Are you tired of those pesky black bars cramping your Hollow Knight experience? You're not alone! Many players find those bars distracting, especially when they're trying to immerse themselves in the beautiful, hand-drawn world of Hallownest. The good news, guys? There are a few ways to get rid of them and enjoy Hollow Knight in glorious fullscreen. Let's dive into how you can tweak your game settings and configurations to achieve that perfect, edge-to-edge view.

Understanding the Issue: Why Are There Black Bars?

Before we jump into solutions, let's quickly understand why these black bars appear in the first place. Typically, black bars show up when your game's resolution doesn't match your monitor's aspect ratio. Hollow Knight, like many games, has specific resolution options. If none of these perfectly align with your screen's native resolution, the game will add black bars to maintain the correct aspect ratio and prevent stretching or distortion. Think of it like this: your monitor is a picture frame, and the game is a picture. If the picture doesn't quite fit the frame, you'll see some empty space around it – those are the black bars. Another reason could be your display settings on your computer itself. Sometimes, your graphics card settings might be overriding the game's settings, causing the black bars to appear regardless of what you choose in the Hollow Knight options menu. So, it’s crucial to check both the in-game settings and your system's display configurations to tackle this issue effectively.

Method 1: In-Game Settings Adjustments

The first and simplest approach is to adjust the in-game settings within Hollow Knight itself. This method is usually the easiest and most straightforward way to eliminate those unwanted black bars. Here’s a step-by-step guide to tweaking your game settings:

1. Launch Hollow Knight: Obviously, the first thing you need to do is fire up the game. Wait for the main menu to load.
2. Access the Options Menu: From the main menu, navigate to the "Options" section. This is where you'll find all the settings you can tweak to customize your gaming experience.
3. Video Settings: Look for a subsection labeled "Video" or "Graphics." Click on it to access the video settings.
4. Resolution: Inside the video settings, you'll find a "Resolution" option. This is the key to getting rid of those black bars! Click on the dropdown menu to see a list of available resolutions.
5. Fullscreen Mode: Ensure that Hollow Knight is running in fullscreen mode. Sometimes, the game might default to windowed or borderless windowed mode, which can cause black bars even if the resolution is correct. There should be an option to switch between these modes in the video settings.
6. Apply Changes: After selecting your desired resolution and ensuring you're in fullscreen mode, click the "Apply" or "OK" button to save your changes. The game should then adjust its display to match your selected settings. If the black bars are still there, don't worry! Move on to the next step.
7. Experiment with Resolutions: The goal here is to find a resolution that matches your monitor's aspect ratio as closely as possible. A resolution of 1920x1080 is one of the most common options, so make sure to select it if available. Try different resolutions until you find one that fills your screen without stretching or distorting the image. This might take a bit of trial and error, but it's worth it to get that perfect fullscreen experience.

Important Tip: Pay close attention to your monitor's native resolution. This is the resolution that your monitor is designed to display optimally. You can usually find this information in your monitor's documentation or in your computer's display settings. Setting your game to your monitor's native resolution is often the best way to eliminate black bars and ensure the sharpest image quality.

Method 2: Modifying Configuration Files

If the in-game settings aren't doing the trick, don't fret! There's another method that involves diving into the game's configuration files. This might sound a bit technical, but don't worry; it's actually quite straightforward. Modifying the configuration files allows you to manually set the resolution and other display settings, often overriding any limitations imposed by the in-game menu. Here's how to do it:

1. Locate the Game's Configuration File: The first step is to find the Hollow Knight configuration file. The location of this file can vary depending on your operating system. On Windows, it's typically located in the C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\LocalLow\Team Cherry\Hollow Knight directory. Replace "YourUsername" with your actual Windows username. If you can't find the AppData folder, make sure hidden folders are visible in your file explorer settings. On macOS, the file is usually located in ~/Library/Application Support/unity.Team Cherry.Hollow Knight. Again, ensure hidden files and folders are visible.
2. Open the Configuration File: Once you've located the file, open it with a text editor like Notepad (on Windows) or TextEdit (on macOS). Be careful when editing this file, as incorrect changes can cause the game to malfunction. It's always a good idea to create a backup of the file before making any changes.
3. Edit Resolution Settings: Look for lines in the file that specify the screen width and height. These lines might be labeled as screen width and screen height, or something similar. Change the values to match your monitor's native resolution. For example, if your monitor's resolution is 1920x1080, set the screen width to 1920 and the screen height to 1080.
4. Save the Changes: After editing the resolution settings, save the changes to the configuration file. Make sure you save the file in the same format (usually plain text).
5. Launch Hollow Knight: Now, launch Hollow Knight and see if the black bars are gone. If everything went correctly, the game should now be running in fullscreen mode at your desired resolution.

