“Hollow Knight: Silksong” is the long awaited sequel to the hit Indie game “Hollow Knight” by Team Cherry. It was initially supposed to be a DLC for the game, but eventually became a game of its own. After about seven years without any updates on its progression, it finally released Sept. 4, 2025 on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Two, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 4, and Playstation 5.
After playing the first “Hollow Knight” game, it becomes clear that this game had a bitter difficulty increase, but despite that, this game is incredibly enjoyable, the Non-Player Characters are interesting, many having their own questlines, stories, and plothooks, the game’s map and area is much larger and more interesting than the first game’s map was, enemies make you actually have to focus on the game and tune out other distractions, which many fans of the game think adds to the immersion and experience, it has a more structured story than the first game, adding more to the world lore and giving a fan-favorite character from the first game her own story to follow through on after the true ending of the first game.
“Hollow Knight: Silksong” has been a wonderful gaming experience, even for those who may dislike the sub-genre of a good challenge, and a better story than most games that have come out within recent years, which several people who played the first game believe is because of how much you can do in-game and having a protagonist that actually speaks. If you enjoy a challenge, this game is for you, but it is highly suggested that you play through the first game first so you understand the world lore a bit more and can properly know the character you play as. This also makes “Hollow Knight: Silksong” easier to get the hang of.
Within “Hollow Knight: Silksong”, you play as Hornet, the Child of the Pale King, a God-like being, and Hera the Beast, a spider-creature of a race known as weavers, which was created by The Grandmother Silk. You were taken from your home in Hallownest and brought to a land known as Pharloom, where you seek to find who sent them to take you and why. Within Pharloom you can find many kinds of bugs who you may grow attached to over the time you play. That includes bugs like Shakra, a Warrior who sells you maps and has her own questline, or Sherma, an innocent traveler who sings his song at many points throughout the game.
There is a boss encounter called Lace who you fight twice within the regular game, and a third time in the True Ending through a corrupted version called Lost Lace, they mirror how Hornet was in the first game in a sense, similar attack patterns and abilities, which makes her an easy to understand boss but with a much different goal and personality, which makes her a very important character within the story of the game and world setting. This game’s boss encounters highlight its story in a marvelous way, such as the Bell Beast who is initially hostile to you but becomes a pet and friend to you afterward, or the Cogwork Dancers who mirror a tragic tale of lost soul to keep the peace between kingdoms, which is a hidden lore piece that is mostly found in the 3rd Act of the game, which leads to the true ending (also known as the Sister of the Void ending).
This game has a spectacular soundtrack, composed by Christopher Larkin, which helps each area feel so much more alive (even though each enemy in every area is possessed and basically zombified by the Grandmother Silk). The art from the game, primarily made by the co-founder/co-director, Ari Gibson is amazing, each cutscene is animated in the best way, and it honestly makes the game feel so much more real, the cutscenes alone feel like they’re directly out of a movie. Sometimes it is impossible to think that this game only had three people working on it (excluding Larkin and the soundtrack). This game took seven years to make, but the wait was completely worth it in the end.
