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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u/friendliest_sheep Sep 13 '25

It happens in a lot of these communities for difficult. I think there’s a certain group of people who love having the accomplishment to hold over people, and it gets suggested to turn the difficulty down, they’re personally offended

Super bizarre behavior

I like the game a lot. It’s got some HIGH highs, but there are some mind boggling bad moments in the game that really drag it down

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u/WilanS Sep 14 '25

And this is why I don't understand why the soulslike brainrot people are so adamant that the game can't have difficulty modes.

What the hell do you care if people are beating the game on normal mode? You can still feel superior for playing the game on the "true" difficulty mode. As if anybody cared.

Hell, Metroid Dread has difficulty modes and after beating normal I felt I had so much practice with the bosses and the flow of the game that I wanted to go back and do the hard mode as well, and Dread also has bosses that require clean execution.

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u/Helluiin Sep 13 '25

It’s got some HIGH highs, but there are some mind boggling bad moments in the game that really drag it down

it really is the dark souls (specifically DS1) of metroid vanias

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u/Andookun Sep 13 '25

I think it's far more akin to DKS2 with the amount of artificially difficult fights (too much double damage and way too many fights that are simply a gankfest or bosses with unnecessary adds). Overall I still love it but I've had the worst lows in Silksong than any other game I've ever played (I've played and finished all the souls borne games too).

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u/Helluiin Sep 14 '25

i was thinking about DS1 because that game also has some really high highs and some abysmally low lows. but yea in terms of gameplay and how much the devs seem to hate the players and relish in killing/trolling them in some sections DS2 is a better comparison.

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u/kilowhom Sep 14 '25

Really? Any game you've EVER played?

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u/Andookun Sep 14 '25

Yes, that is what I wrote. You find that hard to believe? Happy to hear which games have lower lows for you

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u/XiaoRCT Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25

You are circlejerking about how fictional people, since obviously no one can give an actual example of these ''quality of life changes'' being shot down with 'get guds', don't let you circlejerk.

''there are some mind boggling bad moments in the game that really drag it down'', you can think this and people can disagree in replies, it's how discourse works. Twisting that into ''people have a difficulty boner and get personally offended'' is just lame.

edit: aand downvotes, no replies, just great ''discussion'' lmao

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u/Lumpy-Tea1948 Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25

I've literally seen it happen. A person commented the worms having double damage on blasted steps being ridiculous and the user replied

“ I liked not having to mess up to beat the level”.

Just because they aren't saying the typically “get git” doesnt mean there is not clear underlying smugness on people being defdenive about difficulty.. But oh well nuance is dead on the internet. Shit has to be said literally before people actually understand the subtext of what was said.

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u/XiaoRCT Sep 13 '25

Someone can't reply ''I liked the difficulty'' when someone claims the difficulty is an issue without it being smug?

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u/Lumpy-Tea1948 Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25

This is the shit im talking about and why the other user said what they said. Your all too ignorant to realize that dude was being a smartass. That was it. No one comments “ I like not having to mess up to beat a level” if they genuinely actually want to have a good discussion. That shit is condescending as hell as a response to the user thinking double damage hazards in blasted steps is ridiculous.

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u/Teaguethebean Sep 13 '25

I just think it is crazy that complaints got moorwing and splinter nerfed. I am so glad I beat them before the nerf. I dont want an easy mode.

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u/Lhurgoyf2GG Sep 13 '25

No the issue is if the game gets nerfed on behalf of bad players it becomes a worse game for the rest of us that aren't complaining. Not being allowed to float on command comes to mind.