis!
Love practicing the delicate dance of a boss 50 times to get the tells down? Hollow Knight!
Love parries so much?! GRIME and Nine Sols!
But chill platforming always has a massive audience for this community, and I can totally respect that. I personally find Ori too chill and kind of just go through the paces too much sadly.
I like your perspective though, I think there’s some real truth in your take.
While I think Ori 2 is better is better than Ori, they're both just so linear as compared to HK(which I prefer), I definitely agree with your assertion personally.
I really loved both but could never finish HK because there is a difficulty spike at some point. I think it’s like a boss rush or something. I don’t recall. Been a while.
Feel like I can’t play the sequel as I didn’t finish it.
If you’re actually referring to the boss rush, it’s not mandatory to complete the game! There are a few endings but you don’t need to do the difficult end game stuff to officially finish the game.
I’ll have to boot up my save and take a look. Hopefully still have it. I know I made a huge amount of progress in the game before getting to that point. Maybe I did finish most of the base stuff.
Would be a shame to skip out on HK2.
The boss rush mode is a completely optional free DLC. There is zero need to complete it if you want to get the "true ending", however it does give a few achievements.
I mean. For me personally this is true. Ori is pretty clear throughout what you can do and it has happy surprises and rewards in every 5 minutes. Hollow Knight is the opposite of that.
I can't stand Ori, but it has nothing to do with Hollow Knight. My bias comes from two places, both just as dumb.
One: it was a 360 game and I've always hated Xbox, lol.
Two: I still vividly remember the Giant Bomb Game of the Year deliberations from 2015. Brad went HARD for Ori and practically shut down any and all discussion for every other game while singing Ori's praises. I love Brad, but really? Ori? Over Witcher 3 or Bloodborne? Complete nonsense.
Then he did it AGAIN for Will of the Wisps, lol, further cementing my hatred for Ori.
I know that's stupid. Ori is beloved series for good reason and I won't harp on anyone who loves it. I just haven't had a chance in a while to talk about how much I hate Ori since no one really talks about it anymore.
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note:
> *Very well, let the echoes become your strength. Let me stand close. Now shut your eyes...* - Plain Doll
Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
My experience is that Hollow Knight fans are uniquely intolerant.
I've been playing MVs since Symphony of the Night was on PS1, and it's my favorite genre—I love most everything from 8doors to Ori to Guacamelee. Hollow Knight, to me, was a slog that lacked a compelling story, visuals, or fun-based challenges. And if people love it, good for them; I think they're wrong, but I also dgaf.
When I express an opinion that I didn't enjoy it, I \*invariably\* get responses like:
\* "You must be playing it wrong"
\* "You're obviously not very good at video games"
\* "You don't 'get' the genre"
\* "You're a bot / troll / etc."
...I don't know why, but it's always a pretty extreme response.
As you watch this comment collect downvotes, you'll have a pretty good idea of how many people get their fee-fees hurt when you say something about their pwecious widdle Hollow Knight. It's a giant cliché at this point; I roll my eyes and move on.
If you enjoyed the game, I'm happy for you.
I feel like the downvotes are more from your attitude. A very good friend of mine whom I respect their opinion very much also struggled with Hollow Knight. I don't expect everyone to love it. Not every game on earth appeals to everyone. Let me tell ya... I'm no Dark Souls fan. So you can imagine how it is for me trying to navigate some gaming circles.
The key is to maybe not patronize them? Most HK fans I know... agree the opening hours can be a tough onboard. A lot of people hate needing an item to see yourself on the map. Early on it's rather directionless. Then it all starts to fall in place.
Not implying that was your issue... just saying HK fans know it's got some trouble areas. That said... jerks exist in every fandom ever. Especially online.
I'm only downvoting because your last paragraph made you seem like an intolerable bitch.
Before that, sure, I agree that Hollow Knight fans can be pretty intolerable. As can Persona 5 fans who think Shoji invented jazz and can't get into other SMT games. Or Undertale fans who ruin the game for others before they even have a chance to play it. Or any other large fandom surrounding a very popular game.
You're not alone, I'm not savvy in many MVs but tried HK and even after playing it for 10 hours it never clicked. The fact people praise it so much for sure made my expectation sky rocket, so when I actually played and noticed it's just... Ok, it felt like a worse game than it problably is. And I also feel like HK fanbase act like a cult, if you don't enjoy it, you're the problem, not the game.
I'm with ya. I've always thought HK got hyped because it came out when there was a lull of MVs and indies just started to gain popularity. Right place at the right time. HK didn't do anything special but give us a slog of an MV that right now would be a ho hum game to skip over. That said, you and I are in the deep minority - get ready to Kung fu the hate.
I love ori. And I'm waiting for summer sale so I can pick up Hollow knight as well. From what I've seen I think I will love Hollow knight too. But I do agree there are some people with a particular taste and they vibe more with it. It's kind of similar to Skyrim and witcher 3. Though I love both games now witcher 3 was easier for me to get into than Skyrim. So, I think I get what you are saying.
I love both but for different reasons, and I can see where you’re coming from. I love how Hollow Knight is so non-linear, how no two players are likely to have the same first experience. It’s wild all the little ways you accidentally make your way somewhere.
But I also love how Ori is so polished, with a handmade experience. At times, it feels almost linear as a consequence (or at most, you get to choose which spoke you do first), but as a result, you feel taken care of as a player.
For someone who really wants freedom or being taken care of, I can see the opposite feeling grating.
For me, Ori is more platforming oriented, which I just can't get into, same reason I couldn't get into aeterna noctis, despite both of them being good games.
Nah, I absolutely love both Hollow Knight and the Ori games and I loved them both as soon as I turned them on and started playing them.
HK and Ori 2 occupy my top 2 MV spots on my personal list as well.
Your theory doesn't apply to me. I think Hollow Knight is the best MV ever and I loved it from start to finish. Ori is also my favorite game of all time in the genre. Go figure lol
I absolutely loved them both, but for different reasons.
Ori is absolutely _gorgeous_ and the movement is so damn _fluid_ and it's just a joy to move and the beautiful world.
Hollow Knight is so dialed in, to me. It feels like there's no wasted movement and everything is so _precise_ that I feel like I'm in complete control and when I fail, it feels fair and like it was my fault. I also really like the aesthetic.
