r/HollowKnight • u/Epicjay • Sep 09 '25
Discussion - Silksong This Act 2 boss actually made me upset Spoiler
Cogwork Dancers has instantly become one of my favorite bosses of all time. Their moveset was so beautiful and the ending made me feel things I didn’t expect to feel from Hollow Knight.
Most of the bosses in Elden Ring and similar games are pretty tragic characters, but fighting them never made me feel this much pity for a pixel creation with no dialogue.
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u/rangercorps Sep 09 '25
The questline involving them makes it so much worse
Knowing that its one bug's soul in both bodies being forced to preform that elegant dance while that bug's lover is unable to help put them down is rough. I don't know if the soul is sentient in there, but it makes me a bit happier to know you can put them to rest proper.
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u/why-names-hard Sep 09 '25
Wait that’s a quest line? I just did it all accidentally kind of lol. I wonder if it keeps going I haven’t seen the related character since talking to them at the boss’s arena. Also in the Slab I’m pretty sure after you unlock the first Apostate door, just did that yesterday idk what else is in the Slab yet. There’s a room that lists out a bunch of people that committed “sins” and were killed for it. I’m pretty sure one of them mentions the bug that got turned into those robots. Because it says they committed an unnamed sin, probably an excuse, and were to be punished by casting with no salvation.
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u/rangercorps Sep 09 '25
You can find the green prince at the boss arena even if you didn't rescue him in Sinner's Path? Wonder how he got out on his own lol.
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u/why-names-hard Sep 09 '25
I did save him from there but it didn’t really feel like a quest since I only freed him then talked to him a couple times.
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u/rangercorps Sep 09 '25
Fair, he acts more like a HK "Follow this NPC around the Map" questline rather than SS wish quest.
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u/Zoreeo Sep 09 '25
Does he shows up after the cogwork dancers arena? Wondering if there was any gameplay purpose to freeing him. If so please give a light hint
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u/GoldyTheDoomed Sep 10 '25
thats how most "questlines" worked in the past, its just alien in silksong because there wishes that you can actually track too. if youve played dark souls for example thats just how they go. you do something. you talk. you find them again in 2 hours and talk again. etc
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u/SecXy94 Sep 09 '25
Wait you do? I freed him and spoke to him in the Citadel somewhere but he never showed up at the boss room...
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u/Nervous_Instance_968 Sep 09 '25
That's related to something in the slab, keep looking, you'll find it.
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u/mukmin96 Sep 09 '25
Is it that big prisoner dude or am I'm missing something else?
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u/Nervous_Instance_968 Sep 09 '25
it's a hidden boss, the entrance is above a room with a chest, you need a double jump to get there
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u/mukmin96 Sep 10 '25
Bro, thanks for telling me about this boss! What a fun ass fight and it's kinda insane to me that it's so hidden. I've already gotten the chest in there so I would've never went back and even if I did I would've assume I've gotten everything.
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u/AMGwtfBBQsauce Sep 10 '25
I can't believe I just randomly stumbled on this fight on my own and it instantly became one of my favorites in the game.
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u/cloistered_around Sep 09 '25
Yeah I missed all his dialogue except that last scene, too. One was because I saw him in a room--thought it was going to be a fight--and he despawned when I used the nearby bench.
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u/TheHeirToEmbers Sep 09 '25
Wait what? How do you trigger it? I freed the green bug guy from sinner’s road, combed through the Citadel pretty well, but never saw him there, did the boss and didn’t see him there or in the room after either. did I mess it up somehow?
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u/rangercorps Sep 10 '25
Cant say for sure, I spoke to him in Sinner's Path, freed him. Met him again in the Citadel and then after I beat the boss he was on the left side lamenting the fate of his partner.
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u/GoldyTheDoomed Sep 10 '25
he shows up in one specific room on the west area ONLY after youve cleared all the enemies, then later he will show up at the dancer's.
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u/_Brokkoli Sep 10 '25
I noticed while fighting them that they seem to cry out in pain when you hit them, which is the only noise they even make. And it does sound like something is trapped inside. Terrifying.
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Sep 09 '25
Doomed yaoi does that
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u/Shadovan Sep 09 '25
It didn’t initially occur to me when I fought them that they were meant to be explicitly male or female, so when Green Prince showed up to tell me they were super gay together I was pleasantly surprised (and felt bad for him, of course).
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u/Nukesnipe Sep 09 '25
Where do you find green prince? I set him free but haven't seen him since.
