Can I just say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! The reception to this video has been overwhelming! Such kind words and appreciation for what we tried to achieve! Not only that, but a special thank you to those that appreciated the video without needing to agree to everything I said, reading people opinions and preferences for the different areas has been super super fun and interesting. I tried to keep my criticisms as fair and subjective as possible, but of course peoples opinions will differ, but I really fell like it has been a great example of us all sharing the things we love about this truly special game
I really liked all the stuff you put and the places, expecially deepnest, who you put very high on the list. I just think two placements are plain wrong: i think Crystal peak should have been in the place of white palace and vice-versa. It's true that the place is suggestive, but the mere hours and repetivity that it takes you (and sometimes prevents) you to even begin to appreiciate the overall place. Instead, white palace, gives a very straightforward path, and absolutely enjoyable and astonishing music and location, abive the clouds, where its just you against your willpower. I think that the other placements are very correct though, and i still loved the video! Thanks for this very good tier list, and please take good thought on what i said. 😊 Ps: its Hallownest, not hollownest XD
I have never thought about the dream variant of broken vessel, and why its lost kin isn't different. It makes so much sense for the other bosses, dreaming of more power or being the champion, but maybe since the vessel was completely taken over by the radiance, it's former dream had been lost. Instead, it has been replaced with the radiance's dream of wanting to spread it's infection more, as seen by the increased infected thingy spawn and more infection glob attacks. Just an idea, I have only dwelled on this for 2 minutes haha
I like it but the vessel was intended to have no thoughts or desires. To be void. Maybe the crack allowed the radiance to seep in and create a physical manifestation for its desires. Still the dream of increasing the spread of the infection, just works a little better with the intent of the vessels.
@@clintk4691 Well alot of them failed didnt they, its why only 1 was chosen out of millions, if they all were empty they wouldnt have sacrificed so many
Forgotten Crossroads: This is pretty fun. Greenpath: I think I'm in love. City of Tears: I would lobotomize myself just to feel this for the first time again.
That super nice of you to say, I am working towards VO work, so it really does mean a lot Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the vid too! We are very proud of it
I think there’s something so special about when the city of tears name comes up for the first time. It doesn’t come up immediately as you enter, rather it waits until you’re out of the building and out in the rain. I believe they did this because you truly feel like you are in the city when you’re out looking at the faded lands original capital, how everything came to pass, and what remains. The name is given to you when you truly are within the city. Gets me everytime.
This is so well-written and voiced that, even if I don't agree on every placement, I can only nod my head in acknowledgement of your reasoning. Also your section on City was beautiful, heartfelt, and entertaining all at once. A wonderful tribute to what I agree is the best area.
The writing of this is just so unnecessarily brilliant. You would never expect to find such a clever line such as “flora and fauna, the lines of which considerably blurred” in a video about an indie game but here we are. Amazing video.
I just looked at the subscriber count... EXCUSE ME??? THIS MAN MANAGED TO MAKE ME CRY DURING AN AREA RANKING OF ALL THINGS AND HE HAS LESS THAN 2000 SUBS??? Keep doing what you're doing man, seriously. Your writing, your narration, your charm, it's all amazing. You'll be one of the big ones mate, trust me
Im just gonna say one thing: i for real cried. hollow knight is such a beautiful game, god, thank you for making an equally beautiful video that really shows how amazing it is. and i will add that your voice is amazing and kept me paying attention all the way through (which is impressive with my adhd). i will come back here whenever i need to relax for sure.
Oh, there's an actual reason why beating broken vessels makes crossroads infected! It's us taking away monarchs wings that were stopping the winds! Without those infection managed to get farther. It's so cool! I hope so
This is a very well written video, and enjoyable to both listen to and watch, I personally agree with a lot of your list but I would actually flip the placement of greenpath and queens gardens, I think queens gardens fits at #6, especially due to how short of a time is typically spent in the area, and Greenpath is personally my #2 area. In my opinion, greenpath is the point that really makes you want to continue the game. Both entering and exiting Greenpath feels like you've made immense progress, maybe moreso than anywhere else in the game, and having hornet lurking around and watching you to finally end up fighting her seems so special. And I'd probably swap the hive and ancient basin, but that's more miniscule.
6:52 - I get the sense the infection spreading is less a direct result from getting the dreamers or wings, and more a show of the passage of time and the weakening of the hollow knight. Both of the triggers for infected crossroads are usually near the midpoint of a playthrough, so I imagine it's simply to make the world feel more alive and dynamic.
That's a completely fair reasoning, perhaps I was thinking too deeply of the triggers themselves, looking for meaning when perhaps there was none. You are 100% right though having the crossroads change is a really cool way of upping the stakes
It just feels kind of strange considering Monarch Wings is supposed to be a requirement to get one of the Dreamers, it would be like if Isma's Tear also infected the Crossroads. Makes it feel more like it's just there to surprise a player on a second playthrough if they try to get it earlier then usual.
I feel like kingdom's edge really amplifies The Hive for me. It's less about how the area looks or how exploration is, but it's how the colony functions with the rest of the world. There's a large water spring right above the hive, presumably how they get their water. Worker bees no longer collect nectar and are forced to fight instead, but where were they getting it in the first place? My headcanon is that kingdoms' edge was once like greenpath, bustling with life, plants, flowers, and beauty. The hive harvests and brings life to this area, pollinating and expanding their kingdom. They traded with the local nailsmith, crafting weapons, machines, and equipment. When the pale wyrm unearthed itself and sheded it's body, It killed everything. The plants died, the nailsmith starved, and the Hive was forced to lock themselves away, in the corner of the world, forever forsakening the Pale King.
This is the kind of quality editing, voiceover, and writing that I'd expect from a channel with a hundred thousand subscribers. I'm subscribing, this was fantastic and I can't wait to see what else you've got in store.
There've been very few moments when a game has made me stop dead in my tracks like Hollow Knight did the first time I reached City, I couldn't believe how the visuals, the music, the story so far, how it all was weaved into the much hyped anticipation of reaching Hallownest's fallen capital to bring such intense emotions out of my teenage self back then. Reaching City is the part I anticipate the most in a fresh playthrough because I just know I'm gonna get hit by intense melancholy every time. Great video!
This video someone describes and brings back the feelings I felt when playing Hollow Knight for the first time. It just makes me want Silksong even more, because even near the end of my Hollow Knight playthrough, I still had those feelings. 10/10 video man, the script, the editing, the pacing, the effort put into getting all the clips and footage for the background and the thought put into every detail of the video and why you put everything where it is, it is perfect.
Holy Smokes! What a solid video! I was so enraptured by this video that it only felt like a couple minutes passed when it finished! Fantastic editing and scripting. I can definitely tell you put a lot of effort into this. This definitely deserves a lot of views.
Crazy how your top 5 is literally my top 5 in a different order (if you swap out fungal for queens gardens). Also your voice, writing, and editing are all fantastic. I literally did a double take when I saw that you weren’t over 100k.
Quite possibly the best Hollow Knight related video aside from The mostly complete lore of Hollow Knight video on TH-cam! Masterfully written and beautifully presented! Keep up the good work
This was such a great video, not only do you have a thoroughly soothing voice, but this is the only one of this type of video I've ever seen where the person writing it has very well thought out and objective reasons for the rankings, despite not completely agreeing on all of these, I totally understand why you ordered them like this and that speaks volumes about the quality. Bravo!
My god i could write am essay for how good this video is. The narration, the edit, the absolutely spot on list compare to my thoughts(finally saw someone value Dirtmouth as much as i do). It has also become my asmr to sleep video
If I were to rank all the Hollow Knight ranking videos, I'd give this one top spot. Narration -amazing. Well explained points, great visuals and so much more. Simply amazing work!!!
Fantastic video, people compiling comprehensive analyses of media like this is such a perfect way to honour the genius that went into making it, and this is one of my new favourite such compilations. Fantastic writing, a voice I could listen to falling asleep, inexcessive editing which only helps the ideas being communicated rather than distracting from them, and with pacing that makes the time spent watching it fly by. This is the first video I've seen from this channel and I have to subscribe right away. Massively underrated.
Fantastic video, dude! I don’t agree with all the placements, but City of Tears being at the #1 spot would be my pick as well. I remember in my first playthrough how utterly blown away I was when I first descended down that elevator into the rain as the amazing vocals joined the softly playing piano. The entire area just screams melancholy with the enviroment, music, sound design, characters, and enemies. Definitely my favorite area in the game.
This is an outstanding video. Congratulations on the hard work, I watched it once before and now i am listening to it while doing my chores, because it is a whole vibe that helps relive the magic of HK. All the best, bud.
Damn so little views for such an amazing video. The quality on this is incredible. Loved every second of it. And it didn’t even feel anything close to 40 Minutes
Love the section for deepnest, forgoing everything normal for a deep description on just the pure feels. That feeling of unease and terror that Cherry bois perfected. Just generally love that you didn’t let the hatred the area can inspire thrust it lower into the list, as I’ve seen many do.
deepnest was an actual nightmare for me on my first time. I beat the Mantis Lords, and wandered into this cool new area i thought wouldn't be that bad. Unfortunately I didn't find Cornifer my first time going through, so... with my terrible sense of direction, I legit became lost. I didn't know about bench warping, I didn't notice the little trails of light the game guides you with. I was utterly lost, and cemented myself as such when I found that bench at the very bottom. Eventually I crawled my way out, sighed in relief as I talked to the plump little guys in the temple in Fungal Wastes...only to be pulled right back into the thick of it (still no map) when the floor caved from under me. I remained lost in Deepnest until i found the Distant Village, and you couldn't possibly fast travel out of an area as fast as I did then LOL. Amazing area.
Me: very sleep Melodic Stranger on the Internet: YEah CroSSrOAds iS eLeVenTH oN tHis LisT Me: no longer sleep Melodic Stranger on the Internet: Regains perfection Me: very sleep
i agree with city of tears being first place. On my first playthrough, when i went through that massive gate and then it suddenly closed behind me, was the first moment were i actually started paniking. Trying to find another exit while being in such a beautiful place is a feeling that cant be put in words.
I'm honestly so happy to see Deepnest so high up on your list. It's one of my favorite areas of the game, honestly. I loved how it really brought back that sense of going through a maze again while having a story and leading to Herrah. Also, queens gardens, I love it but I beg to differ on the comment you made about not being able to be angry in it, I am very good at that XD
I remember my first time entering City of Tears. I almost had enough of the annoying backtracking, cramped passageways, and slow progression of the previous areas, mainly because I was doing it for my mom who got the game for herself, so I didn't have any real investment for the game. But once I got the giant title; City of Tears, and the beautiful soundtrack kicked in, it instantly got me invested to start my own save file. My top 5 area themes are: 5. Queen's Gardens 4. Greenpath 3. Dirtmouth 2. City of Tears 1. Resting Grounds
Great vid man, as a high schooler you remind me of a teacher i have. Personally i actually consider deepnest my favorite area, because i love the creepy atmosphere, but also due to its kinda confusing nature i find it the most replayable area that remains fresh even on like the 10th playthrough. But most of all its really just the vibes, idk whats wrong with me either. I think you would absolutely love Rain World btw. Its a similar kind of game to hollow knight in its beauty, complexity, uniqueness, and compelling worldbuilding, which you seemed to really love about the game. Theres such a powerful feeling of mystery and curiosity throughout.
I loved the video and how you narrated it, it was awesome man! However, I think Greenpath should go upper in the list, maybe higher than deepnest and cristal peak.
Thank you! Interestingly, when I scored it to judge the list those 3 areas all scored the same. I did debate for a long time which order to put them in, and when I watched the video back myself I did consider if greenpath is a little low - I even said it in commentary I think...
@@HillJoseph I just think that being the most beautiful area (for me) and having hornet as a boss, as well as being the second area you unlock when playing for the first time, seems better than crystal peak, which for me isn't a top tier area. Just my opinion, maybe I'm being nostalgic🙂
4:42 i use both grub charms and deep focus cuz elegy boosts grub song so you get enough soul to heal once if you get hit twice and some extra, so infinite white palace health
You forgot to rank the Desolate Wastes! In all seriousness, this was amazingly good. The area ranking videos I've seen were either only feel or only gameplay but never both. You're rankings all had solid reasoning that looked at each area from every angel. I would only change one thing. I genuinely hate Crystal Peaks so much but it's mostly subjective reasoning. On my first playthrough, I had about 9,000 geo. I had only ever died during bossfights so I was always able to get me geo back easy. In Crystal Peaks, I stumbled upon where you get desolate dive, thinking that's where crystal heart was. I died basically at the end of all the platforming which sucked because I sucked at platforming back then. As you can guess, I died and lost all that geo. So that's why I hate Crystal Peaks but I completely understand the appeal of the area!
"I'm sure you've seen plenty of Hollow Knight ranking videos before" - Nope, I'm only researching Hollow Knight for ideas for the Shadowfell reflection of an area with a lot of sapient bug people in my D&D campaign.
5:38 the funny thing is, you don’t actually need wings for either of these Lurien: Pogo on the little background object Hornet: Use primal aspids (this one is pretty hard because I think you need to damage boost and fireball in the air or something)
There’s a lot of things you can skip like that (ex. You don’t need to swim in acid at all if you have crystal heart) but those are unintended skips/minor glitches which I don’t believe be accounted for on this list
6:52 The trigger for the spread of infection is not killing the broken vessel, but picking up the monarch wings, if I'm not mistaken. There is also an interesting detail: there is wind blowing in this location, which stops when the wings are picked up. Some people says that the infection spreading is somehow related to this. BUT. I still don't understand why stopping the wind in the ANCIENT BASIN causes the CROSSROADS infection if it's source is in the second one. So yea that's still a weird shit
5:53 i love the fountain so much it's one of the funniest things in the game i love seeing new players (me included) toss all their money in there and then hear the excitement drain out of their voice as literally nothing happens and then they eventually come back later to discover they were 53 geo off from getting the vessel fragment the fountain is so utterly stupid and i love it
I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when I started your video, mostly because I am not a particular big fan of people criticizing this game, and secondly because you never said the disclaimer phrase: this is my opinion. But, I watched it, I enjoyed it, and I agree. 😊 Your dry British humor and well written script was great, so thank you for those 40+ minutes. 😀 PS: I still think you were a little to harsh with the Hive, it's beauty and boss music makes it not terrible 😉. Cheers for Norway
@WingLo-qr8lf sure, I guess. But it's also pretty common to create negative and provocative videos for views. Thankfully, that was not the case this time. 😉
26:58 Funnily enough, I never fought the mantis lords to get into deepnest. I accidentally fell into it and then stopped playing for a while after I trapped myself into that hellscape
i have a few words (keep in mind, its an opinion, you might not agree with me! feel free to say what youd like in the reply section :D ps: im ignoring the placements i dont agree with most of them): 1)I do not agree about the hive being last place. i don't think it was meant to give high rewards, and as stated in the video you already have everything by now and are extremely overpowered. but i think it was meant to be a fun little side area, like fog canyon. what does fog canyon give you that will help you in your run? a charm notch, a grub,... yeah thats kinda it. but fog canyon is amazing nonetheless. and so is the hive. its just a fun little side area for you to explore, and in my playthrough, i dont even get overpowered right at the start. after mantis lords i go straight to deepnest to get the tram pass and into hive, just because i think its such a great area and sometimes that mask shard makes all the difference. (especialy in steel soul runs). by the way, i really like hive blood, i get why people hate it, but i think its fun, for both exploring AND bossfights, if im on low hp i just focus on dodging and bam! im back 1 more mask, and sometimes that saves me the run, as well as in exploring, i just go through a transition and im safe enough to get 1 extra heal in and im back in shape! also the music is just muah! 2) ancient basin DOES do things right, the first time i entered it i immediately felt dread, like i wasnt supposed to be here. and that feeling carried on to now. even 3 years after i finished the game and can map hallownest in my head its still very unsettling. beating broken vessel isnt the trigger to infected crosswards. it happens if you get a dreamer or wings. i get that wings doesnt make sense lore wise, but i think it was the correct choice, and the game very much needed a difficulty spike. maybe the wind that came from the wings stopped the infection from spreading? maybe its because it belonged to the pale king and that stopped the infection to spreading? who knows. also maybe the it was too hard to infect the entirety of city so it latched to the easiest thing to infect. 3) howling cliffs isnt my favorite, but its definitely the coolest area there is. the first time and still when i come across it im amazed by the sheer mystery of it. its the closest we get to go outside hallownest. who knows what lies beyond? i dont, and i really want to find out. 4) i dont really have very much to say. i agree on kinda everything, the aesthetics are absolutely AMAZING but the gameplay is kinda iffy. 5) waterways is my 3rd fave area, BUT im weird, i get you and agree on a lot of stuff. i dont really think the enemies are annoying (aside from that one fast flying fluke thing, that can go to hell) and its a really cool theme that they look like flookmarm because shes their mother. 6) i agree on everything except one. joni doesnt have anything to do with the abyss... the abyss creature does. if youre intrested in it, go look it up, i promise you wont be dissapointed, the abyss creature also appears in godhome, so it might be a higher being? i dont know, but we do know that its connected to both the lifeblood and the abyss and that lifeblood uses the drinker to pollinate itself, so maybe it got out of the abyss to drink lifeblood and came back? again, i dont know. we have very little information about it. also the lighthouse raising questions is the point. its the point to hollow knight in its whole. if you knew everything, it wouldnt be fun to make up theories would it? 7) i agree on absolutly everything. 8) same here! 9) i think the ancient basin gives a great contrast to the white palace. aside from that, everything you said checks out with me! 10) choo choo! looks like we got an agreement train! 11) and looks like were not getting off here! 12) beautifully said 13) i really liked how you described it. 14) yes. 15)yes, definitely, absolutely! 16) it really is 2nd place. just incredible! 17) i love this so much. what a great video. the words, the editing and the passion behind it. i enjoyed writing this so much. and thank you for making this video. just earned a new sub. :)
31:00 I love being in Deepnest because it makes me uncomfortable, because it perfectly captures the feeling that it's trying to give, for me it's the only real contender against COT for first place
I still remember when I silenced Marissa's song. I felt like I had snubbed out the dying ember of a brilliant light that had long since perished. In the silence of that room. I felt cold.
