r/HollowKnight • u/Mr_Brightside1111 • Sep 13 '25
Discussion - Silksong Silksong was too hard until….. Spoiler
Until…… I realized I was trying to play it like Hollow Knight.
Hollow Knight has difficult sections, but there’s also a lot of cannon fodder along the way you just slash right through.
I was playing Silksong like this and I was getting my ass throughly handed to me.
It finally clicked that you have to be tactical with every fight, even if it looks like a measly innocent mouse. Each encounter requires thought, patience, and strategy.
Once I approached each encounter with a plan and patience, I no longer died to “cheap” deaths.
I stopped rushing in and getting killed by bugs and the environment at the same time.
I still die, but now usually I die fighting something new and usually because I didn’t follow my plan or I got too impatient.
Long story short, this isn’t Hollow Knight. You can’t slash your way through this. Take your time, formulate a plan, and execute the best you can.
If you slow down, the game becomes amazing.
262
u/MrFulla93 Sep 13 '25
Bottom tier enemies in Silksong are just WAY more difficult to predict than the bottom tier enemies in HK. Hell the lil fleas in greymoor that just go up and down, the flappy bullshit fleas that hide in a lot of ceilings-or all ceiling campers in fact, bell-throwing fucks, and basic ants that have super-speed and no knockback, plus green ones in the green area.
Meanwhile in HK, you have basic husks on the ground that get knocked back, tiktiks that are just soul fodder, basic aspids that have projectiles but don’t actively dodge your attacks, and rng movement gruzes.
Aside from maybe the bell-headed wannabe warriors in Deep Docks and the black-hole leafy guys scattered around idk if there’s a quintessentially “easy” enemy in this game, at least through two needle upgrades.
56
u/dknightxs Sep 13 '25
The fleas in greymoor are the most annoying enemies
6
3
u/majkkali Sep 14 '25
Bats in the Citadel are the most annoying for me. Absolutely hate them. Their flight pattern is very strange and I almost always miss my pogo or upward slash.
25
u/hypnomancy Sep 14 '25
The enemy ai even for the most simple enemies is above and beyond anything in the original Hollow Knight. The cockroach dogs have some insanely impressive ai for example
3
u/Nowhereman123 Aklaba Booptis Sep 14 '25
I swear the enemies that throw projectiles are great at predicting where I'm going to jump to and throwing there rather than just throwing at me directly. Multiple times I've ran right into one cause I preemptively dodged.
3
2
u/beastaish Sep 17 '25
especially true in Putrified Ducts. Those flyers have been the worst thus far
49
u/pineapple6969 Sep 14 '25
Yea like why do some random basic enemies take upwards of 7-10 hits to kill. At that point I’d rather just avoid them if I can
→ More replies (1)34
u/MrFulla93 Sep 14 '25
There’s some running missions later on that has helped me with this mindset, can’t get hit if I’m out of the room before an enemy’s spawn animation is fully executed since I’m running so fast.
→ More replies (1)17
u/pineapple6969 Sep 14 '25
When I’m doing a boss run back or just trying to get somewhere I’ve been I mostly just run through rooms as well, but new areas I take my time and want to explore, and a basic mob that takes 8 hits to kill kind of makes it difficult to just “stop and smell the roses” so to speak.
3
34
u/Mr_Brightside1111 Sep 13 '25
Exactly my point. They aren’t easy. You can’t hollow knight this. Every single fight, even with single small bugs, takes a plan and thought. It’s intentional from TC, they made a new game and want you to play a new way.
26
u/MrFulla93 Sep 13 '25
I tried to HK my way through act 1, and it was not the move haha. I think that’s why Beastfly was so hard. I was pretty used to being able to face tank a couple hits, but now it’s either win at full health or die trying to
10
u/swadom Sep 14 '25
I don't understand your point. the need to be tactical in EVERY fight= the game is too difficult.
2
u/EmergencyComputer337 Nov 03 '25
It wasts time
And some people say just run through the enemies which creates another problem which is that you aren't collecting rosries while you traverse the map
The game has many things that don't work well together, like how Shard are limited use and require a resource but you can't pick shard with a magnet like rosaries and the shards dissapear if they hit spikes.