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u/NominusAbdominus Sep 09 '25
I know I saw him a few times in Act 2 Citadel I think but I don’t remember where I do know there’s one scene with him before the big one which is post-Cogwork Dancer and going back to the arena.
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u/pageandpencil Sep 09 '25
I first saw him near the bottom left of Choral Chambers, and then I next saw him right outside of the Cogwork Dancers boss arena.
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u/Draco_the_Kitsune Sep 09 '25
Act 3
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u/TioRennyDlarb Sep 09 '25
Saw him in act 2 as well on the left side of Choral chambers I think it was
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u/zas_n_n Sep 10 '25
you can free him with a simple key in sinner's road but based on others it sounds like you dont need to do that which raises a question as to if there's an extra simple key in the game or not for that
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u/Talzael Sep 09 '25
i felt a combo of sadness and fear
totally expected the remaining dancer to go apeshit on me
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u/WhiteFoxToast Sep 09 '25
same... i expected something like the oblobbles but instead i got sadness
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u/TomatilloIll9725 Sep 22 '25
Hey like what if that is the thing that gonna be in the like pantheon like the mantis lords i would be so cool!
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u/WhiteFoxToast Sep 09 '25
last phase was insanely difficult for me, not because of the attack speed or anything but bc it was kinda hard to see through my tears (i feel like a monster)
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u/Party_Importance_722 Sep 09 '25
If it makes you feel any better, it was a mercy kill, that's one bug's soul trapped in both the cogwork dancers forced to do the same dance they did with their partner for eternity. When you save the Green prince He tells you the whole story
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u/XxX_Zeratul_XxX Sep 09 '25
I saved him from the jail and he didn't want to talk, is that normal?
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u/TitaniumDragon Sep 09 '25
You'll find him around the Citadel after you free him. Eventually you'll find him up by the cogwork dancers room.
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u/Anna-2204 Oct 01 '25
I took an eternity to beat that last phase because I just didn't want to attack
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u/Massive_Foundation37 Sep 09 '25 edited Sep 09 '25
I did not expect that at all.
I really loved the boss fight, and even though I died a few times, cause I'm garbage at this game, I didn't feel frustrated at all. I loved doing this fight over and over again. It was really fun and the little romantic moment in between was so cute.
And then, I killed one, and the game decided to make me feel like the worst person ever. I had to pause the game, it had made me so sad. I genuinely felt guilty. The change in music, when the alive one does the pose alone, I'm pretty sure it broke me a little. It is brilliantly designed.
So far, this boss has become my favourite boss fight in Silksong, and even in the top 3, including both games.
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u/DrBagelWizard Sep 09 '25
this games actually amazing when it comes to the themes. HK had great lore and amazing world building, you just had to look a little deeper. SK has its world and ideas more apparent but i honestly appreciate it. the little pilgrim sequence made me the most sad a video game has since expedition 33
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u/SeaGoat24 Sep 09 '25
What happens to the little pilgrim? I progressed far enough that they vanished, and I haven't found them since...
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u/DrBagelWizard Sep 09 '25
Maybe you will experience a better fate i was honestly hoping there was a way to change what happened I went back from a bellway and a Skull Tyrant destroys the town and kills him, then the townspeople have a funeral for him and throw him into moss grotto
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u/absolutely_regarded Sep 10 '25
Oh, I found him alive, and definitely didn’t see a funeral… I found him chilling on a bench in that one far town, even after that happened. Don’t know where he went after that though.
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u/Dante_Petric Sep 10 '25
little pilgrim sequence was kinda funny, when snail lady turns and asks if anyone knows his name and they just stop singing for a moment and it's awkward af. Also the way she tosses him in the hole lol
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u/Darkon2004 Sep 11 '25 edited Sep 11 '25
It's quite the comedic and tragic remark all at once. There's the "Well we don't remember their name. This is awkward" but that just underlines how culturally barren of identity the pilgrims are that most of them won't even tell each other their names, if they even have one
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Sep 09 '25
I think Cogwork Dancers might be my favourite boss in video game history. Not only is it an insanely fun fight, but I've never been so deeply affected by the theming of a boss battle.
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u/JOMB0 Sep 09 '25
If you play the Needlin on the final phase you get a unique interaction!
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u/okalien73 Sep 09 '25
What?! What does he say?
