Ever wonder if a video game just downright hates you? Maybe that’s silly; it’s an experience, not a sentient thing. But Hollow Knight: Silksong will make you ask.
The long-awaited sequel to Team Cherry’s modern Metroidvania classic, Hollow Knight (2017), Silksong dominated the conversation for years well before it was released earlier this month. Teased endlessly with little to no updates since 2019, fans wondered how the gritty 2D action and platforming of the first game would evolve. Would it play differently? Run longer? Be harder?
The answer to all those questions is an unequivocal yes. The gameplay builds off the original in ways that remain familiar but change just about every approach to combat and exploration. It’s exponentially longer, to the point where it feels like climbing Everest. But it’s the final note that’s been the sticking point since the game surprise dropped after years of anticipation.
Silksong isn’t just hard — it’s brutal. It’s the kind of experience where challenge is baked into every aspect of the game. From basic enemy encounters and big boss fights to simply navigating its world and figuring out where to go next, it’s almost abrasively dedicated to testing the player’s patience.
Whether that makes it better than the first game is debatable, but frankly, it begs the question of whether Silksong is worth the effort at all.
Better get good, scrub
Like the first one, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a 2D action platformer where players take on the role of an itty-bitty bug in a very big world filled with things that want to kill you. Rather than nameless knight from the previous entry, the new game stars Hornet, the princess and secondary protagonist from before. Hornet was a difficult boss encounter the first time around, and her expanded combat prowess plays into her abilities now that she’s the lead.
Silksong stars Hornet, a supporting character and boss from the first game.
Team Cherry
Her basic skillset mirrors the knight’s; armed with a sword-like needle, Hornet can attack in close range melee both forward and up, and descend on baddies with a downward strike that doubles as a bouncing mechanism to propel further. Eventually, she gains the ability to dash, wall jump, and all the other things players expect from a game of this type — but the key word here is eventually. For the first few hours, the gatekeeping of these features leaves Hornet feeling dramatically underpowered in both a fight and basic traversal.
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In fact, the entire first act of the game (of three total) mostly serves as proving ground to earn the player’s stripes before things get serious. Thing is, it’s pretty damned serious already.
The core loop is predicated on wandering the subterranean depths of Pharloom and the majestic Citadel, picking up new abilities, hitting switches, and collecting eerie rosary beads as currency. Silksong’s lore isn’t always front and center, layered deeper in the margins from conversations with cutesy bug NPCs and cryptic tombs peppered about. But something is definitely afoul; the corpses of pilgrims wound in silk clutter the hollows and even the ones that still live are either sad or flat-out nuts. Their presence makes the journey less lonely, but never comfortable.
The game’s world is filled with whimsy and melancholy that often distracts from the stress.
Team Cherry
Like in first game’s Hollownest, the vibes are gloomy in Pharloom. Beautiful caverns adorned with foliage and flowers are frequently sandwiched between dungeons filled with cages and cold steel. Silksong is always gorgeous, and its wonderfully drawn environments and characters are teeming with personality and little details. Composer Christopher Larkin’s score equally haunting and soothing depending on the locale, often lulling the player into a meditative state just in time for an unexpected (or frankly, expected) threat to break the peace.
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On a technical level, Silksong feels good to play; it’s snappy and responsive. But the aesthetics do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of engagement. You’ll want to be swept up in this world and its melancholy allure. Once players have their bearings and are familiar with locations they’re exploring and endlessly revisiting, it’s a place that feels to good to live in. Which is important, given how many dozens of hours they’ll be trapped there.
Unfortunately, the game’s not interested in letting you live.
A sadistic streak
It might feel reductive to boil down a game to just its difficulty, but that aspect of Silksong is integral to whether anyone can enjoy it. Just about every design choice has been made to ensure that, no matter how good you think you’ve gotten, you’re going to get fucked over and over again.
Boss battles can be grueling trials of attrition that end up more exhausting than elative.
Team Cherry
Hornet might’ve been a boss-tier character in the first game, but in the sequel, it still takes half a dozen hits to kill basic grubs and ants. Touching enemies causes damage and is usually followed up by an actual attack for more. Each inexplicably takes two notches off Hornet’s health (which starts at six max). Why not just make it three? It feels like a mind game to give the illusion of safety.
Learning to play well means understanding that every encounter — from tiny baddies to big guys, and every single jump you take in between — is a dance. In combat, enemies do telegraph their moves, but they frequently pivot. You might know that this one bull ant throws daggers and perfectly time a jump to dodge, only to find out they can throw up too.
The game’s enemy AI is almost precognizant, generally capable of knowing what players will do, no matter how hard they try to improvise. Memorizing patterns is key, but with even two standard foes on screen, the level of coordination and jazzy flow needed to stay alive escalates. Battles demand patience, but every minor misstep is devastatingly punished to test your zen.
The larger complaint isn’t just that the game is hard — many are! It’s the ways in which one error almost always leads to a cascading series of fuck ups that make a momentary lapse into an almost guaranteed failure. Overshooting a dodge or whiffing a swing usually leads to contact damage, followed by an enemy attack, which will stun you for a few frames for them to reposition, causing even more contact damage as the foe decides to move through you.
The map is dense with secrets, but often requires constant backtracking.
Team Cherry
Upon death, players are banished back to their last save space, many of which need to be unlocked with rosaries. If you’re able to trek back to the scene of the crime without dying again, all the silk and beads lost can be regained, but that journey can be arduous. Even revisiting just two or three chambers means facing down normal enemies and spike pits that can be lethal. Just getting back to fight again requires constant focus, and the cycle of death can be mentally deteriorating.
At some points, it’s almost comedic how the developers have engineered ways for players to die. Hornet’s downward slash is the primary means of parrying and lining up another attack or traversing over stretches of hazardous pits. But it also doesn’t aim directly down, instead launching the character at a 45-degree angle, meaning you always need to be facing exactly the right way to align a hit. It’s extremely easy to miss and end up plowing face-first into peril, even after hours of practice.
A toxic relationship
It’s obvious that the goal is to hone all the requisite skills, chipping away at discovery and endless gauntlet of fights to feel a sense of accomplishment. But for the most part, Silksong’s mostly effective at raising people’s blood pressure. After being stuck on a boss, eternally forced to run back and replay swaths of danger for just another slim shot at winning, overcoming most challenges feels less like triumph and more like someone’s mercifully loosened the belt around your neck.
The value of Silksong depends on a player’s level of patience and willingness to take abuse.
Team Cherry
Then why is Silksong so popular? After achieving meme status for its perpetual absence year after year, people really want to like this game. And there’s plenty to like, assuming players have the fortitude. Accepting Silksong on its own terms, the quirks of its controls, methodology, and the strategy needed to succeed, it can often be satisfying to play. But there’s a feeling that some of the fervor — assuming it sticks over time — can be chalked up to Stockholm Syndrome.
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Beating the game will end up being a badge of honor for many, but it’s fair to wonder how many of the over four million players who were lured into the spider’s web of Silksong (so far) will actually feel the sweet relief of rolling the credits. Hardcore fans and challenge-hungry sickos will be hooked, but the average person should be prepared: You might end up loving this game, but the feeling isn’t mutual.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is out now for Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Mac, and PC.
