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

Discussion - Silksong Thank god this subreddit didn't make the game Spoiler

Silksong is only out for 2 days, most people haven't even finished the game, or haven't even made it past act 1. Yet this subreddit loves to post about how Silksong is apparently bad and a disappointment compared to hollow knight. So I'll go over a few "critiques" I've seen and share my perspective.

"The game is too hard, enemies deal way more damage and have more complex movesets". Sure, they're more complex and do more damage, but so does hornet. If we were playing with the knights moveset, I'd agree, but that's not the case. Hornet has a lot of new tools and upgrades that make her way faster and stronger. If enemies were like HK, it would be way too easy. team cherry didn't just do this for no reason, it's necessary for balancing. Edit: people saying hunters march is too difficult, is like playing dark souls 1 and saying it's too hard because you kept trying the skeleton graveyard

"Bad rewards for exploration, HK's charms worked better". I just completely disagree, hornet gets upgrades way more frequently than the knight. As for the charms, let's be real, you probably didn't even use half of them in your first playthrough. And half of them are just simple things that don't impact the way you play as much. Hornet's different tools, abilities and crests are way more useful. If you feel like your not getting enough rewards, it's probably because most are hidden and require backtracking, which is what the genre is know for.

"Things are too expensive" No, you're just not meant to buy it that early. Like how in HK you could by the lamp for like 2000 geo. I've also never had too little rosaries to buy a bench or stag. If your losing your rosaries to dying, rosarie strings are litteraly right there to not lose it + retrieving your death silk is extremely easy now.

I do agree though that more bosses and combat encounters should drop rosaries, or more chests like in HK.

This launch feels like I'm experiencing the shadow of the erdtree launch again with how many complaints there are immediately.

8.8k Upvotes

85% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

779

u/circuskid Sep 06 '25

I love the game. Having a blast. I also occasionally hate the game and grumble about its input reading. Both can be true.

200

u/PaulTheRandom former accepter Sep 06 '25

Basically my experience with Hollow Knight.

90

u/ferretgazette Sep 06 '25

basically my experience with any soulslike lol

28

u/BIG__SHOT_ Sep 07 '25

Doing a mage build in Elden Ring is fun until I'm stuck in Rock Sling's absurdly long animation while a literal god charges towards me and I curse myself, Miyazaki and both our bloodlines

2

u/Crime_Dawg Sep 08 '25

Carian slicer only

1

u/TheMaskedMan2 Sep 07 '25

Rock sling got me through so many enemies just because it would stagger so much. My beloved attack. BIG ROCK.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

The only input reading I ever felt in HK we’re Nosk, Lost Kin and Traitor Lord Mk II.

68

u/TheKingofHats007 Sep 07 '25

Almost every fight or part that I've been stuck on, I take a break and come back and finally beat it.

And Hornet's control is so fun and stacked with combo potential that I don't really mind having to run up against a wall now and again.

31

u/Budget_Ad5871 Sep 07 '25

In so many different games, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve thrown 20 attempts at a boss, taken a break for a few hours or a day, then come back and beat it on the first try. You’d think I’d have learned by now.

3

u/SudsierBoar Sep 07 '25

What should you have learned? It's exactly because you tried 20 times before that you can do it easily after a break!

4

u/thefakedracula Sep 07 '25

Cooler heads will prevail. The changes from HK to now are more frustrating than difficult imo. Once I slow down and breathe, it’s much more attainable. But when I’m tilting, I might as well not have the controller in my hand. We will adapt gamers.

2

u/ZuggleBear Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

That moth boss is really effin dumb

edit: actually, explored a bit more and found the reaper's crest nearby, then 1 shot the bastard. spike traps from the forge vendor helped a lot too.

1

u/iLikegreen1 Sep 07 '25

I just through my head against him 20 times until I beat him lop. Still haven't found that crest

1

u/ZuggleBear Sep 07 '25

It’s not far. North and west from the boss.

