It’s finally here! The sequel to Hollow Knight, and one of the most anticipated games in recent memory, is now playable. Fans spent years wondering if what was originally announced as a DLC would ever see the light of day, while Team Cherry stayed tight-lipped throughout development. Then, out of nowhere, they revealed that Silksong would release in just two weeks. And when it finally dropped? It practically crashed every game store across consoles and platforms.
It’s safe to say the hype was real. The big question now is… was it justified?
Story
I’ll be honest: the story isn’t the main attraction for me. It is also not told in a straightforward way, but it’s still there if you want to dig in. I’ll keep it short.
Hornet, descendant of the Weavers, gets kidnapped by the ultra-controlling Grandmother Silk – creator of the Weavers and other inhabitants of Pharloom, the kingdom Hornet is now brought to. GMS doesn’t just want control over her creations; she wants to be worshipped by them, Weavers included. Long ago, the Weavers saw through her obsession and created the secret caves known as Weavenests, where they conducted their own research. Eventually, they fled the kingdom, later establishing Deepnest and starting their own lives free from GMS’s control.
And so, Hornet was captured on GMS’s orders in an attempt to force the Weavers to return to Pharloom and submit to her oppressive reign.
The plot doesn’t hit you over the head – it’s scattered across dialogue, environmental storytelling, memories and subtle descriptions found in lore items. You’ll piece it together naturally as you explore (if you care to), which fits perfectly with the kind of player-driven discovery this series is known for. If you’re expecting a straightforward narrative, you might get lost, but for those who love uncovering secrets, it’s definitely satisfying.
Presentation
As expected, Silksong is absolutely gorgeous, and Team Cherry clearly didn’t hold back. Every environment has personality and is memorable – from the large cathedral halls drenched in warm light and adorned with gold, to the oppressive, murky depths of Bilewater, filled with maggot-infested swamps.
Enemy design is just as impressive and varied, ranging from sneaky cave dwellers lying in wait to mechanical sentries patrolling the citadel’s core, to grotesque and disgusting swamp horrors. And that’s without even mentioning the bosses, which fully embody their area’s themes and take them to eleven, serving as visual and mechanical highlights.
The little thematic touches are brilliant, too: benches in the citadel cost rosaries and disappear when you leave, forcing you to pay again if you want to rest. There’s even a confession booth that costs rosaries but does… basically nothing, which feels like a cheeky nod to certain church practices.
When it comes to the OST, Christopher Larkin returns, though his work feels slightly more understated than in Hollow Knight. Storytelling through music was huge in the original, but I couldn’t sense the same depth in Silksong. Music often plays subtly in the background, letting the environments shine on their own. As a result, I can’t easily associate specific tracks with specific areas. The pieces that play during Boss fights and gauntlets, however, still grow to bombastic heights.
Sound design is crisp, with Hornet and NPCs speaking single words in a made-up language that’s oddly catchy. The highlight, though, is the cartographer’s tune – I caught myself humming along every single time. Seeing her side quest through to the end rewards you with an extended and beautiful version of her theme.
Gameplay
Yes, the cartographer is back with her signature, distinctive track! You start the game without a map and must purchase each area’s map from her. A compass, which takes up a tool slot, shows your position on the map. Hearing her humming or spotting her tracks within a new area always brings relief – areas can be complex and interwoven, and it’s easy to get lost. A map makes traversal and exploration much smoother, and secrets (of which there are many) a bit less frustrating to find.
The gameplay in Silksong expands and improves on everything that made Hollow Knight great. Crests fundamentally alter Hornet’s movement and combat style, while tools – which occupy limited crest slots – have a huge impact on gameplay and allow for highly personalized playstyles. They seem very balanced, too, with no tool feeling “mandatory” to equip. Hornet’s movement feels much more acrobatic than the Knight’s – and I personally enjoyed traversing as Hornet much more than in Hollow Knight – enabling complex and satisfying platforming sections.
The game is enormous, with secrets hidden everywhere: collectible items, powerful upgrades, entire optional areas, and side quests. The Metroidvania structure is tight, with even story progression offering multiple paths into the second act. New movement abilities constantly unlock new discoveries. I kept finding new things to do right up until the end, often left amazed at the sheer amount of hidden content. Fascinating, to say the least.
Combat is a highlight. Even regular enemies require strategy to beat without taking damage, though encounters are spaced out well enough that you rarely feel overwhelmed. Silksong also includes several gauntlets – rooms where Hornet must defeat waves of enemies. One of them, the High Halls Gauntlet, stands out as probably the most challenging of the bunch, and arguably the toughest “fight” in the entire game, given the limited resources available at that point. It’s even become a run-ender for Silksong speedrunners.
Then there are the bosses – over 40 in total. Some are larger, stronger variants of regular enemies, but many are completely unique. The best fights feel like a dance (Widow, The First Sinner, Lace), demanding observation, precision, and patience. Spamming attacks won’t get you far; you have to learn patterns and strike deliberately. Some bosses even start with a short gauntlet before the main foe appears (Crow Father, Karmelita, Coral Tower). Overall, boss design feels balanced, varied, and full of surprises.
There’s one big drawback, though – at least for me. Equipped offensive tools are limited and replenished only when you rest at a bench. That’s fine, but replenishing them costs shards, and the number you can carry is limited too. This often led to situations where I’d avoid using tools freely, especially while learning a boss’s moveset, just to avoid running out of shards and being forced to farm them. It feels like an unnecessary restriction – an annoyance in an otherwise brilliantly polished combat system.
Difficulty
As with many games before it, Silksong sparked another round of discussion about difficulty in games. So, is Silksong hard? Not really – at least compared to many other modern action-platformers.
The main talking point is that enemies and especially bosses deal two masks of damage very early on. Hornet starts with five masks, meaning that without healing, a battle can be over in three hits. Given most bosses’ readable movesets and generous telegraphs – especially in the early and mid-game – three hits is quite forgiving, especially considering the healing system.
Your healing isn’t limited by items or benches; you can replenish silk and heal mid-fight simply by staying aggressive. By the end of the game, you can have up to ten masks, and aside from one exception, no enemy deals more than two masks of damage per hit. The only truly chaotic encounter is against Trobbio, a stage magician who intentionally messes with your perception – but even that feels thematic rather than unfair.
Runbacks are short, so trial-and-error never feels punishing. The game’s non-linear structure helps too: optional bosses and multiple routes let you explore, collect upgrades, and grow stronger before tackling tougher challenges. If you want to get stronger before entering a hard area, Silksong lets you. It rewards patience and curiosity rather than punishing boldness. Hell, there are only ten mandatory bosses required to beat the game!
The Platinum Trophy
The trophy list is mostly straightforward, rewarding story progression, 100% completion, and seeing all endings. Many achievements from other platforms – including some of the hardest ones – didn’t make it to PlayStation, which is a shame for hardcore completionists. That said, the standout trophies – completing an any% speedrun in under five hours and a 100% run in under 30 – are still satisfying. For most players, these times are pretty lenient on a second playthrough, but doing an any% run with minimal upgrades and base health is still a solid challenge.
