Hollow Knight: Silksong Review: A Beautiful, Brutal Adventure

Hollow Knight: Silksong: Hollow Knight: Silksong has finally arrived with a fresh adventure in a captivating, yet challenging, world. This game is a Metroidvania, which is a style of action-adventure game that is known for its interconnected maps and ability upgrades. Silksong is an outlier and has its careful design and strong vision. You play as Hornet, a swift and graceful bug who wakes up kidnapped. She must explore many beautiful and horrifying lands. This review will explore what makes Silksong special, from its stunning art to its punishing difficulty.

A Hand-Drawn Universe Full of Life

The first thing you notice about Silksong is its stunning visuals. This is a hand-drawn universe. It features grottoes, caverns, and paths cut from living rock. You will find complex factories full of spinning saw blades and steam vents. There are also old coastal towns. These towns are built for creatures no bigger than a piece of pocket lint. Each area has unique details and a rich atmosphere.

The game's music adds to its charm. The score is haunting, playful, and always inviting. It pulls you deeper into the world. Every sound helps build the game’s unique feel.

The world of Silksong is also full of characters. Just like the first Hollow Knight game, this one buzzes with life. You will meet shopkeepers, mapmakers, and many kinds of forgotten artisans and explorers. These characters are charming and add to the story. The art style shifts smoothly from one area to another. This happens without breaking the game's overall look. Everything fits together perfectly.

Getting Stuck is Part of the Journey

Silksong is a game where getting stuck is common. This is a big part of the experience. You can find yourself stuck at almost any point. This might happen during boss fights, tricky combat areas, or difficult platform sections. Imagine walls of spikes and floors that give way. These are challenges only 2D games can create.

When you get stuck, Silksong asks you to think. What will you do next? For example, consider a demanding boss fight. You could keep trying the same thing. You might try again and again, hoping to get better. Sometimes this works, but you can also get tired and make more mistakes.

Or, you can try something different. You might leave the boss's area for a while. You can wander through the game's tightly connected maps. This allows you to look for secrets you may have missed. You might find health boosts or silk boosts. These make Hornet stronger. You could also find more Rosary Beads. These are the game's beautiful currency. You can use them to buy new items from shops. You might even discover side bosses you missed earlier.

This wandering might feel annoying at times. But it also helps you connect with the game. You dive deeper into its world. You learn its hidden paths and secrets. This is a richer way to play than just rushing through. The first Hollow Knight had these moments. But Silksong takes them to a whole new level.

Hornet: Faster, Nimbler, and Brutally Tested

Hornet is the new main character in Silksong. She is faster and more agile than the protagonist from the original Hollow Knight. This means there is a new way to play right from the start. Hornet quickly gains a dash ability. Unlike the timed boost in the first game, hers is endless. This encourages fast movement and daring exploration. She can also mantle, which means she can pull herself up ledges. This makes climbing and moving around feel quick and smooth. Early on, she also learns to float gently to the ground.

Hornet's attacks are also different. Her downstrike hits at an angle. It takes some time to learn this new attack. In combat, you need to understand how far away you should be from an enemy. This helps you land a strike from above. When you need to move and attack using the pogo downstrike, it can be hard. Lining up paths through bounce spots can be very frustrating. There is a lot to learn about Hornet's abilities.

Despite the learning curve, mastering Hornet is very rewarding. You become a quick, precise fighter. You can use sharp angles and tiny openings to your advantage. Bosses and difficult enemies force you to use all your skills. If you don't, you will be punished. This means you must experiment with your gear and abilities.

Customising Hornet's Abilities

Silksong has new menus for customising Hornet. You typically have several slots for different items:

• Specials: Unique moves or abilities.
• Passive Items: These give you constant benefits.
• Offensive Items: Things like throwing knives or traps.

There are also crests. These can change your attack style completely. Crests also have their own slots. You can change your setup at rest spots. These are also where you heal after tough battles. Experimenting is key here. After a few hours, you will likely find your favourite loadouts for different challenges.

Hornet's healing system is also unique. She uses silk to heal. You build up silk by attacking enemies. Once you have enough, you can use it to restore three masks of health. However, there are trade-offs. You are vulnerable while healing. You are also vulnerable right after, because silk is also used for special attacks. This vulnerability creates new strategies. Sometimes you can heal safely in the air during a boss fight if you time it just right. Stopping at a bench to change your gear and heal is very important in Silksong.

A Cruel But Rewarding World

As you journey through Silksong, the game constantly changes its demands. You will move from swamps and forgotten homes, going higher and higher. The game mixes things up all the time.

• Pogo Stretches: These are tricky parts where you dash between bounce points and cling to walls. They are maddeningly difficult.
• Kill Rooms: Doors close, and waves of enemies attack. These are often harder than boss fights.
• Narrative Flow: The story guides you back and forth through new and old areas. It makes you feel like you are stitching the whole map together.
• Wishes (Quests): These new quests tempt you off the main path. They offer promises of cool new gadgets.

Enemies in Silksong are both beautiful and deadly. They grow in size and complexity as you move through the world. Bosses need complex actions to defeat. There are many bosses. Some can feel like a long fight with overly strong attacks. But the best bosses highlight Hornet's ability to dance around danger. These fights are like a dance between the developer and the player. You find your rhythm within a set routine.

Silksong is a brutally challenging game. It can also be provocatively cheap at times. The game is full of "giggling cruelty." This acts as a sharp contrast to the dreamy feel of the characters and their world. The difficulty is confrontational. It makes you wonder why the game treats you this way. Enemies deal harsh damage. You rarely have moments of invincibility. There are many bosses. Many of them have long, painful "runbacks." This means you must travel a far distance after dying to try again. Benches (rest spots) are few. You have to pay a lot to unlock. Some are even trapped or broken. It is common to fight through tough areas only to find a rest area you cannot afford.

Difficulty is a tricky thing to talk about. What one person finds hard, another might not. But Silksong is not just difficult. It is often purposefully and creatively cruel in its design. This seems like a clear choice from the game's creators, Team Cherry. It wants to surprise, frustrate, and even make you angry. Even with an early patch that made things a bit easier, difficulty remains a primary focus. There are times when Silksong actively tries to be as unkind as possible.

The Gains and Losses of Cruelty

What does Silksong lose by being so hard? It loses some goodwill. Social media already has many fans who feel frustrated. They complain about the long runbacks. They talk about platforming challenges right after a boss, before the next bench. They dislike having to pay for basic items. Life is short, and people do not want to spend it on things they hate. This kind of difficulty also means fewer players will see all that the creators have made.

But what does Silksong gain from this? For one, it gains community. On social media, Silksong is everywhere. It is not just people complaining. More often, people share tips. They point out ways to get a better grip on this challenging world. They tell strangers how to have a slightly better time playing. This is free advertising. Many people will need to engage with the community to finish the game. Progress comes from sharing knowledge.

Beyond publicity, it is also a group of people coming together. They help one another. They explore something together. Sometimes, they endure it together and vent their frustrations together. Silksong is the work of a small group of people. They made the game they wanted to make. They did this without apparent compromises or chasing trends. In a world full of algorithms and many producers, it is good to see this kind of creative freedom.

Conclusion: A Game of Revelations and Personality

Hollow Knight: Silksong is beautiful, thrilling, and charmingly mean-spirited. Yet, it is also a game full of discoveries and genuine personality. It pushes players, but it also rewards those who stick with it. This game offers a profound and unforgettable experience.

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