After you beat Hollow Knight for the very first time, you may feel elated, and rightfully so; after all, you just beat a very hard game. However, you may also be wondering what comes next. The game is so good that it can't be over yet, can it? Surely there's more content that you can explore, and luckily for you, there is!
Since Hollow Knight's launch, some of you have found ways to challenge yourselves in-game, refine your skills, or create a new experience. Some challenges may already be built into the game, but others rely on the honor system (and maybe some mods) to help give you a refreshing new experience the next time you dive into Hallownest.
10 Find Every Grub
Grubs are adorable, and they deserve to be back with Grubfather and not trapped in glass jars. So why are you leaving them trapped in their glass jars? If you have been leaving those poor little Grubs behind, consider taking another run around Hallownest to collect every grub.
If you're playing on PC, Xbox, or PlayStation, then you could get the Metamorphosis achievement in the process. Although the rewards may not seem like they're worth it in the long run (after all, you get so much geo in the later parts of the game), you do get a new charm among the vessel and mask fragments.
9 Delicate Flower
Although the Delicate Flower Quest is considered to be possibly one of the most anxiety-inducing and tedious quests in the game, there's something so thrilling about being able to say that you did it. Even better is if you go and give a flower to every character that can get one in Hallownest.
There are only a few possible recipients of the Delicate Flower, but it's delightful to see just how happy it makes some of them. If you're looking for a challenge, try to get the Delicate Flower to Elderbug, Nailmaster Oro, and the Godseeker after you finish two Pantheons in Godhome.
8 Path Of Pain
It's called the Path of Pain for a reason, and it just makes you cry. This platforming area fueled by tears and nightmares is found in the White Palace and is notorious for haunting the nightmares of all who dare to attempt it. However, if you manage to make it through, you get access to secret parts of the lore and can proudly brag about your accomplishment.
But why not go through the Path of Pain more than a few times? Why not try to get so good at it that you can make it through in a single run? Step up to the plate and take the challenge for yourself if you dare.
7 112 Percent Run
So you've finished Hollow Knight... but have you really? Have you explored every nook and cranny in Hallownest? Discovered every facet of the white palace? Gained the Void Heart and beat every boss in the game? If you're looking for more in Hallownest, consider doing a completionist run and getting 112 percent.
This requires beating most of the game's bosses, collecting every charm you can get your hands on, getting 2,400 Essence for your Dream Nail, all the colosseums, and so much more. One would consider it to be the challenge to end all challenges in Hollow Knight if only there weren't more difficult things you could try to do.
6 Low Percent Run
Consider doing the opposite of a completionist run and get the lowest possible percent completion to beat the game. Currently, the lowest known possible completion percentage is 11 percent. This requires learning the map inside and out, knowing how to do shade skips, and avoiding various bosses by completely subverting their areas.
Of course, if you want to challenge yourself a little bit more, consider going for the Low Percent True Ending, with a minimum of 23 percent completion. This will require you to obtain the Awakened Dream Nail withoutchallenging any of the dream bosses.
5 Menderbug Percent
If you've ever broken a sign in Hallownest and come back to it fixed, it isn't just the room resetting. It's actually Menderbug, who repairs the signs all around Hallownest without you ever seeing... most of the time. There is a small chance that you can catch Menderbug in the act when you break the sign just below the entrance to the Dirtmouth and re-enter from the well.
As it would turn out, there's actually a challenge to try and find Menderbug, and depending on your RNG, it could take you seconds or hours. Regardless, it requires breaking the sign and moving between the Forgotten Crossroads and Dirtmouth until Menderbug appears. At which point you promptly kill him with a single hit. From there, you should gain access to Menderbug's house, right next to where you originally found Sly.
4 Steel Soul
Steel Soul is a mode that is already built into the game. The idea behind it is that you get one chance and no more than that. As soon as you're dead, that's it; that's the end of your game. Steel Soul doesn't care how far you are into the game because as soon as that fatal hit comes, it's over for you.
This game mode will force you to become good because you can't keep playing if you're not. Every boss fight has an added layer of tension, and areas like Soul Sanctum and Crystal Peaks become much more terrifying rather than frustrating.
3 Pantheon Of Gods
When the Godhome update was added to the game, Team Cherry gifted a new challenge to the daring: the Pantheons of Godhome. With it came two new endings, but that's not the important part. The important part is that the Pantheons challenged you to find and defeat almost every boss in the game at least once before you could fight them again.
This second time you'd be fighting them in front of the eyes of the Godseekers as you gradually began to ascend to your own godhood. If you find the boss fights to generally be thrilling and fun, consider trying to get to and defeat Pantheon 5, the Pantheon of Hallownest. It's a non-stop onslaught of every single boss you have faced up until that point, along with two additional fights.
2 No Hit Run
You technically don't need a mod to try and go through a No Hit Run of Hallownest; all you need is the honor system. One hit, and you reset back to whatever bench you rested at before. Try to get through to any of your favorite endings in Hollow Knight without taking any damage.
This challenge will force you to sharpen your skills, learn all the enemy cues, and completely master the game's controls. It'll be like you're carrying a Delicate Flower all the time, but at least this way, you can still use the Stagways.
1 Try Out The Randomizer
The Randomizer is a great way to change up your gameplay, offering a new and exciting challenge that may require you to have some knowledge of skips. It is, of course, completely possible to get stuck and have a bad generation with the Randomizer considering it completely rearranges where you find every item, but it's not guaranteed.
In fact, there's probably a better chance you'll end up taking the most bizarre and nonsensical path throughout Hallownest to achieve your goal. You may even end up skipping over some steps, like going through the White Palace, just because you found a necessary item early on. It completely revolutionizes gameplay and will give you that new experience you've been looking for in Hallownest.