So on Jim's recommendation I picked up Hollow Knight on sale a bit ago. At first brush, I did not like it. The starting two zones were too large, movement was too slow, combat was too bland with no real options or tools to work with. And the game handed out upgrades with the disdain of a miser being asked for change. One at the end of the first zone that didn't even help exploration or movement. One at the end of the second zone that did(a dash which can in fact be an air dash) but the kicker there was that you couldn't use that to get somewhere FROM the second zone. You had to go back to the first and take a different way out of there. Remember, huge zones with slow movement right now.
Then in the third zone you can do, the game cracks itself wide open and remembers that games are supposed to be fun. You get the wall jump and from there you can basically go anywhere. With that wall jump in hand(or perhaps on foot) you can go to the place you get a weapon upgrade! You can go to various places where you can finally get your HP upgraded, or your MP upgraded, or more charm slots(and, you know, more charms to put in them) so you can have actual options.
Once the game really gets running, it's one of the best metroidvanias I've played. But those first two areas are slow, large and kinda bland, like the game is making you pay a boredom tax before it lets you get to the good shit. I will absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes metroidvanias with the warning that the start is slow, so if that's a deal breaker then stay away. But the platforming is fun once you have the tools for it, and the boss fights are pretty much all in that "rough but fair" zone that is kinda ideal for these types of games. Very few bosses have I beaten try 1, I usually lose a couple times, turn the game off for a bit to take a break, come back and beat it first or second try on the next play session.
