Whether you’re looking at the making of *Hollow Knight: Silksong* or the many patient fans that have been waiting, this has been a long time coming. And in the end, it was worthwhile to open this up, let it breathe, and take in all the notes, because not only is *Hollow Knight: Silksong* a challenging Metroidvania, it’s also dense.
While that challenging side sometimes slips into annoying territories, this is an undeniably well-crafted delivery of a promise made nearly a decade ago. Need help with your own adventure? Check out our **HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG INTERACTIVE MAP**.
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### Into the Lands of Pharloom
The story of *Hollow Knight: Silksong* finds a notable character from the first game—the half-god bug Hornet—in a bit of a predicament. She seems to have been caught by a cult, drained of her powers, and prepared for transport in a cage to some unknown recipient.
A little bit of fate intervenes and she gets just enough power to break out of her confinements, falling to the very bottom depths of a land called Pharloom.
We quickly learn two things: first, Pilgrims climb Pharloom in a quest to reach a holy place called the Citadel. Secondly, there is mysterious thread strewn throughout Pharloom that makes both beast bugs and rational bugs (this world is all bugs, all the time) lose their minds and attack other bugs.
The setup of *Silksong* supplies a conceptually similar adventure to the first *Hollow Knight* game. The land is in the throes of a curse and, much like the first game’s Knight, Hornet resolves to break it, or at least break the force that tried to capture her.
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### A Massive, Beautiful World to Explore
*Silksong* is quite the upgrade from the first game. Pharloom is an absolutely massive map full of unique biomes, secrets, and challenges to explore. It’s also a delightful tapestry of art, music, and carefully-crafted platforming action, stuffed with side quests and optional content that makes poking every nook and cranny of the map a worthwhile endeavor.
*Hollow Knight* has always been uniquely expressive, and for all its bugs having stoic shell masks, they sure are animated—whether it’s to be cute, terrifying, or even heartbreakingly sad. I particularly like a certain flea caravan quest where you help a traveling band find their compatriots. I don’t know why Team Cherry felt the need to make fleas so fluffy and cute, but I’ll accept it over their bloodsucking real counterparts.
There are plenty of other life-draining elements in *Silksong*, anyways.
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### Incredible Music and Technical Performance
The music is also incredible. Christopher Larkin outdid himself with a collection that provides delightful ambiance across the various regions of Pharloom. I’ve brought some of these songs to my own playlists already because they’re such good background noise, but the boss fight songs also kick it into high gear and deliver a far more intense background to the game’s biggest fights.
During my review, I played *Hollow Knight: Silksong* on PS5 and Switch 2. I have to say, I think the Switch 2 version might be better. There were several moments during my PS5 run where it felt like the game stuttered just a bit as I was sprinting through halls or talking to NPCs. I didn’t notice if it affected my actual platforming and fights, but the game moves so fast that it’s very possible.
I haven’t seen that same stutter on Switch 2 yet, and that’s playing on both handheld and docked mode.
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### Skillsong: A Tough but Fair Challenge
You may have heard at this point, but *Hollow Knight: Silksong* is not an easy game to complete. It’s not unfair, unbalanced, or broken. It’s just difficult—sometimes skill-wise, and sometimes time-wise.
This game is vast, bustling with increasingly difficult bosses and platforming challenges, and packed with an enormous amount of optional content that’s generally worth exploring.
*Silksong* follows the Metroidvania formula as one might expect. You begin limited, exploring the map and encountering areas Hornet can’t access at first, gradually collecting abilities that unlock your movement, combat, and overall chances of reaching the end of the game.
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### Returning Features and Combat Dynamics
One returning feature from the first *Hollow Knight* is the map system. Instead of having the map reveal itself as you explore, you first have to find an NPC vendor in each area who will sell you a map for rosary beads—the primary currency of Pharloom.
The compass also returns and takes up an accessory slot. I kind of hate that because those slots are precious for amulets that protect you from damage or increase your attack. The compass literally just tells you where you are on the map like most games do, without restricting you.
Once you’ve traveled Pharloom’s halls long enough, navigation becomes easier, but it’s still an annoying early choice.
Thankfully, combat and platforming are as high points in *Silksong* as they were in *Hollow Knight*. Hornet moves a bit differently from the first game’s Knight, given that her downward attack is a downward-diagonal dive kick, but she still moves crisply and can weave around foes like a ballerina once you have a good feel for her melee and jumping.
Anyone who played the first game knows this is a very pogo-oriented action game. You can hit downward to bounce on enemy heads with your attacks or bounce off obstacles to traverse terrain.
It takes some time to get used to Hornet’s move set, but it’s worth noting that you eventually find crests that change her basic move sets and available equipment. One of the earliest gives her an attack style closer to the original *Hollow Knight*, but the others offer all sorts of fun upgrades to explore and mix into your overall kit.
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### The Difficulty and Some Tedious Elements
I’m of two minds about *Hollow Knight: Silksong*’s difficulty. On one hand, from every grand display to the smallest nook, this game is impeccably crafted. The platforming is smart and satisfying, the boss fights are generally fun to figure out, and the characters and their quests are consistently rewarding.
*Silksong* looks and feels like something where nearly every sight, sound, and reaction was carefully considered and placed with purpose.
On the other hand, it includes a few elements that just pad out the experience. For me, shell shards were the most egregious example.
Throughout the game, you get tools that act like subweapons, such as throwing daggers or a brew that makes Hornet attack and move faster. You have a limited number of uses for any tool, which you refill by crafting with shell shards at any save point.
On the surface, that’s not a bad system, but tools make boss fights far more manageable, and if you’re using a lot of tools, you quickly drain your shell shard count—meaning you have to break from progress to farm.
Rosary beads can also be stingy at various points, though that becomes less of a problem as you advance.
I couldn’t stop thinking of *Demon’s Souls*’ item economy, which I also hated.
Other examples of similarly frustrating tedium included long runbacks to bosses after dying and quests requiring you to run back and forth across the entire map to find one or two little things—sometimes without the aid of fast travel.
I already mentioned not liking the compass, but you also must buy markers from an NPC for points of interest on the map. If you come up against a wall in your progress and don’t have the map or markers for the area, you just have to remember it’s there.
*Hollow Knight: Silksong* is at its best when you’re engaging with its core content: a tough boss, intricate platforming, or a story beat with a character you’ve grown fond of.
The unavoidable tedium just brings down the mood and adds unnecessary valleys to an otherwise peak Metroidvania experience.
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### Nearly a Decade in the Making — Was It Worth the Wait?
Was it worth it after eight long years of waiting? Yes, I think so.
*Hollow Knight: Silksong* is beautiful and feels great to play. It’s filled with content and challenges that are fun to overcome. Its characters are delightfully expressive, and despite that charm, there’s a deeply complex and morbid air that compels you to want to save all these bugs from a terrible fate.
I could have done without the numerous hours I spent farming and dealing with padding, but *Silksong* is still an enormously packed journey and a tremendous payoff on a nearly decade-long wait.
Just mind the challenge and don’t rush it. True endings won’t come easy, but that’s part of what makes victory feel so beautiful in *Hollow Knight: Silksong*.
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*This review is based on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 copies of the game.*
*Hollow Knight: Silksong* is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Switch, and Switch 2.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146038/hollow-knight-silksong-review-score