I share your feelings on the Abyss. It is my favorite area in terms of story, ambiance and aesthetic. And the fact that there are no bosses and you don't find any living creatures within it (and I mean real NPCs, the creature in the background of the Lifeblood cave doesn't count) intensifies its creepy atmosphere. There's NO-ONE there, and that's why it both scares and intrigues. But it's just too small!! There should've been more rooms, more interesting stuff in the background, at least a few more details giving hints of the void's nature and what the ancient civilization used to be like. But it only has like 4 or 5 rooms separated by narrow pathways, and that's it. When I saw that The Abyss expantion wasn't reached it made me die a little inside... And you can tell there were plans to make more rooms, seeing how there are HUGE gaps of nothing in the map separating the Abyss from the Ancient Basin and the rest of the areas.
Your voice, presentation and delivery make for such an atmospheric video. Even if I don't always agree with every placement, your reasoning makes for a great watch! For me personally, Greenpath is definitely in the top 3. It was this area which revealed to me the game's true scale, atmosphere, challenge, worldbuilding, caracter design and progression. An unforgettable experience.
I just adore this analysis! Thank you for blessing me with this video and... well, your charming, calming voice. It was like a breath of fresh air. Fluid editing and slow pacing, but not too slow. Just right. Great video! keep it up man. P.s the subtitles are great
What an incredibly well put together video, you got yourself a sub and can’t wait to see what you choose to discuss next, hope this video picks up more traction!
It's interesting, I'm only 3 areas in and it's already starting to become clear what your priorities are. Exploration potential and upgrades/items over the aesthetic or look of a place. Curious to see if this theme keeps going. I'm also gathering that you're a pretty skilled player, calling the Hive Knight fight dull (I found it quite challenging the first time) and Hiveblood pointless even in White palace. I agree it makes it take much longer and that is also the reason I never use it there, but the taking longer is not a relevant con if the alternative is to not get through the place at all because you die first. I dislike Hiveblood but I can see why people use it in WP. Wow, this is getting really emotional towards the end. I can't disagree on what you said about City of tears. It really is such a beautiful area. Other than that though I may disagree with you on pretty much everything. I love that as a reminder that there's so many different ways this game can appeal to someone and every area has its fans. I personally love Ancient Basin because of the emotions, the sense of forgotten history it instills, the unsettling quiet, the palace grounds and all the attached lore, and not least Broken Vessel/Lost kin being among my favorite boss fights in terms of emotion. I think they do a really good job of building up to/preparing for the HK fight so it hits that much harder. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I feel kingdoms edge definitely feels like the catch-all location for stuff that didnt fit elsewhere that it was when developing the game. It has so much stuff in it, but the area itself still feels empty, like those things in it are more so side areas than the actual kingdoms edge. I mean, colloseum of fools and the hive could go basically anywhere with no changes on the interior. I honestly remember it as being an empty wasteland when i dont think about it, probably because the empty wasteland part is where you're likely to enter it from.
Difficult to argue with this. I’m constantly torn with Kingdom’s Edge, I either love the atmosphere of the place, or wish there was more to it, and it changes with every replay
Amazing video. Man, your voice and diction is something else really. Catched some "The Stanley Parable" vibes, in a good way of course! Can't wait for a new video!❤
Can I just say
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!
The reception to this video has been overwhelming! Such kind words and appreciation for what we tried to achieve!
Not only that, but a special thank you to those that appreciated the video without needing to agree to everything I said, reading people opinions and preferences for the different areas has been super super fun and interesting.
I tried to keep my criticisms as fair and subjective as possible, but of course peoples opinions will differ, but I really fell like it has been a great example of us all sharing the things we love about this truly special game
I really liked all the stuff you put and the places, expecially deepnest, who you put very high on the list. I just think two placements are plain wrong: i think Crystal peak should have been in the place of white palace and vice-versa. It's true that the place is suggestive, but the mere hours and repetivity that it takes you (and sometimes prevents) you to even begin to appreiciate the overall place. Instead, white palace, gives a very straightforward path, and absolutely enjoyable and astonishing music and location, abive the clouds, where its just you against your willpower.
I think that the other placements are very correct though, and i still loved the video! Thanks for this very good tier list, and please take good thought on what i said. 😊
Ps: its Hallownest, not hollownest XD
Well deserved!
Very small thing but it's Hallownest not Hollownest, Hallowed meaning holy
Other than that tiny mistake though the video is great
@@Irish_Enderman yeah right, what an amateur
I have never thought about the dream variant of broken vessel, and why its lost kin isn't different. It makes so much sense for the other bosses, dreaming of more power or being the champion, but maybe since the vessel was completely taken over by the radiance, it's former dream had been lost. Instead, it has been replaced with the radiance's dream of wanting to spread it's infection more, as seen by the increased infected thingy spawn and more infection glob attacks. Just an idea, I have only dwelled on this for 2 minutes haha
I really really like this interpretation!
I like it but the vessel was intended to have no thoughts or desires. To be void. Maybe the crack allowed the radiance to seep in and create a physical manifestation for its desires. Still the dream of increasing the spread of the infection, just works a little better with the intent of the vessels.
Because of the achievement peace, its more likely it was simply haunted by infection, which us why it dreamed about it.
@@clintk4691 Well alot of them failed didnt they, its why only 1 was chosen out of millions, if they all were empty they wouldnt have sacrificed so many
Forgotten Crossroads: This is pretty fun.
