Hollow Knight defined what an Australian indie could be. Team Cherry's 2017 masterpiece set a bar for precision combat, interconnected world-building, and dark-fantasy commitment that still shapes conversations today. HAWKER is also Australian, also dark, also built around precision combat, though very different in genre and scope. This piece from the team at Tyrian Games compares the two directly and acknowledges the debt Australian indies owe to Team Cherry.
TL;DR
- Hollow Knight is Team Cherry's 2017 Metroidvania with precision combat and deep lore, set in the fallen kingdom of Hallownest.
- HAWKER is a grimdark shopkeeper roguelite with real-time action combat and Breton folklore.
- Both are Australian-made indies with small teams, dark fantasy commitment, and precision-focused combat design.
- Different genres (Metroidvania vs shopkeeper roguelite) produce very different specific experiences.
- Hollow Knight players looking for something different-but-adjacent in the Australian indie space may find HAWKER worth tracking.
Quick overview
Hollow Knight (Team Cherry, 2017). 2D Metroidvania with precision combat and interconnected world-building. Set in the fallen insect kingdom of Hallownest. Team of three core developers. Runtime 30-60 hours main, 80+ completionist. Based in Adelaide, Australia.
HAWKER (Tyrian Games, 2026). 2D shopkeeper roguelite with real-time action combat and thirty-day deadline. Set in the fallen Breton-folklore duchy of Ysward. Team of around 8 developers. Runtime 25-40 hours at Early Access. Based in Melbourne, Australia.
Combat
Hollow Knight's combat is the reason the game entered the conversation with Soulslikes. Precision nail attacks, tight pogo mechanics, specific spell timing, and boss fights that demand repeated practice. Team Cherry's combat feel is among the most-studied in indie design.
HAWKER's combat is top-down rather than side-scrolling, but the precision philosophy runs parallel. Dagger strikes require positioning. Flintlock shots require aiming windows. Parries require specific timing. The feel is adjacent to Hollow Knight's even though the perspective and specific moves differ.
Verdict: Hollow Knight for side-scrolling precision platform-combat. HAWKER for top-down precision action combat.
World building
Hollow Knight's Hallownest is one of the most fully realised indie worlds ever shipped. Every zone has distinct identity, distinct music, distinct enemies, distinct lore. The interconnection reveals itself through play rather than through exposition. Players piece together the kingdom's history through environmental detail and cryptic dialogue.
HAWKER's Ysward is a smaller world than Hallownest by design. The duchy is what remains after collapse, with specific regions (Gwiravon, Keridann, Amberfell) each carrying distinct identity. Lore is revealed through NPC dialogue and specific environmental detail. The approach is adjacent to Hollow Knight's but scaled to our team size and structure.
Verdict: Hollow Knight for expansive interconnected world. HAWKER for smaller but specifically realised territory.
Lore and narrative
Hollow Knight's lore is famous for being revealed rather than delivered. Players piece together the Infection, the Radiance, the Pale King, and the relationships between major figures through specific environmental detail, dream dialogue, and lore tablets. The narrative rewards patient exploration.
HAWKER's narrative is more explicit than Hollow Knight's. NPC dialogue (written in Ink) delivers significant narrative content directly. Branching choices matter. The Breton folklore sources are specifically referenced rather than cryptically hinted.
Both approaches work. Hollow Knight's restraint creates specific fandom engagement (endless theory videos, community lore analysis). HAWKER's explicitness creates different engagement (specific character relationships, choice-driven replay).
Verdict: Hollow Knight for implicit environmental lore. HAWKER for explicit branching narrative.
Exploration
Hollow Knight is the canonical Metroidvania. The map unfolds gradually. Specific abilities unlock specific zones. Getting lost is part of the experience. Finding hidden rooms is its own reward.
HAWKER isn't a Metroidvania. The structure is run-based within a fixed territory rather than exploration-based across an expanding map. You learn Gwiravon's geography thoroughly rather than discovering vast unmapped regions. The exploration satisfaction is different.
Verdict: Hollow Knight for Metroidvania exploration. HAWKER for deep-familiarity exploration within fixed territory.
Scale
Hollow Knight is vast. Team Cherry's DLC and post-launch content pushed the game's scope substantially. Players legitimately spend 80+ hours exploring every corner.
HAWKER's scope is tighter. Our thirty-day structure and small team prevented open-ended scope expansion. Early Access will have 25-40 hours of content, expanding across post-launch updates. Full 1.0 scope will likely be closer to 50-60 hours for completionists.
Verdict: Hollow Knight for epic scale. HAWKER for focused scope.
Art direction
Hollow Knight uses hand-drawn 2D animation with Ari Gibson's specific character designs. The art style is one of the most distinctive in indie. Characters read from silhouette. Environments have distinct visual identity per zone.
HAWKER uses hand-painted 2D art with specific Breton visual references. Less overtly character-driven than Hollow Knight but with specific environmental identity per region.
Subjective preference. Both commit to distinctive art directions appropriate to their settings.
A first-hand Hawker design note
One of the most direct influences Hollow Knight had on HAWKER was around combat feel calibration. Team Cherry's nail-combat timing is meticulously tuned. The specific frames between input and action, between action and hit, between hit and recovery all contribute to how combat feels.
