Hollow Knight: Lost Souls

Hollow Knight: Lost Souls is the first installment in the three-game trilogy created by ThatIsAPirate that takes place after the original game. The game features The Knight as the main character.

Description & Backstory
Join the Knight in another husk hunting, spider squashing, bee bashing adventure as it ventures the deep, dark void in an attempt to eliminate a being known as The Keeper, which threatens the fate of the nest and all of its inhabitants.

The game itself takes place after the “Embrace The Void” ending in the previous game. Absolute Radiance has been defeated and the Void Given Focus (Shade Lord) has escaped through the Godseeker’s body, killing her in the process. The Knight is thrown into the Abyss. After finding his way out, the Knight realizes what it had caused by releasing the Shade Lord: Void (known as Void Essence) is leaking all over the once glorious kingdom of Hollow Knight. From the small homes and shops of Dirtmouth to the dark webs of Deepnest, Void is everywhere, summoning Shades (previously known as Siblings) everywhere, who threaten the lives of innocent bugs. The Knight aims to fix his mistake by searching for a rumored charm that allows them to plug up the leaks.

During his quest, the Knight runs into many new friends, which help the Knight with his goal. However, during his journey, he is threatened by a dark force known as The Keeper, who has created Red Void Essence, which turns his siblings into dark, hellish shadow monsters known as “Dark Shades,” who are three times as strong as regular Shades, have red skin and yellow eyes, and will attack the Knight, despite having Void Heart. It is up to The Knight and their crew to confront The Keeper and put an end to the leakage of Void Essence within Hallownest.

Gameplay
Despite taking place directly after the first Hollow Knight, all progress from the previous game is lost (Geo, charms, maps, spells, etc.) as this is a new game entirely. Spells have been changed, with brand new spells being added and some old ones being removed. SOUL has been replaced by “Void Essence” which can be obtained either by hitting Shades, Collectors, or Void Tendrils, or will slowly automatically regenerate itself after standing still for seven seconds when the Shade Soul charm is equipped.

Tutorial
After successfully killing Absolute Radiance, The Knight, who was presumed dead, awakens in The Abyss, in a pile of Void. Void Essence is leaking out of a crack in its shell. After looking around, they manage to pull themselves to their feet, drawing the unwanted attention of a nearby Dark Shade. Unfazed by the short battle, the Knight begins searching for a way out of the Abyss, in an attempt to return their friends who they had left behind. First, however, they needed to find a way to fix their shell, as well as finding out where exactly they were in The Abyss.

Abandoned Town
The Abandoned Town is the starting area of the game, similar to Dirtmouth from the previous game. It features small, bone huts with inhabitants inside. There are four different huts in the town, as well as a small cave to the far left side of the town which leads up back into Ancient Basin.

The Hotel is where you will find Captain Voidheart and Lady Mischief. Voidheart had collected a few of the charms that had landed nearby, mistaking them for gold coins. He will offer the charms at the cost of Geo. He also serves as one of the primary fast travel methods in the game, taking you to various Docks located around the map with his ship, the Shapeshifter. Lady Mischief will sell Potions and is the main banking system of the game, similar to Millibelle from the previous game. There is also a bench near the entrance, on which the Captain can sometimes be seen sitting.

To the left of the hotel is The Emperor's home. The house itself, however, cannot be accessed until Abandoned Town is taken over by siblings, as the Shadow Whirlwind ability is not available until then. The spell is used to grant access to a secret room that will give you the key to the Emperor’s home, which will begin the boss battle with the Reverse Emperor.

To the right of the hotel is a small room with a single lore tablet. This is later revealed to be the temporary home of Hornet.

The last house is simply a background object and cannot be entered or interacted with in any way.