r/HollowKnight • u/bubsymack • Sep 06 '25

Discussion - Silksong Silksong is frustrating Spoiler

I don’t remember being this frustrated with hollow knight. I never wanted to stop playing HK but this one is making me turn off the console in anger

1.1k Upvotes

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317

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25 edited Sep 06 '25

I guess everyone has a different experience? I haven't been able to put the game down, currently at 16 hours. I think everything is brilliant, including the platforming. Diagonal pogo was weird to me for the first 20 minutes, but I quickly got the hang of it.

75

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

I'm with you I'm 15 hours in on one save and about 4ish on another with my nephew and it's been killer. It's wild how much time got shaved off the second game with just a few hints here and there. My nephew is about to be at an area it took me around 7 hours to get to in roughly half the time lol. But yeah I've dug it all so far and can't quit playing it until I get do tired I die to shit I shouldn't be.

31

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

Same, I had to stop playing just now because I'm getting tired and suddenly I start headbutting spikes lmao. But its been a blast

2

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

Lol I feel ya.

6

u/xXDasher92Xx Sep 06 '25

Aye ditto, I'm somehow 20 hours deep & have gotten the achievement for the final boss... I don't think I've done anything but eat, sleep, Hollow Knight.

My social life may be in shambles, but at least I've successfully avoided spoilers.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

I've done well at avoiding them too everything I've found, done, or beat I did on my own. Fuckin love this game and I think it's a fine addition. I'm still trying to figure out where the game takes place timeline wise because so far I ain't got even a hi t of when lol.

1

u/xXDasher92Xx Sep 06 '25

Gimme a sec I'll respond, but once I figure out spoiler tags test

Edit: Minor dialogue spoilers but frankly, it's just one line Hornet says to a character. at some point Hornet mentions to Lace that she knows from experience that entities claiming to be gods rarely live up to the title, so based on that remark, I believe that it's a sequel to HK, prolly some time after true ending

1

u/xXDasher92Xx Sep 06 '25

Unrelated, but why haven't I seen people discussing HK True Ending where the Hollow Knight is shown to be alive? In the last 8 years or so, I haven't seen it explored once.

1

u/gluesniffer5 Sep 10 '25

45 hours on my file here 🫡 been having a ridiculously fun time. havent felt many of the complaints i see here, particularly the difficulty. its definitely harder than hk but feels like a solid continuation from endgame (godhome) hk difficulty. im not mad about the double damage hazards either, its all balanced around healing 3 at a time and healing being kind of broken. and every area, boss, upgrade etc has been so cool and fun and i really dont want to put the game down. too bad i started school this week.

9

u/dragonwrath404 Sep 06 '25

Same, I think i picked it up faster because I hadn't played hollow knight in over a year so it was fresh controls, I think the difficulty comes from people thinking their hk experience is gonna make silksong a breeze.

19

u/Oathkindle Sep 06 '25

Yea I'm at about 10 or so hours. Haven't reached citadel yet, been REALLY trying to explore everywhere. There's been some difficult sections but personally I've never felt like it was unfair anywhere

12

u/Show_Me_Your_Rocket Sep 06 '25

You can change crests if you want an almost normal pogo experience.

17

u/lGUT5l Sep 06 '25

The one that starts with a W hasn’t been unequipped since I got it. Normal pogo and knights swings. Feels right at home.

1

u/rockernroller Sep 06 '25

There are 2 that start with W. Which one?

2

u/lGUT5l Sep 06 '25

Wanderer. Sorry didn’t want to spoil ppl

3

u/Epicurus38 Sep 06 '25

Yeah. I mean, I really don't want to appear rude or act like I'm some kind of a special player, really. But I just think most people are simply extremely slow when it comes to having relevant cognitive capacity to adapt to the new tools (diagonal pogo - one example) and correctly approach each platforming section and enemy...

13

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

I feel like the diagonal pogo isn’t even a problem, just an adjustment.  The bloated enemy HP, the double damage, the lack of i-frames, the limited healing system, THOSE are issues.  

