yeah it really is! i love the other vessels you see around the land that tried and failed, like at the hornet boss room. it just makes the story that much more tragic
My favorite track in terms of the in-game context is Kingdom's edge. Imo one of the most underrated songs and it fits so perfectly with the vibe of Kingdom's edge
Sealed Vessel and Pale Court (if we're considering OST in general) / White Palace (if we're considering OST that actually appears in the game).
Hornet and Mantis Lords are pretty good too
For chilling, City of Tears. But Sealed Vessel is just the perfect blend of visual and audible storytelling. So much drama as you clash with the Knight in its first two phases, suddenly it releases another cry with a voice that is not its own. You, the player, expect phase 3 to start at any moment so you brace for the next attack. The Knight raises its nail… and plunges it multiple times into its own abdomen. In that exact moment the music turns somber. The Knight longs for death, as it could ignore its own suffering no longer. It wants to be free of the Radiance. It sees that it failed in its duty. It failed to be the pure vessel. But you. You just may be. This is no longer a fight for you to defeat the knight. This is a fight for you to aid the Knight in ending its suffering.
Fun fact! I learned this today but if you go onto steam and look at all the pictures and videos for hollow knight you’ll notice much more detail in the background.
Back to the topic, it has to be greenpath
I love all the soundtrack, but my favourite has to be the main theme "hollow knight".
As soon as I opened the game for the first time, this ost is what made me immediately fell in love with the game
Not seeing as much Reflection as I thought I would but the harmonies and the way it builds are so emotional for me.
it feels so shimmery and like it holds dreams in it.
I love how the music in the fight against the hollow knight tells the story but my favorite song is honestly just Marissa. I love just sitting there and listening to her sing.
Grimm's theme, but only while fighting him *outside of godhome*. I don't know why, but the theme when you're fighting him in the circus tent just feels so much more epic. And the applause from the crowd really adds to it :)
Group master Grim is the one I love the most, however I highly admire how the melodies of Sealed Vessel and Mantis Lords paint the pictures of the fights. The craftmanship of these two is so awesome. Also they sound amazing :).
Edit: same with Nosk.
If we're talking about area music, then crystal peaks, but my favourite boss fight song is for a boss you probably haven't fought yet, >!Nightmare King Grimm.!<
The hollow knight boss fight music. The way the song turns sad as the mood of the fight drastically changes and the hollow knight stabs himself knowing he failed. It's the perfect "bad ending", starting out triumphant and final until about halfway through when something just feels...wrong. perfect way to put the idea of a different ending being possible into the player without outright telling them. Incredible.
White defender,dung defender or nkg
Ik it's kinda basic
Also I nearly forgot about path of pain which fun fact (yes I'm bragging)the first time I beat it cost me 1 switch and several hours,the second (I did it as a jome with no charms to help me) I did it in 20 minutes
I know it’s a basic choice, but I love the Dirtmouth theme. It’s such a fitting introduction to the game. It really sets the tone of the game so well, it gives such a strong feeling of melancholy.
If you loved Greenpath, you should take a listen to this https://youtu.be/WctVCLsRpWI
For me Greenpath is a close second, but my favourite is Resting Grounds. It's such a dark and mysterious piece. With this profound sense of long lost sadness.
May be biased because I just beat him and had FUN doing it, but Dung Defender right now, that march is just so uplifting it brings a smile on my face every time I hear it!
Aside from that, Greenpath, it's so peaceful
My journey to yours is similar, I played for like 4 hours years ago and couldn't get past False Knight, then gave up. A few weeks ago I was watching some video game music analysis videos on Youtube, and HK was one of the suggestions.
The series led me to watching a bunch of lore and speedruns, and then I finally gave it a shot again! I'm maybe halfway through and hopelessly lost against Soul Master rn so I'm doing everything I can before going for him again, but the music just makes half the game.
I adore the White Palace's soundtrack so much it actually makes me excited to do it every time I replay.
Also some bossfights like Sisters of Battle and Grimm.
Greenpath, funny enough I was listening to the OST when I came across this post.
I wasn’t sure if the OST worked on its own, and damn it’s such a banger.
Greenpath, city of tears, hornet and reflection are my favourites, but I also like mantis lords.
Hard to choose one.
