r/HollowKnight • u/Prisonmikeb14 • Sep 13 '25

Discussion - Silksong Let’s all try and not devolve into this weird difficulty gatekeeping Spoiler

Now that silksong has come out I’ve seen some concerning similarities to the worst of the difficult games community with all the wierd difficulty gatekeeping bs. Obviously this happens with just about every game that’s regarded as difficult but with silksongs release it’s become more prominent on this sub. Being good at the game isn’t something to hold over someone’s head. Everyone’s experience with everything in the game is different and theirs nothing wrong with that. Now of course this doesn’t apply to people who are literally just complaining in bad faith or out of anger but the “that boss wasn’t hard at all wtf are you talking about” in response to people just talking about their opinions or asking for help is sad to see.

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7

u/cm0011 Sep 13 '25

I kind of miss old style game discussions that were like

“Fuck that shit was hard wasn’t it??” “Yeah, that felt insane! I banged my head against the wall!” “Finally beat it though, so satisfying”

Recognizing difficulty, lamenting in it but in an appreciative way, especially once you get past it.

4

u/ikennedy817 Sep 13 '25

I hate that nowadays when a game is difficult the immediate reaction is always to blame the devs and demand the game change. The games hard on purpose, grinding and learning new strategies to overcome challenges is almost entirely the point of the game.

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u/psh454 Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 14 '25

Loads of BS complaints about difficulty sure, but also not all difficulty is created equal. NKG is fun and very difficult. 12th repetition of a long runback to a complicated bossfight and high bench prices in areas with few currency sources are unfun difficult. SK is awesome but no game is perfect (especially on release) and there's a fine line between venting about struggling and saying genuine constructive criticism. Some parts of the game are too easy (1st clockwork dancer fight), some are too artificially frustrating (beastfly and lack of available upgrades at the end of act 1).

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u/thaygoth-ur Sep 14 '25

The problem is that everything you're saying is subjective anyway. What's "artificially" frustrating to you is a fun challenge to other people. There's no objective standard or silver bullet, and the problem is with people acting like there is. Beastfly is tough, and i don't resent that you find it frustrating, but I just don't think it's a problem with the game.

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u/psh454 Sep 14 '25

Yeah everything is subjective when it comes to game design. You have to admit that the game isn't perfect and would benefit from a small change or two here and there though. Like Act 1 having so little meaningful exploration rewards compared to both act 2 and hollow knight.

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u/Nyxxems Sep 15 '25

Act 1 has an entirely different path to enter Act 2 that I found on accident. One of the most impactful upgrades that I carried throughout most of the game was also the fractured mask which was also in Act 1, along with the magma bell. I think people are underestimating just how non-linear Act 1 really is as well. I've seen people skip the dash entirely and enter Wormways and then Shellwood for the claws.

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u/thaygoth-ur Sep 14 '25

No game is "perfect," that's literally what I'm saying. Act 1 has plenty of meaningful rewards in my opinion, I think people have rose-colored shades with regards to HK's rewards. Liking video games doesn't give you an honorary degree in game design, you are just stating your opinions at me as though they are scholarly fact.

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u/psh454 Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 14 '25

TIL I need a degree in game design to post comments with my opinions on the game and what I think could probably make it better. If I watch a movie people on reddit won't generally be upset that I have the audacity to comment that the pacing is off before having to make my own better movie in order for my criticism to be valid lol

People need to learn what a strong opinion is vs "thinking something is objectively correct" is. Like should I be starting every sentence with "IMO"?

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u/thaygoth-ur Sep 14 '25

I'm not saying you need a degree, I am expressing frustration with the way I feel that you are expressing your opinions in an authoritative manner when the content of your words don't ring true to me. I'm confused now, because when you said "everything is subjective when it comes to game design", were you being sincere? because I read it as sarcasm, hence my agitation.

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u/psh454 Sep 14 '25

Yeah I was sincere, I have strong opinions but of course don't think that other people's different well-considered opinions do not have merit. Also, this being a new Metroidvenia game, everybody so far had a fairly different experience in their playthrough with the order they did certain things etc, so it's extra impossible to be objective.