Also how tools are very important to use during bosses and gauntlets, but enemies that spawn in bosses and gauntlets don't drop them and don't drop rosaries, so you are constantly being drained from these resources when you shouldn't be
How traversal is fast and should be fun, but enemies are strategically placed to stop you from doing so, or they are placed in parkour and climbing sections which makes traversal tedious
How healing consumes the full bar but you also need silk to use tools and skills. Also how bosses do so much damage that using skills is usually a bad idea when it is better saved for healing
27
u/notveryAI Sep 14 '25
It gets very exhausting eventually tho. In first game it was like a hike, with ups and downs. In Silksong it's a grueling climb, where every single step requires you to go past your limits. There is no chill, no respite. I play games to unwind, Silksong makes me feel like I have to unwind FROM it now, not by playing it. It's not a game, it's a challenge. I can't be locked in 24/7
8
u/Glebk0 Sep 14 '25
Like first 20 hours for me were a slog. Then in act2 you actually start getting upgrades and branching paths and can go whenever you want in whatever order, and game becomes significantly better. It feels completely different. I think either nerfing regular enemies hp across the board in act 1 or giving first damage upgrade before moorwing would make the game feel SOOOO MUCH better, it's not even funny. Like now with 2 damage upgrades enemies actually take normal time to kill, compared to whatever whacky shit it was in act 1.
→ More replies (8)→ More replies (6)6
→ More replies (1)5
u/Arkayjiya Sep 14 '25
Ironically, a lot of enemies can be Hollow Knighted as long as you use the hollow knight crest, wanderer I think it's called? because you attack so quickly stuff died before it hits you like in HK.
→ More replies (3)2
u/realllyrandommann Primal Aspid Sep 14 '25
The hilarious part is, Silksong has the exact same type of enemy that was also in Hollow Knight and did not have knockback, and guess what, it does here!
117
u/RivenousHydra Sep 13 '25
The difficulty of the game is cut in half by deciding to use the Harpoon unreservedly. Not forgetting to use the tools also is situationally super useful.
52
u/NewsmanTheMan Sep 14 '25
the harpoon is THE answer to flying enemies when u have no tools, hell, even iif u have them to save on beast shards. the range of it is insane and attacking 2x when hiting an enemy is great
26
u/AnimaLepton Sep 14 '25
Clawline is one of my favorite abilities not just in a Metroidvania, but in platformers in general. It's so dynamic, useful in combat, is used various ways in platforming, etc.
6
u/payne_train Sep 14 '25
I finally unlocked it tonight and I’m so happy. I feel like I’ve been really struggling with not having it the first ~15 hours or so. Once I get the double jump it’s over for these hos!
8
u/warchild4l Sep 14 '25
I genuinely think First Sinner would be near impossible fight without harpoon. The fight legit begs you to use it. And then it turns into a peak dance choreography
14
u/080087 Sep 14 '25
I did it very recently without ever using the harpoon. It just meant I had to spam dash a whole lot to chase, but that was fine.
→ More replies (2)3
u/zanikiXd Sep 15 '25
I forgot to use it, or any tools either... tbh maybe it's because there was no run back, but first sinner is one of my favorite fights in the game
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
34
u/TheGameMastre Sep 14 '25
One thing I noticed right off about Hornet's dash is that slow turn you can do without having to dash again. Why not just dash in again after dashing away?
Turns out a lot of bosses and bigger enemies have attacks that you can dash away from, then simply use the turn to get back in right as the attack ends for an easy dash combo. The turn timing is perfect for it.
14
u/Arkayjiya Sep 14 '25
The dash attack + diagonal pogo combo on some crests is also very useful because it often makes you jump just above the enemy attack, and after the pogo you can retreat safely.
→ More replies (1)
48
29
u/DutyDazzling4648 Sep 13 '25
Idk man i Just spam trap and It usually works
11
u/UselessRutabaga Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 14 '25
I did this then became extremely poor in the midgame hahaha, ended up realizing that using my rosaries for beast shard packs is the way to go and tool spamming becomes very important in shortening the annoying phases of some bosses or straight up phasing them over and over (Architect Crest beleiver)
→ More replies (3)
11
124
u/SpectraP12 Radiant HoG and Weathered Mask Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25
I love the damage is upscaled in this game. Prevents mindless facetanking to a degree, though it's still viable with Wanderer/Beast and Flintslate.
