Hollow Knight is widely regarded as a masterpiece of the Metroidvania genre. With its haunting atmosphere, tight combat, and sprawling interconnected map, it has sold millions of copies on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox. However, there is one platform where Team Cherry has not officially released the game: iOS.
Despite the absence of an official App Store release, a massive underground demand exists for playing Hollow Knight on iPhone and iPad. This demand has led to the creation of various Hollow Knight IPA files—installable application packages for sideloading on non-jailbroken and jailbroken iOS devices.
But with so many unstable, outdated, or malware-ridden files circulating forums and Discord servers, the burning question remains: Which Hollow Knight IPA is the best? hollow knight ipa best
In this article, we will break down everything you need to know: what makes a "good" IPA, where the risks lie, and—most importantly—which version currently offers the most stable framerate, controller support, and save functionality.
The Vibe: Lush vegetation, acid pools, and Hornet fights. Why it works: If you prefer the vibrant, organic side of Hallownest, a Hazy IPA is the way to go. These beers are unfiltered, giving them a cloudy, mysterious look. They are usually lower on bitterness but huge on juicy, tropical flavors. Hollow Knight is widely regarded as a masterpiece
If you want to drink like the locals (the dedicated Hollow Knight fanbase, that is), you have to look at Burial Beer Co. out of Asheville, NC. While they have rotating taps, their aesthetic and naming conventions often lean heavily into dark, ethereal, and gaming-adjacent themes.
Fans often cite their darker ales and high-ABV IPAs as the perfect companion for a grim Metroidvania. Even if you can't find a can with a bug on the label, seeking out a brewery that specializes in "gothic" or "artistic" labels usually yields the right flavor profile. The Vibe: Lush vegetation, acid pools, and Hornet fights
For the uninitiated, an IPA file (iOS App Store Package) is the archive file used by Apple’s operating system to distribute applications. When a developer submits an app to Apple, it is compiled into an IPA. In the context of Hollow Knight, these files are either:
Important distinction: There is no official iOS port. Any IPA you find is either a fan port (rare) or a sideloaded version of the (now defunct) Nvidia Shield TV Android port, repackaged for iOS via third-party tools.
No guide is “useful” without acknowledging ethics. Downloading a Hollow Knight IPA almost always means circumventing a paid product. The game costs $15 on Switch, PC, and consoles—a modest price for 40+ hours of masterpiece-level design.
If you genuinely love the game, consider this compromise: Buy the official version on any platform you own, then sideload on iOS as a “personal backup” or for convenience. This respects the developers while allowing mobile play. Many in the sideloading community adopt this stance.