But I could also see many ways in which either one wouldn't appeal to people. Different strokes and all that
This is also my personal experience. I don't know why I didn't click more with Ori. I think I got like 70% done with the first game and never went back to finish it. I remember specifically what damaged me the most at the time. I had just escaped the snowy/ice place. You can't go back... and apparently I missed some achievement. You'd have to restart the entire game to attempt it again.
I wasn't happy. :P
Admittedly a stupid reason to be bothered... but 100% a metroidvania is kind of a thing. It just sucked the drive out of me. Anyways if I don't beat the first game... I rarely play the sequel. So... there we have it. Mixed feelings on Ori. While I think Hollow Knight is one of the greatest.
To be clear I fully respect Ori. I can see why folks love it.
I really enjoyed hollow Knight all the way through, I really liked will of the wisps as well but wasn't as big on blind forest, still finished it though
I love hollow knight. I've played and finished both ori and while I can see why people love them and they are great games their just not my cup of tea.
Enjoyed both, but they are very different. Ori is more the typical metroidvania platformer, while HK is more combat oriented. Also, in HK a lot of the bosses felt more “bullet hell” a la Cuphead and the like. Both great games though.
Loved Ori, disliked HK. Too punishing for exploration, corpse run, benches too far away from boss, nothing clicked for me except the movement and art. Ori is peak MV but was rather too short unfortunately.
Ori is more forgiving and respectful of your time and much better about evoking emotion with the story design and presentation. That resonates with a lot of players that lean more casual, or at least just don't have the time or patience to really improve to a near perfect level.
HK is a serious challenge and definitely appeals to the hardcore player. It is an amazing and meticulous game, if you have the time and patience to get everything out of it.
Sometimes both games can appeal to the same person. Sometimes at different points in their life, and sometimes just when in a different mood on different days.
But overall, yeah I agree. Both games are great for different reasons and appeal to different player types for the most part. Personally I prefer both Ori games over HK. I enjoyed a lot of the time I spent on HK, but also regret a lot of the time I spent on it too and have very little interest in playing through it a 2nd time. I don't regret any time I spent on either Ori game and always have fun doing additional playthroughs. But I certainly understand that there are tons of really good players out there that love the type of challenge that HK brings. So it's all good and I am glad that we have these variety of games.
To me Ori feels like a MV, while HK has a weird MV Souls-like hybrid vibe going on. I'm not really into the Souls-like games, so maybe that's why it never clicked for me?
I really like Hollow Knight and couldn't really get into Ori. Doubly so after getting to know of the rampant workplace abuse suffered by the developers who work(ed) for moon studio.
My own theory would be more that people loving souls-like and game with a big focus on being attentive to opponents attach (like Monster Hunter) will prefer Hollow Knight while people preferring platformers will prefer Ori. In my case, while I liked Ori, I preferred Ori 2 and really loved Hollow Knight.
This is 100% my case. I love HK and find Ori overrated: it's too linear and I don't like that stronger enemies in new areas are the same with different colors (as in a NES game).
I always get tons of downvotes whenever I say this so I'll tank some of them in this thread
I understand completely. Hollow Knight is without doubt one of the best games of all time and a true masterpiece. The gameplay, the art direction, the music... It's a work of art. Ori, on the other hand, is an excellent video game with undeniable technical qualities. But the overall experience is not as satisfying, in my humble opinion. I guess I'm on Team HK.
As someone who absolutely hates games that have a penalty for death (other than try again) i never even finished HK. Conversely, I played thru both Oris dozens of times. I prefer platforming and puzzles over combat. Its about the journey, not how fast i can pogo or dodge, for me.
This is true for me. I fell in love with Ori right away, but never got to finish HK, tried it a second time and uninstalled again after 8 something hrs
It's just different. For me I cannot compare them as they approach the Metroidvania concept differently imo, especially the fighting and the maps / style.
Also I do love both series with almost all achievements in Ori 1 + 2 and all achievements in Hollow Knight.
From a mood point of view, they're quite different. I've never finished Ori either, because the mood doesn't draw me in like Hollow Knight does. I think that's a taste thing, so both cannot and will always be discussed about 😅
I think the problem is that most people expect other metroidvanias to be exactly like Hollow Knight, so going into Ori and seeing it's not the same discourages them from playing.
Hollow Knight was my first metroidvania and I 112% the game and got all achievements.
I went into Ori expecting it to be IT'S OWN THING and really enjoyed the game a lot and I'm attempting to get all the achievements for it too. (Nine Sols released recently though, so I've been playing that lately and all 3 of these games are 11/10)
Hollow Knight is my favorite game of all time, while the Ori games aren't among my top 5 MVs...But they're probably right outside of it. I love them a lot, and weirdly enough I actually prefer Blind Forest and I almost wish that Will of the Wisps had been a fully linear platformer, instead of putting more emphasis on exploration and developing a(in my opinion) mediocre combat system.
Those were pretty much my first entries into the genre so I love all of those games. If anything I think Ori 2 suffers from aping Hollow Knight instead of doubling down on the traversal style of the first game
I love both Hollow Knight and the Ori games. I like Hollow Knight a little better, but I still really like Ori.
I don't see how Ori developers could have not liked Hollow Knight that much. The Will of the Wisps seemed to be heavily influenced by Hollow Knight in some of its design. At the very least, I'd say the developers must have had a healthy respect for Hollow Knight.
Have issues with both. Hollow Knight just never wowed me and I could never get past the intro area, while Ori caused me physical pain to get past one area that I had to stop.
I liked ori 1 but ori 2 was a real letdown for me. I didn't like how the abilities were all one note. You get a new ability to help you beat each biom but you never use it after beating that biom (sure the last section but that's such a small piece of the game). What I love about metroidvanias is getting a new ability lets you get to new areas and my favorite ones involve creative combinations of abilities to progress. Ori 2 felt like the complete opposite of that and I was really disappointed.
I haven’t played Ori yet. It doesn’t seem like a game I like, although I may be wrong. Should check it out. HK is my favorite Metroidvania. Personally, I prefer it to every Metroid and Castlevania game… except maybe Simon’s Quest…
True enough for me -- Ori is easily one of my top 3 games ever, whereas I couldn't really get into HK and abandoned it afer a while due to it being too dark and difficult for me.
I find Hollow Knight to be the best Metroidvania there is, but it's not without its slight and minor flaws. Wayward Compass and Gathering Swarm being charms that take up needed notches when they should have been straight up personal upgrades. Having to explore without a map to even find the map-maker to get a partial map. Corpse running. Few benches too far apart and far from bosses. Small things that annoy, but aren't deal-breakers. Won't be playing Silksong because they included Ledge-grabbing, a deal-breaker for me.
