Hallownest is open-ended, but the main path is a fixed chain of abilities. This route follows that chain start to finish.
The thing that actually structures a Hollow Knight playthrough is movement. Each new ability opens a wall you could not cross before, so the order you collect them is the real walkthrough underneath the open map.
Hallownest lets you wander, and the wiki notes there are several valid paths to the ending. This route picks the smoothest one: it grabs each movement upgrade in the order the world expects, so you never hit a dead end without the tool to pass it.
The spine is six gates. Dash, wall cling, super dash, double jump, shadow dash, and the Dream Nail. Around them sit the three 
Dreamers you must kill before the final door opens.
This guide walks the full critical path step by step, lists every ability pickup and the boss guarding it, then points to the choices that decide which ending you reach.
Dirtmouth into the Forgotten Crossroads, then down through Greenpath.
Dash, claw, super dash, wings, shadow dash, Dream Nail, collected in that rough order. Kill all three Dreamers to open the Black Egg Temple.
Beat the Hollow Knight; the Void Heart decides the ending.The walkthrough is a chain of locked doors and the keys that open them. Per the wiki, every movement ability is described by what new terrain it lets you cross, so the map opens in a set sequence even though it feels free.
The Mothwing Cloak "allows the wearer to dash forwards along the ground or through the air." The Mantis Claw lets you "cling to walls and leap off of them." The Crystal Heart launches you "forward at dangerous speeds." Each one is the price of admission to the next region.
Two things sit outside the movement chain but gate the ending. The 
Dream Nail is needed to kill the Dreamers, and the three Dreamers themselves must fall before the final temple unlocks. Everything else is optional cleanup.
Buy a map from Cornifer in every new area and pins from Iselda in Dirtmouth. In actual play, navigating Hallownest without pinned benches and Stag stations doubles the backtracking.
Start by clearing the Forgotten Crossroads, then drop into Greenpath for your first movement upgrade. This first leg gives you a spell, a dash, and the map habit that carries the whole run.
From King's Pass you reach Dirtmouth, the hub town, then descend into the 
Forgotten Crossroads. Beat 
False Knight here, and grab the 
Vengeful Spirit spell from the Snail Shaman in the Ancestral Mound.
Head west into 
Greenpath, where 
Hornet fights you and drops the Mothwing Cloak on defeat. The wiki specifies the Cloak is the dash, and it is the single most important early pickup. With it you can cross gaps that blocked you on the way in.
The middle of the run stacks three movement gates close together: the wall claw, the city elevator, and the super dash. This is where Hallownest opens up vertically.
Cross the 
Fungal Wastes to the Mantis Village and defeat the 
Mantis Lords for the Mantis Claw. Per the wiki, the Claw lets you cling to and jump off walls, so most vertical shafts open up the moment you earn it. Our Mantis Claw guide covers the fight in detail.
Ride up into the 
City of Tears and beat 
Soul Master in the Soul Sanctum for the 
Desolate Dive down-slam. That breaks the floors leading deeper.
Climb 
Crystal Peak to the Crystal Guardian and claim the 
Crystal Heart, the super dash. According to the wiki it launches you forward at high speed, opening long horizontal gaps across the map.
You cannot reach the ending until all three Dreamers are dead, and killing them needs the Dream Nail first. Get the Nail, then hunt them down in any order.
Reach the Resting Grounds and take the Dream Nail from the 
Seer. The wiki states the Dream Nail cuts the veil between dreams and waking, which is exactly how you strike the sleeping Dreamers.
| Dreamer | Where | What gates it |
|---|---|---|
| Lurien | City of Tears, Watcher's Spire | Reach the top of the tower |
| Monomon |  Fog Canyon, Teacher's Archives | Beat Uumuu with Quirrel |
| Herrah |  Deepnest, Beast's Den | Survive Deepnest to the Den |
In actual play, Herrah in Deepnest is the scary one, since Deepnest is dark and full of ambushes. Buy the Lumafly Lantern from Sly before you go.
The last two movement gates, the double jump and the shadow dash, live in the deep south of the map. Collect both and the optional content opens fully.
Drop into the 
Ancient Basin and beat Broken Vessel for the 
Monarch Wings, which the wiki describes as letting you "jump again in mid-air." Then travel to 
Kingdom's Edge, fight Hornet a second time, and pick up the 
King's Brand needed to enter the Abyss.
Descend into the Abyss to earn the 
Shade Cloak, the dash that passes through enemies and attacks. The Abyss also holds the Void Heart, which the wiki ties directly to the better endings.
With the Dreamers dead, return to the Temple of the Black Egg in Dirtmouth and fight the Hollow Knight. From here the route ends in one of the game's endings, decided by the Void Heart and the Dream Nail.
Grab the Void Heart in the Abyss before the final fight. In real runs, players who skip it are locked into the weakest ending and have to redo the boss for a better one.
Here is the movement chain in the order this route collects it, with the wiki effect for each. Treat the column on the right as the reason the pickup matters for progression.
| Order | Ability | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mothwing Cloak | Ground and air dash across gaps |
| 2 |  Mantis Claw | Wall cling and wall jump |
| 3 | Desolate Dive | Break weak floors with a down-slam |
| 4 | Crystal Heart | Super dash across long gaps |
| 5 | Dream Nail | Strike Dreamers and collect Essence |
| 6 | Monarch Wings | Double jump |
| 7 | Shade Cloak | Dash through enemies and attacks |
The wiki notes a few of these can be taken out of order if you are confident with tight platforming, but this sequence has the fewest forced detours and never strands you.
The walkthrough touches every region and gate. These guides go deeper on the bosses, charms, and unlocks the route passes through.
Game data and screenshots adapted from hollowknight.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Team Cherry.