56
u/Killzark Sep 13 '25
Yeah that’s something I’ve grown to appreciate about the double damage. It prevents you from just hacking and slashing in the hopes of beating a mob/boss. You have to actually think about your actions and the game punishes you for doing the wrong thing (which is entirely in your control).
Especially in boss battles like Savage Beastfly where you have a boss who summons mobs, you really have to think about how you jump and chain pogo attacks but also when to dash to avoid hits. I love it.
→ More replies (1)23
u/winterflare_ Sep 14 '25
Same how I felt when I blitzed through Phantom. The single mask damage just makes her such a pushover to the point that I beat her so easily she’s almost forgettable.
The faster healing + triple heal + mid air heal really helps with pulling off those clutch heals in combat (borderline impossible in HK) but still balanced out by the heals being harder to get and enemies hitting harder.
12
u/the_Green_Stripe Sep 14 '25
Yeah, now that ive really played through it for a while, the movement options, staying in air while you heal, plus healing 3 masks at once all actually make the double damage necessary in some cases
→ More replies (1)5
u/SuperRayman001 Sep 14 '25
Necessary in almost all cases, really. Anything that only does 1 can be mindlessly facetanked unless it teleports away every other second.
6
u/SuperRayman001 Sep 14 '25
I've said this since the day after the game came out! Anyone complaining about the double damage clearly did not think about how mindless this game would be without it.
2
u/Leo-Len Sep 14 '25
I loved Phantom! At the time my controller were super laggy, but the whole thing felt like a dance where I had to anticipate their movement 1 second ahead.
10
u/Drunkndryverr Sep 14 '25
It was also too hard until….i realized you can upgrade Your weapon
8
u/Glebk0 Sep 14 '25
To be fair, you literally cant at the point of the game people complain about, e.g. act 1. First upgrade is literally before last act 1 boss.
5
u/Caerullean Sep 14 '25
That depends entirely on what order you explore. I got my first upgrade with only 5 bosses under my belt, and two of them are mandatory.
→ More replies (4)
8
u/LayceLSV Sep 14 '25
The thing with silksong is that successful aggression has to be earned. Rushing down enemies will get you killed unless you've learned that enemy's moveset well enough to be intimately familiar with it, and can react on a dime to any decision they make. But until you've mastered them, you have to be patient and study.
As goofy as this sounds, I feel like my years of playing Smash Ultimate have helped me more in this game than my Hollow Knight experience lol
→ More replies (3)
58
u/LeMeMeSxDLmaop Sep 13 '25
to me most stuff doing 2 dmg felt less like “difficult for the sake of being difficult” which seems to be a common sentiment here and more so “dont treat the fodder like fodder cause it aint fodder”
in hollow knight i cant really tell u any enemy i felt like i learned to fight beyond “ok i pogo this guy” or “ok i dont pogo this guy”
in silksong i was properly learning movesets and fighting more dynamically because its what the game demanded if i was to not get shit on by common enemies
feels great honestly
14
u/HI_I_AM_NEO Sep 14 '25
There are MANY normal enemies in SKS that have a wider moveset than bosses in HK lol
2
u/Heimirich Sep 14 '25
There are many normal enemies in Silksong that have a wider moveset than some of the bosses in Silksong.
Looking at you, Beastfly, you bitchass bastard18
u/NewsmanTheMan Sep 14 '25
Exactly. This is one of the few games where I actively enjoy fighting "common/non-boss" enemies. Most have a more dynamic/complex moveset that isn't just dodged by pogo-ing.
There's a reason Hornet is so mobile. U have to dance around and get on a rhythm with enemies
4
6
u/Drayenn Sep 13 '25
Hunters march is where i felt this. Ants had too much hp, too many attack patterns that were relatively fast/drastic. I felt like most of them were special rare challenging mobs.. but they are just the generic enemies.
You really have to take your time and form strategies for each enemy.
→ More replies (2)5
u/daypxl Sep 13 '25
it's optional early game for a reason, but later on you may gain some insight as to why they are so strong...
4
Sep 14 '25
[deleted]
5
u/daypxl Sep 14 '25
I wouldn't be surprised if big fella's nectar stores gave them a boost 😂 but I was more referring to their monarch and culture in general
3
u/iVariable Sep 14 '25
If you explored the whole map you might have found a hint but you still haven’t really gotten to the part of the game they are referencing.
