Hollow
knight
Hollow Knight is a video game by Ari Gibson and William Pellen in which the player fights through a beautiful underground abandoned civilization.
Music in Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight's music strays further from the classic synth video game music we tend to think of. It leans more toward the cinematic side of soundtracks, with swelling strings and emotional piano. The connection to cinematic scores in this side-scrolling adventure game may be another way for the player to immerse themself in the world. The composer of the Hollow Knight soundtrack, Christopher Larkin, was trained in composing film scores, which makes sense. This background allowed him to adhere to the functions video game music must fulfill, but in a more cinematic, orchestral way than most other video games.
"One of Chris’ main goals is to maintain a classically-educated approach to music composition and sound design, whilst using his knowledge of current technology to produce a vast range of musical styles and soundscapes. He always strives to explore new ways of how music can reflect or embellish human emotion, mood, in the context of a story or world." (composerlarkin.com)
.
As Claudia Susanne Ofner writes in her thesis, "Play Me a Story: Storytelling in the Metroidvania Game Hollow Knight," "Through intelligent use of music, the game can communicate to the player whether they are in a safe location, such as a Hot Spring, by playing music with soft piano tones, or engaging in a boss fight, by playing a score with quick drumrolls" (74-75). This is similar to what other video games use music for: to inform the player about the world around them and hint as to what might happen next.
​
The cinematic nature of the game music adds not only to the creation of the world, but to the actual playing experience as well. This is an adventure game with a narrative, so cinematic film scores lull the player into thinking they are controlling the main character to an exciting and mysterious story, which they are.