Hollow Knight Silksong is a soulslike metroidvania that came out on September 4, 2025 and managed to crash the servers within the first hour of being out. Which is amazing for an indie game, I have to say, despite being a follow up to the already much-loved Hollow Knight. But it’s been a long time coming (8 years, give or take) and fans were excited.
I’ll be honest, I was one of those lucky few who managed to buy and download the game before the whole crash (even though the payment system did bug and crash once or twice). And now, after playing it quite a bit, I can bring you my honest thoughts on Silksong.
Is it really worth playing, or is it maybe overhyped? How different is it from Hollow Knight? Well, let’s get into it.
Playing games in this (now) series is a uniquely disorienting experience. I had trouble finding my way in Hollow Knight and nothing’s changed now. Getting lost in different biomes, losing and starting over is par for the course, but that’s what makes this game so fun. Yes, you have a map, and maybe a compass later if you manage to find it, but the beauty of it is that you get to explore and stumble upon different things (and by things, I mean scary little critters that will kill you) without any preconceived notions of what you’re meant to do.
Silksong is set in the kingdom of Pharloom, and instead of playing as the (previously) titular Hollow Knight, you get to step into the shoes of Hornet with her trusty needle. As for the plot — well, I’d rather keep this spoiler-free, because you deserve to experience it all for yourself. But I can tell you that Hornet is so lovely to control.
On the surface, as always, you get all of that satisfying jumping and slashing through pretty bug-infested underworld places, and it feels like it should be a relaxing game. Something like Ori, right? Well, if you’re a veteran, then you know. But if you never played Hollow Knight before, get ready to be sorely disappointed, and then promptly delighted.
It’s difficult, yes, but every win feels that much more rewarding and more meaningful. Even when I had to do the same thing multiple times (*sigh* many, many times), and when I got so, so close and yet somehow died yet again, it still didn’t feel like a punishment, if that makes sense. It felt like a challenge instead. And I’m not saying I’m great at every game I play (though you’re welcome to think so), but it’s hard to find that these days.
Games usually leave me feeling frustrated either by being too easy or senselessly frustrating, whereas there was none of that with Silksong. Maybe it’s because I know what to expect — no handholding, no difficulty settings — but I find it hard to ignore just how great of a game this is.
It all comes down to pattern recognition. Which, I suppose, is true of any game, but it’s especially clear here. With no bells and whistles, you’re the only one to blame for not responding properly to the very clear (though, don’t get me wrong, still very difficult) way those tricky bosses move.
I’ve yet to test it out on my Steam Deck, but so far, I’ve only seen positive comments all across the web about how well it plays on handhelds. And I truly didn’t have any issues playing it on my PC. No glitches or bugs (I have to make this joke — except for the literal ones). So, expect seamless, satisfying gameplay and dying in 4K without having anything so pedestrian as technical glitches to blame, because Team Cherry and Silksong will have none of that.
Visually, it’s just as stunning as Hollow Knight, but taken up a notch. The graphics are smooth, bright and sharp, all the bugs are deceptively adorable, and every biome is unique. I feel like there’s more detail now too. If you liked the look of Hollow Knight, you’ll like this. And if you’re new — welcome, we love it here.
Plus, the music is wonderful. Both together are so soothing, it lulls you into thinking you’re playing an entirely different game — something cozy and sweet — meanwhile you’re getting slaughtered left and right. And that’s what makes this game great too.
So, yes, overall, Silksong is Hollow Knight 2.0., but that’s exactly what we all wanted all along. It’s more of the same, but better, improved! More tricky enemies, more pretty world, more of what we fell in love with way back when Hollow Knight was first released. I’d say Team Cherry did an amazing job with this, even if it took them quite a while.