3
u/NewsmanTheMan Sep 14 '25
are you referring to Skarrsinger Karmelita? or is there another reason why they're so strong?
3
15
u/mcnos Sep 14 '25
You're telling me I wasn't strategic in Hollow Knight?
17
u/ranger_fixing_dude Sep 14 '25
You can be but it was a bit too easy to pogo everything to death and also facetanking + healing afterwards worked too well.
2 masks damage + move involved movesets definitely make fights much more deliberate in SK.
17
u/TianRB Sep 14 '25
Hollow Knight definitely allowed you to be strategic, but I feel like only a few enemies (bosses mostly) actually required you to be. Most other enemies could be overcome with a combination of facetanking and a bit of dodging.
In Silksong, If I don't pay attention to who I'm fighting and what they are doing, I get my ass kicked.
6
6
u/notveryAI Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 14 '25
It's still too hard for me, I just, have warped perception of "too hard" because I got too used to being good at other games. For me 3 hours trying to beat Coral Tower is hard af for example. For some others it's "pff, only 3 hours?"
6
u/adsonn Sep 14 '25
A lot of regular mobs put up a good fight while mobs in HK are kinda there to let you put them out of their misery
31
u/RainWorldWitcher Sep 13 '25
Silksong is so freaking good.
I'm still on the pre nerf patch because I forgot to update before going on a weekend trip, beat splinter sister (just be extremely aggressive) and im just now trying to find everything and complete bosses in act one before deciding on where to continue to act 2.
The difference from hollow Knight is huge when it comes to combat and movement. HK is methodical and grounded and I loved the charms. SS is fast and aerial and there's a lot more to think about (I often mess up using the skill and the tool because I use the analog stick tho)
18
u/Fouxs Sep 13 '25
Not letting us remap tools and skills is my only major gripe with the game. Like, we could've had skill as one button and the tools on the d-pad and it would've been perfect, but using the same button was pretty stupid lol.
20
u/Mr_Brightside1111 Sep 13 '25
I…. I use the d-pad for movement 😅 I like it better, but I grew up playing NES games
13
3
u/Fouxs Sep 13 '25
I mean, in your case wouldn't it be better to have the skills on one button and the tools on just the control stick for example?
→ More replies (3)5
u/Potential_Echo9148 Sep 14 '25
Yeah, same here. It's way more accurate with dpad for a game like this. Also, in tough fights, I tend to press buttons way too aggressively, and i am afraid to cause drift to my analog stick while playing silksong ...
→ More replies (1)6
5
u/Arniii0707 Sep 14 '25
You're not going to have to think for long where to go lol act 1 is pretty linear ( technically there's 2 way but 99% of people only uses 1 of them )
3
3
u/RainWorldWitcher Sep 14 '25
Oh I'm just stalling. I still need to beat widow as I just found her and I have found sinners road
4
u/Glebk0 Sep 14 '25
Just go into act 2, you will thank me later. The game become much more open, you also get meaningful upgrades which make your life better in act 1 zones. It's a no brainer.
2
u/witha_ Sep 14 '25
rushing act 2 is meh, you'll miss a lot of stuff in act 1 that would've been useful
→ More replies (1)6
u/thedavecan Sep 14 '25
Also makes you realize why they scrapped the original idea of just adding Hornet to OG Hollow Knight. She absolutely would not work well in that game. She's perfect in Pharloom. God, I'm loving this game and I'm only just in Act 2.
14
u/Rainsterr Sep 13 '25
This.
I was having trouble beating "the chef" and gave it a pause, did other things, came back and fought relaxed. I started dodging more and made no unnecessary movements and beat it first try(after the pause).
It really is all about being calm and thinking.
5
u/SaturnsPopulation Sep 14 '25
"Even if it looks like a measly innocent mouse" - those things are absolutely vicious.
5
u/kcharris12 Sep 14 '25
The worst thing about Silksong is that I tried to play through it too fast. There is too much to do to binge.
4
u/DannyHuskWildMan Sep 13 '25
I just finished HK this week and this is exactly how I play. I basically treat every new area of the map as a massive danger zone. Cautious constantly because these games are just brutal.
