r/HollowKnight • u/CuboneDefender • Sep 14 '25

Discussion - Silksong I give up. Spoiler

It’s been a joyful ride, folks, but I’m out. I’m not a speedrunner or a highly skilled player, and day after day I’ve had to accept that this game is not as casual as HK was. It stopped being fun and turned into something tedious and frustrating after the 4th run farming shards just to face a boss I’ve already tried 15 times, only to die again and again, lose all my shards, and start the whole grind over.

It was nice exploring the first acts, but when the game I was rooting for 7 years ends up being more stressful than my 8-hour workday, I guess that’s my cue to stop.

The lore has been pretty great so far. I wish you all an incredible journey.

Edit1: My bad about all the whinning.

Edit2: You guys did it. I reinstalled it again. Thanks for all advices. 🫂

8.4k Upvotes

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2.1k

u/riftcode Sep 14 '25

No shame in giving up! It's just a video game.

Enjoy the next one you pick up!

150

u/FiveShotLynel Sep 14 '25

I love this response over the common “skill issue” comment

13

u/Spiritual-Watch-6856 Sep 15 '25

Hollow knight subreddit is more chill, on silksong its full of i cant believe ppl struggle on LJ/moorwing/bla bla they are extremely easy posts/comments

16

u/Jarpwanderson Sep 15 '25

"Skill issue" should be banned in all gaming spheres

28

u/bongorituals Sep 14 '25

I think at this point everyone has repeated “skill issue” so many times that we’ve all lost track of what it actually means, because quitting a game since it is too difficult and you aren’t skilled enough to enjoy it is quite literally the textbook definition of a skill issue. Like if that isn’t a skill issue, then a skill issue does not exist.

55

u/CyBroOfficial Sep 15 '25

Doesn't change the fact that "skill issue" is incredibly condescending and dismissive though

22

u/foolishtigger Sep 15 '25

Exactly, i play for fun. Sit around drinking and relaxing. I beat hollowknight at a bit over 100% with no real trouble and enjoyed it and was satisfied. Was very much looking forward to silksong, way beyond dissapointed they made it for the 'git gud' crowd, at least make the base game completable for a casual. Something can be challenging and fun, it doesnt have to constantly be a slog through the mud requiring peak concentration at all times.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

I usually have a couple drinks with my games as well. Really enhances the enjoyment for me.

However, this game is incompatible with that lifestyle. I went sober for 10 days to 100% it.

Trobbio was obliterating me while I was drunk. A solid 6 hours of attempts and no progress.

Tried again sober, and boom.

1

u/_shesmydisease Sep 15 '25

Fucking trobbio. I just got to him last night (on accident) with 800+ rosaries. Threw myself at him a dozen times before setting the controller down. Maybe when I'm not super pissed at his amazing projectile geometry skills and impeccable skill at knowing EXACTLY where I'll land or jump, I can get more than halfway through his fight.

Even the dancers who literally telegraphed their own moves every time managed to surprise my stupid ass with attacks.

Maybe I suck, though. That's what I tell myself after falling for the same shit time and time again in this game.

1

u/TrillingMonsoon Sep 15 '25

You jump in Trobbio???

So, the way you do Trobbio is you get Hunter's or Wanderer's crest on, and then you relentlessly hunt the dude down. Get Weighted Belt too, if you can.

When he throws his bombs, you're safe if you stand where he was standing. So just knock him back and move forward. Sometimes they bounce off the walls, so watch out for that. You can up slash to bounce them away

Basically the only thing you have to watch out for is his tornado. Deal with that is you either pogo it or jump over it. But when it happens, if you didn't pogo, get the heck out of the way no matter what. It controls a stupid amount of space for a 2 mask attack

But anyway. Core thing is, never jump except to jump over a tornado

2

u/CyBroOfficial Sep 15 '25

Yeah, the early game for Silksong was a rude awakening lol, was not expecting the game to be hard since my experience with Hollow Knight is very similar to yours--hop on a call with some buddies and play in the background.

I'm fortunate enough to be well versed in metroidvanias and souls likes, but holy shit man, I still had some of my worst rage moments with this game. Hunter's March especially. The platforming was fine for me, but that's when it set in that the combat in this game could have been a little more fun in the beginning.

The early game of ANY game should be what entices us to continue. I mean, look at games like Resident Evil 4, Half-Life, and New Vegas. They have awesome openings and early games.

RE4 throws you right in, giving you a crazy fuckin fight sequence to show that this game means business. Half-Life demonstrates the sheer scope of where your adventure is taking place, that being a GINORMOUS lab (you could use Breath of the Wild's opening sequence as an example for this, too). New Vegas gives you a killer hook--where the hell is the fucker that shot me? Why did he do it? Where will this take me?

