Zanobard Reviews

Christopher Larkin’s Hollow Knight is a masterclass in moody ambience, with its strings-focused style perfectly representing the darkly gothic, serene and regret-tinged lost kingdom of Hallownest – and it has some pretty incredible bossfight cues to boot.

The absolute melancholy of Hollow Knight‘s music is its strength, and its showcased no stronger than in Standout Cue “Hollow Knight”, the main theme of the game. Solemn, high-pitched piano notes open the piece, evoking a dramatic sense of pensivity and sorrow. They’re then joined by similarly serene strings in the back half of the track, and with deep atmosphere now abound the orchestral ensemble fades to a quiet close a little under a minute later. It’s a strong start to the score, and one that expertly captures the melancholic tone of the game itself. “Enter Hallownest” then cements the main theme with a touch more orchestral flavour as the pace quickens and dramatically upbeat percussion joins the fray, with the subsequent “Dirtmouth” delving deeper into serene ambience as wistful strings accompany some rather mournful piano notes – bathing the music overall in this deeply thoughtful pensivity. The subsequent “Crossroads” then continues in much a similar vein but now with a touch of tonal mystery, as echoing orchestral tranquility takes point – led by strings – for the track’s two and a half minute runtime, before we’re then introduced to our first taste of action music in the rather tense “False Knight” with the main theme playing hurriedly on worrisome strings alongside imposing percussive hits.

So now that we’re a few tracks in, let’s discuss the sheer stylistic ambience here. One thing that composer Christopher Larkin has absolutely nailed is the tone of the music; it’s tinged with sadness and regret, and comes across quite reflective and indeed ghostly to represent the fallen kingdom of Hallownest. The whole album has this sense of darkly gothic and regretful atmosphere to it, and the gorgeous strings-focused orchestral style reinforces this impeccably, which I imagine is exactly why many revere this soundtrack. A dash of hope though is sprinkled into next track “Greenpath”, with somewhat upbeat string plucks and playful percussion being the stylistic focus for its two and a half minute runtime. The pace then quickens for the frantic “Hornet” with tensely determined strings as the centrepiece, before the sombre “Reflection” slows things back down for a decidedly thoughtful and introspective atmospheric piece. A burst of dramatic strings then opens action setpiece “Mantis Lords” with a harpsichord curiously in tow, and together the instruments usher in a frenetically in-your-face pace throughout the track’s just under two minute runtime. This rapidity doesn’t last though, as wistful vocals take centre stage in “City Of Tears”, a beautifully serene mood-setter. Seriously, this track is stylistically gorgeous – and the vocals, tinged with melancholy, are the absolute highlight.

Tense percussion thunders through action cue “Dung Defender”, surging a brand new and somewhat heroic theme forward that then powers emphatically throughout this two minute track – intriguingly this motif does also return in the superbly heroic “White Defender”, but that’s another album. An air of gentle eeriness is then central for “Crystal Peak”, a rather relaxing mood-setter in its first half before light percussion starts to pick up the pace in its final minutes. “Fungal Wastes” then continues in a similarly wistful atmospheric vein with light string plucks playing variations on the main theme until thunderous action returns for “Decisive Battle”. Here gentleness turns to tension as rapidly worrisome strings take centre stage, and while a short break is then provided for the first half of the wondrous “Soul Sanctum” with pensive organ notes playing, action doesn’t take long to return as fast-paced strings and imposing vocals crash into the fray from the two minute mark – playing alongside the organ notes for a decidedly dramatic action finish overall. The ethereal piano notes of the main theme then return in “Resting Grounds”, marking a particularly solemn and indeed mournful two minute cue, though spirits are then raised slightly in the subsequent “Queen’s Gardens” with echoing vocals and lighter strings cementing a more upbeat tone.