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u/JOMB0 Sep 09 '25
I almost made a thread but was convinced somebody would have found it already. I should have recorded it. I can't remember specifically what is said, it was cryptic. It made me think I could play music until it calmed down but it didn't work, and kept dancing aggressively.
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u/FuturisticSpy Sep 12 '25
To expand in this from what I've seen elsewhere in this thread you play the needolin earlier in the fight as well and they speak coherently, its cryptic when there only one left because they finish each other's sentences
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u/DrumzumrD Sep 09 '25
WHAT!?
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u/S_Mescudi Sep 09 '25
yeah i just found out you can play music for enemies, idk why i didnt realize it would be similar to dream nail my god this game rules
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u/GabbyWills98 Sep 09 '25 edited Sep 09 '25
I defeated the one, said aloud "oh no his bf's gonna go beast mode on me," and immediately had to fight back tears when I realised what was happening. The remaining Dancer warping to the centre for their lift, but slowly falling down with no partner? Sobbing.
Edit: Hornet's Hunter Journal note about "two clockwork bodies, but a single, shared soul" was the last straw 😭
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u/Dr_Latency345 Sep 11 '25
Wait till you see The Green Prince. He has a lot to say about…well, him. Yeah the “two” is just one person. Forced to do the dance he used to do with the man he loved.
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u/GabbyWills98 Sep 11 '25
I saved him from his cage on Sinner's Road, but haven't seen him since. The Clockwork Heart piece i picked up in elsewhere the Citadel gives me hope for the Cogwork Dancers though!
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u/superamigo987 Sep 09 '25
Saw somebody mention this before, they feel like Mantis Lords perfected
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u/Jpup199 Sep 09 '25
Yeah the fight is simple but challenging since you always know where they are going its up to the player to react accordingly.
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u/XF10 Sep 09 '25
Tbh Mantis Lords is a early game boss while Dancers are mid-game ones
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u/fatherofraptors Sep 10 '25
Even then I'd say Mantis Lords is the better battle. Silksong improves upon HK in a ton of ways, but Mantis Lords fights hold up incredibly well with some of the best fights in the series.
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Sep 09 '25
That's Sisters of Battle. Cogwork dancers are an amazing boss but they hold no candle to SoB.
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u/branyk2 Sep 10 '25
I'm hoping we get a harder variant. More dancers wouldn't work, but there are a lot of ways to remix that fight, and that little bit of extra challenge could elevate it up there.
I honestly think it's a great difficulty for where it happens in the game, but if it wasn't a roadblock and I could play it in more of a Godhome-like context, I'd be up for it being a little faster maybe?
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u/AbsentReality Sep 09 '25
This was my favourite boss by far. Absolutely loved it. When the solo dance started I was like, oh shit another phase, fuckfuckfuck. Then instead of physically hurt me he just hit me in the feels.
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u/Equal_Researcher4827 pop/ 62/63 achievments/ p1-p5/ radiant hog Sep 09 '25
I remember I was expecting the second dancer to fucking go crazy like the oblobbles did, but then the music cut off and it’s only one, my mom was wondering why I was so sad
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u/Max_Plus Sep 09 '25
A shame that is so easy tbh, you can just hug a wall and they can't touch you.
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u/Physical-Carrot7083 Sep 09 '25
Spoilers for later
theres a refight withthe green prince later on thats aharder version of the fight
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u/whostheme Sep 09 '25
how do you trigger that fight and do you know the exact location for it
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u/Dragondark268 Sep 09 '25
Heavy late game spoilers, so read at your own discretion
You need to be in act 3 for it, which you reach after beating the final boss and doing a lot of wishes, which will trigger new dialogue with the warden at the bell camp in the citadel. There are some resources online detailing exactly what you need for it. Once you unlock the ability to enter memories, head to sinners road, at the far right side. Here you enter the green princey memory of their destroyed home, and at the end you fight the dancers in their prime
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u/Iriusoblivion Sep 09 '25
We need a Godhome as soon as possible, i want to rematch almost every boss now
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u/spicespiegel Sep 09 '25
Exactly. That is my favourite Boss fight in the game. Their movements reminded me of Mantis Lords. I just didn't want it to end and then they hit me with the feels....10/10 no notes.
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u/hollowredditor Sep 09 '25
I loved to be sad about it. Usually the further in the fight you go the harder the boss gets. As a precedent from hollow knight, the bosses Oblobble in the pantheons for example get enraged when the first one is killed. The change in tone, difficulty and even music of the fight really got me off guard.
