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Hollow Knight Key Steam Glitch: Secret Shortcut You Missed
Many players discuss this trick after new speedrun footage went viral. Community attention spikes whenever clever route finds spread on social platforms.
Hollow Knight Key Steam Glitch: Secret Shortcut You Missed is a sequence letting you skip a door by canceling a key pickup. This technique uses input buffering and object offset to skip the key menu entirely.
How The Skip Activates
Studies indicate input buffer windows allow queued commands to fire on frame one. You queue a door interaction, then pick up the key before the menu locks.
Facing the wall while holding Up and interacting repositions hitbox enough for the door to accept you. Triggering the key pickup cancels the menu, and your saved inputs pass through.
Why It Works Under the Hood
Research shows the game processes key items before room transitions fully finalize. That tiny frame window lets the engine load the next room early.
Trades a small risk of softlock for massive time savings if timed correctly. Once practiced, you can repeat this reliably in controlled runs.
One-line takeaway
Queue a door, cancel the key menu, and you slip past locked rooms undetected.
Is this skip allowed in speedrunning rules?
Speedrun categories vary. Check specific rules before using this in timed challenges.
Does this break game progress or saves?
No, your save file stays intact. Simply reload if any rare softlock appears.