Hornet swings back into action in a breathtaking sequel that refines, challenges, and expands the world of Hollow Knight.
Hollow Knight has been in our hearts and on our screens for seven long years. It was made by the small but powerful Team Cherry. Back then, the game was a little-known indie Metroidvania gem that was slowly gaining a small following of die-hard fans.
It had sold just over half a million units by November 2017, which was a respectable number but far from the huge hit it would become. Finally, Team Cherry has come back with Hollow Knight: Silksong, an update that has been talked about for almost ten years.
Hollow Knight: Silksong didn’t just appear on the scene; it slammed right through the doors of digital stores. When it first came out, hundreds of thousands of people tried to download it at the same time from the Nintendo eShop, the PlayStation Store, and Steam.
This caused servers to crash for a short time and downloads to move very slowly. The rush was unheard of for a $20 independent game. The excitement wasn’t just hype; it was a reflection of how important the first game was, how much better the world would be, and how appealing it would be to play as Hornet, Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s quick and bold main character.
Hornet feels strong, quick, and living right away, unlike the original Knight, who was slow and quiet. Every part of Hollow Knight: Silksong shows how Team Cherry went from being a little-known studio to a worldwide indie star. They kept the main things that made the first game fun while fixing some of its flaws. Combat, movement, and exploration have all been improved to make the experience more skill-based and rewarding.
In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hornet ends up in a strange new country called Pharloom, which is run by a religion that is based on silk. Because she is the only one who can make silk, she is captured, but her transportation goes wrong—bridges fail and caravans crash—and Hornet makes a daring escape.
From the start, the story is just the right amount of mysterious and interesting. The story develops through interactions with regular people, minor characters, and secret history, keeping the mysterious feel that made the first Hollow Knight so interesting.
Hornet is a strong main character. She talks back to the Knight, asks questions about the world around her and the people she meets, makes friends, and helps other characters. As much a part of the experience as fighting or exploring is seeing her grow. There are a lot of “wishes” in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
These are short side quests that often give you money, tools, or ways to move forward. They make the world feel alive and react to your actions. The story flows naturally into the gameplay, keeping you interested in Hornet’s journey while leaving you with lots of questions to keep you interested.
In almost every way, Hollow Knight: Silksong builds on what the first Hollow Knight did. Movement is exact, feels good, and gives you power. Hornet’s ninja-like speed lets her do flips, dive attacks, heal herself in midair, run, grab ledges, and use gadgets right away, making traversal fun.
The first Knight felt thoughtful and took a long time to get good at fighting and moving around. Hornet, on the other hand, starts off strong, letting you try out speedrunning strategies and chain combos. Pharloom, the world itself, is full of secrets, areas that are linked together, and prizes that are hard to find.
Exploration gives you enough direction to keep you from wandering aimlessly, but it also lets you go back and use your tools in new ways. Rosary beads are used instead of Geo in Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s economy because they drop more often than Geo, which makes grinding less boring. You can chain beads together in the necklace system and keep most of them when you die. This makes dying less painful without lowering the risk.
The bench arrangement has also gotten better. Benches are now conveniently placed near big bosses, which cuts down on annoying “corpse runs” from death and still lets developers make tough multi-phase fights. Overall, the loop of play—explore, fight, collect items, and level up—is better, more fun, and faster than ever.
The fighting in Hollow Knight: Silksong is both stylish and complex. Hornet’s standard strikes can be changed with tools and crests, which let you play the game the way you like. Tools are limited-use sub-weapons, and crests change how attacks work, how heals work, or how you can defend yourself.
Some crests, for instance, heal enemies when they hit them, while others increase damage or defense. This system promotes building, trying new things, and making plans for the future. In the first game, most players stuck to a single strategy. Hollow Knight: Silksong, on the other hand, encourages players to be creative and carefully handle their resources.
Boss fights happen faster and have more types of moves than in the first game. Each has its own set of moves, hidden abilities, and devastating hits that can kill you right away if you’re not careful. Some bosses even put things in the workplace that could be dangerous and make you think on your feet.
Sometimes, side tasks can call in allies to help you fight bosses, which adds to the strategy without making the game easier. The fighting requires skill, is hard, and is rewarding, making you feel good after each win. It’s also harder to do platforming. Jump puzzles, environmental dangers, and gimmicks that only work in certain areas need exact timing and mastery of Hornet’s movement tools.
In the first game, you might have felt like you were walking through a picture at times. But here, every ledge, crumbling column, and mossy platform responds to your presence, bringing you back to the real world. It’s easy to get the hang of the controls, and mistakes don’t feel like the game’s fault.
The changes to fighting are amazing. Hornet’s agility and tools provide players with more opportunities to showcase their skills. Bosses are fair but tough, and crests give players more choices in battle. The yellow, blue, and green elements charm system is still in its early stages, but it already forces you to plan out how you set up your gear.
My only minor complaint is that the charm system is currently too simple, which makes it challenging to try new things early on. This will probably get better as you unlock more crests, though. You don’t have to grind to move forward in the game. Rosary beads fall off fast enough that both exploring and fighting feel rewarding without being too repetitive.
You can get useful upgrades, money, and gadgets from side quests and “wishes”, which is an incentive to do optional material. Overall, Silksong does a great job of balancing difficulty and reward. In contrast to most RPGs, Hollow Knight: Silksong doesn’t depend on experience points a lot. Exploration, getting new gadgets, and beating bosses are the main ways to move forward.
Money management is very important because there are only so many rosary beads, and you have to plan ahead to upgrade tools or charms. This subtle form of growth makes players more likely to play carefully and skillfully, rather than mindlessly grinding. You can tell you’re getting better not only by the numbers, but also by how well you can move, fight, and solve puzzles in the surroundings.
Hollow Knight: Silksong has beautiful art direction. Team Cherry has made a country that is full of character, charm, and attention to detail. Zones are very different from one another, and each one has its own look and story about its surroundings. NPCs are easy to remember, enemies move smoothly, and bosses look amazing.
It feels like Pharloom is living, with moss squishing under Hornet’s feet and dust falling off the pillars. The care put into the way things look enhances the tactile pleasure of movement and battle, making every encounter feel grounded and satisfying.
The music is longer, features more melodies, and has a richer atmosphere than the first one. The music builds up at key moments and calms down when exploration is the focus, which complements the game’s sense of mystery and discovery well.
The sound of falling platforms, enemies running, and gadgets making noises adds depth to both movement and battle. The Hornet’s steps, attack swings, and contact sounds all add to a realistic, tactile gameplay experience that pulls you into every move.
Hollow Knight: Silksong isn’t just a follow-up; it’s a step forward. Team Cherry improved almost every part of a well-known independent classic, including the fighting, movement, world design, and progression, without taking away any of the game’s charm or mystery that made it famous in the first place.
Hornet is the main character, and she is quick and expressive. Because of her skills, exploring and fighting are instantly satisfying. The world of Pharloom is beautiful, living, and full of secrets. Boss fights are hard but fair.
Some new features, like elemental charms and tasks, might not be to everyone’s taste, and the total amount of time spent playing is still unknown, but everything that has been shown so far lives up to the hype. You should play Hollow Knight: Silksong if you liked the first game or if you if you like action-platformer adventure games in general.
