Hollow Knight: Steamgod is an Indie video game and a spinoff/sequel to Hollow Knight, following the character of Zote and being set in a kingdom that is a mix of steampunk and body horror.
Synopsis[]
Zote, while wandering around Hollownest after the infection was purged as he gets captured by a strange bug who claims that she needs the help of a great hero, not knowing that Zote isn't the one who purged the infection. Zote soon wakes up in the land of Gearhearth, which is plagued by machines and horrifically mutated bugs as he travels through Gearhearth while growing stronger.
Characters[]
Playable[]
- Zote - an egotistical and sometimes grouchy bug from Hollownest who was kidnapped and brought to Gearhearth as he begins to travel through Gearhearth, dealing with the strange mutations and steam androids while trying to prove himself as a great warrior, being thrust into battling the corruption of the False God. He also shows a more morally gray and anti-heroic side, being willing to kill anyone to prove himself.
NPCs[]
- Artemis - a curious and friendly yet rebellious ladybug who ends up kidnapping Zote and bringing him to Soremount due to her believing that Soremount and all of Gearhearth needs a great hero to free it from these mutated and mechanical threats, being there to talk to Zote whenever he rests at Soremount, although she has no idea that Zote is a false hero. She serves as a friendly face, with Zote updating her on the adventures he ends up going on through Gearhearth.
- Flinch - a cowardly but somewhat curious butterfly who serves as a cartographer, traveling through Gearhearth to study the many biomes of Gearhearth although he is also very cowardly and hides from danger, encountering Zote and chooses to sell him his maps in exchange for Cogs, although he finds Zote to be somewhat scary for him.
Bosses[]
- The False God - a gigantic bug with a mix of mechanical steam parts and horrific mutations as he is the game's final boss and the reason why the robots have turned rogue and why the mutations are rampaging all over Gearhearth, residing in the former capital city of Gearhearth which he transformed into a hive of machines and mutants. It is revealed through lore that he was an attempt by the scientists of Gearhearth to create their own artificial god, but he ended up gaining intellect and deems all forms of life inherently corrupt, hacking into all of the technology in Gearhearth and has begun his attempts to purge all life from the areas.
- Slash - a gruff and focused but nomadic and brave scorpion knight who is one of the last remaining scorpion knights to not be succumbed to the infection as he battles Zote two times through the game's campaign, believing that Zote is unworthy of being a hero and that he should stand out of his way on the path of freeing Gearhearth and is willing to hurt Zote to ensure Gearhearth's survival.
- The Steam Forged Knight - a large-sized variant of the Steambots which is inactivate and ends up being accidentally reactivated by Zote, attacking in a dangerous and violent way, being the first boss fought against by Zote although he serves as more of a tutorial boss similar to the Gruz Mother or Moss Mother, being easily beaten.
Enemies[]
- Steambots - small looking hercules beetle-like androids who are common enemies in the game and are easy to beat, attacking by charging towards Zote, taking initially three hits to beat.
- Hoppers - grasshoppers who are fully mutated by the mutagenic compounds throughout Gearhearth, attacking Zote by attemping to jump on him, taking initially two hits to beat.
- Steam Knights - medium-sized knight-like androids who are advanced enemies in the game, attacking with their swords and defending with their shields, taking initially five hits to beat.
Gameplay[]
The game plays similarly to the original Hollow Knight although there are major differences as well. The first big one is that Zote starts with only three masks instead of four, although mask shards happen to be more common as well. Zote also has his own Soul/Silk-like meter known as the Ego Meter which he can use to heal. Zote starts with a double jump already in his possession but never unlocks a dash. The most unique mechanic is that Zote can find other weapons in areas and can equip them on a bench. Each weapon has a primary attack as well as a special attack as well. The special attacks replace spells as using the special attacks costs Ego in order to use. The game keeps the metroidvania roots of unlocking new powers, some similar to previous Hollow Knight powers and some completely new, with the unique gimmick that most of these are either mutations or gadgets that Zote steals. The game also has a charm mechanic although there are now two different types of charms, both with separate notches: regular charms which upgrade Zote himself and weapon charms which can be equipped to weapons. When Zote dies, he ends up leaving behind a giant bag as you have to hit it in order to regain your Cogs. The game does keep the idea of upgrading weapons as you can visit blacksmiths to upgrade any of your weapons, although you need material in order to do it.
Areas[]
- Soremount - a small town which Zote wakes up in as it is the game's central hub area where Zote can buy numerous things that he needs and soon to fast travel as well. NPCs: Artemis, Flinch, TBD.
- The Broken Wastelands - the first real area of the game which is a smog filled wasteland with discarded machines and devastated buildings in the background. NPCs: Flinch, TBD. Enemies: Steambots, Hoppers. TBD. Bosses: Steam Forged Knight, TBD.
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Weapons[]
- Nail - the first weapon that Zote has access to which functions similarly to the Knight's nail from the first game but has a charge secondary attack that Zote can do.
- Spiked Gloves - a spiked pair of gloves that Zote can find in the Broken Wastelands which can be used more frequently than the Nail but causes less damage, with a secondary attack which is a flying uppercut.
Mobility Upgrades[]
- Steam Jump - the first unlockable mobility upgrade found by beating [first real boss] which allows him to jump a third time in the air with steam coming out of his jump, allowing him to go horizontally without the need of a dash. The device resembles a jetpack but is broken so all he can do is used it as a third jump.
- Vaporous Cloud - a mobility upgrade found by beating TBD which allows Zote to conjure a cloud around him to keep him camouflaged and unseen by enemies, although it mainly works for bypassing obstacles which are activated by looking at Zote.
- Mutagenic Wings - a mobility upgrade found by beating TBD which allows Zote to conjure small, yet grotesque wings attached to his torso, allowing him to glide over large distances and on air geysers.
Charms[]
Normal Charms[]
- False Courage - makes Zote gain a small amount of ego whenever he gets hit.
- Steam Forged Compass - allows Zote to pinpoint his current location whenever the map is open.
Weapon Charms[]
- Vampire Sting - a special charm for the Nail, which allows Zote to drain the energies of the enemies, giving him more ego.
Other Items[]
- Cogs - the game's currency which can be found by defeating enemies and breaking numerous items that have a lot of Cogs in them.
- Mask Shards - strange glowing shards which can be found all over Gearhearth, sometimes in plain sight and sometimes in hard-to-reach places which can be used to increase Zote's health when he unlocks four of them.
- Shining Ore - a shining piece of ore which Zote can find and use to bring to a blacksmith to upgrade any of his weapons' damage.