Greenpath: I think I'm in love.
City of Tears: I would lobotomize myself just to feel this for the first time again.
You ought to start doing professional audiobook narration with a voice like that mate. Breathtaking video too! Instant subscribe.
That super nice of you to say, I am working towards VO work, so it really does mean a lot
Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the vid too! We are very proud of it
I think there’s something so special about when the city of tears name comes up for the first time. It doesn’t come up immediately as you enter, rather it waits until you’re out of the building and out in the rain. I believe they did this because you truly feel like you are in the city when you’re out looking at the faded lands original capital, how everything came to pass, and what remains. The name is given to you when you truly are within the city. Gets me everytime.
"One may wonder why kingdom's edge is so high up this list" me, expecting it to be the number 1 spot: 😮😢
One may… others may not 😅
It’s my favorite area in the entire game
This is so well-written and voiced that, even if I don't agree on every placement, I can only nod my head in acknowledgement of your reasoning. Also your section on City was beautiful, heartfelt, and entertaining all at once. A wonderful tribute to what I agree is the best area.
Thank you very much :)
The writing of this is just so unnecessarily brilliant. You would never expect to find such a clever line such as “flora and fauna, the lines of which considerably blurred” in a video about an indie game but here we are. Amazing video.
I think the city of tears is the part of the game that once I entered, truly made me love hollow knight, and it absolutely deserves first place
I just looked at the subscriber count... EXCUSE ME??? THIS MAN MANAGED TO MAKE ME CRY DURING AN AREA RANKING OF ALL THINGS AND HE HAS LESS THAN 2000 SUBS??? Keep doing what you're doing man, seriously. Your writing, your narration, your charm, it's all amazing. You'll be one of the big ones mate, trust me
Fire list except putting green path below deepnest is criminal
Honestly, You might not be wrong, they tied in my scoring system and I debated for a good while which one went above the other...
Im just gonna say one thing: i for real cried. hollow knight is such a beautiful game, god, thank you for making an equally beautiful video that really shows how amazing it is. and i will add that your voice is amazing and kept me paying attention all the way through (which is impressive with my adhd). i will come back here whenever i need to relax for sure.
Oh, there's an actual reason why beating broken vessels makes crossroads infected! It's us taking away monarchs wings that were stopping the winds! Without those infection managed to get farther. It's so cool!
I hope so
This is a very well written video, and enjoyable to both listen to and watch, I personally agree with a lot of your list but I would actually flip the placement of greenpath and queens gardens, I think queens gardens fits at #6, especially due to how short of a time is typically spent in the area, and Greenpath is personally my #2 area. In my opinion, greenpath is the point that really makes you want to continue the game. Both entering and exiting Greenpath feels like you've made immense progress, maybe moreso than anywhere else in the game, and having hornet lurking around and watching you to finally end up fighting her seems so special. And I'd probably swap the hive and ancient basin, but that's more miniscule.
6:52 - I get the sense the infection spreading is less a direct result from getting the dreamers or wings, and more a show of the passage of time and the weakening of the hollow knight. Both of the triggers for infected crossroads are usually near the midpoint of a playthrough, so I imagine it's simply to make the world feel more alive and dynamic.
That's a completely fair reasoning, perhaps I was thinking too deeply of the triggers themselves, looking for meaning when perhaps there was none.
You are 100% right though having the crossroads change is a really cool way of upping the stakes
It just feels kind of strange considering Monarch Wings is supposed to be a requirement to get one of the Dreamers, it would be like if Isma's Tear also infected the Crossroads. Makes it feel more like it's just there to surprise a player on a second playthrough if they try to get it earlier then usual.
I really think a hollow knight boss ranking in this style would do really well
I feel like kingdom's edge really amplifies The Hive for me. It's less about how the area looks or how exploration is, but it's how the colony functions with the rest of the world. There's a large water spring right above the hive, presumably how they get their water. Worker bees no longer collect nectar and are forced to fight instead, but where were they getting it in the first place?
My headcanon is that kingdoms' edge was once like greenpath, bustling with life, plants, flowers, and beauty. The hive harvests and brings life to this area, pollinating and expanding their kingdom. They traded with the local nailsmith, crafting weapons, machines, and equipment.
When the pale wyrm unearthed itself and sheded it's body, It killed everything. The plants died, the nailsmith starved, and the Hive was forced to lock themselves away, in the corner of the world, forever forsakening the Pale King.
This is the kind of quality editing, voiceover, and writing that I'd expect from a channel with a hundred thousand subscribers. I'm subscribing, this was fantastic and I can't wait to see what else you've got in store.
Incredible video guys! Ooozing with passion for the game and such an enjoyable watch!
It tested very well with the preview screenings 😉
There've been very few moments when a game has made me stop dead in my tracks like Hollow Knight did the first time I reached City, I couldn't believe how the visuals, the music, the story so far, how it all was weaved into the much hyped anticipation of reaching Hallownest's fallen capital to bring such intense emotions out of my teenage self back then. Reaching City is the part I anticipate the most in a fresh playthrough because I just know I'm gonna get hit by intense melancholy every time.
Great video!
Such a beautiful video!
Thank you 😊
This video someone describes and brings back the feelings I felt when playing Hollow Knight for the first time. It just makes me want Silksong even more, because even near the end of my Hollow Knight playthrough, I still had those feelings.
10/10 video man, the script, the editing, the pacing, the effort put into getting all the clips and footage for the background and the thought put into every detail of the video and why you put everything where it is, it is perfect.
this might be the best video I have seen this year. Love this!
Thank you so much!
Dude what I swear this video feels like it should have like 800k views this is so well made
Omg conifer from the Hallownest vocalized
Holy Smokes! What a solid video! I was so enraptured by this video that it only felt like a couple minutes passed when it finished! Fantastic editing and scripting. I can definitely tell you put a lot of effort into this. This definitely deserves a lot of views.
Thank you!
We did indeed, thank you for the kind words, really glad you enjoyed!
