The game “Hollow Knight: Silksong” is facing criticism from Chinese players due to issues with its localization, and the developers have since addressed these concerns.
It’s fair to assert that Silksong has made an impressive debut. Not only did it cause a surge in sales at various online stores upon release, quickly surpassing the initial version’s player count records, but it has also garnered numerous favorable reviews on Steam.
As a gamer, I’ve noticed that the translation issues in this game are pretty widespread, except perhaps in China. There, it seems like players aren’t taking kindly to its rough translation. One expert even went as far as comparing it to an amateur high-school drama club performing Elizabethan improv during their night performances.
Silksong hit with thousands of negative reviews in China
If you head over to the Steam reviews for Silksong and filter by region, while most areas are listed as overwhelmingly positive or just positive, the Chinese version is overwhelmingly negative. In fact, only 38% of the nearly 32,000 reviews are positive.
As a dedicated gamer, I’ve found myself perplexed while immersing in this game in China. The dialogue translation seems to be a bit off-kilter, making it challenging for me to grasp the storyline effectively. Even though the characters speak an unintelligible language, the narrative unfolds through text boxes, so when I can’t decipher these texts, it becomes virtually impossible to track the game’s tale.
Translation specialist Loek van Kooten dubbed Silksong’s main challenge as its “true ultimate adversary” in an extensive online article. In this piece, he also translated certain parts of the text from the original language to demonstrate the difficulty in understanding it.
You must carry on without any thought or feeling; you are powerless and unmovable. There will be no cries of distress, only the mournful melody announcing your eternal sorrow.”
And “Mysteriously created by gods and the endless depths below, you hold the heavens in your seemingly unworthy hand.
Silksong devs promise to fix Chinese translation
Team Cherry has taken note of the concerns raised by the fans, and their lead, Matthew Griffin, has reassured everyone that a solution is in the works and will be addressed promptly.
To our dear Chinese-speaking enthusiasts: We value your input about the quality concerns you’ve noticed with the present Simplified Chinese version of Hollow Knight: Silksong. Rest assured, we are diligently working on enhancing the translation in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for your unwavering support!
To our fans who speak Chinese:
Thank you for bringing quality concerns regarding the current Simplified Chinese translation of Hollow Knight: Silksong to our attention. We are committed to making improvements to the translation in the upcoming weeks. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we value your continued support.
— Matthew Griffin (@griffinmatta) September 5, 2025
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2025-09-08 13:20