Hollow Knight: Silksong has become one of the most impressive and well-received games of the past ten years, creating a level of excitement that I rarely feel with video games.
I think even the best games aren’t perfect, and that’s especially true with something as huge as Team Cherry’s sequel. It’s surprisingly big in every way – the world, the story, and honestly, the sheer number of bosses is really impressive!
This impressive Metroidvania generally boasts excellent quality, particularly regarding its core enemies. However, after completing everything the game has to offer – reaching 100% completion – I can say with certainty that not every enemy encounter is truly enjoyable in combat.
Honestly, a lot of the threats in these fights are just awful – either because they’re incredibly annoying to deal with or simply uninspired. I’ve put together this list ranking the ten worst boss fights in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
10. Crust King Khann
Incredible but Easy
| Location(s) | Sands of Karak |
| Drop(s) | Encrusted Heart |
Silksong doesn’t get harder at a steady pace. Because of this, some of the bosses in the third part of the game, like Crust King Khann, are surprisingly easier than players expect.
I usually avoid judging a boss based on how difficult it was to beat, but this impressive warrior unfortunately has a fairly simple battle. It doesn’t really challenge you with complex strategies, which is a shame considering how great the initial idea for the boss was.
The concept of him battling by conjuring coral stalactites is really cool and interesting, but you don’t really feel any danger or need to change your strategy during the fight, and it’s actually simpler than dealing with the enemies that come before it.
It seemed like the boss fight was originally intended as one continuous part of a series of ambushes, but recently the team split it up to make things easier. They overlooked the fact that they should have also increased Khann’s difficulty to match.
I wouldn’t say he’s a bad boss, exactly, but he’s a bit underwhelming. I really hope they make him stronger in future updates, because the core concept is fantastic.
9. Palestag
A Minor Boss for an Outstanding Area
| Location(s) | Verdania |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
If you’ve spent any time with Hollow Knight, you probably remember the Dream Warriors. These enemies came from this really cool, dreamlike world, and their battles were unique. They didn’t have a ton of different attacks, but they’d get faster and throw more things at you as the fight went on. It wasn’t about learning complex patterns, just reacting to increasing speed and quantity. It was a fun challenge!
Verdania’s Palestag adheres strictly to this pattern, presenting a fight where your only task is to evade side-to-side attacks while pursuing the boss around the battlefield to inflict damage, which ultimately makes it feel uninteresting. It doesn’t offer any engaging moments.
Even though it’s a small experience and not the primary focus of the area, it has a distinctly different atmosphere compared to the rest of the location. There, enemies are quick and nimble, engaging in skillful close-quarters combat.
It’s amazing that all the information within Verdania is locked behind a single key found in Sinner’s Road, and although the Palestag is a welcome addition as it’s completely optional, it doesn’t quite live up to its full potential. The Palestag’s very existence is a bonus, but it could have been so much more. It’s a shame it didn’t reach that level.
8. Disgraced Chef Lugoli
Smough With Maggots
| Location(s) | Sinner’s Road |
| Drop(s) | Pickled Muckmaggot |
Even though I met the boss much later than expected, Disgraced Chef Lugoli is just as irritating as the neighborhood she’s from.
Essentially, her actions fit the environment, but having a consistent story and gameplay doesn’t actually make her combat any better. It comes down to a very simple set of moves made worse by the game’s most annoying feature: maggots.
Beyond her attacks from every angle-some of which are similar to moves from the famous Smough boss in Dark Souls-Lugoli’s unique ability is summoning spheres of poisonous water. If these spheres hit you, they stop you from healing, which is frustrating enough when you’re just trying to avoid them as part of the environment.
The most important part of meeting her is that she provides a crucial item – a key – which lets you get the Pale Oil, enabling you to improve your needle. After that, the fight itself feels pointless, and I hope to skip it in future games.
7. Broodmother
A Party of Filth
| Location(s) | The Slab |
| Drop(s) | Broodmother’s Eye |
While many of the bosses included here are relatively simple fights – essentially stronger versions of regular enemies – it’s hard to remain unmoved when facing creatures like the Broodmother. It’s impossible not to feel something when you encounter them.
These opponents have a very simple and easily anticipated pattern: they launch slow-moving projectiles, summon minions, and attack by just rushing their entire bodies at Hornet in a small area. This really doesn’t take advantage of the game’s potential for complex and challenging gameplay.
Although the surrounding story is good and locating her is engaging, the battle concludes very quickly and is easily overlooked once you’ve received your reward, and it doesn’t effectively utilize the unique mud-based ability of these insects.
How poor a manager is can be judged not just by their actions, but also by what they *don’t* do, and Broodmother’s lack of development makes an already easy encounter even less engaging.
6. Gurr the Outcast
Two Attacks and That’s It
| Location(s) | Far Fields |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
As I touched on before about Act 3, a lot of the bosses you face later in the game seem too easy – like they should be fought much earlier on. However, very few are quite as simple as Gurr the Outcast.
Considering how much anticipation there’s been for this battle, it would be disappointing if the boss only relied on a few simple weapons and straightforward movements, failing to showcase the skills of a true expert in setting traps and ambushes.
It’s surprising that one of the most beautiful ants in the game is actually quite simple, particularly because I eagerly anticipated a truly impressive version of this species, considering how well-designed its common enemies are.
It’s clear that Karmelita can grant any request in this area, but the ants were far more valuable than simply having a powerful leader. Gurr the Outcast doesn’t portray them accurately as the respected fighters shown in Hunter’s March.
