![]() ![]() ![]() Early on in your Hollow Knight map reading career, you are given a crest (these are specific perks or powers that you can equip) that means that you can see your location on the map. However, once you find the cartographer in each area, he will give you a partial map but the majority of it is blank, ready for you to explore and complete. This doesn’t stop you exploring but you can’t help but feel lost and a sense of trepidation as move through this uncharted zone. Upon entering a new area, you have no map and if you try to open the map screen it will be blank. ![]() All of this is tied together through an ever expanding map. Each area in Hollow Knight is distinct not only in theme but monsters and challenges. So what makes this 2D map so magical? Firstly, Hollow Knight is a game all about exploring the depths a place call the Hollownest. At this point, you probably already know that I’m going to say something along the lines of, map reading in Hollow Knight is beautiful, and you would be correct in that assumption. Hollow Knight manages an incredible amount, especially when you consider that most maps allow for three-dimensional navigation. A 2D platformer that succeeds in being one of the most engaging map reading experiences in video games. You go on it see where the next ‘thing’ is and follow it from place to place with, for the most part, a clear idea of what to expect.Īnd then you have Hollow Knight. ![]() Instead, it’s a waypoint finder, that takes a lot of the mystery and adventure out of the experience. However, even in those examples the level of detail and player tracking mean that there is no joy in using the map. In other instances, you can give a map a pass if the game world is mildly modern/futuristic. I don’t like to use the words ludo-narrative dissonance, but I will. Generally, the approach is to be a hyper-detailed Google Maps version of reality regardless of whether you are exploring a mountain in Monster Hunter World, where the most high tech bit of kit you have is a staff that shoots a beetle, but you still see yourself and others running across a scroll, tracking monster movement and every rock and fauna around. In it we discuss that maps and map reading are something video games struggle with. It can also be first accessed by taking the Tram to Kingdom's Edge and then using Crystal Heart in a passage northwest of the Hive to end up near Isma's Grove.We have a podcast episode dedicated to video game maps, so if you love them as much as we do head over here for a listen, or check out my new post on maps in God of War. The hatch can be opened using a Simple Key. The main way to access the Royal Waterways is through a hatch located in the room next to Fountain Square. With the kingdom's ruin, Flukes established a colony in the depths of the waterways and populated the area along with other creatures. All trash carried by the water eventually ends up in the Junk Pit. However, the incessant rain in the city above has washed the pipes clean. The waterways' pipes were built to carry away the capital's waste. In the centre of this side is a shortcut to the City of Tears. On the eastern side, Isma's Grove is located, where Isma's Tear can be obtained. Furthermore, the bosses Dung Defender, White Defender, and Flukemarm can be found on this side too. This side also contains the Junk Pit, where the Godseeker is located. On the western side, the NPCs Tuk and Fluke Hermit can be found. The east part shares many traits with the west but also features acid pools and plant overgrowth. The area is divided into two sections by a broken lift shaft. Several rooms in the waterways are littered with piles of trash. Many areas in the Waterways are flooded by the water constantly dripping from above, originating from the rain in the City of Tears (and ultimately from the Blue Lake). ![]()
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