The short “The White Lady” evokes warmth and elegance with hopeful string plucks for its ninety second runtime, before “Broken Vessel” returns to darkly dramatic action territory with the main theme now playing in much tenser and more worrisome form. Plinking percussive notes and serene strings then overtake for “Kingdom’s Edge” alongside whistling woodwinds, with the pace picking up once again in the subsequent “Nosk” as aggressive strings lead an imposing orchestral charge. Strings-based solemnity is then the focus of “Dream” with that downtrodden tone tinged with sadness and regret that Hollow Knight‘s music does so well once again playing centrally. Tensions then practically boil over for “Dream Battle” straight after as stylistic franticness takes the reins, though the four minute “White Palace” then bathes in quiet serenity as atmospheric mood-setting once again envelopes the score. With this main game album starting to draw to a close, the dramatic “Sealed Vessel” opens eerily with echoing instruments before loud bursts of wary strings and percussion overtake. At just past the two minute mark a particularly mournful rendition of the main theme then starts to play, and vocals and strings build to a powerful crescendo. The climactic “Radiance” then utilises chanting vocals and organ notes to spellbinding action effect before main theme “Hollow Knight” gently brings the album to its end.

For the Gods & Nightmares DLC album, the standout setpiece is of course the earlier mentioned “White Defender”, and the equally and indeed heroically frantic “Truth, Beauty And Hatred” is simply incredible – from the sound quality and style of the orchestra too, I reckon a bit more budget has been injected here. Certainly brass now has a much more prominent role, as evidenced in the album’s opening cue “Hive Knight” as marching drums and the aforementioned instrument both play in tensely grandiose form. The imposing and subsequent “The Grimm Troupe” is then positively awash with stylistic colour as pounding percussion and aggressive vocals take point throughout its ferociously frenetic runtime. “Nightmare King” then continues in much a similar action vein with vocals and percussion abound before the short “Dreamers” returns to the more solemn, reflective landscape of the original album with serene strings. An assortment of solemnly atmospheric string instruments are then central for “Pale Court” alongside wondrous piano notes, with “Gods & Glory” afterward crashing back into emphatic action territory as chanting vocals, pounding percussion and rapid strings return. Flurries of strings and vocals then continue on into the similarly fast-paced “Daughter Of Hallownest”, this time reprising the now climactically epic motif from “Hornet” on the original album.

The pensive sorrow of earlier cues returns in “Godhome” as echoing, ghostly vocals, strings and gentle percussive hits set a particularly morose tone. Crashing orchestral thunder however then rapidly overtakes the sorrow in “Sisters Of Battle” for another frantic action setpiece with loudly in-your-face vocals abound. As the action fades, “Haunted Foes” lives up to its title with a mournfully strings-focused tone before then rapidly dialiling up the intensity in the back half with thunderous drums, and the subsequent minute-long “Furious Gods” then continues the tension with chanting, imposing vocals as the stylistic centrepiece. Final track “Pure Vessel” then brings things full circle, returning to the sombre sound of “Sealed Vessel” from the original album with ethereal vocals and sorrowful strings before some particularly pensive piano notes close out the cue and indeed the album.

Overall, Christopher Larkin’s gorgeously serene score for Hollow Knight is musical worldbuilding for a game at its finest. The strikingly solemn strings used as the stylistic centrepiece throughout the album are simply spellbinding to listen to, and they do an impeccable job of showcasing the game’s lost kingdom setting of Hallownest too – tracks like “Dirtmouth”, “Crossroads” and “City Of Tears” are particularly solid showcases of this, with each cue practically dripping with ghostly sadness and regret. The main theme, utilised in Standout Cue “Hollow Knight” and indeed all across the album, is also naturally central to the score’s rather darkly gothic tone, being equal parts sorrowful as it is reflective, and it sounds absolutely stunning in the aforementioned string-based style to boot. And speaking of style – Larkin’s work here not only has the gentle serenity of the game absolutely nailed, but the boss-battling action cues too; the franticness of the instrumentation that fires through sublime setpieces like “White Defender” and “Hive Knight” is absolutely amazing to listen to, and at times evokes Gareth Coker’s Ori And The Blind Forest in how genuinely gorgeous the instrumentation sounds. All-in, Larkin’s musical approach here is frankly wonderful, and I can’t wait to hear what he has in store for follow-up Silksong either.

Score: 8/10

Standout Cues: Hollow Knight/White Defender/Hive Knight

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