After almost a decade in development, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally here. For years, it has been a mainstay in gaming culture, lingering in the minds of players since its announcement back in 2019. Silksong always felt like something too elusive, too mythical, too ambitious to ever actually arrive. But now, at last, it’s in our hands.
I’ve always thought that if Silksong ever launched, it would be an “unreviewable” game. No reviews would really matter since players had already spent years anticipating it. Even if a review did appear right away, most of its audience would already be knee-deep in Pharloom, uncovering secrets for themselves.
That’s not surprising. For nearly a decade, every glimpse of Silksong at a PlayStation State of Play or Nintendo Direct would send shockwaves through the gaming community. It became part meme, part myth, and every bit as anticipated as Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 6. For an indie title to reach that level of hype? That’s no small praise.
But now that a few days have passed since launch, the idea of it being “unreviewable” doesn’t really hold up anymore. I’ve been waiting to play Silksong ever since I defeated the Radiance in the original Hollow Knight in 2018, so let’s finally talk about one of this year’s most anticipated releases.
Does it live up to the hype, or did it become an impossible mountain to climb?
Silk and Song
Silksong makes its point right from the start: it’s a completely different experience from its 2017 predecessor. At first, you’ll find familiar elements like NPCs who sell maps and pins or bug-themed fast-travel systems. But after the initial hours, the sense of familiarity fades and the game reveals its true scope. And correct me if I’m wrong, Silksong is a much larger game than Hollow Knight ever was, even when counting all its DLCs.
The biggest change in Silksong is, of course, the protagonist. You no longer play as the silent Knight but as Hornet, a key character from the first game who now takes the spotlight. After being kidnapped by zealots and taken to this mysterious kingdom, Hornet strives to find answers.
The setting in Silksong has shifted. Instead of Hallownest’s crumbling structures, you explore Pharloom, a land defined by a looming citadel. And it calls our very own Hornet to reach the top.
Like its predecessor, Silksong’s progression begins with simplicity but gradually branches out, leaving you out in the dark on where to go next, resulting in hours of getting lost. It’s a true metroidvania design that I both adore and despise. Pharloom itself feels strikingly different: a sprawling, dark fantasy world that wouldn’t look out of place in Kentaro Miura’s Berserk or Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Dark Souls, albeit with Team Cherry’s signature anthropomorphic bugs. The level design even borrows some cruelty from Dark Souls’ infamous locales like Blighttown, pairing ominous places with a twisted sense of humor, with poison swamps that gradually sap your Silk, making you unable to heal.
Granted, I see no qualms with this challenge, as this new world is something we’re unfamiliar with. But for other players, Silksong isn’t designed to be a relaxing experience; it is unapologetically difficult.
Bob and Weave
Let’s face it, Hollow Knight: Silksong is one tough game. Compared to the Knight’s adventures in Hallownest back in 2017, Silksong has an entirely different level of challenge. Hornet’s different combat style reinforces this shift. Unlike the Knight, who had horizontal pogo bounces and limited traversal powers, Hornet moves with speed and agility but requires precise execution.
Her pogo is diagonal rather than straight down, which takes time to master. At first, this frustrated me, especially when trying to platform across flowers or spikes, leading to plenty of clumsy deaths. But eventually I understood Team Cherry’s intent: Hornet as a character is designed to stay in motion, forcing players to adapt to her nimbleness.
Gone are the days of spamming slashes and pogoing bosses into submission. Silksong’s combat has seen a major improvement, often borrowing signature styles from Soulslikes where most encounters are now more deliberate, demanding constant movement, quick dodges, and clever use of abilities. Boss arenas have more environmental hazards, and traps are laid everywhere from simple Tom & Jerry contraptions to tricked-out benches.
With its massive shift in difficulty, the game now feels closer to a 2D Soulslike than a traditional metroidvania, and that’s not a bad thing.
"Tailored" Experiences
One of the best additions to combat in Silksong is Hornet’s arsenal of tools. These gadgets add a layer of strategy and customization absent from Hollow Knight. This gives you multiple ways to handle tough encounters, giving you more agency before heading your way out to attempt killing the boss again.
Everyone’s loadout feels unique, making the gameplay experience highly personal. Personally, my favorite tools are the robo-bug companion and Tacks, as both are incredibly broken in the later-game boss fights, trivializing difficult encounters since I can just deploy them and let them do the damage for me.
Apart from tools, another system called Crests expands Hornet's gameplay even further. They let Hornet alter her combat style to suit different builds. If her original moveset feels too restrictive for you, you can opt for a slow but high-damage-dealing Crest like the Reaper. If survival is your preference, the Beast Crest allows you to lifesteal after binding your silk. This level of flexibility opens plenty of experimentation and will fuel speedrunning strategies for years to come.
Verdict
Team Cherry’s 7 years of development have clearly borne fruit with Hollow Knight: Silksong. It is a massive dark fantasy adventure that respects its metroidvania roots while heavily leaning into Soulslike intensity, delivering punishing boss encounters, precise (and oftentimes frustrating) platforming, and refreshing combat customization.
While I can say that this is a near-perfect game, there are also obvious downsides. Silksong’s steep learning curve might alienate newcomers, as its overall difficulty can be very exhausting. Boss runbacks can feel cruel, and contact damage (yes, it’s back) remains a point of frustration. At one point, I found myself dreading one runback that reminded me of my path to Gravelord Nito in the first Dark Souls.
I’ve already seen players give up midway through the first act. While some might dismiss that as a “skill issue,” the lack of accessibility options is a missed opportunity. I’m not asking for an easy mode, but maybe a way for less seasoned players to still experience the story without having to worry about difficulty would have gone a long way. Things such as difficulty sliders would greatly reduce the frustration, as is evident with this notorious mod that came soon after its launch. Other quality-of-life improvements, like retrying a boss instantly, can alleviate brutal runbacks. However, these options should only exist as a separate game mode like Steel Soul, as nerfing Silksong's base game would also cause an uproar in its community, which craves a gruelling challenge.
It goes without saying that with all its years of hype, Silksong is clearly not a game for everyone, especially for those who buy this out of sheer curiosity. It's a game that's clearly intended for fans of the first game, as it demands patience and is not something you can pick up easily on the first try due to its high skill floor. Yet for those who persevere, it reveals itself as a fascinating blend of Soulslike and metroidvania. It doesn’t hold your hand. Instead, it throws you headfirst into its bizarre bug-filled world, daring you to rise to its challenge. And what’s even better, all of this depth comes at an astonishing price point of just $20.
The game has already offered me 30+ hours of content, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of its secrets. That’s remarkable for a project created by such a small team. It’s clear this is a labor of love, handcrafted by a small Australian studio with an enormous vision and an obvious love for bugs.
And for a game that’s been elusive for quite some time, it was well worth the wait.
