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The next game depends on what you miss

Games like
Hollow Knight

Another map to get lost in? A boss that takes all evening? Or a world that feels like it has been waiting for you?

Hollow Knight artwork

“I haven’t played anything that made exploring a map feel this good.”

— just a humble game hunter madame, NextRun’s creator

That is why exploration comes first here. But the game you want after Hollow Knight changes depending on what kept you in Hallownest. Someone who loved checking every corner may want something quite different from someone chasing their next difficult fight.

These four picks each carry a different part of that appeal. The comparisons below are recommendations, not a claim that any of them replaces Hollow Knight.

01 / One more unexplored room

For the exploration

Animal Well artwork

Animal Well

Start here if secrets mattered more than sword fights.

A strange room, an object that seems ordinary, a reason to return later: Animal Well builds its appeal around those small discoveries. Its interconnected map and multi-use items make it a strong choice if Hollow Knight kept you wondering what you had walked past.

The difference: this is a puzzle-led recommendation. You work out how to use your surroundings and tools to survive; it is not the pick for another evening of nail combat and boss attempts. Go in with as little puzzle knowledge as possible.

See Animal Well on Steam ↗
Ori and the Will of the Wisps artwork

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

For the pleasure of moving through a beautiful world.

Choose Ori if the journey between destinations matters as much as arriving. Platforming sits at the heart of the adventure, alongside exploration, puzzles and combat. Its hand-painted landscapes and orchestral music give you a different kind of world to sink into.

The difference: expect a more openly emotional story about family and loss. That is a different mood from Hallownest’s quiet decay. This is the direction to try if you want movement and feeling, rather than the closest possible match for Hollow Knight’s boss fights.

See Ori on Steam ↗

02 / One more attempt

For the boss fights

Nine Sols artwork

Nine Sols

For learning a fight until the timing finally clicks.

If your favourite Hollow Knight moments were the attempts where a boss’s attacks finally made sense, Nine Sols is the direction to look. Its combat centres on deflecting attacks, with talismans giving you another way to turn a well-timed exchange into damage.

The difference: the developers explicitly point to Sekiro as a combat influence. Being comfortable dodging in Hollow Knight does not mean you can ignore the parry here. Pick it because you want to learn that rhythm, not just because both games are hand-drawn 2D adventures.

See Nine Sols on Steam ↗

03 / A world with something wrong beneath it

For the dark atmosphere

Blasphemous 2 artwork

Blasphemous 2

For another unsettling world full of secrets.

Blasphemous 2 makes a good candidate when atmosphere is what you miss: a ruined world, grotesque enemies and mysteries that make you want to keep moving. Exploration and demanding fights share the stage, so this is also worth considering if you want both rather than puzzles alone.

The difference: its religious imagery and graphic body horror are much more explicit. Hollow Knight’s melancholy can be gentle between the danger; this recommendation leans into the disturbing. Check the trailer before choosing it purely for the dark-fantasy connection.

See Blasphemous 2 on Steam ↗

Your reasons might be different

What kept you playing?

Start with Hollow Knight, choose up to three things you loved, and filter by the platform you play on. NextRun will build a list around those choices.

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