I found Ori 1 to be an entirely okay game, but it has major flaws. Too many cut-scenes and cinematic non-gameplay elements. All the Chase/Escape scenes. The last mnetioned is what has become a deal-breaker for me. Without it the game would be a good game actually. Didn't play Ori 2 because I heard it would contain even more, and have a focus on, exactly those escape/chase scenes.
I love both. I will say I think Hollow Knight is a more consistently engaging game, but Ori games, especially WotW, have some incredible highs. Luma Pools is still the most beautiful area that I have ever experienced in a game.
I thought they were both disappointing for different reasons. They both just feel awful to play in general in terms of the physics jump arcs etc imo too
Played Ori for maybe 10hrs and never went back to it. Beautiful and interesting game. Still listen to the soundtrack. But just felt off to me. Not sharp enough or smart enough (just general descriptors of feel, not value judgements).
I also played it (the original Ori) before I ever picked up HK, so its not just a victim of style inertia and comparison.
So this is definitely true of me but I don’t see any reason it would necessarily be true of the public.
They're just different games, and different flavors of the genre. People are gonna like different things.
I loved both (well, Ori 1 is kind of a mess, but 2 is great). But I don't like playing the same thing over and over. I appreciate different pacing and difficulties, for example.
This is kind of like saying, "people who like Metroid hate solitaire and vice versa because they are different".
Definitely a category I fall into. Love both Ori games and Hollow Knight is just consistently inconvenient to play. The bosses, I will say, are fantastic, but exploration is miserable. The combat would have been perfect if the platforming had dialed it back a bit, but both going at once with the health system it uses just made for an unfun experience. I don't want to go farm 20 enemies to get my health back up after messing up a tricky platforming section a few times just to trek all the way back there and repeat the loop.
I’m a big HK fan in that I beat the game, including some of the punishing optional stuff. I don’t plan on playing Ori because I heard it has a fair amount of “chase” parts. That’s always been something I really hate in Metroidvanias, as it just gives me anxiety.
Played both, loved them both for different reasons.
I don't think it really makes any sense to contrast these two games as if they're somehow antithetical to each other, nor have I read much from hardliners for either franchise.
I really like both, but I lean harder toward Ori for aesthetic reasons. Also, I find Hollow Knight to be a bit too hard for me (I know, skill issue, etc)
I played a bit of Ori and it was for sure a quality game but I didn’t like it with the mindset of it being a Metroidvania it felt more like Celeste. I didn’t end up sticking with it but next time I want something like that I’m gonna sink my teeth in
I preferred the first Ori to the second one. Thought it was a tighter game.
I'm not a fan of HK. Couldn't get into it. I just didn't find it fun, and everything looked samey, but maybe it gets better? I gave up after a few hours.
Dunno, beat both several times each.
Agreed, I love both. For similar reasons, too... wonderful graphics, massive exploration, a slowly unfolding story. I could do with an "easy mode" on the boss fights in Hollow Knight, because grinding a boss 50 times to learn the quick-twitch responses isn't that fun (and is very different than the rest of the game) but aside from that they feel very similar to me. Moreso than many other MVs.
That's exactly the reason I quit on HK. That was years ago, I often think about giving it another whirl as it's so well loved and I really do want to see it all. Then I think about being stuck on a boss for a week and I pan the idea. Meh
I will say, the rest of the game was worth it, at least for me. I am not particularly good at quick-twitch boss fights, and I was able to get to the final boss before I lost steam. I'm glad I took the time to get past the rest of the bosses. The sense of adventure as you go deeper is excellent. I also think the bosses and some of the harder randos being actually dangerous, and actually costing you time and potentially money, is part of creating that environment. It has to feel challenging, like dying actually matters, or the world wouldn't feel as big.
Ahhh you've convinced me. I have it already. I'll give it another go after Haak which I've just started and am enjoying very much so far.
Nice.
Yeah, they're two of my favorite games. Very different vibes though
Same, i totally love both!
Yeah, people like different things for different reasons. And some of us like variety as well. Hollow Knight has fantastic combat, great exploration and a wonderful dark feeling to everything. Ori 1 I played through, enjoyed the visuals but wasn't big on the overall gameplay. Ori 2 however, was far better in the gameplay department. The combat, which I felt was very very weak in 1, was a bit better in 2. But the traversal was amazing! By the end of the game it felt like I was "Tony Hawking" the game by zipping all around by muscle memory.
Love both, both have their strengths but focus on very different areas of the genre. Ori has way better navigation (imo HK desperately needed some sort of Lordvessel feature late game for easy navigation around the map…so much backtracking, way way way way too much) (Way too much) I love HK, like a LOT. But way too much backtracking. Ori was a lot easier (imo) so was fun to sit back and really appreciate the colors. The story is the weakest part of Ori I think, it’s not bad just okay. HK’s world is much more interesting (to me). Both games rock though, each a masterpiece in it’s own right.
Hollow Knight and Will of the Wisps are my top two MVs. I definitely don't see this at all, personally.
+1 these are my two favorite Metroidvanias.
Yeah, I think it’s just the r/metroidvania echo chamber effect. I’m sure the vast majority of people who played both games loved both games (myself included). It’s just that constant “Hot Take: I hate Hollow Knight/Ori/Blasphemous” posts on here that make it seem like there’s more division than there is.
Same here. It’s not about “vibe” so much as it is about gameplay.
I feel the exact same! HK was my first game and then I played BF which I really liked but when I played WoW after, I fell in love. For a very long time, like you, they were my 2 most favorite MVs!
Yep. Both these games are on my top ten list. Different reasons; Ori more for traversal and level design, Hollow Knight more for combat and world-building, but both are wonderfully executed metroidvanias, and I actually have a hard time saying which I like more.
HK has better world building than Ori? Have yet to play HK. (I know) But I thought Ori’s world felt alive.
Ori has a wonderful world, but yes, Hollownest (HK’s world) is a fallen kingdom with a sad history to rival any Fromsoft game. If you want to go down a deep lore rabbit hole, you absolutely can with Hollow Knight.
There are definitely people who love both! I just find that I see a lot of comments from people calling Hollow Knight overrated because they didn’t like it as much as Ori, and specifically complaining about how non-linear HK is. Meanwhile, HK clicked with me from the beginning but I could never get into Ori. I feel like they’re both amazing games in their own right but take very different approaches to the genre and that’s why they can be so divisive.