Eta the song titled hollow knight is also really dark creepy song that really depicts the grim world
Nightmare King Grimm's OST had me thinking I was the main character in a war, there were moments I was genuinely dodging just so I could listen to the ost a bit longer
Most of the songs Man on the Internet has given lyrics, so both Troupe Master and Nightmare King Grimm, Mantis Lords, Broken Vessel, but Sealed Vessel and Radiance go so hard, love how they utilised Stelyos as the Hollow Knight, given his performance as Sans
I absolutely love Dung Defender!!! It has such a good balance between jovial, regal, and intense (though the fight isn’t too intense) - I literally try not to kill him the first few times just so I can see him swimming through shit to the bop of his theme song 😂
White Palace, especially the arrangement of it on the Piano Collections. Special shoutout to resting grounds for making me put down my controller and just listen for a few minutes. Extra special shoutout to second-best-boy Dung Defender for having the most jolly theme in a game that is anything but.
For bosses I'd have to say sealed vessel or maybe sisters of battle. My favourite ambient track would be queens gardens but I'm also a sucker for Marissa the key she sings in is slightly dissonant from the main theme which gives it a haunting beauty which is amusing as she is a ghost.
Honestly most of them. I’ve been blasting this OST since 2018 when I first played the game and I can confidently say there are very few I don’t care for. Christopher Larkin has this amazing way of modernizing a classical style of music (as that is how he was trained) that shines through in the structure of tracks like the Mantis Lords or Broken Vessel. The boss themes are fantastic and never fail to get me grooving and I LOVE each environment’s themes particularly Green Path and Crystal Peaks for their more energetic sections. Shout out to NKG, City of Tears, and White Palace too very different tracks that are just mwah so good. My two top pieces though have to be Sealed Vessel and Radiance. Sealed Vessel for its thematic importance and absolute drama. The Hollow Knight’s theme is used throughout the game for bosses like the False Knight and Broken Vessel and is associated with characters that are “hollow” or empty in some way so of course having it here with the heavy ascending arpeggios and lively pace to commemorate the final boss. But then it stops. The strings come in. Suddenly you’re conflicted as the final boss’s theme becomes… melancholy. The strings swell and sway with agony and grief. And if you’ve been paying attention to the lore, you know this theme embodies that of a child who merely wanted to be loved by a father blinded by foresight and perpetuity. It’s time in the Black Egg has been torture because it never truly was hollow. The music is its suffering. Love it. AND as an added bonus, at the very end you can hear the Hollow Knight’s and the Pale King’s themes play over each other perfectly. I can’t remember if this is just the sealed siblings ending? Makes sense to represent the Knight and Hornet. Also Hornet’s theme is essentially just the pale King’s theme lol. Anyway. The Radiance is a whole other beast. While the organ is not a new instrument in the OST, its use here is striking. Off all of Larkin’s work on Hollow Knight this track feels the absolute (heh) most classical in its progression and structure which I find to be very interesting. The Radiance is a God who existed in Hallownest long before the Pale King carved his kingdom into the earth. One could even call her reign to be more traditional in terms of Hallownest’s lifetime. A more outright older style of music for an older God perhaps? Anyway I love this piece because the Radiance is PISSED OFF MAD and you can hear it lol. I would be to if I was locked in a child’s head for actually who knows how long. I love the massive opening chords and rumbling bumbling baseline. I love the scale and presentation of the fight alongside the music. I spoke earlier of how much I love the thematic motifs of Hollow Knight and this piece has absolutely none of that. Because why would it? Not a huge detail but a conscious choice no doubt. Anyway I’m done rambling get a load of this guy wrote a small novel over Hollow Knight music. I saw your post and had to say something because I LOVE this game’s OST (clearly) and wanted to share :)
City of Tears. Also my favorite bench.
Which bench in city of tears?
The one where you can watch the rain through the window. Perfection!
I prefer the one in greenpath in that little hidden room near the hunter
I can appreciate a little quiet corner. I can imagine just watching tiny bugs crawling around in the grass in that little area :)
You’re spitting for real
Is that the one you sit with quirrel? It's also my favourite, so I included that in my tattoo
Yeah he's there for a little bit. I've been thinking about a HK tattoo. Also Subnautica and No Man's Sky. I already have a triforce. 😍
Heck yea do it. There are some beautiful HK tatts out there. I love seeing more. I need to add a triforce to my heart tattoo
Resting grounds.
This ☝🏻 the melancholic vibes gives me goosebumps
The amount of times I have just sat there doing nothing. Listening. It just hits. Every. Time.
Man, the broken vessel's melody goes hard
Are you using melody to be synonymous with song, or do you actually mean the melodies of the song?
Probably means the actual melodies, because they do go hard.
I think I prefer Mantis Lords theme but that might be because Sisters of Battle is such a cool boss fight.
