Hollow Knight - PS4

Hollow Knight will take you deep down a very long, very dark rabbit hole into an eerily beautiful metroidvania adventure. In its vast caverns you'll find a world of insects, heroes and ever-present danger.

Starting out can be a little daunting - this is a tough game that certainly doesn't hold your hand through its first chilling hours. As with most metroidvania titles (hasn't anyone come up with a better name for the genre yet?), curiosity will be rewarded as you explore this faded underground world. The core mechanics involve precision platforming (the movement feels weighty but fast) and melee and ranged combat (both are very precise), but if you want to get anywhere you'll need to range around your environment to find the abilities and upgrades you need to overcome obstacles.

This is a game that allows you to explore more freely than some of its peers, however, so don't expect destinations to be signposted. There are vast swathes of territory and content here and venturing into their depths is not for the faint of heart. It's the huge, unruly environment with its hauntingly beautiful painted art style that's arguably the star of the show, however, so leaping around it won't feel like a chore.

Do you have what it takes to conquer the caverns of Hallownest? more