Gami
Hollow Knight cover
Hollow Knight
Developer:Team Cherry
Publisher:Team Cherry
Platform:PS5 / PS4
Genre:Action Adventure

Descend into Hallownest, a haunting underground kingdom full of forgotten ruins, strange insects, and deadly secrets. Explore winding caverns, master precise combat and platforming, unlock new abilities, and challenge fearsome bosses in this atmospheric hand-drawn Metroidvania.

Main Story30 Hrs
Platinum100 Hrs
Difficulty9/10
Playthroughs1 Playthrough
Platinum1
Gold5
Silver11
Bronze18

Hollow Knight Trophy Roadmap

EARLY GAME

Welcome to Hallownest, a vast underground kingdom filled with forgotten civilizations, dangerous creatures, and secrets hidden behind nearly every wall. Hollow Knight is a challenging Metroidvania that rewards exploration, patience, and learning enemy attack patterns. Begin by exploring the Forgotten Crossroads, defeating the False Knight, and obtaining the Vengeful Spirit spell. Continue into Greenpath, defeat Hornet, and acquire the Mothwing Cloak to unlock your first major movement ability. There are no missable PlayStation trophies, so you're free to explore and progress at your own pace.

As you travel through Hallownest, purchase maps from Cornifer, unlock Stag Stations for fast travel, and collect Charms, Mask Shards, Vessel Fragments, and imprisoned Grubs whenever possible. These collectibles improve your survivability and contribute toward several trophies. You'll eventually need all 40 Charms, 16 Mask Shards, nine Vessel Fragments, and 46 Grubs, so gathering them naturally will reduce your cleanup time considerably. Visit the Grubfather in the Forgotten Crossroads regularly to collect rewards, including important upgrades and Charms.

Focus on learning the fundamentals of combat early. Practice dodging, downward Nail attacks, and using Soul for both healing and spells. Don't worry if a boss defeats you repeatedly; learning attack patterns is a major part of Hollow Knight's progression. Upgrade your Nail whenever you have the necessary Geo and Pale Ore, and experiment with Charm combinations to find a comfortable playstyle. Your immediate objective is to advance through the kingdom, unlock movement abilities, and work toward locating the three Dreamers who seal the Black Egg Temple.

MID GAME

As your exploration expands into the City of Tears, Crystal Peak, Royal Waterways, Ancient Basin, and other regions, prioritize collecting the abilities needed to access previously unreachable locations. Obtain the Dream Nail in the Resting Grounds and begin gathering Essence by defeating Warrior Dreams, challenging Dream Bosses, and interacting with Whispering Roots. You'll need 1,800 Essence to awaken the Dream Nail and eventually 2,400 Essence to hear the Seer's final words for Ascension. Continue upgrading your Nail and collecting health improvements before attempting the more demanding encounters.

Work toward defeating the three Dreamers: Lurien the Watcher in the City of Tears, Herrah the Beast in Deepnest, and Monomon the Teacher in Fog Canyon. Each unlocks a separate trophy and removes one seal from the Black Egg Temple. Once all three have been defeated, you can challenge the Hollow Knight and complete the main story. Finishing the game doesn't erase your progress; you can return to your save and continue exploring. This makes it perfectly reasonable to experience the first ending before tackling the much harder Platinum requirements.

During this stage, begin completing larger collectible objectives. Rescue all 46 Grubs, acquire every available map, unlock the Stag Stations, and work toward obtaining every Charm. Once you've collected the required Charms, visit Salubra and purchase her Blessing for 800 Geo to earn Blessed. Start filling the Hunter's Journal as well, since True Hunter requires completing the required creature entries and receiving the Hunter's Mark. Hallownest is enormous, but having a map, a few extra health masks, and a properly upgraded Nail makes getting lost considerably less painful.

LATE GAME

With the main story completed, concentrate on the difficult optional activities and remaining completion requirements. Finish all three trials at the Colosseum of Fools in Kingdom's Edge, including the demanding Trial of the Fool. Complete the Grey Mourner's Delicate Flower quest by transporting the flower from the Resting Grounds to the Queen's Gardens without taking damage or using Stag Stations or Dreamgate travel. Clearing enemies along your intended route before collecting the flower can make this considerably easier, provided you avoid resting at benches that would respawn them.

Complete the Grimm Troupe storyline by defeating Troupe Master Grimm and either defeating Nightmare King Grimm or banishing the troupe. Both conclusions satisfy Nightmare's End and award the relevant completion progress. If you intend to challenge Nightmare King Grimm, prepare for one of the game's toughest optional encounters. You should also finish collecting the necessary Charms, Mask Shards, Vessel Fragments, Nail upgrades, abilities, and Essence. Don't forget Mister Mushroom's seven encounters for Passing of the Age, which requires visiting him in sequence with Spore Shroom equipped and then obtaining an ending.

Your next major objective is 112% game completion. Access Godhome by opening the Godseeker's cocoon in the Junk Pit of the Royal Waterways with a Simple Key, then use the Dream Nail to enter. Complete the Pantheon of the Master, Artist, Sage, and Knight. These first four Pantheons contribute toward 112% completion, while completing the fourth also unlocks Soul & Shade. Once your completion percentage reaches 112%, defeat the Hollow Knight or complete another qualifying ending to earn Pure Completion. The fifth Pantheon isn't needed for 112%, but it remains mandatory for the Platinum.

TROPHY CLEANUP AND EXTRA TIPS

The final challenge is Embrace the Void, which requires completing the Pantheon of Hallownest. This fifth Pantheon unlocks after completing the first four and obtaining Void Heart. It contains more than 40 consecutive boss encounters, culminating in a battle against Absolute Radiance. You must survive the entire sequence, with only a limited number of rest opportunities. This is the main reason Hollow Knight's Platinum is rated approximately 9/10 in difficulty and can require more than 100 hours. There are no mandatory Bindings, Steel Soul challenges, speedruns, or online trophies.

Before attempting the fifth Pantheon, maximize your health, Soul capacity, and Nail damage, then experiment with powerful Charm combinations. Use the Hall of Gods in Godhome to practice difficult bosses individually without restarting a full Pantheon. Pay particular attention to Pure Vessel, Nightmare King Grimm, and Absolute Radiance. If you haven't fought Grey Prince Zote in the main game, you can avoid adding him to the Pantheon encounters, making your final challenge slightly more manageable. The Pantheons test consistency more than speed, so focus on surviving each encounter instead of rushing through the sequence.

For cleanup, review your remaining trophies and use Ask Gami to locate missing Charms, Grubs, Journal entries, or completion requirements. Remember that reaching 112% alone doesn't unlock Pure Completion; you must finish the game again afterward. The two source guides also describe an optional invincibility exploit, but its reliability on the native PS5 version hasn't been established, so don't build your Platinum strategy around it. Hollow Knight is a demanding Platinum, but every boss you master brings you closer to Heart of Hallownest. Few trophy lists make the final victory feel quite so earned.