Hollow Knight is a venture into Hallownest’s depths, a methodical descent ever deeper into the quiet stillness of a long-dead kingdom in a desperate attempt to understand why this civilization fell, what possesses only some of its bug citizens to revert into unthinking and violent insects and not others, and what it is we’re even doing there. There are no concrete answers to be found or a set path to follow; there’s barely a discernible objective for almost the entire game. It is a story built around curiosity, only rewarding snippets of Hallownest’s fascinating history to those who venture for no other reason than wanting to do so. It’s one of my favorite games of all time, and its sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, is even better.
In some ways, you can tell that Silksong started out as an expansion to the first game. It plays largely the same, and long-time fans will fall into the familiar rhythm of pogoing off enemy heads and deadly saw blades with downward slashes, frantically healing during brief breaks in an intense boss fight, parrying an attack with a well-timed slash, and breathing a sigh of relief upon reaching the next bench and setting a new spawn point.
It’s not all exactly the same: Hornet’s downward slash is initially her trademark diagonal dive (but you can change it later!), for example. But Silksong feels like more Hollow Knight. The rhythmic acrobatic nature of combat, rewarding feeling of success from defeating a tough-as-nails boss, and sense of wonder at discovering that there is, in fact, another area to explore are all here. Team Cherry created a superb gameplay loop in the first game, and that fantastic formula continues to shine in Silksong years later.
Silksong brings focus to this loop, however. While a lot of people (myself included) really liked how the first game encouraged you to enjoy being lost and finding wonder in the unexpected beauty of a haunted but colorful world, plenty of folks wanted more traditional structure, and Silksong provides that. Every main objective has a waypoint, hub areas advertise optional side quests on glimmering quest boards, and an in-game menu keeps track of every quest you have and where to go to start or continue it. In terms of navigation, it’s far easier to get to the end of Silksong than Hollow Knight. You always have a clear idea of the direction you need to be going, so the flow of progression is consistent from start to finish.
Hornet is far more nimble than the first game’s unnamed vessel as well. She can grab and pull herself up ledges and heal in midair, for instance. And while she gains the traversal abilities that the vessel did, like a double-jump and wall jump, she gets a whole lot more, like sprinting, a grappling hook, and gliding. The platforming challenges are subsequently not as unforgiving as those in Hollow Knight–Silksong makes running and jumping far more fun and fulfilling. Hornet has more moves that she can perform in midair to reorient herself and potentially save a bad jump, and there are more safe spaces and spots to heal between platforming gauntlets. It’s still not easy. But a mistimed button press is less likely to frustratingly set you back five minutes and cause you to contemplate throwing your Switch across the room. Breathe easy; Silksong doesn’t yet have anything on par with the Path of Pain. (And this is not me advocating for you to add one in an expansion, Team Cherry! I enjoy being happy.)
Much like mission structure and traversal mechanics, combat is better too. Because Hornet is faster and possesses far more options when it comes to dealing damage, enemies are subsequently stronger. Silksong’s combat tempo is quite fast once you get out of the starting areas, and only gets faster as you venture further. But the game does an excellent job of easing you into this challenge, introducing new enemy types piecemeal so that you’re not overwhelmed. There’s still an element of strategic back-and-forth, but there’s less waiting and hiding in Silksong. Hornet feels like a deadly hunter with her speed and power, and you’re incentivized to be precise in your aggression–she cannot take many hits, but you need to get in the fray and land some hits of your own to build up the necessary silk to unleash her hardest-hitting skills and heal.
Fights often feel like a series of dances (especially against the more humanoid bosses, as their fights emulate fencing-like duels), with the excellent musical score that accompanies each major battle providing a baseline for the speed at which you should be moving to keep up with what you’re fighting.
Nothing in Silksong feels unfair (so far at least–I haven’t yet completed all of Act III), though certain boss fights approach that feeling of frustration with how difficult their challenge is to overcome. The game is certainly more unforgiving than Hollow Knight when it comes to defeating a boss–rarely does a loss put you right back into the action to try again. Fewer benches and larger areas mean each respawn typically includes an eventful trek back to where you last died, with environmental hazards and minor enemies potentially chipping away at Hornet’s health long before you’ve returned to the boss arena. And the bosses themselves tend to hit a lot harder than the ones found in the first game, taking two chunks of Hornet’s health rather than only one.
