A few days ago, though, I noticed a familiar looking title in the “new on GamePass” section of my Xbox. I watched the trailer and it was nothing like what I had in mind. It gave similar vibes to Dead Cells; and I knew that it would have to be pretty in-depth to be so hyped as a 2-D side-scroller.

I decided to give it a shot and see what all the fuss was about.

A Bug’s Life

You play as a bug named Hornet (though, she doesn’t seem to actually be a hornet?), in a world inhabited by other bugs and small creatures. Most of them are enemies, but some are friendly and will trade with you, give you information or advice, or have tasks they want you to complete. Rather than being “quests” or “missions”, though; you “promise” to complete a character’s “wish”. It strikes me as weird, but I guess I don’t know why. Just seems kind of… intense.

In the opening sequence, we find Hornet as a prisoner being transported in a cage that seems to have some sort of enchantment, blocking her abilities. Mysteriously, a spectral bird-type creature touches the cage, removing the enchantment, allowing Hornet to use her Silk to break free from the cage.

Breaking out caused quite the fall, though, and Hornet found herself waking up in an unknown land called Pharloom*. Equipped with your trusty needle along with thread (a Silk meter that’s used for stronger attacks and healing) you’re tasked with ascending to the peak of this world to figure out what Pharloom is, and why you’ve been brought here.

Pharloom is an eerily aesthetic place, set across several different environments — with enemies often taking the characteristics of their surroundings. “A world ruled by silk and song”, you can often find other characters singing; and the songs can be hauntingly beautiful. I’m especially partial to Shakra’s.

There are also many hidden areas to find, and shortcuts between worlds to unlock. Sometimes this requires simply breaking a barrier that otherwise looks benign. But other times you have to gain access to an area with an attack or ability that you unlock while playing. If you’re playing and an area seems inaccessible, or a boss seems too difficult, you may just need to find a new tool or ability to help.

Trials and Tribulations

Right off the bat, I have to say that this game is difficult and unforgiving. Enemies hit pretty hard, and take several hits to defeat. Starting out, you’ve got one button for a melee attack, and you can jump to avoid enemies and their attacks. That’s it. You’re able to acquire additional attacks and abilities as you progress through the game though, which make things slightly easier. But you’re going to be challenged throughout the game.

And that leads me to my next point — there’s almost no information. You’re constantly inferring what things mean and need to have a bit of a sense of direction to understand where you are and where you’re going. There are maps you can buy, eventually, but until you do, you’ll have to rely on instinct (or just wandering around aimlessly until you find what you’re looking for).

Even once you get the maps, you’re still left a bit in the dark. They don’t seem to be 1:1 with the actual world, and without a (purchasable) compass, you can’t even see your location on the map. There are some landmarks visible on the maps, like the giant triangular altars where you unlock abilities, that you can use to try to get your bearings; but you have to (again) infer where you might be for the most part.

On the bright side, the world is fixed. Not procedurally generated. And you can eventually get items that will permanently show landmarks on your maps (they’ll mark all of the benches in that area, for example) and help you keep track of where you are and where you want to go. But I have to admit that I was boiling over with frustration at times looking for a specific area or character, and constantly finding myself in the same not-where-I-wanted-to-be places over and over again.

Bravely Battling Brutal Bosses

Bosses are relentless, and there’s no button-mashing here. It takes dedication, patience, and definitely a little bit of luck in order to take them down. They’ll kill you in one-or two hits, and have no qualms hitting you in the middle of your combos.

Figuring out their attack patterns, doing a lot of jumping and dashing, finding my spots and only attacking within them, and maintaining a balance between using silk for stronger attacks and keeping my health up is how I’ve been getting through so far. And even then, there will be things out of your control that will cause you to die.

For example, be sure not to find yourself all the way to one side when dodging falling bells fighting Bell Beast. If the Beast starts to burst from underground where you’re standing, you aren’t fast enough and can’t jump high enough to get away.

Or Lace, who has an attack where she jumps in the air then dives down, forward, onto you. But every once-in-a-while, when you run under her to avoid that attack; she’ll turn around in the air somehow and still hit you. Those types of frustrating indefensible attacks are fraught throughout this game.

Seriously, Try Not to Die

And, possibly the worst part, is that respawns are only at specific spots — benches — you have to find and rest at. Some of which you have to buy with your hard-earned rosary beads* that could be spent on other important things. Whenever you die, you respawn at the last bench you sat on, and you have to navigate back to where you were if you want the stuff you dropped. And if you die along the way, that stuff is gone.

Binding Your Abilities

Speaking of being stronger, yes, there are ways to make getting around and being attacked a bit more manageable. As you play, you’ll be able to increase your overall health and silk levels, you’ll unlock new attacks — hell, you’ll unlock entire new playstyles — and you’ll find additional tools and other items to help you along your journey.

The tools come in the form of finite throwable weapons or traps. You can have pins that you throw, that will run out after a while, shards that you leave in the world that will damage enemies that run into them, or even stronger spikes that are destroyed after use. Each one only has so many uses, too, and you refill them using your shards when you rest at benches (a process that happens automatically).

Since in one way or another you can run out of these items, they don’t use any silk, which is nice. You’re able to attack enemies from afar, or slow them down for a bit, while saving your precious thread to get those masks back up.

There are also trinkets you can equip that will help as well. In addition to increasing your life or making silk regenerative, trinkets may also help deal more damage or allow you to attract all of the dropped rosary beads so you don’t lose any or have to pick them up.

Poshanka!a

Hollow Knight: Silksong is an incredibly difficult yet incredibly satisfying game that I’m glad I took a risk on. For someone new to the series, it’s size and depth are incredible. The infuriating difficulty makes it ecstatically satisfying when you finally overcome a challenge. And when you think you’re starting to figure things out, they throw another twist at you.

If you like games that test your patience, definitely give this one a shot.

Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of Silksong, if you’ve played it. And be sure to check back for more!

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