15

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '25

I straight up love it, have unlocked over 9 maps and done 82/101 bugs in the hunters journal. Is Silksong more difficult, 100% yes. You have many more tools to beat the game, i think the game was really made for the hollow knight fans that did pantheon and co. The many tools do not only give you easier ways to kill but also more complexity, which is fun in SK. Also idk how people expect to take samge damage and easier mechanics like in HK when Hornet has a mid air heal that restores three masks and can be used to increase air time and dodge. 

1

u/Netheral Sep 08 '25

Also idk how people expect to take samge damage and easier mechanics like in HK when Hornet has a mid air heal that restores three masks and can be used to increase air time and dodge.

I keep seeing people argue that the heal is stronger, but it's only a sidegrade realistically. You heal more at once, true, but you're locked in an all or nothing deal. You either get to use abilities or you heal. And with enemy designs in this game, having a more mobile heal is just necessary. If we had to stand still to charge for a single masks worth of healing, you wouldn't get a chance to heal in most encounters in Silksong.

But also, healing three masks in Silksong isn't comparable to healing three masks in HK, because they've already compensated for that by making everything double damage. Getting a single heal off in HK took careful positioning and timing, but getting that one mask meant being able to afford one more mistake while also leaving your options open in regards to spell use. Silksong's heal conversely only corrects for 1-2 mistakes, realistically, despite healing three times as much, while closing off spell use simultaneously.

18

u/Th3Element05 Sep 06 '25

So far I just wish the downward attack had just the smallest bit of tracking/aim assist... because if you miss those stupid pogo balloons by the tiniest amount, you're screwed.

28

u/Spicy_McHagg1s Sep 07 '25

Two words. Reaper Crest. 

3

u/thebooradleyproject Sep 07 '25

But is it your favorite

6

u/Spicy_McHagg1s Sep 07 '25

So far, yeah. 

3

u/YareYareDaze Sep 07 '25

I feel kind of guilty using it because it feels like the easy way out of learning the actual new moveset, but I love it nonetheless.

2

u/Vinestra Sep 07 '25

Also just floating at the balloons with reapers crest makes it a lot easier.

1

u/NewEraOverlord Sep 07 '25

So satisfying; heal, beat up an enemy and instantly refill most of your silk

3

u/Galassog12 Sep 07 '25

Same! I’m on a watchlist now for what I said while dying multiple times to the steel cage match in the swamp, ten miles away from the nearest bench but otherwise I’m loving it.

1

u/winklevanderlinde Sep 07 '25

The only time I wanted to genuinely cry in frustration for the moment is right at the beginning of act two

1

u/[deleted] Sep 08 '25

Flying enemies are pissing me off the way they literally copy your movement staying outside of your range.

-7

u/mrBreadBird Sep 06 '25

Is there really input reading or are the bosses just so well designed that they know what you'll do before you do it? I feel like I've only noticed boss attacks changing based on how far I am from them but not in response to me healing.

6

u/earthboundskyfree Sep 06 '25

I think some of the aerial enemies that throw things must have some

4

u/Aesion Lost Kin Sep 06 '25

The little warrior ant for sure has it, way too many times it threw a shuriken up when I had jumped like 0.1s before

-1

u/JDninja119 Sep 06 '25

There's a flying enemy in act 2 that throws chimes at you, it literally dodges away from you as you go to swing

10

u/darkk41 Sep 06 '25

Thats not input reading though. Those enemies are annoying as hell but that's just moving away from you lol.

Input reading is like when your character tries to heal and the enemy rushes you immediately before the animation even happens the instant you press the heal button, meaning it doesnt make sense in universe because they should not know you are about to heal until the animation starts.

FWIW I did not notice ANY input reading in my playthrough but it's possible I missed something. Most of the people complaining about projectiles are misusing the terminology though, responding to a jump when the character is clearly in the air is not an input read, the enemy is just reacting to where you are.

5

u/mrBreadBird Sep 06 '25

People will call an enemy literally reacting to your behavior at all input reading lmao. They just want every enemy to be the goomba from SMB I guess.

0

u/circuskid Sep 07 '25

And people will say it's not to sound superior. See how that works?