But there are optional crests, charms, and tools that, if found and equipped, can alleviate that challenge. The fire-spewing Father of the Flame is far more approachable with the Magma Bell charm equipped for example, which halves the damage taken from fire attacks. And the cackling Sister Splinter is tricky if you just keep throwing yourself at her and her annoying summons, but the Reaper crest lets Hornet more easily pogo jump off of the flying summons, stunning them. This crest also nets you silk far more quickly so you can keep healing–throw in the Guarding Bell charm (which can reflect any attack while Hornet heals) and you have a surefire way of sending Sister Splinter’s hardest-hitting attacks right back at her, potentially stunning her for some easy hits.
Nothing in Silksong informs you that you should be actively searching for new crests, charms, and tools so that you can piece together different builds, unfortunately. This can make several bosses extremely irritating to take on, especially if you’re not a fan of letting your curiosity take you off the highlighted path and you’d prefer beating enemies with your favorite loadout.
The two most frustrating early game examples of this–Moorwing and the aforementioned Sister Splinter–have been adjusted with post-launch updates, so this qualm may be squashed. I can’t speak to what it’s like to face them now having beaten them long before that patch dropped.
The biggest improvement Silksong has over its predecessor is its hero. We first met Hornet in the original Hollow Knight. A warrior princess born of one queen, taught to fight by a second, and raised by a third, Hornet is one of the fiercest bosses you face on your journey, but also the only ally you have who clues you in that a great and terrifying secret lies at the furthest depths of Hallownest, a truth hidden away long ago by the king who failed to protect his people from a pandemic. With her help and guidance, you can prove a more worthy hero than the arrogant king who tried and failed to save himself, uncovering and facing the source of the infection that now grips Hallownest.
A huge part of Hollow Knight is the slow realization that Hornet should be Hallownest’s savior. She has the knowledge, battle prowess, and royal obligation of three queens behind her, the blood of a god flowing through her, and is presumably the last descendant of a once-great tribe of spider mages who could weave together powerful magic; her qualifications far outpace the unnamed and meager vessel that the player controls. But she can’t be the one who saves Hallownest because she’s a person with a mind, a will, and a voice. She was loved and raised, and thus cannot ever be a true hollow knight. The aspects that make her special make her a liability to the home that needs her.
Silksong gives Hornet an opportunity to use her upbringing in a place where it can have a more positive effect. Captured and taken to the kingdom of Pharloom, Hornet escapes from her keepers but unintentionally falls to the near bottom, and freedom is only possible if she deals with whoever captured her in the first place. So unlike the first game’s unnamed vessel, Hornet’s quest sees her climbing upward, not going downward.
It is a journey that the vessel could have potentially completed, but one that Hornet–a being with a mind, will, and voice–is far more qualified to do, as her independent thinking, leadership, and uncompromising morals inspire those around her to follow her and try to rise up too. In some cases, they literally follow her upwards through Pharloom, while in others it’s a more figurative ascent: reaching toward a better way of life, finding a purpose to climb out of despair, or rising above communal suffering to be a good person who selflessly helps, not selfishly takes advantage. Whereas Hallownest needed a solitary pariah to sacrifice itself so the kingdom could start over, Pharloom needs a warrior princess to salvage its most important pieces, the people, and bring them together into something better.
It’s a story aided by an understanding of Hornet’s history during the events of Hollow Knight, though still profoundly enjoyable on its own merits. Silksong’s reintroduction of the Weavers, a supposedly long-dead tribe of wizard spiders, delves into Hornet’s heritage, providing the warrior princess with greater incentive to explore Pharloom and giving the player a more personable protagonist to embody. So much of this part of Hornet’s story, her reclamation of her heritage and the ramifications it will have for her and Pharloom, is squirreled away in optional side quests, similar to the vessel’s connection to the Void in the first game. And thanks to Silksong’s more structured handling of quests, it’s far easier to notice and engage with this hidden side of the narrative and reach Act III. Again, I still haven’t finished this part of the game, but the writing and music and visuals of what I’ve experienced so far have transformed not only how I think about the first two acts of Silksong, but Hornet’s role across the series.
There’s so much to love about Hollow Knight: Silksong, especially if you were a fan of the first game. This sequel better focuses the narrative with guided exploration and eases the frustrations with the first game’s platforming by making the protagonist far more acrobatic. In many respects, that makes it a safe sequel, as much of the game is merely a more polished, approachable, and fulfilling take on what worked well before. But that first game is one of the best metroidvania titles out there, making this sequel equally essential. Hornet’s story is more than worth the wait.
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