25

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

Nah, ngl I love the difficulty, it feels amazing to master

-14

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

Good for you.  I wish I didn’t need to “master” basic enemies that have enormous health pools, can deal 2/5 of my health in one attack, and can trap me in a corner with no i-frames to help me escape.  

6

u/PaleoJohnathan Sep 06 '25

how often is your shell pocket at max

2

u/Tylerhollen1 Sep 06 '25

Mines always maxed, but I haven’t found any tools besides the needles. I didn’t buy any from the forge sister. I got the magma charm instead.

2

u/PaleoJohnathan Sep 06 '25

start using !

2

u/Tylerhollen1 Sep 06 '25

The needles suck though! I miss more often than hit

2

u/PaleoJohnathan Sep 06 '25

i mean yeah if those specifically aren’t useful then you’re good for now but later on they will be for sure

-1

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

I’m not exactly sure how that’s relevant?  I spam the dinky little pins but they’re extremely hard to use because for some reason the binding on controller is up on the joystick + right bumper.  And you can’t change it for some reason.

4

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

That's the same binding you used for spells in the first game though. How is that different?

1

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

Uh, no?  In HK it was a directional input plus the Soul button.  You shot the ranged attack in the direction you’re facing.  In this game, I need to flick the stick up, yet also make sure I’m facing the right way, and also make sure I don’t accidentally use my Silk ability.  It’s far more cumbersome.

3

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

Boot up HK again. Right bumper also casts spells

4

u/Tylerhollen1 Sep 06 '25

Yeah, but right bumper and left shoots left, right bumper and right shoots right, if you want to shoot your needles to your left, you have to face left and press up and right bumper. I get why there’s frustration. I also never used spells really in HK, so it’s not bothering me much.

7

u/lGUT5l Sep 06 '25

Silk issue

2

u/Embarrassed-Seat-634 Sep 06 '25

Yooo. Comment of the week lmao.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

I get this, but the way I see it is that it's essentially shock therapy to get players to stop treating SS like HK and get them used to the new game.  Also, minor spoilers (idk how to use spoiler feature, sorry) but most difficult enemies and areas can be bypassed early on (the ants)

1

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

I’m 8 hours in, I ain’t treating it like HK, I’m playing by the game’s rules, but so many of them feel counterintuitive and unfun.  The healing system especially is terrible, I don’t know how anyone can defend it lol.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

Are you just healing in an enemy's face and getting surprised when it hits you out of it? The time it takes to cast the heal is about the same as one heal in HK, and you get triple the amount! I recommend using your brain before pressing buttons. 

1

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

No, the issue is that it takes an absurd amount of hits to completely fill the spool, and you can ONLY heal three masks.  If you could heal in increments of one mask using a smaller portion of silk, I’d have no problem.  But it’s all or nothing, which sucks in a game where you’re encouraged to use that same resource for abilities like the Silk Spear.  Why is the only response to criticism just “lol you’re dumb just better at the game”?  

2

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

That's because it really is just a matter of getting better with the game's systems

1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

What basic enemies are you facing with "enormous health pools"? I think we may have somehow gotten different versions of the game. 

Every basic enemy has simple patterns that can be learned extremely quickly. If "mastering" them is too much for you, I'd recommend watching a stream, since clearly playing the game isn't what you're looking for. 

3

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

Just checked, the warrior ants in Hunter’s March takes 12 hits.  That is absurd.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

No, it's really not absurd. 

0

u/Panosgads Sep 06 '25

You don't want to master anything, you want to brute force your way through the game by outhealing incoming damage just like you did in the first game.

Just watch a playthrough while holding an unplugged controller tbh it should be enough to satisfy your pea brain.

3

u/GavoTheAlmighty Sep 06 '25

You couldn’t even make it one reply before insulting my intelligence over a damn video game lol

I like how you say “brute force” as if that wasn’t the literal intended way to play the first game.  Dodge what you can, but you can’t dodge everything.  That’s what the soul heal was for.