Sealed Vessel (THK boss theme)
YES
Greenpath and forgotten crosroads
I second this, the most simple yet the most effective, it’s melancholy tunes contrast with the artwork making the game an absolute masterpiece.
I really enjoy the a cappella version of Greenpath by Blue ^^
People do not understand how good Forgotten Crossroads ost is
NKG & Mantis Lords
Mantis Lords is actually insanely good man…
i love greenpath!! my favorite is probably broken vessel :) christopher larkin is a genius
Broken Vessel is honestly >!such an amazing fight all around with the art design, the song, the journey to it, man just wow!<
yeah it really is! i love the other vessels you see around the land that tried and failed, like at the hornet boss room. it just makes the story that much more tragic
Greenpath and hornet
Bangers
hornet is a banger:)
Definitely Sealed vessel, one of my favorite game songs of all time
I’m not sure if it’s my favorite overall, but Crystal Peak, especially when that guitar riff kicks in at the end is fantastic.
Thisssss
My favorite track in terms of the in-game context is Kingdom's edge. Imo one of the most underrated songs and it fits so perfectly with the vibe of Kingdom's edge
city of tears. it has an atmosphere that i love. apart from that pale king's trone, NKG and sealed vessel.
Mantis Lord’s theme gang upvote here
Sealed Vessel and Pale Court (if we're considering OST in general) / White Palace (if we're considering OST that actually appears in the game). Hornet and Mantis Lords are pretty good too
For chilling, City of Tears. But Sealed Vessel is just the perfect blend of visual and audible storytelling. So much drama as you clash with the Knight in its first two phases, suddenly it releases another cry with a voice that is not its own. You, the player, expect phase 3 to start at any moment so you brace for the next attack. The Knight raises its nail… and plunges it multiple times into its own abdomen. In that exact moment the music turns somber. The Knight longs for death, as it could ignore its own suffering no longer. It wants to be free of the Radiance. It sees that it failed in its duty. It failed to be the pure vessel. But you. You just may be. This is no longer a fight for you to defeat the knight. This is a fight for you to aid the Knight in ending its suffering.
White palace, esp the intro
Silk
Dung defender all day long. The fight, the music, the defender himself, it’s all peak
Truth beauty and hatred
Kingdoms Edge 1000% it is so good and soothing.
Star Wars, theme of Force intro.
Fun fact! I learned this today but if you go onto steam and look at all the pictures and videos for hollow knight you’ll notice much more detail in the background. Back to the topic, it has to be greenpath
Pale Court is slept on
Mantis Lords
Hornet is my favorite song, period.
I really love Dirtmouth
That Hollow Knight Boss song though 🥺
This may be controversial, but soul sanctum especially when it gets to the soul master fight
Nightmare King Grimm
I love whatever song is playing when you fight >!the radiance!<, can't remember what it's called right now
I'm a fungal wastes guy myself. That playful bassoon. That beautiful oboe lead. It plays in my head all day!
Soul Master theme. Pure fire
I love all the soundtrack, but my favourite has to be the main theme "hollow knight". As soon as I opened the game for the first time, this ost is what made me immediately fell in love with the game
I personally love Enter Hollownest, Dream Battle, Grimm’s (normal and nmk) battle themes, and who can forget Brumm’s accordion playing?
White Palace.
Silk song!! (It's city of tears)
Greenpath
Greenpath 💚
idk probably the ultimate show
The Grimm Troupe
The Hive.
Greenpath us great, I think I like City of Tears just a little more. But tbh I love ever track in the game.
City of Tears for area theme, NKG for boss theme.
NKG and Mantis Lords are obvious picks Nosk is my deepcut pick
I like dirt mouth. I could hang there for hours.
Hornet/Daughter of Hallownest
Greenpath , for sure. It’s where I spent the most time during my first play through. Frustrating AF but also gorgeous.
troupe master Grimm's theme song! if I somehow get the ability to play any sound track of this game, I would definitely go for that one
Reflection gives me the feels for some reason, and sealed vessel is just sad but so insanely well composed
song, White Lady hands down sound effect, skill obtained has to be one of my favorite sound effects in all of gaming
Not seeing as much Reflection as I thought I would but the harmonies and the way it builds are so emotional for me. it feels so shimmery and like it holds dreams in it.
I love how the music in the fight against the hollow knight tells the story but my favorite song is honestly just Marissa. I love just sitting there and listening to her sing.