5. Lost Garmond
An Unfair Resolution
| Location(s) | Blasted Steps |
| Drop(s) | Hero’s Memento |
Having met Garmond and Zaza a few times, I was sure things wouldn’t end well for them, but I didn’t realize their fate would be so frustratingly and technically disappointing.
With that in mind, it’s unrealistic to expect a lot from Lost Garmond, given how limited his abilities are when he assists you. However, Shakra is also a non-playable character, and she does provide a truly unforgettable battle. Therefore, encounters like this one feel even more lackluster by comparison.
Even though he’s one of the most recognizable characters in the game, he’s been simplified to the point of being just like any other enemy. He uses the same attacks as before, but now has abilities that many common enemies already possessed back in Act 3.
Although Lost Garmond is a more challenging character with a complex set of moves compared to others on this list, he ultimately feels less enjoyable to play. This is largely due to player expectations and the specific conditions of his battles, and can be particularly frustrating because of his potential to inflict significant void damage within his small arena.
4. Groal the Great
Team Cherry is Diabolical
| Location(s) | Bilewater |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
Okay, so Team Cherry definitely likes to put us through the wringer, sending our little knight to some seriously tough spots. But honestly? I think they really outdid themselves with Bilewater. It’s not just a hard area in the game, it feels like they were actively trying to mess with the community when they made it. I’d argue it’s the most vicious thing they’ve ever done to us players! You can find more info about it here, but be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart!
So, Groal the Great is just the beginning of a much larger, demonic challenge. This fight throws everything you dislike at you – endless waves of enemies, dangerous traps, massive attack areas, disgusting creatures like maggots, and so on – all packed into one long, drawn-out sequence.
Because Silksong is a Metroidvania game, it makes sense to think about the time it takes to get back to the boss after being defeated. However, I chose to leave that out of the calculation because, otherwise, the top spot wouldn’t accurately show just how much players dislike fighting Groal.
As I mentioned earlier when discussing Bilewater as one of the game’s most challenging areas, its difficult layout seems intentional, which makes it hard for me to truly dislike it. I don’t want to revisit it, even in thought, but I’m certain it will stay with me.
3. Voltvyrm
A Boss to Forget
| Location(s) | Sands of Karak |
| Drop(s) | Volt Filament |
Hollow Knight: Silksong consistently impresses me, so I was genuinely surprised by Voltnest, and I felt a real sense of melancholy during its boss battle.
An enemy that mostly stays in one place and only attacks with slow-moving pillars or electrical orbs is ideal for teaching players the basics, but won’t offer much of a challenge to those who really like to explore and push their skills. It’s great for a tutorial, but not for experienced players seeking intensive challenges.
The game readily provides amazing battles simply for the sake of having them, but with Voltvyrm, it feels more like a penalty for players, including myself, who desired a boss encounter in every area.
It’s not just guessing – the very idea of this vyrm genuinely upsets me, and even thinking about possibly facing it again in a Pantheon fills me with discouragement right now.
2. Plasmified Zango
The World’s Biggest Damage Sponge
| Location(s) | Wormways |
| Drop(s) | n/a |
After completing Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, I’ve really come to dislike bosses who are only tough because they can take an unbelievable amount of damage – Plasmified Zango is a perfect example of that.
To be honest, I’m baffled by Team Cherry’s decision to make this thing a boss, especially since it only has one attack-and it’s so simple to avoid, you could practically just stand there.
Even when using the needle at its maximum strength, defeating this powerful NPC takes a long time, and it’s not worth the effort because you won’t receive any reward for winning.
The most noteworthy aspect of Zango is discovering Wormways brimming with lifeblood, however, the actual fighting is quite bad. Honestly, I’m going to pretend it doesn’t happen just so I don’t have to lower my expectations for the boss battles in Silksong.
1. Savage Beastfly
Encounters of Pure Pain
| Location(s) | Hunter’s March, Far Fields |
| Drop(s) | Beast Crest |
I’m frustrated to admit that, even with challenging bosses like Phantom, First Sinner, and Trobbio, Savage Beastfly has defeated me more often than most, and it’s not because it’s a well-designed fight. It’s simply been a tough opponent for me personally.
As a player, I have to say, this boss is just… frustrating! It’s got a huge hitbox in such a tight arena, which is already a problem. Then they throw in those annoying minions that just clutter everything up. And honestly, the boss’s movement is pretty predictable, but there’s *so much* going on that you still end up getting hit! It feels like you beat it more with button-mashing than actual skill. It’s just… utterly detestable.
To make things even worse, the studio decided to really test players’ limits with another battle arena. This one featured falling platforms, lava, and enemies that hit incredibly hard – dealing two mask’s worth of damage. It pushed the enjoyment level to an entirely new, and frankly nonexistent, low: a place where fun simply doesn’t exist.
I’m okay with trying Lost Lace 30 times, but even 10 attempts at the Savage Beastfly fights feel like a terrible use of time and mental energy. It makes me wonder if the game could have benefited from an extra year of development instead of launching after seven.
This boss isn’t simple like Zango or Voltvyrm, and it doesn’t feel as endlessly repeated as fighting Lost Garmond, but it’s actually more problematic: it feels like a boss from Hollow Knight awkwardly added into Silksong. It has more damage, is tougher, and feels more crucial than a boss with such a dull idea should, which ultimately makes it the worst boss in the whole game.
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2025-10-03 00:13