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.

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.

Hollow knight map full