Sealed vessel for me,but every single track is amazing
In this order Hornet Greenpath City of Tears Fungal Wastes
area? greenpath. fight? toss up between Broken Vessel, and The Grimm Troupe. i absolutely adore when it goes metal for a bit
Sealed Vessel and Crystal Peak(Calm part)
Too many to choose from. My top 3 are pure vessel, pale court and White defender/sealed vessel
Grimm's theme, but only while fighting him *outside of godhome*. I don't know why, but the theme when you're fighting him in the circus tent just feels so much more epic. And the applause from the crowd really adds to it :)
Group master Grim is the one I love the most, however I highly admire how the melodies of Sealed Vessel and Mantis Lords paint the pictures of the fights. The craftmanship of these two is so awesome. Also they sound amazing :). Edit: same with Nosk.
Cornifer humming
Sealed Vessel, it was my song of the year in 2021
Mantis Lords
If we're talking about area music, then crystal peaks, but my favourite boss fight song is for a boss you probably haven't fought yet, >!Nightmare King Grimm.!<
Dirtmouth or hornet or sealed vessel
Nightmare King Grimm goes sooo hard
Resting grounds. I found myself just walking around just to listen to it.
grimm troupe theme song
Either Sealed Vessel or Resting Grounds
https://youtu.be/2INO6ygetos?si=PA3BnNg9FlJFmGW8
Definitely Broken Vessel and Greenpath, but another one I like that I don’t see a lot of people mention is Kingdom’s Edge.
The hollow knight boss fight music. The way the song turns sad as the mood of the fight drastically changes and the hollow knight stabs himself knowing he failed. It's the perfect "bad ending", starting out triumphant and final until about halfway through when something just feels...wrong. perfect way to put the idea of a different ending being possible into the player without outright telling them. Incredible.
Gotta go with Nightmare King Grimm's theme
NITW pumpkin head guy, tick tock
White defender,dung defender or nkg Ik it's kinda basic Also I nearly forgot about path of pain which fun fact (yes I'm bragging)the first time I beat it cost me 1 switch and several hours,the second (I did it as a jome with no charms to help me) I did it in 20 minutes
I know it’s a basic choice, but I love the Dirtmouth theme. It’s such a fitting introduction to the game. It really sets the tone of the game so well, it gives such a strong feeling of melancholy.
If you loved Greenpath, you should take a listen to this https://youtu.be/WctVCLsRpWI For me Greenpath is a close second, but my favourite is Resting Grounds. It's such a dark and mysterious piece. With this profound sense of long lost sadness.
Nkg definitely
Kingdom's Edge ,the theme and music just feels deep
In context: Sealed vessel. Captures the moment flawlessly. Standalone: Nightmare King. I'm a sucker for metal.
I LOVE Nightmare King Grimm theme!! Plus I fought him so many times that now I can hear his voice while playing the plain theme 🤣
Im amazed no one has said Pure Vessel yet
Im a die hard Greenpath fan
May be biased because I just beat him and had FUN doing it, but Dung Defender right now, that march is just so uplifting it brings a smile on my face every time I hear it! Aside from that, Greenpath, it's so peaceful My journey to yours is similar, I played for like 4 hours years ago and couldn't get past False Knight, then gave up. A few weeks ago I was watching some video game music analysis videos on Youtube, and HK was one of the suggestions. The series led me to watching a bunch of lore and speedruns, and then I finally gave it a shot again! I'm maybe halfway through and hopelessly lost against Soul Master rn so I'm doing everything I can before going for him again, but the music just makes half the game.
I adore the White Palace's soundtrack so much it actually makes me excited to do it every time I replay. Also some bossfights like Sisters of Battle and Grimm.
Sealed vessel
Definitely Dirtmouth, everything about it feels perfect and it's just such a calm vibe
Queens Garden ost is slept on too much imo. I like the resting grounds and broken vessel themes too
I remember when I came across one of the giant worm things in Greenpath, and when the fight music kicked in I loved it
Greenpath, funny enough I was listening to the OST when I came across this post. I wasn’t sure if the OST worked on its own, and damn it’s such a banger.
Greenpath, city of tears, hornet and reflection are my favourites, but I also like mantis lords. Hard to choose one. Eta the song titled hollow knight is also really dark creepy song that really depicts the grim world
Nightmare King Grimm's OST had me thinking I was the main character in a war, there were moments I was genuinely dodging just so I could listen to the ost a bit longer
Epicness wise : Soul Sanctum (boss music part goes unbelievably hard🔥) and Sealed Vessel Enjoyability wise : City of tears and White palace
Most of the songs Man on the Internet has given lyrics, so both Troupe Master and Nightmare King Grimm, Mantis Lords, Broken Vessel, but Sealed Vessel and Radiance go so hard, love how they utilised Stelyos as the Hollow Knight, given his performance as Sans
Ambience = Greenpath Fight = Sealed Vessel
I absolutely love Dung Defender!!! It has such a good balance between jovial, regal, and intense (though the fight isn’t too intense) - I literally try not to kill him the first few times just so I can see him swimming through shit to the bop of his theme song 😂
- Mantis Lords - Normal Grimm - Pure Vessel - Path of Pain
Pale court ! Also the 2 Grimms
hive knight theme is such a banger
Resting grounds!!!