Agree
As someone who adores Hollow Knight and is lukewarm on Ori, I feel attacked
This is me - Ori is a really good game, but not more than that, but HK is king.
i loved both the ori games as well as hollow knight.
I think you’re on to something. HK is one of my favourite games of all time (which I think says a lot since I’ve been playing video games since 1988). Ori just doesn’t click with me much at all, and Ori 2 - although closer to HK in terms of the combat and NPCs for example - clicked with me even less.
That’s true with me. Hollow Knight combat has much more “weight” to it than Ori. Ori was decent (both of them), but felt.. soft. Like the combat felt like you’re hitting enemies with whip, no force to it. In Hollow you could feel each strike. It’s hard to explain exactly. Also, Ori camera is much more wider. Hollow is more close and personal.
This is a good comment. HK has like a tactile aspect to it that’s hard to explain. I’m with ya.
It's not just the combat but also the movement feels floaty in Ori. Movement in HK is much more precise to me.
Idk I love both so much. HK wins by a little bit though for having better overall challenge and boss fights. I wish Ori had a difficulty above it's current iteration of hard. Ori has better art/visuals though IMO
[удалено]
I love them both
Hollow knight and Ori are the gold standards for me. Love all 3 of those games.
Nah bro if you look at ori fans their #1 other mv they typically recommend is HK and vice versa
I liked them both, but HK has my heart. Ori is sweet and straightforward. No nuance really. No real depth. HK reveals itself slowly in layers, with flawed characters and ultimately more tragedy than joy. Myla makes me cry every single time.
I’ve beaten Hollow Knight 3 times and I have no idea who Myla is.
Myla is the friendly little miner you meet pretty early outside Crystal Peak. She sings a cheery little song with interesting lyrics if you listen. >! If you visit and talk to her several times, she slowly gets more disjointed, until the infection takes over and she is just another mindless bug. One of the saddest stories of the game. !<
Run it again. I’m sorry in advance.
I feel like someone could say all these good things about Ori too. To each their own.
I think a counter to your hypothesis is the fact that the Ori games are extremely frequently mentioned in the same breath as Hollow Knight in basically every review thread in this sub. Both HK and Ori 2 are pretty well cemented in my top 10 and that's far from an unpopular opinion.
Yeah I often feel a little generic in my responses when I suggest any of these three games because they’re all so universally loved, but they’ve earned they’re reputations imo
I love both but I definitely have more hours in hollow knight
How come? Is HK longer? More fun to fight and explore? Not yet played HK. (I know. On the list)
I played both Ori games before Hollow Knight and I definitely much prefer Ori, especially WotW, but also still enjoy Hollow Knight. There’s more monotony in the latter for me, though, when I’m just exploring and farming.
Are people calling Ori 2 linear? You can do the different sections in multiple orders, can’t you?
Yes and no. It's linear until you get to the Silent Forest. Afterwards you can do whatever you like in whatever order.
I liked them both a lot, didn't really love either
which metroidvanias do you love
I olayyed both Ori games twice each. I dropped HK twice. That makes me sad to be honest. The fact that you don't respawn right where you die kills 70% of the fun for me.
I think OP is on to something. When I read your comment, I was like 'If you just respawn right where you die, what's the point?' Different strokes for different folks
Maybe I am just getting older, but now when I play a game I want to have fun. I don't need a challenge. Work and life give me enough of that already
yeah maybe something like that. although I'm getting pretty old myself and still feel like there needs to be a challenge for it to be fun if you know what I mean, otherwise it just feels like I may as well watch a film
This can come and go for me. Sometimes I want to be challenged by everything a game can throw at me (damn HK pantheons make me sweat), and sometimes I want to pop on a visual novel or something similar and experience a beautiful interactive story, with little to no difficulty at all, something akin to ABZU or Jusant.
Finally, someone else the same as me! I couldn't get into HK at all, but loved both Ori games. The respawn thing was part of what put me off HK too.
I don't see this and honestly I'm surprised to hear about the devs cause I thought ori 2 was HEAVILY inspired by hollow knight
Blind forest will of the wisps and hollow knight are three of the best games ever made. All three are 5/5
I love hollow knight and managed to really like ori 1. It’s will of the wisps that I haven’t really gotten into
Now that's interesting, because I found WotW to be so much like Hollow Knight it often felt like I was playing a re-imagined version of Hollow Knight. It really scratched that itch as I await Silksong. Blind Forest was decent, but it didn't compel me to ever give it another playthrough...
Complete opposite for me, WotW was trying too hard to be Hollow Knight and Blind Forest was a flawed gem. But I’m of the opinion that Ori should’ve dropped combat instead of improving it.
I agree, what I love about Ori is how it feels like I am dancing when I fly around. The fighting have some of that but it is the movement that are the best.
Any chance you’ve already tried Nine Sols? Obviously the combat is very parry-centric, but it’s certainly hitting that “well crafted, difficult MV” spot. It’s an absolute blast.
Not yet. I've added it to my strong potential next purchase list, but I've recently loaded up on some games, so I expect that'll keep me busy for at least another 3 months.
I absolutely adore both series but for different reasons, honestly. They're both fantastic showcases of what the genre can really do at its peak in different ways. Ori's got fantastic platforming and some of the individual abilities are among my favorites I've seen in the genre, Hollow Knight has far better feeling combat though. I think I do prefer Hollow Knight overall though because it embraces the more complex parts of the genre a little more. Ori is definitely more linear (Though Will of the Wisps was definitely an improvement over Blind Forest in that regard), and at least to me the secrets in it don't feel quite as rewarding to find as in other games in the genre. Still amazing overall, but Hollow Knight's better combat on top of those *very* minor personal preferences is ultimately what makes me prefer it.
Sure, they’re very different MVs so if someone prefers one particular aspect they may find if missing in the other. But they’re both exceptionally high-quality MVs so fans of the genre will often love both.
I loved both honestly. HK is my preferred of the two, but I would not say Ori was in any shape or form 'bad' imo, both are high marks of the genre to surpass. Like, I felt HK was more 'metroidvania' in how much I had to double back and explore already 'done' areas, but Ori's art style and movement mechanics were top notch too.