Crazy how your top 5 is literally my top 5 in a different order (if you swap out fungal for queens gardens). Also your voice, writing, and editing are all fantastic. I literally did a double take when I saw that you weren’t over 100k.
Incredibly underrated, amazing video!
AMAZING VIDEO!
Trully, super underrated channel.
Continue going like this my guy and you will go far!
Thank you so much! We worked very hard ☺️
Quite possibly the best Hollow Knight related video aside from The mostly complete lore of Hollow Knight video on TH-cam!
Masterfully written and beautifully presented! Keep up the good work
I've never seen your content before and I wanted to say this video if fantastic. The music, pace, and your voice are incredible.
this and mossbags lore video are the best hollow knight videos ever
This was such a great video, not only do you have a thoroughly soothing voice, but this is the only one of this type of video I've ever seen where the person writing it has very well thought out and objective reasons for the rankings, despite not completely agreeing on all of these, I totally understand why you ordered them like this and that speaks volumes about the quality. Bravo!
My god i could write am essay for how good this video is. The narration, the edit, the absolutely spot on list compare to my thoughts(finally saw someone value Dirtmouth as much as i do). It has also become my asmr to sleep video
Now we wait until 2036 to see the silksong ranking
If I were to rank all the Hollow Knight ranking videos, I'd give this one top spot. Narration -amazing. Well explained points, great visuals and so much more. Simply amazing work!!!
28:35 - Ranking every Hollow Knight Bench coming when?
Fantastic video, people compiling comprehensive analyses of media like this is such a perfect way to honour the genius that went into making it, and this is one of my new favourite such compilations. Fantastic writing, a voice I could listen to falling asleep, inexcessive editing which only helps the ideas being communicated rather than distracting from them, and with pacing that makes the time spent watching it fly by. This is the first video I've seen from this channel and I have to subscribe right away. Massively underrated.
I have never felt like this man. You made feel something unreal.
i didn't think this game would still be relevant, makes me want to play it again
This video is underrated so much. It's as good as the game itself!
22K veiws for the best articulated ranking i've ever had the pleasure of seeing? Blasphemous.
This video was amazing!! How does it only have 15k views
Instant subscribe from the first 5 mins. This is my favorite game and your voice and passion makes me feel so happy yet also calm. Cheers friend ❤️
Fantastic video, dude! I don’t agree with all the placements, but City of Tears being at the #1 spot would be my pick as well. I remember in my first playthrough how utterly blown away I was when I first descended down that elevator into the rain as the amazing vocals joined the softly playing piano. The entire area just screams melancholy with the enviroment, music, sound design, characters, and enemies. Definitely my favorite area in the game.
How does this video only have 6k views? The voice, the editing, the Thumbnail its all gud. Instant sub.
This is an outstanding video. Congratulations on the hard work, I watched it once before and now i am listening to it while doing my chores, because it is a whole vibe that helps relive the magic of HK.
All the best, bud.
Damn so little views for such an amazing video. The quality on this is incredible. Loved every second of it. And it didn’t even feel anything close to 40 Minutes
this video is a work of art
this video was one of the most enjoyable videos ive watched in the last few weeks, keep going man these vids are awesome
Fine... I'll play Hollow Knight again
Love the section for deepnest, forgoing everything normal for a deep description on just the pure feels. That feeling of unease and terror that Cherry bois perfected.
Just generally love that you didn’t let the hatred the area can inspire thrust it lower into the list, as I’ve seen many do.
this video nearly made me cry i love this game so much
My man, that voice of yours is mesmerizing.
The writing and conviction in the voice delivery had me agreeing with opinions I normally wouldn’t 🫡
deepnest was an actual nightmare for me on my first time. I beat the Mantis Lords, and wandered into this cool new area i thought wouldn't be that bad. Unfortunately I didn't find Cornifer my first time going through, so...
with my terrible sense of direction, I legit became lost. I didn't know about bench warping, I didn't notice the little trails of light the game guides you with. I was utterly lost, and cemented myself as such when I found that bench at the very bottom. Eventually I crawled my way out, sighed in relief as I talked to the plump little guys in the temple in Fungal Wastes...only to be pulled right back into the thick of it (still no map) when the floor caved from under me. I remained lost in Deepnest until i found the Distant Village, and you couldn't possibly fast travel out of an area as fast as I did then LOL. Amazing area.
I love your voice. Please keep making cinematic masterpieces like this
25:35 love the little bow that you give to the mantis, great video!
This video looks so good and your takes on everything were so well said!!
Finally! A Hollow Knight area ranking video that i can agree with!
Amazing job with this video btw. Love the voice!
Your voice is so calming and professional perfect for sleeping.
Me: very sleep
Melodic Stranger on the Internet: YEah CroSSrOAds iS eLeVenTH oN tHis LisT
Me: no longer sleep
Melodic Stranger on the Internet: Regains perfection
Me: very sleep
@@Firebee033 then he saves me from a nightmare when he screams
I loved how the deeper into the video we went, the more relaxing and storyteller-esque your voice became. This was an amazing video!
i agree with city of tears being first place. On my first playthrough, when i went through that massive gate and then it suddenly closed behind me, was the first moment were i actually started paniking. Trying to find another exit while being in such a beautiful place is a feeling that cant be put in words.
I'm honestly so happy to see Deepnest so high up on your list. It's one of my favorite areas of the game, honestly. I loved how it really brought back that sense of going through a maze again while having a story and leading to Herrah.
Also, queens gardens, I love it but I beg to differ on the comment you made about not being able to be angry in it, I am very good at that XD
I remember my first time entering City of Tears. I almost had enough of the annoying backtracking, cramped passageways, and slow progression of the previous areas, mainly because I was doing it for my mom who got the game for herself, so I didn't have any real investment for the game.
But once I got the giant title; City of Tears, and the beautiful soundtrack kicked in, it instantly got me invested to start my own save file.
