Calling this game a 2d Dark Souls, or more affectionately Bug Souls, is not far from the truth.

Hollow Knight does just about everything right:

Great zone design, beautifully composed soundtracks, tricky bossfights and memorable characters are the core of this game.

Some npcs are outright entertaining in behaviour or the silly things they say, there's no shortage of such characters.
The story dialogue is fairly minimal and characters usually talk about their immediate surroundings.
This is then, where the zone design shines as it does a great job at conveying the story.
There's a lot to explore in every zone and unique enemies make traversing older zones more interesting.
Hallownest seems like a very dark and depressing place but the developers did a great job adding moments that will bring a smile to your face.

On enemy design, it's just so great not to see the same 3 enemies over and over.
That includes both appearance and actions as well as death animations.
Bosses are hard but have mostly clear patterns.
Beating them is tremendously satisfying.

The player character handles a bit clunky in the first few minutes but you get used to the controls pretty fast.
Once you collect several story items, your mobility rises through the roof and traversing zones will become less of a chore.
No kidding; mobility is dialed up to 11 near the mid-game, which more than makes up for your base speed at the start.

Finally, the soundtrack is amazing and definitely supports the atmosphere per zone.
From the relaxing tunes of Dirtmouth to the eerie tones of Deepnest, your ears will be in for a treat.

If I have any con to add, it would be the lack of a sequel.
Hollow Knight definitely deserves a successor, if only to (further) flesh out the universe or its story.

Team Cherry, we expect more great games out of you!

TL;DR:

Great zone design, beautiful soundtrack, memorable NPCs, tricky bosses, a myriad of different enemies and lots of walking.
Get the game. Now. This is a rare case where you do not need to wait for a game to go on sale, it's THAT good.

Calling this game a 2d Dark Souls, or more affectionately Bug Souls, is not far from the truth. Hollow Knight does just about everything right: Great zone design, beautifully composed soundtracks, tricky bossfights and memorable characters are the core of this game. Some npcs are outright entertaining in behaviour or the silly things they say, there's no shortage of such characters. The story dialogue is fairly minimal and characters usually talk about their immediate surroundings. This is then, where the zone design shines as it does a great job at conveying the story. There's a lot to explore in every zone and unique enemies make traversing older zones more interesting. Hallownest seems like a very dark and depressing place but the developers did a great job adding moments that will bring a smile to your face. On enemy design, it's just so great not to see the same 3 enemies over and over. That includes both appearance and actions as well as death animations. Bosses are hard but have mostly clear patterns. Beating them is tremendously satisfying. The player character handles a bit clunky in the first few minutes but you get used to the controls pretty fast. Once you collect several story items, your mobility rises through the roof and traversing zones will become less of a chore. No kidding; mobility is dialed up to 11 near the mid-game, which more than makes up for your base speed at the start. Finally, the soundtrack is amazing and definitely supports the atmosphere per zone. From the relaxing tunes of Dirtmouth to the eerie tones of[spoiler] Deepnest[/spoiler], your ears will be in for a treat. If I have any con to add, it would be the lack of a sequel. Hollow Knight definitely deserves a successor, if only to (further) flesh out the universe or its story. Team Cherry, we expect more great games out of you! TL;DR: Great zone design, beautiful soundtrack, memorable NPCs, tricky bosses, a myriad of different enemies and lots of walking. Get the game. Now. This is a rare case where you do not need to wait for a game to go on sale, it's THAT good.