Do you think I'd like this game if I didn't like Hollow Knight?

[woodrust]

I've been seeing people talk about this game and it does spark my interest, but I'm hesitant about actually buying it since the only other metroidvania I've played is Hollow Knight, which I did not like... in particular, I wasn't a fan of the controls (esp when jumping), and found the gameplay to be very slow as well. I also had issues with not really knowing what to do and just wandering around aimlessly through the same areas over and over again because even looking at the map didn't really help me. I've tried again and again to come back to Hollow Knight and something about it is just so frustrating to me. I'm willing to give metroidvanias another shot, and this one is the most compelling I've seen, but I'm worried that this game might have the same problems that I had with Hollow Knight. What do you guys think? Are they similar in these aspects, or different enough that it would be worth trying?

[Noblemartel]

If your issue with Hollow Knight was lack of direction then you might like this one more. In regards to the controls I'm unsure exactly what about Hollow Knights controls you disliked so I can't really say that Nine Sols will be better in that regard. However I will say that this is much more of a story focused game than Hollow Knight as well so if you don't like reading dialogue you probably won't get a lot out of Nine Sols.

[woodrust]

Originally posted by Noblemartel:

If your issue with Hollow Knight was lack of direction then you might like this one more. In regards to the controls I'm unsure exactly what about Hollow Knights controls you disliked so I can't really say that Nine Sols will be better in that regard. However I will say that this is much more of a story focused game than Hollow Knight as well so if you don't like reading dialogue you probably won't get a lot out of Nine Sols.

In Hollow Knight my main issue was with jumping, which I'm not sure is due to the game itself or just because I was playing on my switch, but I found that trying to aim for the smaller platforms was incredibly difficult for me since the jumping physics are different from what I'm used to. But Nine Sols having more of a story is very appealing to me, since I love exploring narratives. Thank you for the reply!

[Morthgarrow]

Originally posted by woodrust:

In Hollow Knight my main issue was with jumping, which I'm not sure is due to the game itself or just because I was playing on my switch, but I found that trying to aim for the smaller platforms was incredibly difficult for me since the jumping physics are different from what I'm used to. But Nine Sols having more of a story is very appealing to me, since I love exploring narratives. Thank you for the reply!

As someone who also had experience with Hollow Knight first as my only other Metroidvania, I personally enjoyed Nine Sols more, and it does sound like Nine Sols will be a better fit for you; I found the jumping/platforming less tricky to do in Nine Sols, and while there are some platforming challenges later on, the platforming difficulty scales more gradually and isn't that tough in the first half of the game (compared to Hollow Knight), while still being satisfying to do and explore with.

I can also vouch that Nine Sols narrative and character conversations were quite enjoyable, and the more linear focus in exploration helped progress the story smoothly.
If you do pick it up, I hope you enjoy!

[woodrust]

Originally posted by Morthgarrow:

If you do pick it up, I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for your input! Your clarification on the controls has really swayed me towards wanting it. I'm thinking about getting it the next time it goes on sale :)

[leo_gear]

I've no experience with Hollow Knight (I'll probably get around to it eventually) but I do talk with others that enjoy various metroidvanias and just watching some of the gameplay, I'd say there is more of a focus on platforming in Hollow Knight (it didn't seem that difficult watching but it might be another story when I play it myself) and Nine Sols is more focused on combat. There's still platforming in Nine Sols but it's spread out more and some areas won't have platforming challenges at all.

If you haven't tried any other metroidvanias, there's quite a few cool ones. My personal fav would be FIST: Forged in Shadow Torch. That's another that's focused on combat but with a few platforming challenges here and there. Another: Doomblade which has a different movement system although it's best played with mouse and keyboard.

[Octarine]

I hate Hollow Knight, but absolutely love this game.