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Hollow Knight has over forty bosses. Here are the five most difficult bosses you can defeat to prove your prowess in Hollow Knight.
With Silksong just around the corner, many players are returning to Hollow Knight to complete one last playthrough before switching to the sequel. The player count on Steam is currently at a lifetime peak, with over thirty-three thousand active players on August 23, 2025. If you wish to practice your combat prowess for Silksong, here are the top five most difficult boss fights you can tackle in Hollow Knight.
Most Difficult Bosses in Hollow Knight
1. Absolute Radiance
Radiance is the final boss of Hollow Knight and can be difficult to defeat. However, a more challenging version of this boss can be fought at the end of the Pantheon trials. It is a boss rush mode in the Godmaster DLC of the game. Absolute Radiance is not only stronger but also has many added movesets that make the already chaotic fight much harder. This fight requires you to have mastered almost every form of movement tech, combined with the proper use of different spells.
It is recommended to use health-regen and soul-generating charms to constantly heal during this fight, as each of her hits deals two damage to you.
2. Nightmare King Grimm
Nightmare King Grimm is ruthless, as he gives little to no breathing room during his fight to heal. His fight forces players to master their movement and learn to control the chaos of constant attacks. The hard part of this fight is that Grimm hardly allows you to hit him, making this a battle of attrition between his health and the player’s patience. If you wish to defeat Nightmare King Grimm, you have to learn his entire moveset, which can take dozens of tries.
The Grimm Troupe is the second DLC to be released for Hollow Knight back in 2017, and this is the final optional boss you get to fight. Note that this DLC quest has two endings, and it is possible to lock yourself out of the Nightmare King Grimm fight by banishing his troupe from Hallownest.
3. Pure Vessel
Just like Absolute Radiance, the Pure Vessel is a boss you fight as part of the Pantheon challenges. He is the prime version of the Hollow Knight, which is the infected and weaker version of this boss that you encounter near the end of the base game. What makes this fight challenging is that he doesn’t give you any time to rest, so you won’t be able to heal unless you get lucky. Moreover, your only way of damaging him is during his slash attack combo by pogoing off his head.
Pure Vessel has access to many AoE (area of effect) moves, which he can use alongside his melee attacks, making this one of the most frustrating bosses to defeat in the Pantheons.
4. Grey Prince Zote
Zote is an NPC whom you get to meet quite early in the game. He is very weak when fought in the Colosseum of Fools; his attack only manages to push your character a little while dealing zero damage. However, you can challenge a secret version of him by using your Dream Nail on the statue in Bretta’s basement in Dirtmouth. This version of Zote is a much stronger version of him, which is fueled by Bretta’s imagination.
The reason why this fight is one of the hardest is that you can challenge him a total of ten times, with each fight becoming much harder than before. It is important to note that he spawns a bunch of Zotelings during the fight, which are smaller, fly-like versions of him. They can deal damage on contact and can explode after a while. There is no solid way to defeat them, except by using AoE (area of effect) spells of your own. Grey Prince Zote won’t stop spawning Zotelings, so defeat him as soon as possible using strong nail-based attacks.
Also Read: Hollow Knight Silksong: 5 Things You Might Have Missed From the Teaser
5. Lost Kin
The Lost Kin is the dream variant of the Broken Vessel and is one of the first hidden bosses you can encounter after getting the Dream Nail. Many players tend to get stuck on this fight, as you are not supposed to challenge him until much later in the game. Like most other dream fights, the Lost Kin becomes much faster but keeps his old moves. However, the difficulty of this fight lies in dodging the Infected Balloons. These are orange exploding bombs that the boss spreads all around the arena. These balloons bounce around the arena, which gives you nearly no chance at healing yourself amidst the fight.
Your best choice is to pogo in the air, and only land when you wish to get rid of the Infected Balloons. Moreover, use defensive charms such as the Defender’s Crest to occasionally block damage and save on your precious health during the fight.
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