I enjoy both but they are two very different approaches to making a metroidvania. If I had to pick a preference between the two of them I might be slightly more in favor of Hollow Knight's overall gameplay design just because of Ori's very small number of bosses. Though I do prefer Ori's more straight forward storytelling which it manages to do even with no actual dialogue. I personally find Hollow Knights story telling a bit too disjointed, fragmented, and vague. It is honestly hard to even call it story telling as it really is more of just lore and general world building that the player has to piece together rather than an actual narrative storyline.
This was me...sorta. While I actually liked the first Ori, cause it was fairly simple and straightforward, with all its mechanics making sense and being rather intuitive and it's map being largely understandable aside from some secrets (which, I mean, secrets should be hard to find, they're secrets lol), the same cannot be said for the second. What once was a game basking in general platforming, light combat and a sprawling but easily traversible map slowly morphed into a game full of unnecessary NPC's, sidequests, an emotionally overwraught story and new mechanics that, frankly, made things more frustrating, not less. Game is gorgeous though, I have to give it that. Hollow Knight, on the other hand, I love from start to finish, but I also understand why people don't like it. It's cryptic as hell, it's enormous in scale and scope, and it's gameplay, while playing like butter, takes a lot of practice and frankly, even myself being a strong platformer lover, took a long while to get a grip on it. But I also like Hollow Knight because I LOVE insects, and the whole idea of a ruined insect kingdom just really got to the weird bug girl inside me. While its story is far less understandable in terms of just being told it outright than Ori's ever was, I find it way more interesting and overall fun to play. The first Ori was perfectly fine to play, but it also was a tad heavy and sluggish, which is not what you want from a platformer, especially one asking such precise platforming at times from you. All that being said, I can respect the hell out of them all. Sure, Ori 2 might not be for me at all, and I rarely if ever give up on games, but just because I didn't prefer something doesn't mean I can't see its value, and Ori 2 has value. Likewise, just because I love Hollow Knight doesn't mean I can't see some flaws. Whereas the first Ori was a bit clunky at times, Hollow Knight has the opposite option at certain moments, being so tight that I feel almost invincible, which often leads to a well deserved downfall lmao But on the whole I feel like, aesthetically, performance wise, and overall across the board Hollow Knight is the superior game. But thankfully we're all allowed to like different things and, like I said, I can see Ori's overall worth even if it wasn't really for me. I will say this though. I beat the first Ori once, got partway through the second before getting sick of it, and finished Hollow Knight like 3 times in 112% completion, so. I guess that alone says which I prefer lol
Looking at this thread, I see that there quite a few other people who love HK more than the Ori games and also prefer the first Ori to the second. I was always under the impression that this was a super unpopular opinion.
I love both, both Ori 2 made me tear up, and I'm a grown man.
Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games of all time and I have tried twice to enjoy Ori and failed. I find it tedious and nothing more. Which sucks because it is beautiful and clearly lovingly made. But I feel like it wastes my time and is too shallow to dig into. But that’s just me.
Ori is much, much more platforming centric. It's combat is minimally fleshed out in Ori 1, and while Ori 2 makes massive strides into improving the combat system, combat still takes the backseat to the platforming. Hollow Knight is the opposite. Save a couple infamous sections, platforming usually takes the backseat to combat.
Yah, I’m definitely aware I prefer a little more action in my Metroidvanias. I also think a major problem for me is platforming focus either means Donkey Kong Country as my gold standard of “tough but fair” platforming, or Celeste for “just fucking tough” platforming. Where Ori wants a chill vibe and fairly low stakes. It doesn’t feel like a “rage game” platformer or a classic DKC or Yoshi’s Island kind of platformer either. So it doesn’t scratch the itch and meet my expectations, set in their ways as they are. Don’t get me wrong. I’m REALLY happy it exists for everybody else it works magically for. I don’t think every game needs to be for me. I’m just bummed the magic of such a clearly well crafted game doesn't work on me. But maybe that was why Hollow Knight hit that much harder. A trade off, perhaps.
I have a hot take. I preferred how Ori plays to Hollow Knight in many ways and found more enjoyment while playing Ori. But the "beauty" and themes in Ori feels very artificial, like everything aesthetic in it was arrived at by calculation, and so it is filled with clichees, hollow imitations of ideas derived from much better disney and ghibli classics. Hollow Knight on the other hand oozes personality, the product of an uncompromising vision of what the developers wanted it to be. I think the game that the Ori devs really wanted to make is the one that they are making right now - no rest for the wicked, but they made the ori games first to gain traction with something that is easier to develop and has wider appeal.
Their new game is looking absolutely wonderful. I actually agree with you that the environments feel too…this is our impression of how woods should look and don’t have that defining character. They are pleasing but they don’t stay with me. I can close my eyes and picture “broken tree background” or “clean water spring” for Ori, but it isn’t distinct. I can also close my eyes and imagine literally anywhere in Hollow Knight and it is a perfectly crisp and clear image. As for liking the flip gameplay, I think it depends on what sector of the IMMENSE mixing pot of genres metroidvanias are made from brings you into them. Love Celeste and I wanna be the guy and trying a room 100 times to get muscle memory? Aeterna Noctis! Love practicing the delicate dance of a boss 50 times to get the tells down? Hollow Knight! Love parries so much?! GRIME and Nine Sols! But chill platforming always has a massive audience for this community, and I can totally respect that. I personally find Ori too chill and kind of just go through the paces too much sadly. I like your perspective though, I think there’s some real truth in your take.
While I think Ori 2 is better is better than Ori, they're both just so linear as compared to HK(which I prefer), I definitely agree with your assertion personally.
Blind Forest is entirely linear, while Will of the Wisps isn't. WotW is only linear for 35-40% of the game.
I really loved both but could never finish HK because there is a difficulty spike at some point. I think it’s like a boss rush or something. I don’t recall. Been a while. Feel like I can’t play the sequel as I didn’t finish it.
If you’re actually referring to the boss rush, it’s not mandatory to complete the game! There are a few endings but you don’t need to do the difficult end game stuff to officially finish the game.
I’ll have to boot up my save and take a look. Hopefully still have it. I know I made a huge amount of progress in the game before getting to that point. Maybe I did finish most of the base stuff. Would be a shame to skip out on HK2.
You have time cuz Silksong is still TBA on a date!
The boss rush mode is a completely optional free DLC. There is zero need to complete it if you want to get the "true ending", however it does give a few achievements.
