“Hollow Knight: Silksong,” the long-awaited sequel to its 2017 namesake predecessor, “Hollow Knight,” finally released nearly seven years after its 2019 announcement, and it has (literally) broken the gaming industry.
At its release on September 4, a massive inflow of people flooded online retailers like Steam and the Nintendo eShop, causing them to crash, making hundreds of thousands of fans wait hours to finally get their hands on the game.
Release issues aside, I believe these events will just be a drop in the bucket in Silksong’s legacy.
So for now, before any awards or controversies plague the landscape of news and social media about this game, I wish to say my piece concerning it.
Even with a little less than a week of game time, I believe Silksong is a beautifully realized game, hand-crafted with expert precision.
I would say there are many factors in play that make Silksong so good, including its breathtaking music and captivating art style.
But, I would say the most prescient among them is its gameplay. More specifically, its difficulty.
Every fight is a game of chess. Only by attacking the enemy can you heal yourself, so when death is imminent, you must balance fight or flight on a whole new level.
And in Silksong, death is common, so get used to frequently saving or risk losing “rosaries,” the main currency of the Hollow Knight series.
But fear not, Hollow Knighters of days past, because Silksong is more forgiving in one department.
While in the original Hollow Knight, rosaries could be permanently lost if not retrieved before dying twice (similar to Souls-like games,) Silksong discontinued this.
To compensate, Silksong bosses are extremely difficult. Fast attacks and absurd movesets–each fight is a test that helps you refine your skills for the future levels and bosses ahead of you.
Silksong is the perfect game for the brave and the fearless, but patience is necessary.
You might spend hours on the same enemy, making zero progress.
But, in every attempt, you are refining your skill. Silksong is a game mastery. This is its greatest accomplishment and most severe flaw.
Silksong gets difficult fast and maybe daunting for new players.
But Silksong is not an impossible game. It is a game worth every minute and the suffering of the hours.
