Hollow Knight is a game where you run, jump, and battle your way through the underground kingdom of Hallownest. It’s not uncommon for platform games to invest in the environments through which you pass, but the haunting depths in this game contain more than a veneer of ancient mysteries. Rendered in simple 2D visuals, the world bristles with lore and backstory to the point that this becomes as much as a driver for exploration as powering-up your abilities or defeating enemies. This simplicity also enables Hollow Knight to create a huge labyrinth of interconnected spaces, each with their own enemies, hazards, and history.

This over-delivery of world-building is more than any platform game requires, but it transforms the experience from a power fantasy to an investigation into this otherworldly civilization and alien history.