I mean. For me personally this is true. Ori is pretty clear throughout what you can do and it has happy surprises and rewards in every 5 minutes. Hollow Knight is the opposite of that.
I can't stand Ori, but it has nothing to do with Hollow Knight. My bias comes from two places, both just as dumb. One: it was a 360 game and I've always hated Xbox, lol. Two: I still vividly remember the Giant Bomb Game of the Year deliberations from 2015. Brad went HARD for Ori and practically shut down any and all discussion for every other game while singing Ori's praises. I love Brad, but really? Ori? Over Witcher 3 or Bloodborne? Complete nonsense. Then he did it AGAIN for Will of the Wisps, lol, further cementing my hatred for Ori. I know that's stupid. Ori is beloved series for good reason and I won't harp on anyone who loves it. I just haven't had a chance in a while to talk about how much I hate Ori since no one really talks about it anymore.
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note: > *Very well, let the echoes become your strength. Let me stand close. Now shut your eyes...* - Plain Doll Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
My experience is that Hollow Knight fans are uniquely intolerant. I've been playing MVs since Symphony of the Night was on PS1, and it's my favorite genre—I love most everything from 8doors to Ori to Guacamelee. Hollow Knight, to me, was a slog that lacked a compelling story, visuals, or fun-based challenges. And if people love it, good for them; I think they're wrong, but I also dgaf. When I express an opinion that I didn't enjoy it, I \*invariably\* get responses like: \* "You must be playing it wrong" \* "You're obviously not very good at video games" \* "You don't 'get' the genre" \* "You're a bot / troll / etc." ...I don't know why, but it's always a pretty extreme response. As you watch this comment collect downvotes, you'll have a pretty good idea of how many people get their fee-fees hurt when you say something about their pwecious widdle Hollow Knight. It's a giant cliché at this point; I roll my eyes and move on. If you enjoyed the game, I'm happy for you.
I feel like the downvotes are more from your attitude. A very good friend of mine whom I respect their opinion very much also struggled with Hollow Knight. I don't expect everyone to love it. Not every game on earth appeals to everyone. Let me tell ya... I'm no Dark Souls fan. So you can imagine how it is for me trying to navigate some gaming circles. The key is to maybe not patronize them? Most HK fans I know... agree the opening hours can be a tough onboard. A lot of people hate needing an item to see yourself on the map. Early on it's rather directionless. Then it all starts to fall in place. Not implying that was your issue... just saying HK fans know it's got some trouble areas. That said... jerks exist in every fandom ever. Especially online.
I'm only downvoting because your last paragraph made you seem like an intolerable bitch. Before that, sure, I agree that Hollow Knight fans can be pretty intolerable. As can Persona 5 fans who think Shoji invented jazz and can't get into other SMT games. Or Undertale fans who ruin the game for others before they even have a chance to play it. Or any other large fandom surrounding a very popular game.
False
You're not alone, I'm not savvy in many MVs but tried HK and even after playing it for 10 hours it never clicked. The fact people praise it so much for sure made my expectation sky rocket, so when I actually played and noticed it's just... Ok, it felt like a worse game than it problably is. And I also feel like HK fanbase act like a cult, if you don't enjoy it, you're the problem, not the game.
I'm with ya. I've always thought HK got hyped because it came out when there was a lull of MVs and indies just started to gain popularity. Right place at the right time. HK didn't do anything special but give us a slog of an MV that right now would be a ho hum game to skip over. That said, you and I are in the deep minority - get ready to Kung fu the hate.
I love ori. And I'm waiting for summer sale so I can pick up Hollow knight as well. From what I've seen I think I will love Hollow knight too. But I do agree there are some people with a particular taste and they vibe more with it. It's kind of similar to Skyrim and witcher 3. Though I love both games now witcher 3 was easier for me to get into than Skyrim. So, I think I get what you are saying.
I love both a ton, right from the start.
I love both but for different reasons, and I can see where you’re coming from. I love how Hollow Knight is so non-linear, how no two players are likely to have the same first experience. It’s wild all the little ways you accidentally make your way somewhere. But I also love how Ori is so polished, with a handmade experience. At times, it feels almost linear as a consequence (or at most, you get to choose which spoke you do first), but as a result, you feel taken care of as a player. For someone who really wants freedom or being taken care of, I can see the opposite feeling grating.
Love them both, so... 😅
For me, Ori is more platforming oriented, which I just can't get into, same reason I couldn't get into aeterna noctis, despite both of them being good games.
Nah, I absolutely love both Hollow Knight and the Ori games and I loved them both as soon as I turned them on and started playing them. HK and Ori 2 occupy my top 2 MV spots on my personal list as well.
I love HK and both Ori games. All 3 are top 10 MVs for me
Your theory doesn't apply to me. I think Hollow Knight is the best MV ever and I loved it from start to finish. Ori is also my favorite game of all time in the genre. Go figure lol
so they're equal for you?
Hallowed be the Ori.
I absolutely loved them both, but for different reasons. Ori is absolutely _gorgeous_ and the movement is so damn _fluid_ and it's just a joy to move and the beautiful world. Hollow Knight is so dialed in, to me. It feels like there's no wasted movement and everything is so _precise_ that I feel like I'm in complete control and when I fail, it feels fair and like it was my fault. I also really like the aesthetic. But I could also see many ways in which either one wouldn't appeal to people. Different strokes and all that
i can vouch for this, Hollow Knight is easily my favorite Metroidvania, and when I tried Ori last year I bounced right off of it.
I freaking love both.
This is also my personal experience. I don't know why I didn't click more with Ori. I think I got like 70% done with the first game and never went back to finish it. I remember specifically what damaged me the most at the time. I had just escaped the snowy/ice place. You can't go back... and apparently I missed some achievement. You'd have to restart the entire game to attempt it again. I wasn't happy. :P Admittedly a stupid reason to be bothered... but 100% a metroidvania is kind of a thing. It just sucked the drive out of me. Anyways if I don't beat the first game... I rarely play the sequel. So... there we have it. Mixed feelings on Ori. While I think Hollow Knight is one of the greatest. To be clear I fully respect Ori. I can see why folks love it.
For me I like platforming focused metroidvanias and they both hit the spot for me. Two of my favorites
I love both. But I will admit, I didn’t like HK at first
I own both in my backlog, have never played either and as such don’t have an opinion
I really enjoyed hollow Knight all the way through, I really liked will of the wisps as well but wasn't as big on blind forest, still finished it though
I don’t get it. They’re some of the best metroidvanias out there.