We studied Hollow Knight combat frame-by-frame during our 2024 combat development. Not to copy it, because the perspective and weapons differ, but to understand the specific philosophy. What we took was the principle that every frame matters. You can't paper over loose feel with visual flair. The input-to-action latency must be specific. The recovery must be cancellable in specific ways. The animation must land on the hit, not before or after.
Applying this principle to HAWKER's top-down combat took significant iteration. See our parry mechanics piece for the specific parry timing work. The feel we've achieved isn't Hollow Knight's but it's adjacent, and the adjacent quality exists because we studied Team Cherry's approach.
The Australian indie connection
Both Team Cherry and Tyrian Games operate in the Australian indie scene. Team Cherry in Adelaide, Tyrian in Melbourne. The two studios share specific context: Screen Australia funding pathways, PAX Australia visibility, IGDA community involvement, and the distinctive Australian approach to small-team indie development.
Hollow Knight's commercial success validated Australian indies at a scale that hadn't been achieved before. Studios across the country studied what Team Cherry did and adapted the lessons to their own projects. HAWKER is partially downstream of this lineage. The scope discipline, the commitment to specificity, the willingness to take development time to ship the right version rather than rushing: all of these run through Team Cherry's example.
We don't claim to match Hollow Knight's achievement. Team Cherry produced something generational. But we do claim to have learned from what they did, and our Australian indie context is part of why that learning was possible.
Hollow Knight: Silksong and the waiting question
Silksong has been in development for years and remains unreleased as of early 2026. The gap has generated substantial fan discussion and occasional frustration. Team Cherry has been publicly quiet, which is consistent with their studio philosophy but frustrating for fans who want more regular updates.
HAWKER's development transparency has been different. We've posted regular dev logs, participated in Steam Next Fest, run playtest programs, and communicated openly about scope and timing. This isn't a criticism of Team Cherry; their approach has served them well and the eventual Silksong release will likely justify the wait. Our approach is different because our team is different and our commercial situation is different.
Both studios share the commitment to ship well rather than fast. Team Cherry's execution of this commitment has taken years. Ours has taken years too. The specific form of transparency differs, but the underlying value (quality over speed) is shared.
Which to play first
If you've played neither: Hollow Knight first. It's on sale regularly, it's one of the defining indies of the decade, and it will give you specific context for what follows.
If you've played Hollow Knight and loved it: Silksong when it releases. In the meantime, HAWKER and Blasphemous II are reasonable adjacent plays.
If you want precision combat in a different genre: HAWKER offers top-down action. Dead Cells offers side-scrolling roguelite. No Rest for the Wicked offers isometric ARPG.
If you want Australian indie specifically: Hollow Knight remains the canonical entry. HAWKER is continuing the tradition. Unpacking and Dredge are also worth tracking.
FAQ
Is HAWKER like Hollow Knight?
Adjacent rather than direct. Both are Australian indies with dark worlds and precision combat, but Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania and HAWKER is a shopkeeper roguelite.
Does HAWKER have Metroidvania exploration?
No. HAWKER uses run-based structure within a fixed territory rather than an expanding interconnected map.
Is HAWKER made by the same people as Hollow Knight?
No. HAWKER is from Tyrian Games in Melbourne. Hollow Knight is from Team Cherry in Adelaide. Both are Australian but separate studios.
Can I get HAWKER's precision combat feel in Hollow Knight?
Different perspectives and weapons, but the underlying commitment to tight timing is similar across both games.
When does Silksong release?
Not announced as of time of writing. Team Cherry remains publicly quiet about specific timing.
When does HAWKER release?
Early Access September 2026. 1.0 targeted mid-to-late 2027.
Spoiler wall
This piece covers publicly known content. No HAWKER narrative content sits behind the spoiler line here.
The lineage of Australian indie precision games
Hollow Knight opened a door for Australian indies who wanted to ship dark, precision-focused games. Since 2017, several Adelaide and Melbourne studios have worked in adjacent territory. HAWKER continues this lineage with a specific genre twist.
The shared context matters. Australian indies often have access to similar funding, similar community events, and similar Melbourne-Adelaide informal networks. Studios talk. Lessons learned from Team Cherry's production have informed subsequent small-team Australian releases.
This isn't unique to Australia. Every regional scene has its own shared learning curves. But the Australian context has specific features (the DGTO tax offset, Screen Australia games funding, the concentrated Melbourne and Adelaide communities) that make cross-studio learning particularly effective.
A note on audio identity
Hollow Knight's score by Christopher Larkin is among the most recognised in indie gaming. The piano-and-strings palette paired with specific zone themes makes the audio identity instantly memorable. HAWKER's soundtrack draws on Breton traditional instrumentation rather than Hollow Knight's chamber-music approach, a different specific identity matched to our different setting.
Closing
Hollow Knight is a defining Australian indie. HAWKER is one of the games trying to contribute to the lineage Team Cherry started. Different genres, same commitment to craft and specificity. If you loved Hollow Knight and want to see what Australian indies are doing now, HAWKER is one answer.
Next read: Australian indie games 2026, or Grimdark indie games in 2026.