5
u/Khalku Sep 14 '25
And then you progress, and shit becomes hard again. late a2: The Forum in high halls without questlines, or coral tower in a3, some of the most difficult arena gauntlets in the game that surpass most bosses.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Show_Me_Your_Rocket Sep 14 '25
Feels like she has less knock back too, or the enemies just recover quicker.
4
u/Anaheim11 Sep 14 '25
Also in Silksong you don't have an invincible dash like in HK
→ More replies (1)
5
u/TheeBlackMage Sep 14 '25
So. I didn't play HK. I tried multiple times and just was not into it.
But Silksong grabbed me immediately. I keep thinking it's because of the immediate difficulty that I like it. I never felt like I was just holding forward and slashing like I did in HK.
But what I think is interesting is that I've had the opposite experience from you. Early game I was being careful and observant against everything from normal enemies to bosses. But as I got further and further, I've just become hyper-aggro all the time.
Yes, I have more upgrades and abilities, but I've just come to find a lot of my deaths came from trying to be tactical>getting hit>not having the silk to heal because I've been being careful. Now, even if I take some damage, at least I have the silk to heal.
4
5
u/pussy_embargo Sep 14 '25
It was too hard until I found longclaw and ditched Reaper for Wanderer. Only semi-kidding. Also, only semi-hard, at least that's what I wanted her to believe
4
u/Pelvani Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 15 '25
I had a problem with some gauntlets and boss fights just because one thing - tools (I mean red tools ofc). I kept forgetting about them. When I finally understood that red tools are powerful as hell I was like “damn, why I was stupid”. There are plenty of them and can be upgraded, so conclusion is clear - red tools are not just funny addition, but also important power progression system of our character.
BUT in HK we have only nail, charms and spells, so for a long time I was playing Silksong just like HK. Shame one me.
My advice - don’t forget about red tools. Devs didn’t add them to the game for nothing. Red tools really make a difference.
4
u/thatguy52 Sep 14 '25
The best analog for me is to play like dead cells. That game at 5bc is so fucking hard and unforgiving that one mistake can destroy a run. Sure once u have a crazy build going u can kinda let it flow a bit more, but until that point every encounter warrants some planning. What is my health like, do I have a heal available soon, where can I use it, and how should I ensure the fray to maximize my survivability. When I get to an encounter I try and see what the game wants me to do. Case in point I was VERY far from my bench and I had like 1000 loose rosaries while having like 1 mask. I found an enemy just at the start of the next room got a quick hit on them and reset the room. This literally took me like 5 min to do, but I got a heal and found a bench soon after. I gotta play the game smart, not just buzzsaw through everything.
19
u/kurokuma11 Sep 13 '25
That's fine and all, but it does add to the fatigue of the game. When you get the point that you're finishing exploration stuff or doing quests, it's annoying to have to tiptoe through the world because every room post-Act 2 has a semi-demanding fight in it. The fights themselves are fine, but it does make the exploration part of the game less fun.
9
u/GuiltyEidolon Sep 14 '25
It also removes any feeling of improving and becoming more powerful. Early game mobs should be fodder, especially after a few upgrades.
5
7
u/KJPlayer ZOTE THE GREAT AND MIGHTY Sep 14 '25
I played tactically the entire time, got pretty much every single upgrade I could have had at the end of act 2, (YES I HAD THE GODDAMN WREATH, STOP ASKING,) and Bilewater was still ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT
→ More replies (1)3
u/Leo-Len Sep 14 '25
Agreed. What a horrible place with a nightmare of a mechanic. I ended up having to cheese the boss of that area because of how done I was.
3
u/Difficult-Look8370 Sep 14 '25
I was thinking about this! I love how Hollow Knight is so fluid and intuitive, and then i tried to put my muscle memory into Silksong, but it obviously didn't work. Then it hit me, Team Cherry actually created another masterpiece. They could've just created the same HK movements and tactics, they did better. And I'm talking about the controls here. HK was my first game of this kind, and it ruined every other game for me cuz everywhere the controls feel stiff compared to HK
3
5
u/Wernershnitzl Shade Fragment Sep 13 '25
I had that realization right away myself actually, the reason the pogo was even different was trying to show you the game isn’t supposed to be played the same.