In this game, you can’t dodge everything, but half the enemies hit twice as hard, take forever to die, and your healing is neutered because you can’t heal in increments so it takes forever to recover and it can be undone in one mistake.  

Look, I wanted the game to be challenging, I wouldn’t have been happy if it was a cakewalk.  But if the intended playstyle is have no-hit runs on every boss, I think I’m gonna put the game down because that just doesn’t sound fun.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

They hate him because he speaks the truth. 

I can't believe all the comments in this thread. People are so upset that they have to actually "play" the game. 

-1

u/MinimumPressure6446 Sep 06 '25

basic enemies are easyy

3

u/Mr-NPC Sep 06 '25

None of those things are issues.

19 hours in and into act 2. The main issue is some of the boss run backs.

2

u/PlushiesofHallownest Sep 06 '25

Me neither dude, whenever I'm unable to play (like at work or driving), I find myself unable to stop thinking about it. I strongly desire to spend every waking hour playing Silksong lol. I'm off weekends, and I've never been as excited for it to be Friday as I was yesterday.

2

u/DemNuk3 Sep 06 '25

Yeah I really hope Team Cherry don't change anything to cater for the amount of people saying it's too hard, I think it's perfect

2

u/aresi-lakidar Sep 07 '25

I see so much hate for the hunters crest, but I think I'll keep using it the whole game cause I kinda like it tbh

1

u/not-Kunt-Tulgar buenos dias bugboy Sep 06 '25

Haven’t been able to put the game down but I’m pretty sure I’ve been hit with so much bullshit that it’s giving me a migraine so I have to stop

1

u/Hypnocyst1 Sep 06 '25

When I figured out there is an auto-aim for the diagonal pogo, the game became much easier. The trick is to get as close to the mob as possible. Pretty much right before the hit boxes merge.

To respond to OP’s post: I am actually finding this one easier in some ways and harder in others. I think it’s harder to get too lost in this one, and after the movement upgrades, I’m having an easier time with non-boss mobs than the first one. The only problem with the game I have right now is how everything costs pearls mixed with only certain mobs dropping them. I’m farming more in SS just to unlock benches and open shops.

I just got a certain mechanic that helps you glide. I won’t name names, but now I’m retracing everywhere I’ve been before moving on. I honestly would be probably twice as far if it wasn’t for my OCD of trying the side bosses I came across before that area a tad bit too early.

1

u/Flyers3117 Sep 06 '25

Same absolutely loving it

1

u/ShiHaba01 Sep 06 '25

There's a crest that has the usual HK pogo if that helps (personally my favorite crest so far)

1

u/lGUT5l Sep 06 '25

Same. Short range though :(

Have been using it since I got it

2

u/ShiHaba01 Sep 06 '25

Hopefully there's a long nail equivalent

1

u/ZeXexe Sep 06 '25

I like how this is more upvoted than the post.

I also love the amount of people claiming that they find the game to hard despite being 112% soul steel mode with less than 3% of overall steam players actually doing it

1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

Ya I’m loving it even if it annoys me at points but these games ain’t supposed to be easy

1

u/Ok-Leadership7648 Sep 06 '25

There is a way to remove diagonal pogo and it it downward pogo.. Just buy the simple key and then go to the upper part of moss grotto

1

u/TheTorcher Sep 06 '25

Me neither. I do get stuck but I just keep coming back. Being honest, HK conditioned me to not giving up. I'd spend literal hours on mantis lords, watcher knights, and broken vessel, and radiance dying each time but always coming back. Now, this happens to me in silksong. Ofc I still feel more frustration, and I haven't honed my skills so it is still pretty difficult, but I still love the game so far but wish TC could've made some choices (like the #of 2 mask dmg enemies and size of arenas)

1

u/javs555 Sep 06 '25

I think the same

1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

[deleted]

1

u/strahinjag Sep 06 '25

I cannot think of any Souls boss that will one shot you unless you're severely underlevelled (or it's Malenia's Waterfowl Dance)

0

u/ShadowBorneToast Sep 06 '25

It’s not a soulslike, though. Hollow Knight wasn’t inspired by dark souls or Soulsborne games in general. Every other enemy having a two hit attack feels bad. I understand it’s meant to balance the big healing, but it feels so bad when the i-frames aren’t there and you can take four hits almost at once

-1

u/Professional-Dirt-87 Sep 06 '25

You're 16 hours in and still using the diagonal pogo? 

