No Spoilers: 40 Hollow Knight Basic Tips

Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games. After watching a few streamers playing the game, I noticed there are some things people miss, and some things that are not obvious and very hard (or maybe even impossible) to figure out by yourself as the game expects you to do things you would never try yourself. I made a list of tips for new players who want to try to beat the game completely, with all its secrets, avoiding spoilers as much as possible.

1. Hollow Knight is a very good Metroidvania game. Like any Metroidvania, some areas require you to gain certain abilities to enter, and once you gain the ability it's very obvious what you have to do. If you find yourself leaving and entering a room, trying all sorts of things to cross an obstacle, it's probably because you haven't gotten the necessary ability yet.
2. If the game feels very easy and slow, that's because you're at the start of the game.
3. If you die, all your money (called geo) is left behind and you get a debuff.
4. If you die twice before getting your geo back, you lose all your geo.
5. There is an NPC that can help you get your geo back without you having to go where you lost it.
6. You can attack up and down. You need to jump to attack down.
7. You can look up and down if you hold the up or down button for a while.
8. There are no 1-hit kills. Nothing in the game can kill you if you have full health.
9. Sitting heals you to full health, removes any extra health, saves the game, updates the map, and sets your respawn point.
10. Quitting the game also saves the game.
11. Some enemies respawn when you enter a room a second time.
12. Some enemies stay dead until you sit on a bench.
13. Hot springs fill your SOUL if you stand still.
14. Any item that can be given to a character can only be spent by giving it to that character. There is no point in saving such items for later.
15. You can find a lot of geo in unexplored areas and fighting bosses. You will rarely need to farm enemies for geo.
16. Pay attention to visuals and sounds. The location of many things is hinted with subtle visuals or strange noises.
17. Most map markers are placed automatically.
18. The four colored map markers (scarab marker, shell marker, gleaming marker, and token marker) have be placed manually by opening your inventory and going to the full map.
19. There's always some sort of reward after a boss. If you didn't find anything, you missed it.
20. Spells deal more damage than basic attacks.
21. You'll get a special nail in the middle of the game. Hitting enemies with it doesn't deal damage but recovers SOUL.
22. You don't need to read any of dialogue or lore to beat the game.
23. If you do care about the lore, you should read everything in your inventory.
24. Talking to the same NPC multiple times reveals more dialogue.
25. Normally NPCs that sell you things open a shop interface if you try to talk to them. It's possible to talk to them normally if you go behind them.
26. The Stag can be talked if you stand right next to him.
27. Sometimes you'll find writings on walls you can read. They don't actually say anything you need to know to beat the game. These lore tablets are sometimes the only reward for finding a secret room.
28. You can beat the game much quicker than you think. You don't need to clear the entire map
29. Finishing the game returns you to your last bench so you can continue exploring.
30. Bosses in rooms before abilities can be fought a second time in their own rooms if you have a certain item.
31. At some point you'll gain a charm that is permanently equipped and you can't remove. If you finish the game after obtaining this charm, you get a different ending.
32. There is a place in the game where you can fight several bosses you already defeated one after the other (a.k.a. a boss rush mode). This area is completely optional and only necessary for the 112% achievement. The first challenge only contains the weakest bosses so it's not that hard to beat after you finish the game. It takes around 10 minutes to finish so I do recommend trying to complete at least the first one.
33. Fragile charms break if you die while they are equipped.
34. You can get a fragile charm back if you go back where you obtained it.
35. There is a way to turn fragile charms into unbreakable charms.
36. Most NPCs in the game have their own mini-story with an ending, some have multiple endings. Often it's necessary to talk to an NPC one last time after you have no business left to do with them to see the ending. That is, you have to leave the room, sit on a bench sometimes, and then come back. If you have finished most things in the game, it's a good idea to talk to every NPC again.
37. If you have one charm slot left and you try to equip a charm that costs 2 slots or more, it won't let you. But if you keep trying, the game eventually lets you equip it and you become "overcharmed." While overcharmed, you receive double damage.
38. Some charms have special effects when equipped, such as changing the dialogue of characters, changing the effect of other charms, changing the behavior of some enemies, and unlocking hidden lore tablets.
39. There's a room that gives you hints about where you can find hidden bosses in the game.
40. There is no correct way to play Hollow Knight. You can do things in whatever order the game lets you.

The hints above should help you in your journey. Note that you really shouldn't need any help in your first couple hours of the game. Just enjoy it!

It should take around 40 hours to 100% the game. It's pretty big. But you get an achievement for beating it under 5 hours, which you may be able to in your second or third try.

After you reach over 90% completion, you'll have some problems. Some things you need to 100% are very easy to miss.

A few places are simply hidden and you may miss them if you aren't paying attention when you pass by them.

Another few places are not hidden at all, but require you to solve a puzzle. The game doesn't feature many puzzles, so when you find them you may not even realize it's a puzzle. Even if you realize it's a puzzle, you may have no idea what you have to do.

I guess if you play the game multiple times, you may be able to figure them out by yourself. However, personally I don't like replaying games, so I gave up and checked a guide. In retrospect, I'm not sure I'd ever be able to figure it out by myself without a guide.

If you are like me, one hint: there are many things to collect in the game, and only one of each seems ridiculously difficult to get. If you found almost everything already but you are having a lot of trouble finding your last charm or fragment, then maybe it's a good time to check a guide.

After you finish the game, if you have a hard time understanding the lore, it's recommended to watch a video essay on the subject.