Hollow knight's decade-old glitch finally vanquished

Nine years. That’s how long players have endured a frustrating bug in Hollow Knight, one that could inexplicably lead to death during the game’s most punishing encounter: the fight against the Radiance, the true final boss. Team Cherry, seemingly defying the odds for a game nearing a decade old, has finally squashed it.

A surprise patch for a beloved metroidvania

Version 1.5.12620 is now live, marking a seemingly minor update considering Team Cherry’s current focus on the highly anticipated Silksong. Yet, the community is buzzing. The patch notes confirm the long-sought fix to the Radiance’s orb attack – an attack prone to erroneously damaging and killing players even when seemingly avoided.

The bug stemmed from the Radiance’s light orbs, projectiles that chase the Knight and vanish after impacting the player, a surface, or simply dissipating into the air. The problem? The hitbox of these orbs lingered far longer than intended, creating an invisible threat that caught players off guard during a fight already demanding near-perfect execution. The frustration, compounded by the Radiance’s difficulty, was palpable.

Reddit erupted with celebratory posts. “I can’t believe they fixed the Radiance orb glitch after all this time,” exclaimed user CiociCiocino, a sentiment echoed across the Steam community. Raynestorm's comment on Steam cuts to the chase: “Why did it take 9 years to fix this? The amount of deaths caused by this bug is insane.”

Team cherry's unexpected commitment

The move is particularly surprising given Team Cherry’s present dedication to post-launch content for Silksong. While minor tweaks are expected, the team’s confirmation of work on Sea of Sorrow, the game’s first DLC, slated for release sometime in 2026 as a free expansion, demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the Hollow Knight universe. This bug fix, therefore, feels like an unexpected act of goodwill, a testament to the developers’ responsiveness to their player base.

It’s a reminder that even nine years after release, passion for a game can drive developers to address lingering issues, even when their attention is elsewhere.