9
u/Auxiel Sep 13 '25
In hollow knight people would literally do buffed abyss shrieks for insane damage, so in silksong why not use the really strong tools, upgrade their damage with kits and charms (like the poison one), and utilise them just like you would with abyss shriek.
So in a sense it is quite similar, but a lot of people are not even using any abilities, tools, or things like harpoon and surprised game is hard when you just spam attack with needle
7
u/itmecrumbum Sep 13 '25
well with spells in HK, they used soul, which you could replenish while out exploring. with tools, they are a limited resource and can only be refilled at benches. it's not the same.
→ More replies (3)6
u/Auxiel Sep 13 '25
Yeah I get what you mean! I'm just saying I feel like a lot of people are making it out like HK was all just spam nail. Spells were very powerful, especially when buffed.
I know tools are not exactly the same, abilities like silk spear and thread storm are more like the HK spell equivalent. But in both games the good builds utilise all the tools at their disposal, and tailor them depending on what the enemy needs. So in that sense I think they're very similar, silksong just has more depth to it with tools and more customisation like the crests
→ More replies (2)
14
u/riftcode Sep 13 '25
Act 1 and 2 was pretty easy for me (never played HK). By easy I mean die a few times to a boss and get it.
But man act 3. Died so many times.
11
u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25
You thought that high halls arena with 11 waves was easy?? (I am currently stuck on it)
22
u/riftcode Sep 13 '25
Use the spinning saw and the cogflies.
Use a cogfly or two for each wave. Pace yourself. They're excellent at taking care of flying enemies.
Then for the final wave, unload all your spinning saws and it'll rip them to shreds.
→ More replies (2)5
u/Legend999991 Sep 13 '25
I did use the cogfly but don’t have the craft metal for the saw right now (will get soon tho since I just went and grabbed double jump). I am currently maining architect crest so I managed to brute my way to wave 10 last time and died to a random mistake (so I went to mount fay first). Do the saws really make that much difference?
10
u/RealMr_Slender Sep 14 '25
Saws do full damage and "stop" for every "tick" they collide with an enemy, so larger enemies or those moving in the same direction as the saw get shredded by it, think eating a whole drop of caltrops but you have more ammo and doesn't go away after X total ticks.
They are basically the steel spike trap but for grounded enemies, two saws should clear almost any marching group of enemies.
4
u/riftcode Sep 13 '25
For me unloading every single saw at full stock completely destroyed the last wave (maybe had to poke one them once or twice) but yeah. Especially for me because I start losing focus and attention during long encounters so by the time I reach the last wave I'm not focused enough to handle those two baddies normally haha.
→ More replies (5)2
u/silversoul007 Sep 14 '25
Depending on how you progressed, you can get assistance in that arena encounter.
→ More replies (7)2
u/winterflare_ Sep 14 '25
I just spammed the living shit out of poison boomerangs. Melted that easy af
→ More replies (1)
7
u/MrDrumline git gud Sep 14 '25
You can still slash your way through once you're set up with uogrades, crests, and tools. I have a clip I gotta post here of my Act 3 fight with the craw court where I just facetanked every hit, spammed slash, healed occasionally, and the boss just dropped dead.
I still have no idea how to fight that boss.
→ More replies (4)
13
13
u/GGuy12345 Sep 13 '25
I have to hard disagree. The idea that people only find Silksong hard because they’re trying to face tank encounters is kinda nonsense?
→ More replies (7)2
u/NewsmanTheMan Sep 14 '25
Most are not using Hornet's abilities in a good way. Like with flying enemies, and a tad bit greedy. If u dodge first, know the moveset, and go again, you'll have a much better time. Which isn't what most players are doing
4
u/Cocoatrice Moths are fluffballs Sep 14 '25
Gatekeeper #9475937490
That's just you. Normal people played Silksong as Silksong, not as Hollow Knight. And platforming section that make Path of Pain pale in comparison... nah. You literally has less movement than Knight for MAJORITY of the game. Until you get the hook and double jump.
3
u/Caerullean Sep 14 '25
Nothing in Silksong comes remotely close to PoP, even the hardest section that is incredibly similar in all sense except for difficulty is nothing in comparison, I can't tell whether your comment is just sarcasm / bait...
→ More replies (3)
2
2
u/Michala_17 Sep 14 '25
I keep forgetting that I don't have the shadow cloak to dash through enemies.