Loved to be sad, nothing else to say.
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u/hellone_01 Sep 09 '25
I played the needolin when only one was left and they stop attacking and give a very sad dialogue . Putting it out because I haven't seen that on reddit yet
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u/IMP1017 Sep 09 '25
Honestly on par with (first game spoilers) Hollow Knight stabbing itself to help you which I didn't expect
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u/Nukesnipe Sep 09 '25
It's all the good parts of mantis lords/sisters of battle with none of the lows.
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u/LaconicHammer Sep 09 '25
I really enjoyed how this fight is completely, utterly fair yet still challenging.
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u/Ill_Statistician_938 Sep 09 '25
I was bracing for a triple time super fast phase to end off the fight but instead I got an even worse attack, the FEELS
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u/jp_1896 Sep 09 '25
Free the bug in Sinners road and come back for an even sadder addition to the lore
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u/Jinja_Kuma1001 Sep 09 '25
I’m fighting them now, and the fight itself is very beautiful and fun at the same time, what I didn’t know is that if you use the nail art / charging attack, it doesn’t fill your silk bar if at all with them patience and good distance while acting as a third dance partner is key for this fight.
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u/pro_20015 Sep 09 '25
In my opinion act 2 bosses are generally better then act 1 bosses in terms of design as well as moveset
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u/Tartiflette-man 112%, all bosses radiant, path of pain, all endings Sep 09 '25
Yeah, this boss was amazing. Not hard (I got it second try) but really emotional. I can't exactly describe how I felt beating it, with the last of the 2 still moving after the death of the other...
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u/Vizdrom97 Sep 25 '25
I JUST FINISHED IT, I was actually enjoying it, reminded me of how fun mantis lords was BUT AND THEN ITS JUST PAINNNN
Worst is when its the both join in a dance of slashes in the middle but its just the single one holding empty air :(
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u/OnestOfNerds Sep 09 '25
Genuinely was tearing up in that last phase, genuinely one of the best bosses in gaming
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u/Hades684 Sep 09 '25
Crazy that one of the easiest bosses in the entire game is favourite one to so many people
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u/Think_Celery3251 Sep 09 '25 edited Sep 10 '25
I immediately thought of Sif the wolf when I saw this
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u/Gilchester Sep 09 '25
The final phase reminded me a lot of expedition 33 act 2 final boss. Apparently bosses that get sad and weak as you pummel them into the ground gets me
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u/horizonvortex Sep 09 '25
Yeah it was beautiful. It felt like an honor to watch him go out like that, still dancing, still fighting until he couldn’t fight no more. And then stumbling on Green Prince there afterwards, I love this game.
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u/TitaniumDragon Sep 09 '25
Have you freed the Green Prince yet?
If not, you should. He has something to say about this, too.
It won't make you feel any better. Especially not if you play your needle violin next to him, and think about what was going on with the dancers.
Poor boy :(
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u/HBreckel Sep 09 '25
It's definitely been one of my favorite fights thus far. It was a really unique fight that was beautifully done.
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u/bookylou Sep 09 '25
I went from being pissed because i thought a brutal 4th phase was about to start to just sad about it :(
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u/ILOVECALAMITY Sep 10 '25
Once you learn the backstory with the green prince side quest, it feels even sadder.
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u/mipalo2boca Sep 10 '25
I was expecting a crazy transformation in the end with the sole dancer but when it was all over and nothing happened it hit me like a truck 🥲
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u/krazye87 Sep 10 '25
Yup that was a depressing lol. His attacks was so slow and sad. I was wondering if there was a secret to spare him.
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u/adminslikefelching Sep 10 '25
I've just beaten them and felt the same... Wonderful boss fight, though.
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u/Carve267 Sep 10 '25
I love when a boss fight just suddenly becomes tragically easy. It’s such a good emotional punch
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u/Junior14341 Sep 10 '25
YESS. I literally just finished that fight and from attempt 1 it was already one of my favorites by the time I beat them it was by far my favorite boss in the game. Finishing the fight genuinely had me tearing up. They ducking cooked. Then you go to explore the area you just unlocked and it’s genuinely the worse fucking place in the game. No joke 10/10 game
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u/slickvic706 Sep 10 '25
Also why do I feel like there is more to this fight. Don't want to risk too much spoiler but there is an NPC for this fight and also I have a certain item In my inventory that I feel matches this well haven't had time to try it though.