My top 5 area themes are:
5. Queen's Gardens
4. Greenpath
3. Dirtmouth
2. City of Tears
1. Resting Grounds
Great video, Hill. Queen's Gardens has been my favorite area for a long time, but I dunno... you might have talked me into City
Great vid man, as a high schooler you remind me of a teacher i have. Personally i actually consider deepnest my favorite area, because i love the creepy atmosphere, but also due to its kinda confusing nature i find it the most replayable area that remains fresh even on like the 10th playthrough. But most of all its really just the vibes, idk whats wrong with me either.
I think you would absolutely love Rain World btw. Its a similar kind of game to hollow knight in its beauty, complexity, uniqueness, and compelling worldbuilding, which you seemed to really love about the game. Theres such a powerful feeling of mystery and curiosity throughout.
stellar video.
Aweosme video, you phenomenal editing- super underrated
Voice reminded me of a younger David Attenborough
I wish!
Thank you for the compliment though haha
I loved the video and how you narrated it, it was awesome man! However, I think Greenpath should go upper in the list, maybe higher than deepnest and cristal peak.
Thank you!
Interestingly, when I scored it to judge the list those 3 areas all scored the same. I did debate for a long time which order to put them in, and when I watched the video back myself I did consider if greenpath is a little low - I even said it in commentary I think...
@@HillJoseph I just think that being the most beautiful area (for me) and having hornet as a boss, as well as being the second area you unlock when playing for the first time, seems better than crystal peak, which for me isn't a top tier area. Just my opinion, maybe I'm being nostalgic🙂
4:42 i use both grub charms and deep focus cuz elegy boosts grub song so you get enough soul to heal once if you get hit twice and some extra, so infinite white palace health
Yes!!!
You forgot to rank the Desolate Wastes!
In all seriousness, this was amazingly good. The area ranking videos I've seen were either only feel or only gameplay but never both. You're rankings all had solid reasoning that looked at each area from every angel. I would only change one thing. I genuinely hate Crystal Peaks so much but it's mostly subjective reasoning.
On my first playthrough, I had about 9,000 geo. I had only ever died during bossfights so I was always able to get me geo back easy. In Crystal Peaks, I stumbled upon where you get desolate dive, thinking that's where crystal heart was. I died basically at the end of all the platforming which sucked because I sucked at platforming back then. As you can guess, I died and lost all that geo. So that's why I hate Crystal Peaks but I completely understand the appeal of the area!
"I'm sure you've seen plenty of Hollow Knight ranking videos before" - Nope, I'm only researching Hollow Knight for ideas for the Shadowfell reflection of an area with a lot of sapient bug people in my D&D campaign.
Incredible video! I would love to see you make more hollow knight vidoes please :)
5:38 the funny thing is, you don’t actually need wings for either of these
Lurien: Pogo on the little background object
Hornet: Use primal aspids (this one is pretty hard because I think you need to damage boost and fireball in the air or something)
There’s a lot of things you can skip like that (ex. You don’t need to swim in acid at all if you have crystal heart) but those are unintended skips/minor glitches which I don’t believe be accounted for on this list
6:52
The trigger for the spread of infection is not killing the broken vessel, but picking up the monarch wings, if I'm not mistaken. There is also an interesting detail: there is wind blowing in this location, which stops when the wings are picked up. Some people says that the infection spreading is somehow related to this. BUT. I still don't understand why stopping the wind in the ANCIENT BASIN causes the CROSSROADS infection if it's source is in the second one. So yea that's still a weird shit
5:53 i love the fountain so much it's one of the funniest things in the game i love seeing new players (me included) toss all their money in there and then hear the excitement drain out of their voice as literally nothing happens and then they eventually come back later to discover they were 53 geo off from getting the vessel fragment the fountain is so utterly stupid and i love it
I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when I started your video, mostly because I am not a particular big fan of people criticizing this game, and secondly because you never said the disclaimer phrase: this is my opinion. But, I watched it, I enjoyed it, and I agree. 😊 Your dry British humor and well written script was great, so thank you for those 40+ minutes. 😀
PS: I still think you were a little to harsh with the Hive, it's beauty and boss music makes it not terrible 😉.
Cheers for Norway
You were skeptical because this video would have some criticism , which is bound to happen for any game ?
@WingLo-qr8lf sure, I guess. But it's also pretty common to create negative and provocative videos for views. Thankfully, that was not the case this time. 😉
@@Glundberg84 Oh , i see , thanks for the explanation!
More effort into one video than entire channels...
26:58 Funnily enough, I never fought the mantis lords to get into deepnest. I accidentally fell into it and then stopped playing for a while after I trapped myself into that hellscape
Me too lmao, sucked
i have a few words (keep in mind, its an opinion, you might not agree with me! feel free to say what youd like in the reply section :D ps: im ignoring the placements i dont agree with most of them):
1)I do not agree about the hive being last place. i don't think it was meant to give high rewards, and as stated in the video you already have everything by now and are extremely overpowered. but i think it was meant to be a fun little side area, like fog canyon. what does fog canyon give you that will help you in your run? a charm notch, a grub,... yeah thats kinda it. but fog canyon is amazing nonetheless. and so is the hive. its just a fun little side area for you to explore, and in my playthrough, i dont even get overpowered right at the start. after mantis lords i go straight to deepnest to get the tram pass and into hive, just because i think its such a great area and sometimes that mask shard makes all the difference. (especialy in steel soul runs). by the way, i really like hive blood, i get why people hate it, but i think its fun, for both exploring AND bossfights, if im on low hp i just focus on dodging and bam! im back 1 more mask, and sometimes that saves me the run, as well as in exploring, i just go through a transition and im safe enough to get 1 extra heal in and im back in shape! also the music is just muah!
2) ancient basin DOES do things right, the first time i entered it i immediately felt dread, like i wasnt supposed to be here. and that feeling carried on to now. even 3 years after i finished the game and can map hallownest in my head its still very unsettling. beating broken vessel isnt the trigger to infected crosswards. it happens if you get a dreamer or wings. i get that wings doesnt make sense lore wise, but i think it was the correct choice, and the game very much needed a difficulty spike. maybe the wind that came from the wings stopped the infection from spreading? maybe its because it belonged to the pale king and that stopped the infection to spreading? who knows. also maybe the it was too hard to infect the entirety of city so it latched to the easiest thing to infect.