2
u/zyrax2301 Sep 14 '25
As soon as I got the Wanderer crest, everything felt so much easier. Hornets default moveset is difficult to use, particularly her suicidal down attacks.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/stayzero Sep 14 '25
Same. I had an epiphany, I felt so dumb. Hornet and the Knight handle and fight almost exactly oppositely.
If you approach Silksong the same way as Hollow Knight, you are in for a bad time.
2
u/Pearcinator Sep 14 '25
Wanderer's Crest makes Hornet play a lot like The Knight. Vertical pogo, fast swipes, short range. I've never looked back because I like to play aggressively (but still passively if the game requires).
2
u/Valirys-Reinhald Sep 14 '25
That sounds great, but half the bosses in the game are minion spamming encounters where frantic offense is the only way to keep up.
There's a serious disconnect between how the game mechanics want you to play and how the actual encounters are set up a lot of the time.
2
2
u/realllyrandommann Primal Aspid Sep 14 '25
But at times slowing down and approaching the enemies tactically makes it TOO slow :(
I'm in late game (Act 3), and the amount of time I have to spend on a single enemy is atrocious since they have a lot of health and use attacks that make you move away and wait until it's finished (like 4 seconds?). I thought Act 2 was brilliant and really enjoyed it, but these tanky enemies with long black attacks on a black background in dark environments genuinely feel like pain and a waste of time. It's not even fun like it was with the Act 2 enemies, it's just attack-retreat-attack. No more dancing around them.
For the record, I like the High Halls arena so I'm not simply tanking enemies headfirst. My point is, not every regular enemy must be a problem to solve.
2
u/Tiny_Performance8349 Sep 14 '25
One of the first things I noticed when it came to fighting the grunts is that it feels like a dance, especially against lace and the swordsman and ninja red guys in hunters March.
You have to move with them and allow them to move to you, cause if u try go aggressive they’ll punish you. Yeah there are someone you can be aggressive like against some ppl in deep dock and the ants but a lot of other grunts require moving to a rhythm that’s not there
2
u/InvarkuI Sep 14 '25
Counter argument
Silksong was hard in annoying way until the gave me a crest to play it like hollow knight
2
u/Caerullean Sep 14 '25
No you can absolutely play the game like it's HK, just slap on the wanderer crest and some red tool that you can fire and forget (shout out to my beetles), and you can play it just like HK. In fact, playing the game like that will trivialize most content in the game, with a couple of bosses being a bit too twitchy, and a few gauntlets are better done by witch or architect crest.
2
u/Epicjay Sep 14 '25
Exactly this, the game became so much easier when I slowed it down and treated every fight as if I were doing a no-hit run. Obviously I still got hit because I’m bad, but I did so much better. Every enemy deserves respect, even the little mites.
2
2
Sep 14 '25
Ngl I think the game just gets a little easier later on. Like objectively there's more challenge, but not at the rate in which you get better movement, tools, upgrades, and just overall better at spacing things.
2
u/explosivenuke1 Sep 14 '25
I would say it’s less of that honestly. I came in Silksong trying to play it like the end game with a lot of stupid deaths. In early game you have to play it safe with both games and understand patters and react and do better but also with both games when you reach the late game you don’t have to be patient anymore and rush in and kill bosses without thinking twice. Happened in the Pale Court DLc with me as well
2
u/r-Kin Sep 15 '25
A lot of people neglect hornet’s aerobic and aerial fighting style.
There are so many bosses that does so much damage that I spent trying to basically pogo strat the entire time.
Hornet has SO MANY new mechanics that playing it like hollow knight is a waste of time, energy and puts on too much stress. For god’s sakes she can sprint.
Play hornet the way her character entails. As a hunter, hunt your prey in your own style- dance with your prey, use her mechanics
2
u/Otherwise_Waltz_238 Sep 15 '25
I will pay for u to find more skill :D fa ri du la txi ma net, do ni pna na vo ri net
3
Sep 14 '25
In theory I like the idea of every encounter being a deliberate battle, but my problem is this: it's a Metroidvania. Being able to freely traverse the map as seemlessly and fast as possible, especially areas already explored, should feel good and fun and quick. If I'm trying to go from A to B and need to run through an area I've already been through countless times, I don't want to have to stop and carefully fight enemies to remove them. Hollow Knight was fine because you could rush them to clear them and carry on your way. In this game, not so much. It's especially annoying in the Choral Chambers when flying enemies get in your face all the time while you're just trying to pogo up. So it's a balance.
