#12. HOLLOW KNIGHT
For years, the likes of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had been held up as the best games the metroidvania genre had to offer. In 2017, a game made on a shoestring budget by a team of less than half a dozen people called Hollow Knight somehow came along and joined those two legendary games in the upper echelons of the genre. It’s hard for any game to be absolutely flawless, but Hollow Knight comes very, very close to being exactly that. From its tough but fair difficulty to its tight movement and platforming, from its vast, interconnected map and impeccable level design to its excellent combat, from its breathtakingly stunning art style to the atmospheric and desolately beautiful world it is set in, from its stellar boss fights to its rich lore and backstory, Hollow Knight is a work of genius in every sense of the word. To call it not only one of the greatest games of the decade but of all time would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.
