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Hollow Knight's weird map mechanic is driving me insane
- Thread starter Deleted member 29599
- Start date
It might be tolerable if the game wasn't like 50 hours long and the map wasn't absolutely gigantic.
For a game this good there's a ton to hate about it. Beat the main game, and I can say that I never once appreciated how the map system made me get extra lost and confused. Just more tedium on an already too big world with slow movement and lousy fast travel. Also it was too difficult for me, though that's partially my fault for only upgrading my weapon once. A well-designed game that just doesn't want me to enjoy it, which is a pity.
This is the problem I had with Salt and Sanctuary. Hollow Knight isn't as bad because there is actually a map, but before you find the map maker it can be slightly frustrating.
Two map issues really hampered my enjoyment. Having to find the map guy and the fact that without map guy it doesn't track where you've been, even with that upgrade. Like, why can't my guy make his own map while traversing? Every new area pissed me off because of this.
I never had a problem with the map system. I guess I just enjoyed the feeling of being lost in a strange land. The fact that you have to waste a charm slot to see where you are on the map is a little dumb, but it's a pretty minor gripe tbh.
I think the perfect sweet spot would be to get rid of the need to buy maps from the map maker, and let the player be able to draw the map themselves straight from the get go when you get to benches.
OP I have the same issue. Im really trying to get into this game but the map aspect is turning me off.
I made it all the way through, but it was a tedious experience. Some people just like games that are lengthy and slow and dull, full of mechanics to make them lengthier and slower and duller.
Really my only problem with it is that the death mechanic is really inconvenient in the tricky platforming segments, which is compounded by everything being expensive and the
Otherwise I'm having fun with only getting map updates at the checkpoints.
bank being bogus
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I adjusted but it took a few zones. I'm one to go the right way after exploring the extra paths but this game didn't let me do that. After 15+ hours im just exploring new areas without letting the unknown get to me. How far away/few fast travel points are is a minor issue, let me get to where I wanna get quick.
Strange this thread popped up the exact same day I went back to playing the game after leaving it for a whole year (love the game but was only playing it on Switch during a holiday and never went back to it after returning home).
I think OP perfectly highlights my only issues with game, I think the problems are further exacerbated because each little section of the level is divided up into so many little rooms that you're constantly having to rely on the map to see just where you are at any given point in time and the fact that your resources (GEO) is very valuable at certain parts of the game so you just don't want to be losing too much of it. They further add insult to injury by making a charm that uses a valuable notch slot just for seeing where the hell you are on the map (this is stupid imo).
I think if they improved the fast travel (should be allowed to warp to any bench) the back tracking would be less cumbersome, I'm currently loving my time with it but the back tracking is really eating into my limited free time.
I think OP perfectly highlights my only issues with game, I think the problems are further exacerbated because each little section of the level is divided up into so many little rooms that you're constantly having to rely on the map to see just where you are at any given point in time and the fact that your resources (GEO) is very valuable at certain parts of the game so you just don't want to be losing too much of it. They further add insult to injury by making a charm that uses a valuable notch slot just for seeing where the hell you are on the map (this is stupid imo).
I think if they improved the fast travel (should be allowed to warp to any bench) the back tracking would be less cumbersome, I'm currently loving my time with it but the back tracking is really eating into my limited free time.
I completely agree with OP. Can't lie, the knockback on hit alone made me stop playing the game. The map mechanic was also annoying. I found the world dull and way too dark for the most part. I can see how ppl might like the game, but it's just not for me. Shout-out to gamepass for that guacamelee 2 tho!
I quite liked the sense of dread I got in exploring some unmapped areas, and the relief upon finding the map maker. Built some nice tension that made it memorable and played nicely with the atmosphere.
Also, being able to get your geo back from your shade is more forgiving than resetting your save file after a game over screen, even if it doesn't seem that way.
Also, being able to get your geo back from your shade is more forgiving than resetting your save file after a game over screen, even if it doesn't seem that way.
