Isolation Without Despair: Hollow Knight in a Post-Pandemic Landscape
Abstract
Hollow Knight, a 2017 metroidvania game, is set in the fictional world of Hallownest, a ruined kingdom that was ravaged by an infection many years ago. Throughout the game, the player traverses the destroyed remnants of the kingdom and battles the infected citizens that used to live there. While initially a very isolating experience, by engaging with the environments and sparsely placed characters, the player can learn more about the history of the kingdom, rekindle abandoned communities and eventually gain the skills necessary to fight and defeat the source of the infection itself. Through its environmental design, compelling character writing and gameplay mechanics, Hollow Knight can excellently as both a parallel to a player’s real-life experience with COVID-19 and a vehicle for a player to overcome the despair present in a post-pandemic society by allowing them to make a positive impact on the world of the game.
Isolation Without Despair: Hollow Knight in a Post-Pandemic Landscape
Hollow Knight, a 2017 metroidvania game, is set in the fictional world of Hallownest, a ruined kingdom that was ravaged by an infection many years ago. Throughout the game, the player traverses the destroyed remnants of the kingdom and battles the infected citizens that used to live there. While initially a very isolating experience, by engaging with the environments and sparsely placed characters, the player can learn more about the history of the kingdom, rekindle abandoned communities and eventually gain the skills necessary to fight and defeat the source of the infection itself. Through its environmental design, compelling character writing and gameplay mechanics, Hollow Knight can excellently as both a parallel to a player’s real-life experience with COVID-19 and a vehicle for a player to overcome the despair present in a post-pandemic society by allowing them to make a positive impact on the world of the game.