I can’t help but feel like writing a review for Hollow Knight: Silksong is somewhat perfunctory. I mean, this is a game that’s been waited on with such bated breath that it crashed almost every storefront it was on the moment it launched.
Do you really need me to tell you how good it is? Chances are you already bought it and know how good it is. But if you’re still on the fence or perhaps didn’t play the first Hollow Knight, it is my sword duty as a critic to guide you towards understanding why Hollow Knight: Silksong is as much a masterpiece as its predecessor.
The first Hollow Knight was a masterclass in Metroid-like design—and one of the few games I would designate as a “Metroidvania.” It combined intense combat with a dark and brooding world, perfectly paced with incremental upgrades that rewarded exploration and steadily opened new areas to players.
Hollow Knight: Silksong finds a way to capture the essence of its predecessor while giving players a game that fundamentally feels so different. Set in the land of Pharloom, players take on the role of the Hornet—both ally and adversary to the Knight of the previous game—who was captured and brought to the land by proselytizing pilgrims.
However, she is able to break free and quickly realizes the land is under the grip of an ancient curse and bound by her sense of honour, Hornet sets forth into this mysterious land to free its inhabitants. While it maintains the same dark themes and religious undertones as its predecessor, Hollow Knight: Silksong expands its narrative in one major way by giving Hornet a voice.
It’s a small change, but it makes a huge difference. In the first game, the Knight—and by extension the player—could only absorb the atmosphere and plights of the land’s inhabitants. But Hornet is a much more vocal character, able to provide further insight into the game’s proceedings and hint a little about her own mysterious past.
It gives the game an expanded narrative without sacrificing the world-building it is able to achieve through its level design and atmosphere. And this sense of small additions making big changes extends into the gameplay as well.
“Hollow Knight: Silksong again builds off the ideas set by its predecessor, but utilizes a small change to big effect.”
It’s a bit of a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” situation. Hollow Knight laid a bedrock solid foundation that it’s hard to imagine how you could possibly improve it. Instead, Hollow Knight: Silksong capitalizes on its new protagonist’s speed and agility to create a much more fluid and fast-paced experience.
It was something that surprised me a little with the game’s new approach to platforming. Hornet will automatically grab ledges and lift herself onto a platform—another small addition that fundamentally changes how you move through the world—but if players time their jump, she’ll vault into the air.
It’s such a small thing, but it allows players to maintain a consistent flow as they move through areas, floating through the air and bouncing off opponents like a deadly ballerina. This is expanded by how one of the first abilities you get is a “dash” that actually has two functions—if players tap the ZR, it’s a dodge, if they hold, Hornet will sprint.
The sprint itself is given extra functionality, allowing Hornet to do a bit of a long jump if moving forward, but players can also trick into a backflip if they jump while holding back, and a running attack will launch into a jump. I know I may be focusing on this one mechanic a little too much, but it so immediately set the speed of Hollow Knight: Silksong, and kept me engaged.
And while it may not have been the first to do it, the way Hollow Knight implemented a downward attack to bounce off enemies and obstacles feels so distinct to it that it effectively set the standard for almost every game that came after. Hollow Knight: Silksong again builds off the ideas set by its predecessor, but utilizes a small change to big effect.
Unlike her predecessor’s downward attack, which was a simple slash, true to her name, Hornet launches herself downward at a 45-degree angle. And while the Knight got a little lift from his downward slash, Hornet propels herself into the air with grace and force, fundamentally altering how players approach combat and platforming.
Although it can take a little getting used to, and that might be my only complaint with it. The Knight’s slash was very easy to understand and get a feel for—giving players a pretty wide berth for extending jumps. But Hornet’s stab requires a lot more precise placement and timing, and it’s a little bit easier to mess up. However, Hornet does get a more expanded moveset as the game goes on, giving players more options, but it is a bit of a learning curve at the start.
“Visually, Hollow Knight: Silksong maintains its predecessor’s incredible aesthetic, managing to present a world that is both playful and whimsical, but also incredibly dark and scary.”
Moving onto the combat, it’s as fast-paced and nail-bitingly tense as its predecessor, made tighter by minor improvements that make it a little more approachable and manageable. For starters, healing no longer requires the player to charge, replenishing one “heart” at a time. Instead, it now locks Hornet in place while the animation plays, filling three hearts—and it can be done both on the ground and in the air.
It actually adds a unique bit of strategy to combat, as players can place themselves in a safe position in the air in order to heal or possibly avoid ground attacks from enemies. Not only that, while Hornet gains powerful attacks throughout her adventure, she’s also given a range of sub-weapons that can be equipped via Benches. This provides players with a lot more versatility in combat and allowing players to find additional tools that suit their preferred style.
Visually, Hollow Knight: Silksong maintains its predecessor’s incredible aesthetic, managing to present a world that is both playful and whimsical, but also incredibly dark and scary. The variety of biomes ranges from surreal forests to subterranean machinery to incredible cities. Every level is distinguished not only by its landscape, but by its use of colour and atmosphere to consistently create a sense of isolation, but also a kind of bleak beauty.
Of course, all of this is brought together by a soundtrack from Hollow Knight composer Christopher Larkin that breathes life into this melancholy world. Haunting ambiance is contrasted against sombre strings and made all the more exciting by bombastic boss themes. It’s a soundtrack that is both subtly quiet and loudly declarative.
Hollow Knight: Silksong was definitely worth the eight-year wait. It’s a game that retains so much of what made its predecessor great while finding new ways to innovate and elevate the experience. Even if you didn’t play the original, this is a Metroid-like that’s definitely worth experiencing.
