Collecting all Mementos in Hollow Knight: Silksong is the ultimate challenge for any player. All of them are fully optional, but 2 reward an Achievement - and are therefore necessary for All Achievements/Platinum trophy. Use our All Achievements checklist to track your progress.
Hornet can use Mementos in her Bellhome as cosmetics in Bellhart as decorations, sitting on the cupboard in the background, near the Materium and Farsight.
Mementos are rewards for end-game challenges in ACT 3, a sort of trials of every area of gameplay. Expect speed, combat, boss fight or arena gauntlet trials.
Important: It is impossible to obtain all Mementos in the same run. Hero's Memento and Hunter's Memento reward achievements - you can get both in the same run.
How to Get All Mementos
1. Sprintmaster Memento
Location: Far Fields
Requirement: Complete Sprintmaster Swift's quest. You need to first complete 3 sprinting challenges - all are given by Swift in Far Fields. The fourth and final challenge unlocks in ACT 3, rewarding the Sprintmaster Memento. This Memento is available after obtaining the Everbloom.
Pro Tip: These sprinting challenges are hard. You need to use Clawline strategically to complete them efficiently. Plan your route and use Clawline to maintain momentum and reach checkpoints faster.
2. Craw Memento
Location: Greymoor
Requirement: Defeat Crawfather. To receive the invitation, sit on a bench and reload the game. Getting the invitation is a bit tricky - make sure you're in the right location and have completed the prerequisites. The invitation will take you back to Craw house in east Greymoor. This Memento is available after obtaining the Everbloom.
This is a challenging boss fight that tests your combat skills. Make sure you're well-prepared with enough Masks and upgrades before attempting this fight.
3. Hunter's Memento
Location: Greymoor
Requirement: Complete the Hunter's Journal (100% completion) and talk to Nuu in Greymoor.
This is one of the two Mementos that reward an achievement, making it necessary for All Achievements completion. The Hunter's Journal requires defeating enemies multiple times to unlock entries - most enemies need around 15 kills to fully unlock their journal entries.
Tip: Use our 100% Hunter's Journal checklist to track all 237 entries needed for this Memento. We recommend completing this on your first playthrough, not Steel Soul, to avoid dangerous areas.
4. Hero's Memento
Location: Blasted Steps
Requirement: Defeat Lost Garmond. This is an optional boss fight in ACT 3.
This is one of the two Mementos that reward an achievement, making it necessary for All Achievements completion. Lost Garmond is actually quite easy - just watch out for spitting attacks and quickly strike in between. The fight is mostly emotional, not difficult. You can avoid this fight entirely if you're not going for All Achievements, but it's required for the achievement.
5. Grey Memento
Location: Sands of Karak
Requirement: Defeat Watcher at the Edge. This is another optional boss fight in ACT 3 located in the Sands of Karak area.
To reach the Watcher at the Edge, you need Silk Soar ability in a hidden Sands of Karak parkour challenge. The Watcher at the Edge is a challenging encounter that requires patience and skill. Either dash back and forth according to his moveset or try to use your Silk Skills to strike him into Sandcarvers behind him to deal massive damage. This boss fight is entirely optional and not required for any achievements, but it rewards the Grey Memento for your collection.
6. Guardian's Memento
Location: Fleatopia
Requirement: Beat Seth in all 3 Flea minigames. This requires finding all 30 Fleas and completing the Flea Festival questline. Seth's highscore only appears after finding him, but also completing the previous high scores at their highest difficulty.
Tip: Use our All Fleas checklist to find all 30 Fleas and unlock the Flea Festival in ACT 3. You need to beat Top Score in all three minigames: Flea Dodge, Flea Bounce, and Flea Juggle.
Beating this extremely hard challenge only rewards the Guardian's Memento, which is not required for any progression or achievement. This is one of the most difficult Mementos to obtain, as it requires mastering all three minigames at their highest difficulty.
7. Surface Memento
Location: The Cradle
Requirement: Climb to Surface Village and interact with the house. The Needolin tool is not required to access the area, but it is required to interact with the house to receive the Memento. This is a platforming challenge that tests your traversal skills.
The Surface Village is a hidden area that requires careful navigation. There is a Mister Mushroom quest location nearby which is necessary for All Achievements. Use our All Achievements checklist to track this requirement.
8. Conjoined Heart
Location: Verdania
Requirement: Defeat Clover Dancers. This Heart can be used instead of the other 3 Hearts (Nyleth's Heart, Karmelita's Heart, and Crust King Khann's Heart).
The option to reach Verdania is displayed during Green Prince's death. After defeating the Clover Dancers, you get the Conjoined Heart. This is a strategic choice that allows you to skip some of the more difficult Heart challenges.
The Conjoined Heart is unique because it can substitute for any of the three traditional Hearts, making it a valuable option for players who want to minimize difficult boss fights.
Hearts Strategy
The Conjoined Heart is special - it can be used instead of any of the other three Hearts. However, only one Memento is possible per run when using the Conjoined Heart strategy. The following three Mementos are obtained by using the Conjoined Heart instead of the traditional Hearts, but you can only get one of them per playthrough.
9. Encrusted Heart
Location: Sands of Karak
Requirement: Use Conjoined Heart instead of Crust King Khann's Heart. It's possible to keep only 1 heart by using this strategy.
Crust King Khann's arenas take a lot of time and patience. By using the Conjoined Heart instead, you can avoid this lengthy challenge and still obtain the Encrusted Heart Memento. This is a strategic choice that saves time while still allowing you to collect all Mementos.
10. Pollen Heart
Location: Far Fields
Requirement: Use Conjoined Heart instead of Nyleth's Heart. It's possible to keep only 1 heart by using this strategy.
Nyleth is one of the easier Heart challenges, but using the Conjoined Heart instead allows you to obtain the Pollen Heart Memento while keeping your options flexible. This is particularly useful if you're trying to collect all Mementos across multiple playthroughs.
11. Hunter's Heart
Location: Far Fields
Requirement: Use Conjoined Heart instead of Karmelita's Heart. It's possible to keep only 1 heart by using this strategy.
Karmelita is easier to reach but very difficult to defeat. By using the Conjoined Heart instead, you can obtain the Hunter's Heart Memento while avoiding one of the most challenging boss fights. This is more convenient due to location - it avoids a lengthy trip through Sands of Karak and is near a necessary local quest with Sprintmaster Swift.
Summary
All 11 Mementos are challenging end-game collectibles that test different aspects of your gameplay. While most are optional, Hero's Memento and Hunter's Memento are necessary for All Achievements completion.
Use our All Mementos checklist to track your collection progress. Remember that it's impossible to obtain all Mementos in a single run, so plan your playthroughs accordingly. The Conjoined Heart strategy allows you to collect multiple Heart Mementos more efficiently, but you'll still need multiple runs to obtain everything.