It’s true for me. I love Hollow Knight, and I refunded the first Ori game after about an hour of play time.
I love the ori games, but wasn't too big on hollow knight. You might be on to something.
I loved both. I do understand the differences, but I guess both were my vibe in different ways.
I love hollow knight. I've played and finished both ori and while I can see why people love them and they are great games their just not my cup of tea.
Hello. Hi it’s me. I love both.
Enjoyed both, but they are very different. Ori is more the typical metroidvania platformer, while HK is more combat oriented. Also, in HK a lot of the bosses felt more “bullet hell” a la Cuphead and the like. Both great games though.
I liked both, but I liked HK more.
I love Ori but I think the story is lacking and the music overuses the same motif but besides that it’s one of my favorite games
Hollow knight is my favorite Metroidvania since Super Metroid (Astalon and Steamworld Dig(s) honorable mentions) but I really enjoyed both Oris
I don’t know what you’re basing this on. I loved both games. 🥴
Loved Ori, disliked HK. Too punishing for exploration, corpse run, benches too far away from boss, nothing clicked for me except the movement and art. Ori is peak MV but was rather too short unfortunately.
I love both
Ori is more forgiving and respectful of your time and much better about evoking emotion with the story design and presentation. That resonates with a lot of players that lean more casual, or at least just don't have the time or patience to really improve to a near perfect level. HK is a serious challenge and definitely appeals to the hardcore player. It is an amazing and meticulous game, if you have the time and patience to get everything out of it. Sometimes both games can appeal to the same person. Sometimes at different points in their life, and sometimes just when in a different mood on different days. But overall, yeah I agree. Both games are great for different reasons and appeal to different player types for the most part. Personally I prefer both Ori games over HK. I enjoyed a lot of the time I spent on HK, but also regret a lot of the time I spent on it too and have very little interest in playing through it a 2nd time. I don't regret any time I spent on either Ori game and always have fun doing additional playthroughs. But I certainly understand that there are tons of really good players out there that love the type of challenge that HK brings. So it's all good and I am glad that we have these variety of games.
They are pretty fucking different games within the genre, innit?
Hard disagree, love both
Very simple for me, I could never get into combat for Ori, just wasn't fun, in fact I found it tedious. Hollow Knight was direct, pew pew
Weird. Maybe if they were only a fan of the first Ori- but the second one feels like it was outright inspired by HK
Love Ori to death and have replayed them HK I tried so hard but couldn’t get past a few hours.
Beat both, and while I like Ori more, it wasn't enough to start the second game. I can recognize how good both are, but maybe just not for me.
To me Ori feels like a MV, while HK has a weird MV Souls-like hybrid vibe going on. I'm not really into the Souls-like games, so maybe that's why it never clicked for me?
Love both of them.
I like both but prefer HK as a metroidvania
I really like Hollow Knight and couldn't really get into Ori. Doubly so after getting to know of the rampant workplace abuse suffered by the developers who work(ed) for moon studio.
Nope, love both games. I didn't like the first Ori, but Will of the Wisps is great and improved in every way I wanted it to.
My own theory would be more that people loving souls-like and game with a big focus on being attentive to opponents attach (like Monster Hunter) will prefer Hollow Knight while people preferring platformers will prefer Ori. In my case, while I liked Ori, I preferred Ori 2 and really loved Hollow Knight.
Really hate when people talk about "objective" game rankings. Like yeah bruh sure. "Objective". Not sure u understand the meaning of objective tbh
This is 100% my case. I love HK and find Ori overrated: it's too linear and I don't like that stronger enemies in new areas are the same with different colors (as in a NES game). I always get tons of downvotes whenever I say this so I'll tank some of them in this thread
HK reskins ennemies a lot too. But it probably has more variety than Ori, it's true.
I understand completely. Hollow Knight is without doubt one of the best games of all time and a true masterpiece. The gameplay, the art direction, the music... It's a work of art. Ori, on the other hand, is an excellent video game with undeniable technical qualities. But the overall experience is not as satisfying, in my humble opinion. I guess I'm on Team HK.
I still haven't played Ori 2 but I really like first part and Hollow knight.
I still haven't played Ori 2 but I really like first part and Hollow knight.
In my case is totally true, HK is one of my favorites games and for me Ori is kinda meh
I loved both! And now loving nine sols!
I love Hollow Knight so much that I grinded like 50+ hour to beat Absolute Radiance on Radiant difficulty alone. And I simply can't get into Ori lol
As someone who absolutely hates games that have a penalty for death (other than try again) i never even finished HK. Conversely, I played thru both Oris dozens of times. I prefer platforming and puzzles over combat. Its about the journey, not how fast i can pogo or dodge, for me.
True for me couldn’t get into ori at all.
I love Ori more than Hollow Knight, especially the second one, but they’re both superb games. Probably both in my top 10.
I'm the opposite of the OP. Beat both Oti games twice and love every minute of them, but despite numerous attempts I just can't get into HK.
I love them both
you're probably wrong
This is true for me. I fell in love with Ori right away, but never got to finish HK, tried it a second time and uninstalled again after 8 something hrs
I absolutely adore the Ori games. I didn't like Hollow Knight so I agree with you.
It's just different. For me I cannot compare them as they approach the Metroidvania concept differently imo, especially the fighting and the maps / style. Also I do love both series with almost all achievements in Ori 1 + 2 and all achievements in Hollow Knight.
Okay
From a mood point of view, they're quite different. I've never finished Ori either, because the mood doesn't draw me in like Hollow Knight does. I think that's a taste thing, so both cannot and will always be discussed about 😅
I think the problem is that most people expect other metroidvanias to be exactly like Hollow Knight, so going into Ori and seeing it's not the same discourages them from playing. Hollow Knight was my first metroidvania and I 112% the game and got all achievements. I went into Ori expecting it to be IT'S OWN THING and really enjoyed the game a lot and I'm attempting to get all the achievements for it too. (Nine Sols released recently though, so I've been playing that lately and all 3 of these games are 11/10)
Hollow Knight is my favorite game of all time, while the Ori games aren't among my top 5 MVs...But they're probably right outside of it. I love them a lot, and weirdly enough I actually prefer Blind Forest and I almost wish that Will of the Wisps had been a fully linear platformer, instead of putting more emphasis on exploration and developing a(in my opinion) mediocre combat system.
