Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesHere’s an editorial ranking of 10 standout characters in Hollow Knight, judged by their impact on the story and world, character development, memorable encounters or dialogue, and thematic resonance. The game has no official character ranking, and this is not a poll result. Its optional, exploratory storytelling leaves room for interpretation.
Spoilers: The ranking discusses character relationships, late-game roles, and possible fates.
How this ranking works
Each entry is weighed against the same four questions: how much the character matters to Hallownest or the plot; whether the player sees meaningful development; how memorable their encounters or dialogue are; and what they add to the game’s themes. The order is a judgment about the whole character, not a measure of combat difficulty or screen time.
That approach suits a game whose story is often discovered in fragments. Team Cherry described the writing as a joint effort by Ari Gibson and William Pellen, with some characters handled more closely by one writer because of their personalities. A 2020 narrative review likewise treats optional lore and player-led interpretation as central to how players connect with the Knight; that is a critic’s reading, not developer canon.
#1 Best Overall
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!.Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!.An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation..
The 10 best characters in Hollow Knight
10. Cornifer
Cornifer makes exploration feel like a relationship rather than a checklist. The cheerful cartographer is often encountered in the middle of an unfamiliar region, humming as he works. Finding him provides a practical reward—a map—and a small human moment in a kingdom otherwise defined by isolation and ruin.
His role is modest, but effective: Cornifer gives the Knight’s wandering a recurring point of warmth. His importance is less about changing the main plot than about making Hallownest feel inhabited.
9. Iselda
Iselda earns her place through the contrast between her dry, grounded presence and Cornifer’s enthusiasm. Her shop turns the maps he draws into useful tools, making the pair a quiet but memorable part of the player’s navigation through the world.
She has little plot development, so she ranks below characters with larger arcs. Still, her brief appearances help establish that people in Hallownest have routines, relationships, and lives beyond the Knight’s immediate quest.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Rank #2
![Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nXCF+sf5L._SL160_.jpg)
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
8. Dung Defender
Dung Defender is one of the game’s most exuberant opponents. His theatrical challenge and boisterous manner make the encounter distinctive, while the contrast between his present cheer and his past as one of Hallownest’s great defenders gives the character a faintly tragic edge.
He is memorable because his personality comes through in both the fight and the world around it. The gap between the kingdom’s former glory and its collapse gives his loyalty a melancholy dimension without requiring a long exposition scene.
7. Myla
Myla’s charm comes from how little the game initially asks of the player: she is a miner singing at her work. That ordinary, gentle presence makes her a striking example of what the kingdom’s infection can cost.
Her story is brief, but its emotional impact is unusually strong. Myla makes the consequences of Hallownest’s wider tragedy personal and local, rather than leaving them as distant lore about rulers and ancient conflicts.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Rank #3
![Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mOgOC8xEL._SL160_.jpg)
- Discover the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom! Explore mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
- Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a huge suite of deadly moves as you dance between foes in swift, beautiful combat.
- Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to vanquish your enemies and explore new heights.
- Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts and solve ancient mysteries to grant the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope.
- Face over 200 ferocious foes! Beasts and hunters, monsters and knights. Defeat them all with bravery and skill!
6. Zote the Mighty
Zote is an absurdist counterpoint to the game’s solemn grandeur. He speaks and behaves as if he were the hero of his own epic, while the world repeatedly refuses to treat him that way. The gap between his self-image and reality is the joke—and the source of his staying power.
His presence also gives the player a choice about how much attention to pay to him, with optional encounters and consequences shaping the experience. Zote is not the deepest figure in the main story, but his personality is so forceful that he becomes one of Hallownest’s most recognizable residents.
5. Troupe Master Grimm
Grimm is an unforgettable presence: a poised, theatrical leader whose visual design and encounter make the Grimm Troupe’s quest feel like a performance. Team Cherry described The Grimm Troupe as its second free content pack and said the quest could be accessed at any point in a Hollow Knight journey. That optional structure lets it add a vivid new thread without displacing the central story.
Grimm’s strength is presentation and atmosphere more than a conventional character arc. The Troupe’s ritualistic mission gives the character a strong thematic identity, and the player’s choices within the quest make the encounter more than a boss fight.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Rank #4
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
- Leap into minds with the Dream Nail. Uncover a whole other side to the characters you meet and the enemies you face.
4. The Knight
The Knight is silent, but not empty. The player’s movement through Hallownest, the choices made along the way, and the fragments of lore found in optional places all influence how the protagonist is understood. That ambiguity invites interpretations the game does not settle for every player.
A 2020 narrative review argues that control over the Knight’s movement helps build the player’s connection to the character, while optional lore encourages discussion about what happened. That is an analysis of the game’s storytelling, not confirmation of one definitive reading. The Knight ranks high because the game makes player participation part of its characterization.
3. Quirrel
Quirrel’s wandering gives Hollow Knight one of its clearest character-focused journeys. He appears at intervals across Hallownest, sharing observations that make him feel curious and thoughtful rather than simply useful to the Knight. His return is connected to Monomon: the Hollow Knight Wiki describes him as her former apprentice and says she entrusted him with her mask, which is involved in reaching her.
That connection lends his travels a quiet sense of purpose, while his encounters with the Knight give the player time to recognize him as a companion in exploration. Quirrel’s understated arc is powerful because the game lets the player infer its emotional meaning rather than spelling it out.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallBest Value
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
- Leap into minds with the Dream Nail. Uncover a whole other side to the characters you meet and the enemies you face.
2. Hornet
Hornet is both a recurring opponent and a protector, testing the Knight in combat while shaping the route toward the central conflict. Her encounters are dramatic turning points, not just obstacles. The Hollow Knight Wiki identifies her as the daughter of the Pale King and Herrah and describes her later aid to the Knight; those are secondary-source summaries of lore that the game presents through its story.
Her importance comes from the combination of presence, purpose, and ambiguity. Hornet knows more about Hallownest than the Knight does, but her actions do not reduce to a simple guide role. She is compelling because she challenges the protagonist while also influencing what paths remain possible.
1. The Hollow Knight
The title character is the story’s most resonant figure: a being bound to Hallownest’s central catastrophe and to the choices made by its rulers. The Hollow Knight’s importance is not measured by dialogue or screen time, but by how much of the world’s history, conflict, and tragedy converge on that figure.
That makes the character’s limited direct presence an advantage. The Knight’s journey gradually reframes what the Hollow Knight represents, tying the game’s themes of duty, sacrifice, and the cost of trying to contain a crisis to a single figure. No other character carries as much of the game’s narrative weight.
Why the ranking is open to debate
Hollow Knight encourages players to piece together a story from encounters, environmental clues, and optional lore. That makes a ranking inherently interpretive: someone drawn to humor may put Zote higher, while a player who values emotional turns may favor Myla or Quirrel. The list reflects the criteria above, not a claim that fans share one fixed order.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
