This is going to sound weird, but I’ve spent over 25 hours playing Hollow Knight Silksong, and I’m not happy about the game. It took me that long to get through the game’s first Act. Since the early moments of the game, I’ve been frustrated about a lot of things. But, for whatever reason, I can’t put it down. This game was not meant for casual gamers. If you’re hoping for an approachable adventure, this isn’t that. Considering the hype, only the most dedicated players are going to see the game to its conclusion. Heck, I’m going to be surprised if most people get past Act 1.
New to Hollow Knight? Good luck with Silksong
The biggest problem I have with Silksong is that I didn’t play much of Hollow Knight. There is an expectation here that you’re familiar with the first game. Even though the story is separate, the gameplay relies on familiarity. Sure, you can jump into this game, but there is very little onboarding to get you used to its various mechanics. For a game that was once ‘the most wishlisted game on Steam‘, there are going to be newcomers who don’t know what to expect.
To be fair, I like the sense of discovery, but I knew that going into this game. I don’t have a problem not knowing where to go. The fact that you’re meant to explore is one of the game’s stronger points. It’s fun getting to a dead end, knowing there must be another way around. Or, that I’ll eventually unlock something that will let me get around this current blocker.
My problem is that there are aspects to the gameplay that are not explained. I have to assume that if you played the first game, you’d understand those things. “Pogo” is a common mechanic in this game that I didn’t grasp. It’s a necessary way to progress, but it’s not clear what you can ‘bounce’ off of. If you played the first game, then you know this. But for newcomers like me, it’s annoying.
Frustrating combat that is unforgiving
If you go into Silksong expecting this to be a true Metroidvania, it’s going to disappoint you. Sure, the exploration fits the Metroidvania genre, but that’s where it ends. Hollow Knight is also considered a Souls-like game, where combat is vicious. This is very true. But unlike both styles of games, I don’t feel that I’m getting stronger.
Upgrades are almost non-existent. I’ve put in over 25 hours, and I have not upgraded my health. For 95% of that time, my only upgrades were to my costume and movement. Most recently, I had my needle (weapon) sharpened, but I noticed no improvement in my attacks. The movement upgrades do help open up areas to explore. So while that’s necessary for the story, I need help with my attack and defense.
You begin the game with only five health ‘masks’. This might sound fine until you encounter enemies that do two damage on a single attack. Every boss attack deals two damage. Even some environmental damage can have the same effect. So, that means that you can die after only three hits. The game does have a healing system, but it requires you to strike nine times to build it up. It also has the problem that you can still get hit while healing. If this happens, you don’t get healed.
What’s the point?
Enemies are sponges. I have yet to encounter an enemy that I can take down in a single swing. It makes no sense why you need to strike a mouse three times to kill it. Meanwhile, you will have to hit bosses 20-30 times before they go down.
I’m not even sure how my character gets stronger other than by finding shards in secret areas. You’d think that after boss fights, you’d get a reward, but that’s not the case. Some enemies drop rosary beads, which are the game’s main currency. But not every enemy does that. With the beads, I haven’t found any character upgrades to buy. Instead, I’m using them to buy maps, unlock rest areas, or quick travel spots. To be fair, there are some passive upgrades, but those only assist with collecting the items dropped by foes.
What’s worse, for most of my playtime, I only encountered two vendors. Both were in the game’s starting areas. Which means I have to do a lot of backtracking if I want to see them again. There is another character that sells you maps, and they move around, but I don’t count them as a traditional vendor.
Why am I still playing?
At the time of this blog post, the game hasn’t even been out for a week. There is going to be a lot of discourse. From my perspective, I don’t like the game, but I find myself unable to stop playing it. To be clear, I don’t hate the game. It’s strange because I get frustrated by the combat and the lack of progression. I get angry, but I want to see what’s next. I know exactly what I need to do, but I still end up messing up something. Every time I mistime an attack, I know that I shouldn’t have. I can struggle with a boss for hours, but I still can’t give up.
Since I only played an hour of the first game, I can’t compare Silksong to it. Without a direct comparison, I can only compare it to other games in this genre. It doesn’t have the Metroidvania-style unlocks I expected. Heck, it doesn’t even have the RPG-leveling found in games like Elden Ring.
At this point, it might be better for me to go back and give Hollow Knight a second chance. I may be missing something from the first game that will help Silksong make more sense. What’s funny is that I am not alone with my concerns. Comments on Reddit and Steam echo my sentiment. The game is not designed for casual players. I know this game is going to get high scores, but those praises are coming from Hollow Knight fans, not newcomers.
I want to like this more
I was eager to play Hollow Knight Silksong. The game is stunning to look at. Unfortunately, many issues diminish the experience. If the upgrade system were better, my opinion would be more positive. There’s no sense of reward for your effort. I hope the developers will address some concerns, but I’m not optimistic. At the very least, I can say I played the most-wishlisted game on Steam.
