Finishing the Path of Pain in Hollow Knight - "No Cost Too Great"
Hello and welcome back to my blog!
I just finished the hardest thing that I have ever done in any game, which is finishing a challenging section in Hollow Knight called the Path of Pain. The last time I attempted it, a couple of years ago, I gave up thinking I couldn't do all those precise manoeuvres and pixel-perfect jumps that the game wants me to do.
The release date of Hollow Knight Silksong gave me a new motivation to take on this challenge. I started a new run of Hollow Knight just a week ago, trying to complete the game. The endgame difficulty in this game poses a significant challenge. There is other endgame content like the Pantheons, where you fight bosses one after the other with very few breaks in between.
But coming back to the Path of Pain. For those who have played Hollow Knight would know it is a tough platforming section, where you have to utilise all of your abilities to manoeuvre and pass through levels filled with buzz-saws, spikes and thorns. Hitting any spike, thorn, or saw will most likely teleport you to the start of the level, and the lack of frequent checkpoints and safe platforms to stand makes it very challenging.
The first time I attempted it, I spent about 2 hours before giving up and never looking back at it. I accepted my defeat and thought I would never be able to complete this. I wasn't too good at the precise platformer anyway. I enjoyed Celeste, though, but this Path of Pain section was Celeste's end levels on steroids.
It all takes place inside the White Palace. There is a hidden, breakable wall in the following room that leads to this section.
I started recording when I was at the end of it. There was just one room left, and I thought it would be nice to record it so I can feel proud looking at this video that I did it.
Here is the final struggle video.
I cut the last part and uploaded it as a different video, in case you don't want to see that struggle.
Some of the parts were frustrating, but the soundtrack made it a bit more bearable. I love this OST, one of my favourites from the game.
Finishing it is one of the best feelings I've had from video games. That moment when you realise that you have done what you thought you could never do. I was so happy, and you could sense that from my little celebration at the end. Those wild jumps and nail swings at the end after defeating those guards. Loved that moment.
I hope there is an equivalent of something like this in Silksong as well. The game rewards you for doing this with just a 2-second cutscene xD. But it is good that this section is not linked to game progression or achievements; otherwise, many completionists would complain that the game is too hard to complete. It is just an optional area for those who want to witness the secrets sealed. And for that, you have to go through the harshest punishment.
Now that I have finished this, I have some more thoughts about it. Do I still think it is very challenging? Yes, I do. But here the game has one massive advantage. The way this game teaches you to improve your skills is simply amazing. At the end, it is all about skills. There is almost no luck involved in completing it; it was all your efforts and how quickly you learn the patterns, how quickly you can form that muscle memory and believe me, this game does it flawlessly.
I used to struggle with some of the easier bosses, but now they are nothing. I killed the Radiance, which I thought I would never do. Heck, even @beril defeated the Hollow Knight, killed tough bosses like Watcher Knights, Hive Knight, Lost Kin, etc, and she doesn't even play a lot of games. It just tells you how well the game is made. Truly a masterpiece in gaming.
Can't wait to play Silksong. Just one more day!
Thanks for reading...
- All the content is mine unless otherwise stated.
- Screenshots are from the game, Hollow Knight.
That tiny reward after all that punishment made me laugh, but the real prize is how the game trained you to nail those moves. Hitting record for the final room is gutsy, that pressure usually turns my thumbs to noodles. What charm setup worked best for you in there, and did you avoid Dashmaster or lean into it? One more sleep till Silksong, your hands are already warmed up.
Mark of pride (my personal favorite) and Hiveblood did the job for me. I never used Dashmaster, not a fan of that charm anyways.
Same, Dashmaster always wrecks my timing. Mark of Pride makes those pogo lines way safer, and Hiveblood is clutch when you want to wait out a regen. Did you ever try Sharp Shadow there, or does the extra shade dash distance mess the muscle memory even more?
Sharp Shadow is a disaster there for me. The longer dash makes a lot of things even tougher. Some of the buzz-saws are worse with the longer dashes, plus the muscle memory issue.
I rarely use that charm too. If it had 1 notch cost, then that would be really nice. But with 2 notch costs, it's not for me.
Totally with you. The longer dash makes me overshoot and my muscle memory melts. Two notches is too steep when the damage boost does nothing in PoP, so I’d rather keep movement neutral and spend on Hiveblood or toss in Steady Body. If I want a tiny tweak, Sprintmaster at 1 notch is the only one that doesn’t wreck timings.
Estás repasando a tes de que llegue silksong jjj
Muero de ganas ya