Hollow Knight drops you into Hallownest — a vast, decaying insect kingdom buried underground — armed with nothing but a nail and whatever courage you brought with you. This 2D action-adventure Metroidvania from Team Cherry combines precise melee combat, deep exploration, and a progression system built around discovering new abilities in a hand-drawn world. You can play this browser game on PLRun right now with no download required.
Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania developed and published by Team Cherry, originally released in February 2017. You play as the Knight, a silent warrior exploring the interconnected caverns, ruins, and cities of Hallownest. The core loop revolves around pushing deeper into uncharted territory, defeating bosses that guard new movement abilities, and using those abilities to unlock previously inaccessible areas. It is a cycle of discovery that rewards patience and careful observation.
What separates Hollow Knight from other action platformers is how its combat, exploration, and resource systems interlock. Every nail strike generates Soul — the resource you spend on healing or offensive spells. This creates a constant risk-reward tension: do you save Soul to heal after a hit, or spend it aggressively to finish an enemy faster? Combined with over 40 equippable charms that reshape your build, the game supports drastically different playstyles. As a free online game playable in your browser on PLRun, it remains one of the most acclaimed indie games ever made.
Move the Knight with the Arrow Keys. Press Z to jump and X to swing your nail. After unlocking the Mothwing Cloak ability, C performs a dash. Press A to Focus (heal using Soul) or hold it to cast spells like Vengeful Spirit. F provides Quick Cast for faster spell use. Once acquired, D activates the Dream Nail. Open your inventory with I and check your map with Tab once you've purchased mapping supplies. The game also supports full controller input, which many players prefer for the precision platforming required in later areas.
Your primary goal is to explore Hallownest and uncover the source of the infection that has corrupted its inhabitants. The world is non-linear — you choose which paths to pursue and which to return to later. Major progress comes from defeating area bosses who drop movement upgrades: the Mantis Claw lets you wall-jump, Crystal Heart grants a horizontal super dash, and Monarch Wings provide a double jump. Each new ability opens routes you couldn't reach before, gradually expanding the map from a narrow starting corridor into a sprawling network.
Soul is Hollow Knight's central resource and understanding it early changes everything. Every nail strike on an enemy generates Soul, which fills a meter at the top left of the screen. You spend Soul in two ways: holding A to Focus and heal one health mask, or pressing A or F to cast an offensive spell. You cannot do both at once, so every encounter forces a choice between safety and aggression. Running out of Soul in a boss fight with low health and no enemies nearby to hit is one of the most common ways new players lose runs they were otherwise winning.
When you die, you lose all carried Geo (the game's currency) and leave behind a Shade — a dark ghost at your death location. You respawn at the last bench you rested on. To recover your Geo, you must travel back and defeat your own Shade. If you die again before reaching it, that Geo is gone permanently. This mechanic means exploring recklessly with a large Geo balance is genuinely risky, and banking Geo at shops or the Banker NPC before dangerous areas is a critical habit.
Charms are passive modifiers you equip at benches. Each charm costs a certain number of notches, and you have limited notch capacity. Some charms extend your nail's reach, others increase spell damage, and some generate Soul passively or strengthen your healing. The charm system lets you customize your Knight for different challenges — a nail-focused build for bosses with tight dodge windows, or a spell-heavy build for crowd control in enemy-dense areas. Experimenting with charm combinations is where much of Hollow Knight's depth lives.
New players instinctively cast Vengeful Spirit because it deals ranged damage, but that Soul is often better saved for healing during your first attempts at a boss. Once you've learned a boss's attack patterns well enough to dodge consistently, then shift toward an aggressive spell strategy. Survival comes first.
Each new area has a cartographer named Cornifer humming somewhere in the tunnels. Finding him and buying his map — then equipping the Wayward Compass charm — is the single most important thing you can do when entering an unfamiliar zone. Without a map, it's extremely easy to get lost in Hallownest's sprawling layouts, and backtracking blind wastes significant time.
If you're carrying a large amount of Geo and approaching a boss you haven't beaten before, detour to a shop or the Banker NPC in the City of Tears. Losing thousands of Geo because you died twice in a row to an unfamiliar boss is one of the most frustrating setbacks in the game, and it's entirely avoidable.
Pressing X while holding the Down Arrow performs a downward nail strike. When this connects with an enemy or a hazard like spikes, you bounce upward. This technique — often called pogo-bouncing — is essential for crossing spike pits, reaching high platforms, and maintaining aerial pressure on certain bosses. Mastering it opens up movement options the game never explicitly teaches you.
Don't lock yourself into one charm setup. Fragile Strength and Quick Slash are devastating for boss fights, but for platforming sections with minimal combat, movement charms like Dashmaster or Mark of Pride may serve you better. Swap charms at benches before major encounters rather than running a generalist build everywhere.
Hallownest rewards completionists. Hidden breakable walls, secret rooms, and offscreen passages contain Grubs (whose rescue grants rewards), pale ore for nail upgrades, and charm notches that expand your build capacity. If a room feels suspiciously empty, hit the walls — there's often something behind them.
Not every area you can access early is meant to be completed early. If enemies in a new zone are dealing heavy damage and taking many hits to kill, you may lack the nail upgrades or abilities intended for that area. Return later with better equipment rather than burning through healing resources and Geo on a section designed for a stronger Knight.
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