Subj : Hollow Knight: Silksong is a masterful, daring follow-up thats d To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Mon Sep 15 2025 18:15:07 Hollow Knight: Silksong is a masterful, daring follow-up thats destined to be misunderstood for years to come Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:00:00 +0000 Description: Hollow Knight: Silksong is a bold follow up to a beloved cult indie hit. Here's our full review, including a breakdown of accessibility settings. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Long-awaited metroidvania game Hollow Knight: Silksong is already proving to be a victim of its own success. The unbearable hype surrounding its storefront-destroying launch, combined with the simultaneous release into the eager hands of both critics and players, has created a uniquely voracious narrative. Theres a sense that one must devour Silksong all at once, or else risk being left behind and out of the loop on what is surely one of the biggest gaming events of the decade so far. The problem is, Silksong is not a game to be binged. Its a sprawling, complicated, and brilliant sequel that demands patience above all else. Only then does it fully reveal itself as a game thats much more than the conversations around difficulty would have you believe. Review information Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2 Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC Release date: September 4, 2025 Not even two weeks into its life, developer Team Cherrys Silksong has largely been misrepresented and mislabelled as an impossibly difficult and sadistic continuation of 2017s brilliant Hollow Knight . Of course, Silksong is a very challenging game; I agree with that wholeheartedly. Its so much more than that, though. As the dust settles, and now looking back on my first completed playthrough, I believe its going to take years for the collective player hivemind to truly unpack exactly what Silksong does well, and where it falters. Rough starts and Bellharts (Image credit: Team Cherry) I made the decision to play the first five hours of Hollow Knight alongside those of Silksongs . This is where the two games differ most drastically. Hollow Knight is much more generous with checkpoints, resources, and clear tutorial sections than Silksong . Enemies hit hard from the get-go in the sequel, while Hollow Knight gives you some softball encounters to practice on before its first proper boss fight. These are very different games, diverging from one another almost immediately and taking very different paths towards completely different conclusions. The opening hours of Silksong are likely to be where players find the most friction. Enemies frequently deal two full health segments of damage, though youll have more freedom in how you heal thanks to main protagonist Hornets increased speed and aerial options. Instead of a simple down attack, Hornet dives in diagonal needle drops. This in itself requires hours to master, and its made very clear that bouncing between enemies without touching the ground is the strongest strategy available to you at first. Your main special resource in Silksong is the silk meter, which is primarily filled by hitting enemies. Upon collecting enough silk, youll need to make a quick decision: heal, or unleash a special attack to hopefully end a fight earlier. Risk vs reward is hammered home again and again in Silksong , and it's the first few hours where youll need to experiment with how you want to play. Eventually, youll get to the first town area, learn how to purchase items from merchants, and the currencies that youll have to focus on seeking out. Rosaries are the main ones, but theyre also lost upon death, wrapped in a cocoon that must be retrieved in order to get them back. Shell Shards are somewhat supplementary, used to craft tools and open up your combat options. My wallet is filled with moths (Image credit: Team Cherry) The economy between Rosaries and Shards is a tricky one to make the best use of. Silksong doesnt give you many opportunities to get Rosaries consistently until a few hours in, while Shards arent particularly useful until youve bought tools and crafting kits from later merchants. Tools become vital against flying enemies, bosses, and mobs of enemies, leading to one of the games key frustrations. To craft tools, you need Shards. To reliably purchase Shards, you must earn Rosaries, which come from exploring or, more reliably, killing enemies. Many of the difficulty spikes I hit in Silksong completely cleared out my tools. Id then have to travel elsewhere to farm Rosaries just to have enough tools to have another go at what was besting me. Its reminiscent of the awful Blood Vial farming required for some bosses in Bloodborne , taking the player away from the action for repetitive bouts of repeated enemy hunting. Unfortunately, this never really goes away in Silksong , and if anything, it becomes more common as you progress. The Shard vs Rosary reward balancing is ever so slightly off, making certain areas more and more difficult to progress through. Shall we take a detour? (Image credit: Team Cherry) Silksong offers the same approach to problem-solving as seen in Elden Ring and its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree , in that youre supposed to go and find something else to do when a perceived skill wall presents itself. Silksongs map is vast, and much of it is completely optional. Best bit (Image credit: Team Cherry) The Needolin is an upgrade that turns Hornets needle into a musical instrument. You simply hold down a button, and Hornet plays along to nearby or ambient music. Its used to unlock secret doors, interact with NPC events, and even open up new paths that are linked to the final ending of the game. Its very ambiguous as to what the Needolin can interact with, so experimenting while exploring becomes its own intriguing side quest. I bet theres even more the Needolin can do, and its going to take players years to find out all of its hidden functions. Many times, Id find myself throwing Hornet into the same repeated encounter, as I grew increasingly tired of losing the same fight over and over. At a certain point, however, it clicked that I simply needed to open up the map, look for new paths, and follow them forward. Every single time I did this, I happened upon something that made my build stronger be that secret bundles of Rosaries, new move sets and upgrades, or non-player characters (NPCs) that could be brought into particular fights alongside Hornet. I developed a mantra to live by: if a section took me more than five tries, I needed to go somewhere else. Once I opened myself up to Silksongs non-linear progression paths, I started to meet less friction. Side quests are smart new additions that gently nudge players towards points of interest: An old town built into caves of gold, silver, and bronze bells; a decrepit medical wing filled with Lovecraftian horrors and a few allies to meet; a new encounter at the starting village that changes its topography and makes use of music to deliver sorrowful worldbuilding. Kicking over a log in the woods (Image credit: Team Cherry) Playing Silksong makes me feel itchy; Im not sure how else to describe it. Anyone else who spent their childhood wandering around rain-soaked woodland and muddy river banks will know the feeling. You find a rotten piece of wood, roll it over, and jump back at the writhing cities of grubs, bugs, and spiders youve unearthed. Stepping into every new area always feels like a log turned over. Youll hear the scritch-scratch of tiny legs from somewhere in the shadows. Tiny gnats will whine nasally as you approach. Theres a griminess to Silksongs initial zones thats made all the more potent by the golden gleam and religious opulence of late-game areas. All of this is achieved in a 2D game, mind you. Somehow, Team Cherry has managed to make even the simplest passages feel thick with dirt, fog, and dust. Light is expertly used to add extra volume and scale to the standard side-scrolling formula used in other modern Metroidvanias. In comparison, the map is one area where theres been the least innovation. You still need to purchase them before youll see certain areas; theres still a Compass that takes up a Crest slot, and pins can be used to mark key information. Given the added variety and scale of Silksong , its unfortunate that the map isnt really up to the task of leading you through the game. There frankly needs to be more information on NPCs, added options for pin types, and a reworking of the way the compass works to measure up to the changes made in this sequel. Sting like a Hornet (Image credit: Team Cherry) Playing as Hornet is a wildly different experience when compared to the silent Knight of the first game. Hornet has dialogue. Shes confident, empathetic, and sternly protective of her personal space. Theres also a concerted effort to contextualize Hornet within the world of Pharloom. You get the impression that she has a personal connection to the bugs you meet, and a genuine desire to help them. Im impressed by how well-rounded Hornet is as a protagonist, which makes the combat and boss fights all the more impactful. Silksong is once again filled with an expansive lore and world history. Having Hornet be a part of that lore is a master stroke that elevates the sequel above the first game. Lets dance (Image credit: Team Cherry) Silksong is at its best when youre fighting a boss. Every single one is memorable: equal parts deadly and stunning, with clear design motifs bolstered by bespoke musical accompaniment. Many of the boss battles are intricately choreographed affairs. One early game fight with a needle-wielding foe plays out like a synchronized dance routine, all death-defying dives and sparking slashes of sharpened steel. Im struggling to remember another game thats so filled with best-in-class bosses as Silksong . With enough patience and a bit of time spent exploring for upgrades, none of them feel unfair. The loop of slowly learning patterns and then executing daring counters is what all great boss fights are about. Silskong delivers again and again and again in this respect. I cant wait to jump back in and face the gauntlet of bosses with new tactics, builds, and strategies, and there isnt a single boss Ill be skipping in a second playthrough. Silksong is every bit the sequel that Hollow Knight deserves. Its the spoils of a team going the extra mile. Its challenging, yes, but take your time and explore the vast world of Pharloom, and youll be rewarded with yet another masterpiece. I cant wait to see what comes next from Team Cherry, as itll never be a team that settles on delivering just more Hollow Knight . Should you play Silksong? Play it if... Youre looking for a challenging, but rewarding 2D side-scrolling action game Take your time with it, look up the locations of extra health and other upgrades if you need. This one can be beaten, and even if there is a part you cant beat, just go and explore somewhere else, preferably via side quests. Youre a fan of Hollow Knight While Silksong is a very different game from its predecessor, theres the same emphasis on dazzling boss battles, subtle world-building, and rewarding exploration. You dont need to have cleared Hollow Knights hardest tasks to jump into the sequel, though you may find some added fun exploring Silksong with at least a passing knowledge of the first games story and lore. Boss fights are your one true love Silksong has perhaps the best suite of boss fights in any game Ive ever played. Theres a firework-shooting showman, a dance-themed fight with mechanical cog-robots, and even tense 1v1 showdowns with needle-wielding warriors. Don't play it if... You dont have time to fully submit to Silksong s non-linear structure Silksong is a game thats very easy to get lost in. You can find yourself repeatedly banging your head against a wall, unless you have the time and desire to venture off the beaten path. You can beat Silksong in 30 hours, though itll be infinitely more difficult, and a lot less rewarding, if you just rush through the main path. Accessibility Silksong offers the option to turn off camera shake and customize HUD size. There are audio sliders for individual tracks, and you can remap controls. This is a very limited offering, with no color blind, difficulty, or repeated button input options available. How I reviewed Silksong My first playthrough of Silksong lasted 36 hours, and I spent a while doing every side quest available before the final boss fight, not counting courier missions. I still havent explored the two final sections of the map, and there are plenty of secrets and locked doors I didnt get to before the end of the credits. I played Hollow Knight back in 2018, completing the main story and some of the first DLC. I intend to go back and play Silksong a second time, focusing on a different Crest, and making use of a completely different set of tools. I played Silksong on Nintendo Switch 2 , making use of the 120Hz mode when docked. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller was perfect for this game, though d-pad users may want to go for an alternative controller (the d-pad on the Pro 2 is very subpar when compared to other options like the 8BitDo Ultimate ). I ran Silksong on my LG UltraGear 4K gaming monitor (27GR93U), making use of the extra refresh rate options. Generally, I played Silksong docked, though I did play about five hours handheld. First reviewed September 2025 ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/hollow-knight-silksong-review --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .