A game that lives up to the hype

When a game has a monumental pre-release reputation and massive launch like Hollow Knight: Silksong, it’s important to separate the hype from the quality of the game itself. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s free from proper criticism.

Thankfully for Team Cherry, Hollow Knight: Silksong is an amazing game. It’s not only an incredibly refined Metroidvania that capitalizes on what the genre does best, but a carefully crafted game full of moments, both big and small, that make it memorable. It’s a lot bigger in scope than you’d expect it to be.

The game isn’t free of flaws. It sometimes struggles to strike a balance between presenting a fair challenge and providing players with ways to overcome it uninterrupted. Still, conquering the game’s most difficult boss fights and enemy arenas gave me some of the most fun I’ve had in a game this year. Hollow Knight: Silksong isn’t for the faint of heart, so you might quickly bounce if you’re only playing it because it’s popular. Stick around, and you’ll discover one of the most rewarding games released in 2025.

Price and Availability

Hollow Knight: Silksong is available digitally on Steam, the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, and Microsoft Store for just $20. That’s a steal for a game that can take well over 20 hours to beat, depending on your skill with the game. The game remains a digital-only release for now and is already part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalog on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

A masterful Metroidvania

Its interconnected world is one of the best I’ve explored in a Metroidvania

I’ve played quite a few Metroidvania video games, so I can affirm that Hollow Knight: Silksong understands what works so well in this genre. These games are defined by their structure, as their worlds are made up of delicately crafted and interconnected rooms that unfurl for players as they make progress and unlock new abilities.

In Hollow Knight: Silksong’s case, its abilities, like being able to glide and wall jump, expand when and where players can go. Its world is filled with secrets to discover, and these often provide new tools to adjust my character build for any given boss fight. Each room’s obstacles or enemies feel delicately placed and handcrafted for maximum effect.

I often didn’t even need to reference a map when revisiting an area because the game did a fantastic job of ingraining its interwoven layout. It also helps that the game is beautifully animated, as each section of its world has a distinct visual vibrancy.

Hollow Knight: Silksong does not reinvent the Metroidvania formula or experiment with its structure, but it is a showcase of it at the highest level. I might not have always had the easiest time, but it’s the kind of game that makes me want to replay Super Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Hollow Knight: Silksong offers up a compelling challenge

Every single platforming and combat challenge feels delicately designed

This isn’t a game I really played for the story. It follows a side character from Hollow Knight named Hornet as she explores the new area of Pharloom and slowly uncovers and fights the forces corrupting the minds of pilgrims visiting Pharloom. Hollow Knight: Silksong never really emphasizes its narrative unless players go out of their way to look for it, but it’s also not something I actively sought out.

It’s a game I enjoyed because of its Metroidvania world design and thrilling combat. In a year full of great platformers like Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and Donkey Kong Bananza, I was surprised to be so engaged with some of this game’s more intricately designed platforming challenges. It really put my skills to the test in a fun way.

That’s just as true for the combat, which takes cues from Soulslikes. Hollow Knight: Silksong is a very tough but fair action game. It might not have the attack combo depth of a game like Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, but it gets the most out of Hornet’s limited combat abilities. When the game can get its difficulty balance just right, the whole experience truly sings.

Most of Hollow Knight: Silksong’s bosses strike the right balance of feeling overwhelming the first time or two I faced off against them, only to become more and more fun as I learned the intricacies of their attack patterns and animation. This game rewards endurance and playing smart, not flashy attack combos. It will devour you if you don’t play carefully.

While fun, Silksong does have some flaws

Currency distribution, corpse runs, and a lack of accessibility options

Although I did enjoy most of the challenge on offer in Hollow Knight: Silksong, I was not always a fan of Team Cherry’s approach to difficulty. Sometimes, the balance between fairness and frustration is not in equilibrium, which hurts my enjoyment of an otherwise excellent adventure. The problem isn’t even that it’s too tough; it’s that the game doesn’t always account properly for that difficulty and give players the tools to overcome it.

Firstly, there’s the fact that the Rosary currency used for most in-game purchases is rare to come by but easily lost upon death. When that happens, you have to do a corpse run to get back to where you died so you don’t lose that currency. With how difficult Hollow Knight: Silksong can get, I often died before I could even get back there, vastly slowing down my progression.

The argument can be made that this mechanic is fair if you’re just exploring the world, which I agree with. It becomes much less fun when it’s tied to the boss battles. There are several boss fights in the game, like The Last Judge, that aren’t hard on their own but become a slog to beat because of an equally, sometimes more, difficult trek back to them. Hollow Knight: Silksong wants players to learn and endure complex enemy patterns, but tough run-backs to boss fights, slow progression, and corpse runs can get in the way of that.

The lack of accessibility options is also worth pointing out. By now, most Metroidvanias offer multiple difficulties, game mechanics, and accessibility settings that allow players of all skill levels to see the game through. I understand that Team Cherry likely wants players to overcome its hand-crafted challenges on their own, but they could offer players clearer ways to overcome challenges outside of just “getting good.”

A tough adventure worth seeing through

Booting up Hollow Knight: Silksong for the first time, I was worried this sequel wouldn’t live up to the hype. While it’s far from the perfect Metroidvania game, I’m happy to say I at least had an awesome time with it. It doesn’t reinvent the Metroidvania formula or what a Hollow Knight game can be. It simply executes those concepts at the highest level.

If you don’t have the stomach for games that pose difficult challenges, this game probably isn’t for you. It’s also not narrative-focused. If you’re looking for an accessible, narrative-focused Metroidvania, I’d recommend Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown over this game. Still, Hollow Knight: Silksong features some industry-leading world design and many of the best boss battles I’ve encountered this year. It’s not the infallible game launch that its reputation might make you think, but it’s a fantastic experience nonetheless.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Released

September 4, 2025

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood

Developer(s)

Team Cherry

Publisher(s)

Team Cherry

Engine

Unity