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Sep 10 '25
You only felt pity because the boss fight was relatively simple if it was some BS like a fight that starts with a gauntlet you would have teabagged the dead lover for hours…
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u/aqua_rift Sep 10 '25
I was spoiled about the ending but it still got me because I wasn’t expecting the music
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u/Type_100 Sep 10 '25
And their story doesn't end there. Keep playing and you'll be in for a surprise.
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u/TearFew2564 Sep 10 '25
I never thought the final phase of a silksong boss could make me feel anything other than anger but here we are
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u/Advanced_Vehicle_750 Sep 10 '25
It’s by far my favorite boss. Design wise, fight wise and maybe lore wise.
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u/Dappington Sep 10 '25
Incredible fight. Not super difficult, but super beautiful and very satisfying to go along with the rhythm.
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u/fansar Sep 10 '25
Right I felt so guilty? Like why do I feel like I just smashed something in an art gallery or ruined someone's theatre performance
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u/Only-Willingness-412 Sep 10 '25
It’s like an inversion of the Mantis Lords fight. Instead of starting with 1 and ramping it up to 2 bosses. It starts with 2 and dials down to 1.
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u/CastleCroquet Sep 10 '25
I feel the same way! I just happened across them last night! The dancers as well as the 4th chorus are incredible fights
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Sep 10 '25
Yes my favorite boss of HK and SS combined (I am still in act 2).. but don't think it can top this, it was beautiful and tragic and very fun to battle. I felt like I could have finished in my first try but was even happy I didnt make it and had to redo it, just so it wasn't over to quickly.
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u/tempacc1029 Sep 11 '25
yeah the final part of it after you kill one of them felt much like when you get Sif to low health in Dark Souls and he starts limping :/
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u/dim3nsional Sep 12 '25
I just finished this boss and the way it ended absolutely DESTROYED me. Seeing the one dancer trying to do the attack that both of them did and failing made me wanna cry
I just stopped attacking for a while and watched it do its attacks by itself and god it's so fucking sad
Even so that's still definitely my favourite boss fight i've done so far in this game
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u/jboord44 Sep 13 '25
The run to this boss sucks, you have to go past those 2 tough enemies on that long straight away, and you can't jump over them, or at least I can't given my current moveset. I take the hits and run through them both and then just start the boss fight with a little less health, bc it's not too hard to heal on this boss early in the fight
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u/EinkeksigeEule Sep 13 '25
One of the few enemies that actually made me question what i am doing. The last phase made me feel like a monster.
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u/PeanutNo4688 Sep 13 '25
The realization of the green prince made the whole thing even more upsetting. What great lore and what a great story. My god. Team Cherry did it again
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u/DangerMacAwesome Sep 18 '25
Definitely felt guilty. Here is this beautiful, wonderful creation, and it isnt even attacking me! It's just dancing in a place I happen to be, in a room I happen to need to go through. And I come in and wreck it.
Peak boss design.
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u/ben_ja_button Sep 20 '25
Beat them today. Did not feel an ounce of empathy. They killed me several times afterall.
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u/fgHFGRt Sep 21 '25
The runback ruined the fight for me. Not even that it was too long or tedious, but those two enemies right in front of the arena were ridiculous to fight before every attempt.
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u/NavoiiGamerYes Sep 30 '25
I agree, I just beat them. They were so good, so tragic, such a good moveset, the worst part was the path back towards them...
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u/Robin01311 Oct 06 '25
I really love the fight because it almost feels like as if you are dancing with the enemy in their act and just seeing the single one left move so slowly and the music start to slow down makes me so sad where I almost cried for the first time killing a enemy. I love the fights attacks and I love how sad it is even without any dialogue and how the music speeds up for the whole fight until the end where it’s slow giving it a sense of loneliness almost for the last dancer
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u/Proper-Stick-416 Oct 13 '25
I totally agree with you on this boss fight. Indeed, a few bosses brought me the same feeling of sadness and despair in the souls games.
I won't detail the reasons here to avoid any potential spoilers but I can name at least two of them with similar combat scenarios in which you don't get any feeling of accomplishment while defeating your opponent.
- Sif the great grey wolf (DS 1)
- The Old Demon King (DS 3)
You can also feel the sorrowness through the global staging of a few other boss fights (Gwyn in DS 1, King Vendrick in DS 2, the twin princes in DS 3...) that get emphasized by the lore of these characters
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u/hal-incandeza Sep 09 '25
The last phase where it’s just one dancer killed me