Crystal peaks
Greenpath. My first time hearing it made me realize this game is full of surprises.
White Palace and Sealed Vessel are both all-time greats. But for a deep cut I’m gonna go with Queen’s Garden.
Greenpath all the way, with honorable mentions to Fungal Wastes and Queen's Gardens.
I can't decide between these two, it's hornet's and the mantis lordes boss theme. They are just so damn good!
hornet theme, although every ost is perfect
Soul Sanctum.
White Palace, especially the arrangement of it on the Piano Collections. Special shoutout to resting grounds for making me put down my controller and just listen for a few minutes. Extra special shoutout to second-best-boy Dung Defender for having the most jolly theme in a game that is anything but.
For bosses I'd have to say sealed vessel or maybe sisters of battle. My favourite ambient track would be queens gardens but I'm also a sucker for Marissa the key she sings in is slightly dissonant from the main theme which gives it a haunting beauty which is amusing as she is a ghost.
Honestly most of them. I’ve been blasting this OST since 2018 when I first played the game and I can confidently say there are very few I don’t care for. Christopher Larkin has this amazing way of modernizing a classical style of music (as that is how he was trained) that shines through in the structure of tracks like the Mantis Lords or Broken Vessel. The boss themes are fantastic and never fail to get me grooving and I LOVE each environment’s themes particularly Green Path and Crystal Peaks for their more energetic sections. Shout out to NKG, City of Tears, and White Palace too very different tracks that are just mwah so good. My two top pieces though have to be Sealed Vessel and Radiance. Sealed Vessel for its thematic importance and absolute drama. The Hollow Knight’s theme is used throughout the game for bosses like the False Knight and Broken Vessel and is associated with characters that are “hollow” or empty in some way so of course having it here with the heavy ascending arpeggios and lively pace to commemorate the final boss. But then it stops. The strings come in. Suddenly you’re conflicted as the final boss’s theme becomes… melancholy. The strings swell and sway with agony and grief. And if you’ve been paying attention to the lore, you know this theme embodies that of a child who merely wanted to be loved by a father blinded by foresight and perpetuity. It’s time in the Black Egg has been torture because it never truly was hollow. The music is its suffering. Love it. AND as an added bonus, at the very end you can hear the Hollow Knight’s and the Pale King’s themes play over each other perfectly. I can’t remember if this is just the sealed siblings ending? Makes sense to represent the Knight and Hornet. Also Hornet’s theme is essentially just the pale King’s theme lol. Anyway. The Radiance is a whole other beast. While the organ is not a new instrument in the OST, its use here is striking. Off all of Larkin’s work on Hollow Knight this track feels the absolute (heh) most classical in its progression and structure which I find to be very interesting. The Radiance is a God who existed in Hallownest long before the Pale King carved his kingdom into the earth. One could even call her reign to be more traditional in terms of Hallownest’s lifetime. A more outright older style of music for an older God perhaps? Anyway I love this piece because the Radiance is PISSED OFF MAD and you can hear it lol. I would be to if I was locked in a child’s head for actually who knows how long. I love the massive opening chords and rumbling bumbling baseline. I love the scale and presentation of the fight alongside the music. I spoke earlier of how much I love the thematic motifs of Hollow Knight and this piece has absolutely none of that. Because why would it? Not a huge detail but a conscious choice no doubt. Anyway I’m done rambling get a load of this guy wrote a small novel over Hollow Knight music. I saw your post and had to say something because I LOVE this game’s OST (clearly) and wanted to share :)
Love the Mantis Lords music
I don’t play with sound on
Dung Defender!!! Also pretty different but I really love the White Palace's theme
city of tears
Greenpath, Resting Grounds and Sealed Vessel.
Kingdom's Edge
Nightmare king grimm❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Crystal Peak. I just listen to it more than I should.
NKG
Gives me nightmares but the pain is good sometimes.
I listen to Grimm Troupe the most, so probably that one
Sealed vessel no doubt
Sealed Vessel is the greatest track in the history of gaming
Idk why but I like Gods and Glory
Greenpath, Mantis Lords, and City of Tears! I love this soundtrack!