OP
OP
I've decided on a compromise for my own sanity. One thing that i really don't like is a game that doesn't respect the players time and i personally feel that HK leans a little too hard on this. To me this map finding thing seems to be a way to artificially extend the game that by the looks of it is already large and expansive enough to not need that kind of padding. So i've decided when i enter a new area to just look at a map online and guide myself straight to the map maker so i can get on with the enjoyable parts of the game and minimise the aspects of it that i find shitty. Once i have it i wont use a guide and it's back to me playing "properly". It's gonna spoil the general layout for me but my memory is dodgy enough that it's not something i'll be able to remember perfectly anyway.
This might sound like sacrilege, and yes i know that I will be cheating not only the game, but myself. I won't grow. I won't improve. I'll take a shortcut and gain nothing. I'll experience a hollow (HA!) victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained.
(god bless that Sekiro meme)
This might sound like sacrilege, and yes i know that I will be cheating not only the game, but myself. I won't grow. I won't improve. I'll take a shortcut and gain nothing. I'll experience a hollow (HA!) victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained.
(god bless that Sekiro meme)
I stopped playing because of the map. Good game, but at this point in my life I can't waste time finding out where to go.
Finding the map maker in each section plays into the sense scale of the game. Personally I didn't find it tedious (requires zero management) though I did get lost a bunch.
I get that it's not as sexy compared to items but i found that it played into my overall sense of progress and I grew to love the little puzzle of not only getting to new areas, but really knowing them. Besides, listening for the map makers humming or spotting his spent quills is full of character.
I get that it's not as sexy compared to items but i found that it played into my overall sense of progress and I grew to love the little puzzle of not only getting to new areas, but really knowing them. Besides, listening for the map makers humming or spotting his spent quills is full of character.
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The map is garbage, i fully agree with you on that, its annoying how it wont update unless i go to a bench. I hope the sequel cuts these annoying things out the game
I LOVED the game, but I'd definitely agree their approach to the map is a little too hardcore. Personally, I didn't have so much of an issue with having to find the map maker for each section, but on top of that not know where on the map you are without the charm equipped and not updated it until you hit a bench? That's taking it a bit far.
You must have dropped it after like 5 minutes. The game has a map. Some people don't like how the map system is setup(you need to find a seller in each area), but I don't personally get the complaints. The guy is almost always super easy to find, and I think people underestimate themselves if they thing they're gonna immediately get lost and be impossible to figure out what to do without a map. It's really not that bad.
The only issue I had with the map system is that pointing out where you were on the map should have been free and not cost a notch.
Agreed. And honestly I was fine with the map system at launch, before they added the paper trial that makes it way easier to find Cornifer.
i mean, i know that, i have like 30 hours into hollow knight, but never thought the map system was that different from other metroivanias
Oh, I'm well aware that Hollow Knight is by no means the worst offender.
I got some pretty damn good spacial memory, so it wasn't too big of an issue for me, but sometimes you just can't find Cornifer and it drove me up the wall.
50 hours in and I never did, I actually love the game but the way they handled save spots, backtracking and travel were done poorly IMO.
I was frustrated at first but once you see you've got to a new area, the hunt for the map seller begins. It became quite enjoyable for me in the end.
The game is not overrated you just didn't like it. Massive difference.
Pfff, that's nothing.
La Mulana (my favourite Metroidvania by far) does all that AND doesn't even allow you to read hints on tablets within levels until you buy an item.
This is underrated. Getting lost in games is incredible. It's all about exploration!
I'm there with you OP. I completed the game and while it has some good things going for it the map system really left a stain on my experience with it.
I just bought Hollow Knight on Switch and now I'm wary of ever playing it at all. Whoops.
I struggle greatly with disorientation in games and rely greatly on maps. I got lost in Super Metroid so much because the map didn't include certain information (impassable sections etc).
I quit Yoku's Island Delivery after a few hours of being completely lost, especially as the game was filled with one-way routes and tangles.
Maps are an accessibility feature and a critical quality of life improvement. I'd challenge those of you that are replying with 'easy for me' to consider how games might feel for others.
I struggle greatly with disorientation in games and rely greatly on maps. I got lost in Super Metroid so much because the map didn't include certain information (impassable sections etc).
I quit Yoku's Island Delivery after a few hours of being completely lost, especially as the game was filled with one-way routes and tangles.
Maps are an accessibility feature and a critical quality of life improvement. I'd challenge those of you that are replying with 'easy for me' to consider how games might feel for others.