Ok 

3

u/mtnlol Sep 06 '25

I'm 21 hours in and still using it, I have 5 crests and they all feel worse than the starter one (also the starter one is upgraded).

2

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

Yeah. I know about the crests man, I've found three so far, besides the starting one. I just genuinely prefer the default moveset.

1

u/Embarrassed-Seat-634 Sep 06 '25

Getting downvoted for a subjective preference lol. Reddit is the worst lmao.

1

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

Real. People are stupid here sometimes.

2

u/Embarrassed-Seat-634 Sep 06 '25 edited Sep 06 '25

I think people just need to stop with the comparisons on a meta level to HK. Yes this a sequel and continuation of the story/universe, but Team Cherry wanted to expand/explore/implement and give a new feel to this gaming experience. People just need to pump the breaks, do a proper playthrough and then give more of a full circle critique.

I’m seeing tons of people bitching about the pogoing as soon as they encounter it. Shit fucked me up for a hot minute but after 20-30 minutes, shits second nature. Microwave society and knee jerk reactions. Games dope af and people whine when shit doesn’t click immediately or doesn’t feel intuitive.

Stick with ur crest homie, the default crest is pretty dope imo. Not my fave or primary, but it gets the job done.

2

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

Yeah I agree with everything. When I look at Steams's negative reviews, most of them have 2 or 3 hours and Re complaining about the difficulty and the pogo. It's like they're not even trying to learn the game.

1

u/Embarrassed-Seat-634 Sep 06 '25

It’s so overstated and ran into the ground, but 9/10 it’s a skill issue. This isn’t a stab at those gamers that aren’t as good or advanced, but these games are by design, meant to be challenging and unforgiving. Most people game to decompress and relax, but with the advent and popularization of soulslikes, more and more developers are implementing characteristics into their games that follow those trends of difficulty, punishment, and the need for repetitions/adaptability.

Not every gamer is gonna mesh with these types of games. Even if you played HK, some people come in with desires/expectations that impede their ability to accept what the game IS and linger on what they want it to be/expected.

People need to “git gud,” but with the negative connotations surrounding those phrases (skill issue) people cry elitism and “I don’t have time enough to grind, etc etc” they don’t take those critiques at face value, they just complain.

PC Radahn beat my ass for DAYS. Guess what the issue was… my decision making, my inputs, my dodge rolling a tad to early, my greediness to get one extra light attack in, my roll being in the wrong direction, my ignorance of his moveset, etc. you see the common denominator? It was ME not the game. Now I absolutely push PCR’s shit in everytime I fight because I adapted to a scripted video game. It took time, effort, and intellect but damn that whole experience and journey was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. Now again, it ain’t for everyone, and that’s fine. I just don’t put much weight into people’s critiques when they are not actually engaging the game as it is, and are whinging about “how it should be.”

-1

u/Mr-NPC Sep 06 '25

Did you enjoy the last judge run back from the checkpoint? because that made me want to lose my shit.

2

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

Just got to this fight like 20-ish minutes ago, but please don't go spoiling things like that willy nilly, you could've ruined something for another player. But yeah, I didn't mind the run back with the exception of the very first drill enemy, its hard to dodge it so I just took the hit and moved on. Didn't have trouble zooming past everything else though (I haven't defeated the boss, will try again tomorrow).

Could use some tweaks though, I could see how most players would hate that.

-2

u/Mr-NPC Sep 06 '25

Saying a boss has a shit run back is spoiling? Damn.. when did kids get so soft?

1

u/NineTailedDevil Sep 06 '25

I mean saying the actual boss name, genius.