Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong is so much more than I expected from a sequel, deftly avoiding the pitfalls that come with following up from one of the best indie games. Team Cherry’s second masterpiece is not for everyone, but it’s absolutely proven to be worth the wait. It rewards patience in its combat, platforming, and exploration, before daring the player to take big risks during boss fights. Frustrating map design decisions and a tendency to punish the player early on dampen the experience from time to time, but make no mistake, Silksong is every bit as great as its predecessor.

Hollow Knight: Silksong’s beauty is beguiling, hiding an interior that’s deliberately harsh but endlessly rewarding. Everything feels deliberate, pushing you to learn, improve, and perfect, or simply just explore a little more. And what a world it is to dig into. Somehow, Team Cherry has surpassed my expectations tenfold and delivered a mesmeric blend of balletic combat and movement with persistence, joy, and an incredibly invigorating map at the centre. I’ve never felt better surmounting the challenges put in front of me, and I’m already raring to do it a second time.

Team Cherry not only delivers on its much-anticipated follow-up to Hollow Knight but exceeds all expectations by constructing one of the most complete and coherent video games I've played in years. Hollow Knight: Silksong is an absolute triumph.

Hollow Knight: Silksong manages to be a surprisingly great sequel to a title that was all-too difficult to follow up. If you're a fan of the series, you'll find no better way to feel back home than in this sequel, but newcomers should still stick to exploring Hallownest for their first venture.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is packed full of sharp platforming, enticing exploration, and nail-biting combat that's all unapologetically challenging in just the right way.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is an exemplar of its form. Games like Metroid and Castlevania helped establish the fun of an exploration and platforming adventure filled with upgrades that open up new paths to progression, and Team Cherry’s second Hollow Knight game takes that concept to a profound level of depth, sophistication, and scope. Pacing issues and a punishing approach to forward progression prevent a full-throated endorsement to every type of player, but those with significant patience ...

Despite the long wait, Hollow Knight: Silksong exceeded everyone's expectations by bringing a new beautiful map brimming with things to discover, challenging combat, and some of the most memorable boss encounters in gaming.

Hollow Knight Silksong takes all the best parts of its predecessor and somehow makes them even better.

Whether you’re looking at the making Hollow Knight: Silksong or the many patient fans that have been waiting, this has been a long time coming. And in the end, it was worthwhile to open this up, let it breathe, and take in all the notes, because not only is Hollow Knight: Silksong a challenging Metroidvania, it’s also dense. And while that challenging side sometimes slips into annoying territories, this is an undeniably well-crafted delivery of a promise made nearly a decade ago.

After all this wait, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a masterpiece that demands the player to meet it at its level. Come prepared for a very difficult adventure, and you’ll be mesmerized by its immaculate vibes and beauty.

Don't be fooled by its playful appearance; Hollow Knight: Silksong by Team Cherry is a devious creation that will push your skills to the limits.

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a flawed masterpiece. To the right player, it can be one of the greatest games of all time. But that’s only if they are able to look past or easily overcome the grueling, unforgiving challenges that come up regularly. From the world design to the music, characters, and animations, this is a monumental achievement, but had I not been working on this review, I would have given up on Silksong a long time ago. That certainly says something about me as a player, but it also says something about the game, too.