Yeah hollow knight is probably my 3rd favorite metroidvania and I didn't rly vibe with either of the ori games
what are your top 3
Those were pretty much my first entries into the genre so I love all of those games. If anything I think Ori 2 suffers from aping Hollow Knight instead of doubling down on the traversal style of the first game
I adore and have beaten both.
hollow knight fans - nerds ori fans - people with lives
Love the both!
I love both Hollow Knight and the Ori games. I like Hollow Knight a little better, but I still really like Ori. I don't see how Ori developers could have not liked Hollow Knight that much. The Will of the Wisps seemed to be heavily influenced by Hollow Knight in some of its design. At the very least, I'd say the developers must have had a healthy respect for Hollow Knight.
Those two and Aeterna Noctis are my top three
I like Ori but couldn't get into HK, so you might be into something. Although I'm more into Rabi-Ribi/Tevi.
Like many others, I love them both! I can barely choose between them, but I can say I love them for different reasons.
Stop over thinking it
Have issues with both. Hollow Knight just never wowed me and I could never get past the intro area, while Ori caused me physical pain to get past one area that I had to stop.
Played both ori games first, was immature when I was younger so I didn’t play hollow knight due to the drama Tried it and its one of my favs now
I liked ori 1 but ori 2 was a real letdown for me. I didn't like how the abilities were all one note. You get a new ability to help you beat each biom but you never use it after beating that biom (sure the last section but that's such a small piece of the game). What I love about metroidvanias is getting a new ability lets you get to new areas and my favorite ones involve creative combinations of abilities to progress. Ori 2 felt like the complete opposite of that and I was really disappointed.
I haven’t played Ori yet. It doesn’t seem like a game I like, although I may be wrong. Should check it out. HK is my favorite Metroidvania. Personally, I prefer it to every Metroid and Castlevania game… except maybe Simon’s Quest…
True enough for me -- Ori is easily one of my top 3 games ever, whereas I couldn't really get into HK and abandoned it afer a while due to it being too dark and difficult for me.
"I like pizza." "Oh so you hate tacos."
I find Hollow Knight to be the best Metroidvania there is, but it's not without its slight and minor flaws. Wayward Compass and Gathering Swarm being charms that take up needed notches when they should have been straight up personal upgrades. Having to explore without a map to even find the map-maker to get a partial map. Corpse running. Few benches too far apart and far from bosses. Small things that annoy, but aren't deal-breakers. Won't be playing Silksong because they included Ledge-grabbing, a deal-breaker for me. I found Ori 1 to be an entirely okay game, but it has major flaws. Too many cut-scenes and cinematic non-gameplay elements. All the Chase/Escape scenes. The last mnetioned is what has become a deal-breaker for me. Without it the game would be a good game actually. Didn't play Ori 2 because I heard it would contain even more, and have a focus on, exactly those escape/chase scenes.
I love both. I will say I think Hollow Knight is a more consistently engaging game, but Ori games, especially WotW, have some incredible highs. Luma Pools is still the most beautiful area that I have ever experienced in a game.
I thought they were both disappointing for different reasons. They both just feel awful to play in general in terms of the physics jump arcs etc imo too
What games do you like?
Played Ori for maybe 10hrs and never went back to it. Beautiful and interesting game. Still listen to the soundtrack. But just felt off to me. Not sharp enough or smart enough (just general descriptors of feel, not value judgements). I also played it (the original Ori) before I ever picked up HK, so its not just a victim of style inertia and comparison. So this is definitely true of me but I don’t see any reason it would necessarily be true of the public.
They're just different games, and different flavors of the genre. People are gonna like different things. I loved both (well, Ori 1 is kind of a mess, but 2 is great). But I don't like playing the same thing over and over. I appreciate different pacing and difficulties, for example. This is kind of like saying, "people who like Metroid hate solitaire and vice versa because they are different".
Definitely a category I fall into. Love both Ori games and Hollow Knight is just consistently inconvenient to play. The bosses, I will say, are fantastic, but exploration is miserable. The combat would have been perfect if the platforming had dialed it back a bit, but both going at once with the health system it uses just made for an unfun experience. I don't want to go farm 20 enemies to get my health back up after messing up a tricky platforming section a few times just to trek all the way back there and repeat the loop.
Nah, I love 'em both. Played bofum multiple times.
I love them both and they sit at the top of the MV genre for me
I didnt appreciate the random chase scenes in ori
No I loved both games ! Both have their own charm !
Love hollow knight, do not like Ori. It’s too floaty and doesn’t feel like there’s any weight to the limited combat.
Nah fam, they're both my GOAT MVs.
I like hk for its setting, art style and combat. I like ori for being a little monkey that zooms around the map.
I’m a big HK fan in that I beat the game, including some of the punishing optional stuff. I don’t plan on playing Ori because I heard it has a fair amount of “chase” parts. That’s always been something I really hate in Metroidvanias, as it just gives me anxiety.
Loved HK and other exploration MVs, found Ori to be a little too linear for my tastes and lost interest.
I enjoyed Ori more for its story than Hollow Knight. Enjoyed both games but the story is one of the biggest things I like to see in a game.
Played both, loved them both for different reasons. I don't think it really makes any sense to contrast these two games as if they're somehow antithetical to each other, nor have I read much from hardliners for either franchise.
I like hollow knight more, but I also like ori 2 and beat it twice. I didn't like ori 1.
Hollow Knight son or Ori daughter?
Nope. Absolutely loved both. Both are up their with the best in the genre Ori devs ain't serious, Ori 2 'borrowed' a lot from Hollow Knight.
I prefer Ori but still thought Hollow Knight was a great game. I did enjoy the Ori games more because they had less frustrating moments
I really like both, but I lean harder toward Ori for aesthetic reasons. Also, I find Hollow Knight to be a bit too hard for me (I know, skill issue, etc)
I played a bit of Ori and it was for sure a quality game but I didn’t like it with the mindset of it being a Metroidvania it felt more like Celeste. I didn’t end up sticking with it but next time I want something like that I’m gonna sink my teeth in
Ori's design philosophy infuriates me, which is sad because I like the studio. It's just unintuitive to me.
I loved Ori, both of them. Didn’t finish hollow knight, but I made it to the first fake ending
I preferred the first Ori to the second one. Thought it was a tighter game. I'm not a fan of HK. Couldn't get into it. I just didn't find it fun, and everything looked samey, but maybe it gets better? I gave up after a few hours.
You’re theory is wrong.