3) howling cliffs isnt my favorite, but its definitely the coolest area there is. the first time and still when i come across it im amazed by the sheer mystery of it. its the closest we get to go outside hallownest. who knows what lies beyond? i dont, and i really want to find out.
4) i dont really have very much to say. i agree on kinda everything, the aesthetics are absolutely AMAZING but the gameplay is kinda iffy.
5) waterways is my 3rd fave area, BUT im weird, i get you and agree on a lot of stuff. i dont really think the enemies are annoying (aside from that one fast flying fluke thing, that can go to hell) and its a really cool theme that they look like flookmarm because shes their mother.
6) i agree on everything except one. joni doesnt have anything to do with the abyss... the abyss creature does. if youre intrested in it, go look it up, i promise you wont be dissapointed, the abyss creature also appears in godhome, so it might be a higher being? i dont know, but we do know that its connected to both the lifeblood and the abyss and that lifeblood uses the drinker to pollinate itself, so maybe it got out of the abyss to drink lifeblood and came back? again, i dont know. we have very little information about it. also the lighthouse raising questions is the point. its the point to hollow knight in its whole. if you knew everything, it wouldnt be fun to make up theories would it?
7) i agree on absolutly everything.
8) same here!
9) i think the ancient basin gives a great contrast to the white palace. aside from that, everything you said checks out with me!
10) choo choo! looks like we got an agreement train!
11) and looks like were not getting off here!
12) beautifully said
13) i really liked how you described it.
14) yes.
15)yes, definitely, absolutely!
16) it really is 2nd place. just incredible!
17) i love this so much.
what a great video. the words, the editing and the passion behind it. i enjoyed writing this so much. and thank you for making this video. just earned a new sub. :)
The Mantis Lords/Sisters of Mercy fights are my favorite part of the entire game next to simply existing in City of Tears :,)
31:00 I love being in Deepnest because it makes me uncomfortable, because it perfectly captures the feeling that it's trying to give, for me it's the only real contender against COT for first place
I still remember when I silenced Marissa's song. I felt like I had snubbed out the dying ember of a brilliant light that had long since perished. In the silence of that room. I felt cold.
I actually love being in deepnest, one of my favorite places!
What a video man, I got hypnotized! (instant subscribe btw)
I share your feelings on the Abyss. It is my favorite area in terms of story, ambiance and aesthetic. And the fact that there are no bosses and you don't find any living creatures within it (and I mean real NPCs, the creature in the background of the Lifeblood cave doesn't count) intensifies its creepy atmosphere. There's NO-ONE there, and that's why it both scares and intrigues. But it's just too small!! There should've been more rooms, more interesting stuff in the background, at least a few more details giving hints of the void's nature and what the ancient civilization used to be like. But it only has like 4 or 5 rooms separated by narrow pathways, and that's it. When I saw that The Abyss expantion wasn't reached it made me die a little inside... And you can tell there were plans to make more rooms, seeing how there are HUGE gaps of nothing in the map separating the Abyss from the Ancient Basin and the rest of the areas.
I have never heard the experience of hollowknight so beautifully described using the english language
Beautiful video
Your voice, presentation and delivery make for such an atmospheric video. Even if I don't always agree with every placement, your reasoning makes for a great watch! For me personally, Greenpath is definitely in the top 3. It was this area which revealed to me the game's true scale, atmosphere, challenge, worldbuilding, caracter design and progression. An unforgettable experience.
Just found your channel, best TH-cam recommendation i had this year! god bless, keep with the great work man, you just gained a new subscriber.
I just adore this analysis! Thank you for blessing me with this video and... well, your charming, calming voice. It was like a breath of fresh air. Fluid editing and slow pacing, but not too slow. Just right. Great video! keep it up man.
P.s the subtitles are great
What an incredibly well put together video, you got yourself a sub and can’t wait to see what you choose to discuss next, hope this video picks up more traction!
It's interesting, I'm only 3 areas in and it's already starting to become clear what your priorities are. Exploration potential and upgrades/items over the aesthetic or look of a place. Curious to see if this theme keeps going.
I'm also gathering that you're a pretty skilled player, calling the Hive Knight fight dull (I found it quite challenging the first time) and Hiveblood pointless even in White palace. I agree it makes it take much longer and that is also the reason I never use it there, but the taking longer is not a relevant con if the alternative is to not get through the place at all because you die first. I dislike Hiveblood but I can see why people use it in WP.
Wow, this is getting really emotional towards the end. I can't disagree on what you said about City of tears. It really is such a beautiful area.
Other than that though I may disagree with you on pretty much everything. I love that as a reminder that there's so many different ways this game can appeal to someone and every area has its fans. I personally love Ancient Basin because of the emotions, the sense of forgotten history it instills, the unsettling quiet, the palace grounds and all the attached lore, and not least Broken Vessel/Lost kin being among my favorite boss fights in terms of emotion. I think they do a really good job of building up to/preparing for the HK fight so it hits that much harder.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
36:53 for one second, i felt i was watching YT Shorts from Nigel and Marmalade
I feel kingdoms edge definitely feels like the catch-all location for stuff that didnt fit elsewhere that it was when developing the game. It has so much stuff in it, but the area itself still feels empty, like those things in it are more so side areas than the actual kingdoms edge. I mean, colloseum of fools and the hive could go basically anywhere with no changes on the interior. I honestly remember it as being an empty wasteland when i dont think about it, probably because the empty wasteland part is where you're likely to enter it from.
Difficult to argue with this. I’m constantly torn with Kingdom’s Edge, I either love the atmosphere of the place, or wish there was more to it, and it changes with every replay
mom wake up my new favourite video just dropped !
Today I learned the switch after Dung Defender changes the water level in Royal Waterways
Amazing video. Man, your voice and diction is something else really. Catched some "The Stanley Parable" vibes, in a good way of course! Can't wait for a new video!❤