Important Considerations: Ensure that you are editing the correct configuration file. There might be multiple configuration files in the game's directory, so make sure you're editing the one that contains the screen resolution settings. Also, be aware that some games might overwrite the configuration file when they are launched, so you might need to repeat these steps every time you start the game. To prevent this, you can try setting the configuration file to read-only after making the changes, but this might prevent the game from saving other settings.

Method 3: Graphics Card Control Panel Tweaks

Sometimes, the issue isn't with the game itself, but with your graphics card settings overriding the game's display configuration. Both NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards have control panels that allow you to customize how games are displayed on your monitor. Here’s how to adjust these settings:

NVIDIA Control Panel:

1. Open NVIDIA Control Panel: Right-click on your desktop and select "NVIDIA Control Panel" from the context menu. If you don't see this option, make sure you have the NVIDIA drivers installed correctly.
2. Adjust Desktop Size and Position: In the NVIDIA Control Panel, navigate to the "Display" section and select "Adjust desktop size and position."
3. Scaling Mode: Under the "Scaling" tab, you'll see a dropdown menu with different scaling options. Select "Full-screen." This will tell your graphics card to scale the game's output to fill your entire screen, regardless of the resolution.
4. Perform scaling on: Select "Display" in the dropdown menu. This ensures that the scaling is performed by your monitor, which usually results in better image quality.
5. Override the scaling mode set by games and programs: Check this box to ensure that your NVIDIA Control Panel settings override the game's settings.
6. Apply Changes: Click the "Apply" button to save your changes.

AMD Radeon Settings:

1. Open AMD Radeon Settings: Right-click on your desktop and select "AMD Radeon Settings" from the context menu. If you don't see this option, make sure you have the AMD drivers installed correctly.
2. Display Settings: In the AMD Radeon Settings, navigate to the "Display" section.
3. Scaling Mode: Look for the "Scaling Mode" option. Select "Full Panel." This will tell your graphics card to scale the game's output to fill your entire screen.
4. GPU Scaling: Enable "GPU Scaling." This ensures that the scaling is performed by your graphics card.
5. Apply Changes: Click the "Apply" button to save your changes.

By adjusting these settings in your graphics card control panel, you can force your system to scale the game's output to fill your entire screen, effectively eliminating the black bars. Remember to restart the game after making these changes to ensure they take effect. Experiment with different scaling options to find the one that works best for your setup. If you experience any image distortion or quality issues, try adjusting the scaling settings further or reverting to the default settings.

Additional Tips and Tricks

• Update Your Graphics Drivers: Make sure your graphics drivers are up to date. Outdated drivers can sometimes cause display issues, including black bars. Visit the NVIDIA or AMD website to download the latest drivers for your graphics card.
• Check Your Monitor's Settings: Some monitors have built-in scaling options. Check your monitor's settings menu to see if there are any scaling options that might be causing the black bars. Experiment with different scaling modes to see if any of them eliminate the black bars without distorting the image.
• Use a Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU): If you're still having trouble, try using a Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to completely remove your graphics drivers and then reinstall them. This can sometimes fix issues that are caused by corrupted or conflicting drivers.
• Verify Game Files: If you're playing Hollow Knight on Steam, you can try verifying the integrity of the game files. This will check for any corrupted or missing files and replace them.

Conclusion

Removing black bars in Hollow Knight can significantly enhance your gaming experience, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the game's stunning visuals and captivating world. By following the methods outlined in this guide, you should be able to eliminate those pesky bars and enjoy Hollow Knight in glorious fullscreen. Remember to start with the simplest solution (in-game settings) and then move on to the more advanced methods (configuration files and graphics card control panel tweaks) if necessary. With a little bit of experimentation, you'll be able to find the perfect settings for your setup and enjoy Hollow Knight the way it was meant to be played.

Happy gaming, and may your journey through Hallownest be free of black bars!