Nice review.
The end-game bloat is real. I think my mixed feelings the first time through was having to come to terms with the reality that the sense of wonder, surprise, and exploration had to end.
For anyone playing on PC, I wholeheartedly recommend the randomizer. It’s up to version 3, and adds another few dimensions of complexity and challenge, for those up to it.
The Hollow Knight discord has some pinned links for installing mods on pc and Mac.