Hello, today isn’t really anything poem related again, but I do want to walk about my favorite boss in SilkSongs previous game, Hollow Knight. Yet this boss technically has two variants, so I’m going to be talking about a story of corruption and purity. The Pure Vessel/The hollow Knight
I am going to start to abbreviate them, so HK is Hollow Knight, PV is Pure Vessel
The story it tells between these two, and since they are the same person, is absolutely amazing. Even if they are minimal details, like the HK’s crack in the mask, and its clothes looking darker, worn down and dirty. Meanwhile, PV has no crack in its mask, and it’s clothes look pristine, like it had only just gotten them.
The first difference you notice, other then the appearance, is the battle cry. PVs is silent, much like all the other vessels that exist, such as the player. Yet the HKs is filled with the same cry as the Radiance, showing that it can’t withstand her anymore, that maybe it wasn’t as pure as the Pale King thought.
The biggest difference, is their attacks. HK and PV still maintain three exactly the same attacks. Their side slash, their parry, and their triple slash. Except HKs is much, much slower, telling you that after being worn down and sealed away for so long, it no longer has the agility or the stamina to keep up. The biggest differences, however, are the soul attacks.
The soul daggers, once white and pristine, are now sloppy coming from the HK, and instead of its own soul conjured daggers, it’s the radiances infection that its using, to try and attack the player. The soul pillars are the only thing that they have in common after that. Yet once again, they’re technically different.
PV has ACTUALLY used soul this time, summoning pillars that give little room to move, and are intended to hurt the player. Yet the HKs version, is no longer soul. It’s purely void, with hints of yellow peeking through, showing that the radiance lies underneath. This is actually the very last attack that is purely a mirrored version of itself.
The PV has two more attacks it can do, one when you get around to the 50/60% mark, and another when you get to the 75% mark. That being, the focus attack, and the void tendril attack. The focus attack, while thankfully not having any sort of healing properties compared to the first sinner, it DOES try to catch you off guard, summoning a big explosion around itself, and then, 6 more around the arena. The void tendrils seems like a ‘last ditch effort’ attack, in an attempt to slay the knight. The PV summons tendrils from its body, taking up about 60% of the screen, and if you aren’t careful, it could catch you off guard, and end your run.
The HK however, no longer has a focus attack, nor a void tendril attack, as they have been replaced with two different ones. The first one, being sort of an outbreak attack, where those globs of infection, start spraying everywhere. While it’s similar to the focus ability, it’s much harder to dodge, and seems more randomized than intentional. The second one is it floating up, and bouncing down, trying to catch the player off guard. Yet the HK has one additional attack — a self inflicting nail strike.
The PV does not have any sort of self inflicting attacks, nor does it ever hurt itself in any sort of way. Yet the HK, after a while, begins to stab itself with its own nail, as if trying to eradicate the radiance from its own being, because withholding something of her power, has become painful and torturous.
There are also things you don’t really notice upon your first playthrough when it comes to PV and HK. The PV is fast, deals double damage for ALL of its attacks, and only takes a knee when it staggers, which is only around 3-4 times during a normal fight.
Yet the HK is slow. It gives you time to dodge, and almost all of its attacks do only 1 damage. It also takes a knee after using ANY sort of infection related attack, except for the infected blade attack. During the outbreak, bouncing, and stab attack, it takes a knee after using them, as if it was draining it just to use the radiances power. It still takes a knee during staggering, but most bosses do. The HKs attacks have become slow, worn down, struggling to withhold the radiance for any longer.
The once silent vessel, who was quick, able to summon soul attacks and was the kings greatest achievement, had malformed into a being of pain, suffering, and infection, and wasnt as pure as the king once thought it was. I think the best thing the player can do, is stop the radiance, and put the poor being out of its misery, and while we DO die in the games true ending, its the happiest Hallownest has been in a while.
Fighting, detail, and difficulty wise, this boss has to be my absolute favorite, and I even intend to radiant the boss in the pantheon, and eventually beat pantheon 5 on my steel soul file.
Anyways, that’s all. I really liked talking about this boss, and may talk about my least favorite bosses for both games tomorrow and the day after.
