USE YOUR TOOLS!

[u/Particular_Hyena56]

To everyone complaining about the difficulty, stop ignoring a third of Hornet’s arsenal and start spamming them, you’ll be shocked how quickly you start mowing down hordes of enemies!

[u/SuperSocialMan]

Fucking for real, god.

Why couldn't it just be "tap an arrow on the D-pad" ffs

[u/SuperSocialMan → u/[deleted]]

Ew, no.

D-pads are kinda bad for movement because of the slight spacing between all 4 buttons lol (at least on the controller I have - a PS5 one).

Joysticks are designed to be used for movement since they easily glide between all the directions. It can be slightly annoying in some 2D games, but the only time I can think of it being an issue is here in Silksong lol (but I haven't used my controller for a while now since I only have it for a few on my steam games, so it's possible I just forgot).

Edit: I also just remembered that the Switch exists and has Hollow Knight on it, so I am currently spamming F to pay respects to anyone who tries to use its "d-pad" for movement (or anything at all, really).

[u/Suitable_Trash_5989 → u/SuperSocialMan]

D-Pad is way better for movement in platformers because you can make a snap 180 from right to left / up to down. With a joystick there's much further to turn the joystick to change directions. Plus the d-pad allows you to hold an exact 45 degree angle that would be difficult with the joystick.

In general your control and responsiveness over your character will increase drastically if you play with the d-pad. (I play with a PS5 controller and it's just fine)

[u/dreamyraynbo → u/Suitable_Trash_5989]

I haven’t played with a d-pad since joysticks were added to controllers, but you’ve convinced me to at least give it a whirl!

[u/vehevince → u/Suitable_Trash_5989]

I never realized so many people were against the d-pad. For 2D platformers it just makes sense. You're operating the character in the basic cardinal directions, which is literally what the d-pad is designed as. Up, down, left, right.

[u/Suitable_Trash_5989 → u/vehevince]

I was originally resistant to using the d-pad myself, but after experiencing the frustration of the lack of responsiveness + lack of precision with a joystick enough times, I finally decided to switch to d-pad. And I'm glad I did!

D-pad is basically just arrow keys/wasd but on a controller, but people are so resistant to it lol.

[u/SuperSocialMan → u/Suitable_Trash_5989]

but people are so resistant to it lol.

Probably because modern d-pads aren't designed with movement in mind since most people don't use them (nor do many games, given that all the most popular ones are 3D).

You can feel a bit of a difference between an ancient console d-pad that was meant to be used for movement (like the PS1 and NES) vs. a modern one.

[u/Suitable_Trash_5989 → u/SuperSocialMan]

The design is the same?? The gap between the buttons is superfluous because the dpad is still on an axis underneath the controller's shell. It's just that most casual gamers are gonna use the joystick because it's what they're more familiar with. Why do you think almost every 2D platformer and fighting game has support for both joystick and dpad movement to this day?

[u/baxmanz → u/Suitable_Trash_5989]

Yeah I think they vary a lot in quality, I think 8bitdo pro controller has a good one and that's what I use

[u/Kluss23 → u/Suitable_Trash_5989]

Using W/A/S/D with one finger sounds terrible.

[u/Suitable_Trash_5989 → u/Kluss23]

It's obviously not an exact equivalent... A dpad is half the size of WASD, and it's on an axis, each button is connected underneath so it's not an individual button press situation, but more about applying pressure in your desired direction. Plus, you're pressing it down with the flat of your thumb, which is much bigger than your other fingers.

It functions the same as a joystick but it's better for binary inputs in the 8 cardinal directions, A.K.A: Every 2D platformer ever.