Grunberg, A. (2023) The ones who walk away from Hallownest: Hollow Knight’s radical response to the Omelas dilemma. Games and Culture, (doi: 10.1177/15554120231166769) (Early Online Publication)
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Abstract
In Ursula K. Le Guin's short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” a society's happiness depends on the suffering of a child and the reader is presented as culpable this contract. In the video game Hollow Knight, the kingdom of Hallownest was also designed to thrive under a similar contract through the suffering of the Hollow Knight. However, the game presents the player with the choice of multiple endings: take the place of the child as an ignorant sacrifice, take the place of the child as a willing sacrifice after learning the truth about the bargain, or eradicate the bargain altogether. This retelling in a video game format gives the player an agency that is not afforded to readers engaging with a short story. Ultimately, Hollow Knight not only rejects passivity, but proposes a redemptive arc for the ones who walk away from Omelas.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Early Online Publication |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Grunberg, Alexandra Margaret |
| Authors: | Grunberg, A. |
| College/School: | College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies |
| Journal Name: | Games and Culture |
| Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
| ISSN: | 1555-4120 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1555-4139 |
| Published Online: | 28 March 2023 |
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