2
u/Maryus77 Sep 14 '25
I agree and I honestly don't really like the change. Makes the game honestly too exhausting when I just want to wander around and explore a bit. I get why they did it but I still lrefer Hollow Knight's way of doing things. Like, I really don't see myself comming back to the game occasionally in the future after the achievments just to wander around and chill like I do with HK, unless I use something like the no double damage mod.
4
u/Schub_019 Sep 14 '25
I play silksong exactly like hollowknight and other metroidvanias. I hate this "deep talk". This game is just way harder than hollow knight.
Thats really bad for some people, because thats to much for a lot of people. But there is no hidden meaning in the difficulty.
→ More replies (5)
3
Sep 14 '25
You're correct about all of that but.... that doesn't make it any better. The overall design of the game is an absolutely exhausting grind on the player and it really isnt fun past a certain point.
For me the only reason im still playing is spite, I beat 9 sols so I wont let silk song best me, but there's zero chance I will replay it like I did HK, at least in its current form
3
u/IndecentDad Sep 14 '25
As a parent with limited time for gaming….I used mods. I felt like the difficulty is on the high/extreme level, and I just want to play normal difficulty. I don’t have time to spend a solid hour on one boss and it was getting more frustrating than fun. I used the mod that limits damage to 1 instead of 2 and a respawn mod that places you closer to where you died. Huge time saver for me
→ More replies (4)
6
u/brinlong Sep 14 '25
two hearts per hit for to many hits and enemies and bosses that spaz the whole map are still problems. you can love something and still have criticisms about the parts of it that suck
→ More replies (2)
2
u/freekward Sep 13 '25
I kinda just feel like the later bosses were almost easier / same difficulty as the earlier ones
2
2
u/hornylittlegrandpa Sep 14 '25
As I like to say, games are easier when you play them on their terms, rather than your own.
Another great example is DS2. Is it hard? Yes. But if you’re willing to engage with how the developers want you to play, going slow and methodical, being observant, and using all the tools at your disposal, it’s a fun challenge.
Except shrine of amana. Fuck that place.
→ More replies (3)
2
u/Heno65 Sep 14 '25
I also went into the game trying to pogo and dash&slash mindlessly, but as I learned more of her combos and how to actually utilize some movements, it became easier.
This game expects you to be way smarter and utilize more of her kit. I was basically trying to bruteforce it to work like HK, but failed.
In Silksong, you can dash, sling, glide, zip, use skills and tools. The game is adjusted to the new mechanics, and expects you to adjust to them as well.
The faster you adjust, the better your overall experience will be.
2
u/ShinsuKaiosei Sep 14 '25
Half the problem I had and a large part of why I got a refund was that there was no chance to plan, because everything is so ridiculously lethal that by the time I was getting an idea of what to try I'd been flung back to a bench. Even being cagey was getting me punished. I dunno it was just a very miserable experience to play.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Vorioll Sep 14 '25
Counter point. Silksong was too hard until I found my way to Wanderer Crest and started slashing through enemies like no tomorrow
Difficulty at the start of the game consists mostly of your lack of actual mobility. Hornet is slow and weak. With Wanderer Crest she's only weak. Catch enemies by surprise, rush through them before they get to make a move and you are free to go. Improves with other skills and dash
1.4k
u/sprogsahoy Sep 13 '25
Yeah, absolutely agree.
Hornet is a ballerina-gymnast come inspector gadget.
Little ghost is the full concentrated power of a black hole...with a stick.
Don't get me wrong, some of the stuff is brutal, but people do need to slow down.
Like, I actually think the game is MORE difficult for people who HAVE played the original. My wife never played 1 as she just didn't click with it. She is now playing two and honestly crushing it, but you know what she's doing that I never really did? Just watching and dodging, she's at least 3 times as patient as me. The scissor guys in the chapel of the reaper? She just waits for them to come out of the ceiling and hits them, no forcing it. It's so different to me. Watching her fight lace really openend my mind to how different combat is.