"Hollow Knight and Shovel Knight are a couple of the greatest indie games ever made and I've been meaning to do this match-up for a very long time. The only question is: which of these indie knights will claim victory?" - A.J. Maciejewski from Video Chums
Craftlings seems to walk the road that leads people into the walled garden of management sims. It's deviations from the formula are two-fold: one to make it more approachable with more bite-sized goals, and the other to add a layer of difficulty these games don't usually have.
The COGconnected team has cast its votes, check out our Top 10 to see which title claims the coveted Best Indie Game of 2025.
Eight years after its original release, Hollow Knight has achieved a remarkable resurgence, reaching an all-time peak of 39,356 concurrent players on
It is on sale right now. I have never played it but I am considering picking it up on Steam.
Vote for either Hollow Knight or Shovel Knight at the bottom of the article! 🎮😄
Oooof, that's a tough one. Genuinely cant decide. I consider both to be top tier sidescrollers. I think I enjoyed the journey in Hollow Knight more, and its visuals are clearly much more appealing. Shovel Knight always brings me back for more, but I'd need to really go into depth to identify why.
Tough pick.
Both are great games but Hollow Knight's fantastic visuals and sense of atmosphere tip it just a little higher on my scale.
Hollow Knight for sure.