Never has a game so cute been quite as punishing asHollow Knight.At least with Souls games, you know the moment you enter the gritty, twisted world what you’re getting into, but Hollow Knight walks the tightrope between cozy and carnage seamlessly. And this is most clear to see when you come face to face with the many bosses within Hallownest.
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Hollow Knight houses some truly special boss battles, each with their own nuances, quirks, and frustrations. But we want to answer once and for all, which of these bosses offers the sternest test. This will be a bumper list, so strap in!
Oh, and just before we hop in, I’m including all bosses, including Godhome Variants and Dream Bosses, just no dream warriors, or Colosseum bosses.
34Vengefly King
There isn’t much to say about the Vengefly King, really. They get some brownie points for giving Zote a hard time and offering a little comedic moment. But as a boss, they are just a big Vengefly that swoops from left to right. If you found this hard, then I dread to think how you got on with the rest of the bosses on this list.
33Gruz Mother
Forgotten Crossroads
Gruz Mother is another boss who makes you think, ‘Is this really worthy of being a named boss?’
They have a rather intimidating pinball attack where they cannon off the walls of the arena, but you can just take a step back and let that all play out in safety. A little bit harder than Vengefly King, but still 0.1 on the Hollow Knight hardness Richter scale.
32False Knight
I would say that False Knight, just barely, earns the status of ‘named Hollow Knight boss.’ This is the first real challenging encounter the game has to offer, and it forces the player to learn attack patterns, wait for windows to strike, and serves as the first mandatory hurdle to overcome to get to Greenpath. It’s kind of like the Asylum Demon in Dark Souls. Initially terrifying, but laughably easy in hindsight.
31Massive Moss Charger
We are moving up the difficulty scale at a glacial pace here, but I have to cover all bases here like the consummate professional I am. The Massive Moss Charger is just a juiced up version of the standard variants you will find in Greenpath.
Most of the difficulty in this fight comes from the fact that their choice of either a low charge or jumping attack is quite hard to read, but provided you give yourself a second to react accordingly, this one is a walk in the park.
30Dung Defender
Royal Waterways
Defender’s Crest
As much as I love Dung Defender as a character, and could listen all day to their ‘Doma Doma Doma’ chant, their fight really isn’t all that tough. Dung Defender has a few clever attacks, like the attack where he dives into and out of the ground, and his triple poop ball attack.
But the fact of the matter is, even if you do make an error, there are so many opportunities to hit him, get SOUL, and heal in a safe space. He gets a ten for pageantry and charisma but a much lesser score for actual battle strategy.
Teacher’s Archives
Access to Monomon Teacher
Considering Uumuu is one of the three Dreamers needed to unlock the Black Egg Temple, you would expect a battle of some magnitude. But what it boils down to is a room with several platforms that you will need to use to avoid electric shock attacks, and periodically, Quirrel will pop in to attack Uumuu and make them vulnerable.
Rinse and repeat, and the job is done. It’s laughably easy, not one bit as fun as a fight, and if you have Isma’s Tear, there isn’t even the jeopardy of falling to your doom if you platform poorly. All in all, a real letdown deserving of this low rank.
28Flukemarm
I will concede that if you don’t have your nail upgraded, Flukemarm can be a real test, as his minions will overwhelm you. But if you have spent some Pale Ore upgrading your weapon, you can deal with them in one hit, freeing you up to take out the big maggoty monster in the middle of the room, which doesn’t have all that much health to begin with.
The charm you get makes this a fight well worth seeking out for spell users, but as a fight, it’s one that’ll be over before you know it.
27Crystal Guardian
Crystal Peak
The reason Crystal Guardian finds themselves down so long is two-pronged. One being that they are not all that tough to beat, as their Laser attacks are pretty one-note.
Then secondly, if you have access to the Defenders Crest Charm, you can simply stand beside the bench they are sitting on, and they will eventually die without you having to engage in battle at all. But whether you fight them or cheese the fight, they won’t give you much trouble either way.
26Enraged Guardian
The second Crystal Guardian fight is essentially more of the same when compared to the fight above. The key difference is that this Enraged Guardian hits for two masks. This means you need to ensure you really know how to stay away from those lasers. But that doesn’t mean play with caution, because, in this frenetic fight, that’ll get you killed.
But all in all, it’s just a slightly more dynamic version of the fight with the first guardian, in which you’ll be harder punished for mistakes. Oh, and you may’t just use Defender’s Crest to skip this one, sorry.
25Brooding Mawlek
Mask Shard
We are right on the precipice of what I would consider intermediate Hollow Knight Bosses, and I believe Brooding Mawlek earns that label more through frustrating attacks than anything else.
The fight is one of the first listed that really forces players to dodge projectiles with precision, and when they use their attack that covers half the battlefield, you need to be on your toes, ready to jump, dodge, and nail jump on their head to safety. It’s an intermediate boss because mindless running, jumping, and slashing just won’t cut it here. And this, my little Knight’s, is where the bosses start forcing you to use strategy.
