Throughout its entirety, Hollow Knight: Silksong skillfully balances delivering a surge of dopamine and evoking an adolescent impulse to toss my Nintendo Switch 2 in exasperation.
Thankfully, my console continues to work, and what’s more, during my extended 25-hour adventure tracking Hornet’s storyline to its completion, I was filled with positive feelings. The game Hollow Knight: Silksong is stunning, expansive, and incredibly tough – a testament to skillful craftsmanship that doesn’t always play by the rules.
The game Silksong is intentionally challenging, with mastery primarily relying on improving personal abilities. However, it’s worth noting that certain design choices by the developers can be perplexing at times, making them feel excessively difficult rather than a fair challenge, almost like struggling to extract a tooth.
I truly enjoy Hollow Knight: Silksong. I appreciate its meticulous detail, elegant combat system, charming characters, and the vast, mind-boggling universe it presents. Yet, it seems to find ways to challenge that affection as soon as you lower your defenses.
Hollow Knight Silksong screenshots
What is Hollow Knight Silksong about?
In the hands of a fervent group, leading Hornet to their foreboding Citadel, she was imprisoned. Yet, as fate would have it, a string of fortunate incidents occurred. A sudden rockslide intervened, deviating her cart’s course from its intended path and plunging it into a vast chasm instead.
As a gamer, I’ve come to realize that Hornet stands out in a crowd. There’s something unique about her – an innate ability to weave silk that has the Citadel’s leaders foaming at the mouth. Instead of making a beeline for the nearest exit after surviving the fall, Hornet decides to square off against this mysterious religious cult. I’m curious about their motives and ready to find out.
For enthusiasts of Hollow Knight, Silksong skillfully balances familiar elements with new mysteries. Team Cherry’s newest creation doesn’t necessarily revolutionize the Metroidvania genre, but it’s clear from the beginning that they’ve spent seven years carefully designing a game that could redefine the genre and perhaps surpass the greatness of its originators, Metroid and Castlevania.
Frustrating, then, that it’s held back in just one department.
Balancing act
Leaving behind a damp, moldy shelter and making my way towards the central settlement known as Bone Bottom, I receive some quick background information before being hurled into an encounter with Pharloom’s hostile native fauna – my first brush with its inhospitable wild creatures.
This paraphrase maintains the original meaning while providing a clearer and more natural flow of language for easy comprehension.
In Silksong, there’s no gentle introduction. It pushes you hard from the get-go, and it doesn’t give you a lot of room to breathe. This is consistent with Hollow Knight’s standing, but I found myself opting for an easier route in the initial stages instead of exploring its diverse build options to make significant advancement.
The main complaints revolved around excessively tough default opponents, unnecessary early health boosts, lack of resting spots (benches), and repetitive trips back to boss battles. Yet, as I delved deeper into Hornet’s narrative, these criticisms diminished.
To be honest, the shift in game difficulty was so drastic that now, looking back, I’m left questioning if Team Cherry may have accidentally switched the game’s difficulty progression. Starting from Act 2, issues such as inconsistent pacing and sudden increases in challenge more or less vanished altogether. Although these problems were a persistent issue during the initial stages of my gaming experience, they’ve since become insignificant compared to the overall excellence of the game.
Perfect harmony
Compared to its predecessor, Silksong is remarkably spacious. Pharloom is so expansive that even its downtrodden villages, steampunk forges, and other stunning landscapes linking the puzzle-like lower realms make Hollow Knight’s entirety seem tiny next to its diminutive hero.
The shift between chapters is similar to the sense of wonder I experienced upon reaching the summit of Sen’s Fortress in Dark Souls, and then beholding the expanse of Anor Londo beyond the horizon. However, unlike Dark Souls, Silksong improves consistently as you delve deeper into its world.
At the suggestion of a friend, I was seized by an underling of the Citadel and transported to The Slab, a prison as large as a small town. Deprived of all my belongings, I navigated its guard-patrolled corridors and pilfered keys to gain access to the central control room, eventually regaining possession of my possessions.
Upon contemplation, it’s evident that Silksong has been meticulously crafted in the same manner as the prison sequence. The instance where I found myself devoid of equipment and stealthily navigating guard-filled halls was particularly memorable. This moment served to highlight just how finely balanced the game is once one moves beyond its somewhat rough initial stages.
The friendly NPCs I met were constantly delivering hilarious dialogue, revealing their intentions, and making it clear that revisiting areas in Silksong was never dull or repetitive. It seemed as though every corner of this world, Pharloom, had its own unique energy – I was just there for a temporary stay.
In comparison to games like Metroid Dread and its own prequel, Silksong stands out due to its unique blend of environments that evoke a sense of inhabited and purposefully designed worlds rather than ones that appear overtly game-like from the start.
Except for a few challenging sections that seem deliberately difficult (Sinner’s Road and Bilewater are tough to navigate), no area overstays its welcome. The variety of upgrades offered by Hornet, which can be earned in the traditional Metroidvania style, makes returning to these areas enjoyable each time.
Verdict
In simple terms, the game “Silksong” is an impressive technological accomplishment. The richness of its world makes it hard not to get distracted and stay focused on moving forward. Whenever I could, I’d pause the primary campaign just to spend more time exploring Pharloom.
Surprisingly, I hadn’t realized that taking things slow wasn’t essential. However, Silksong maintains its expansive nature mechanically in the same way. The superior smoothness in movement and a more straightforward method to constructing the ideal insect warrior makes navigating and fighting a delightful experience at every chance.
In essence, these types of games thrive on the quality of their worlds, and Pharloom stands out among the best from both an architectural and visual point of view.
It’s unfortunate that the game, Hollow Knight: Silksong, with its challenging difficulty spikes and pacing issues early on might deter less hardcore gamers due to its complexity. However, it’s evident that seven years of heartfelt work has been poured into this game, making it a visually stunning yet brutal experience. The game demonstrates that the wait was worth it, but don’t expect any easy rides.
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2025-09-10 17:21