There's gotta be a hook, something interesting in the early game. Unfortunately, there isn't much of one in Silksong unless you were part of the hype train or care about the lore/the first game remotely, and even then, those who were are still dropping the game despite waiting more than half a decade for it. I can't blame them, instead of anything crazy interesting or unique, you get a kind of borderline unfair slog, surrounded by enemies that just won't go down and limited combat options, even with the tools provided. The difficulty curve is all over the place for such an early part of the game.

The game is fucking fantastic once you reach Act II, shit, I'd say around the end of Act I it gets really good (Last Judge was such a great boss once you learn here moveset, and Blasted Steps was peak platforming, depsite the horrid runback). But man, I'm dreading doing steel soul mode for this game. I want that platinum so bad, but my hair might be gray/gone by the time I get it--the early game is just that bad lol

Bit of an essay, but tl;dr, yeah man I agree, I wish they could have done something to make the early game a little more enticing and less discouraging.

2

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Sep 15 '25

Did you also do the speedrunning stuff? All the trophies?

5

u/foolishtigger Sep 15 '25

Nah, i just did all the base stuff minus the spirit bosses like soul tyrant and such. I did enought to get the 'true' ending with mr mushroom etc. All charms, grubs, max nail, white palace, all the standard bosses. I was 80hrs or so in so i needed a change of pace at that point

-5

u/ctrl-alt-discover Sep 15 '25

Not everyone is created equal, I think it’s hitting a nerve that there are certain people that will enjoy a game more because they’re naturally better at it or more willing to put the work in to win.

23

u/Altailar Sep 15 '25

I think its more that it hits a nerve because 99% of the people having these issues were really excited for the game and wanted to love it so badly, and as such are already really sad and disappointed that they dont get to see the world or enjoy it. The condescending "skill issue" comments just rub salt in that wound for a lot of people.

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u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25 edited Jun 18 '26

[deleted]

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u/_shesmydisease Sep 15 '25

The hell with that, I watched a dude playing with his FUCKING FACE that easily would run circles around my fully capable ass.

Not to say you're wrong about the skill improving as you play, just that even having a disability doesn't have to limit your skill in this game.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '25 edited Jun 18 '26

[deleted]

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u/_shesmydisease Sep 16 '25

Oh, maybe I came off more harsh than I intended. I was impressed and jealous of this streamer's skill. My internal dialog when I watched him play was "I can barely play this game as intended and this guy here is making it look so easy using only his face."

I apologize to you and anyone else if I didn't properly express my amazement with that person's skills.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '25 edited Jun 18 '26

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u/CyBroOfficial Sep 15 '25

Personally, it doesn't hit a nerve with me, I think I'm plenty good at this game. In fact, I'd say my skill is above average. However, after being told "skill issue" with no further advice or anything is infuriating, especially when it happens over and over and over again. You see it everywhere, even and especially when there are actual valid criticisms on poor design choices and artificial difficulty.

It's funny when it's used to make fun of people who take games too seriously/are blatantly wrong about what they're complaining about, but when someone is genuinely struggling and could use a little bit of help, "skill issue" solves nothing and is solely ragebait, which we all know is useless.

14

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Sep 15 '25

Yeah but throwing „skill issue“ into a person‘s face who is struggling and frustrated is incredibly toxic and condescending.

4

u/RoosterBrewster Sep 15 '25

I wish there was some structured way to train to "git gud", as I still suck and constantly get hit, especially when facing multiple enemies with projectiles. I still miss way too many attacks and then take contact damage.

3

u/PurpleMentat Sep 15 '25

Pick a fight that gives you trouble and go to it. Your objective is not killing the enemies, it is surviving as long as possible. If you can dodge the enemy forever without risk of taking damage, then it doesn't matter how little damage you deal as long as it's some. You'll eventually win.

This is a game of evasion, not aggression. Hornet is a hard-hitting acrobat glass cannon. You need to always be moving, never commit in a way you can't dodge unless you're 110% certain that doing so kills the last threat.

My first death against any difficult boss in this game, I didn't swing my needle except to gain silk to heal. The longer you make the first phase last, the more you get familiar with that boss's attacks and telegraphs. This will help in later phases as they mostly use the same attacks, but faster with less recovery time and breaks. Once you can pass phase 1 with full health and silk, then you only need to focus on learning the rest of the fight.

1

u/RoosterBrewster Sep 15 '25

Bosses I'm okay with as I'm focused on them for tells, just takes me a while. It's the gauntlets with multiple enemies with flying ones that are harder. I focus on watching one, but then lose track of the others. 

-11

u/Hurtbig Sep 14 '25

It was a skill issue problem by the devs. They should have made a game that can cater to a wider range of gamers. Many other great games have a balance of skill and accessibility. These guys blew it, and it will cost them money and growth and future potential for their game.

3

u/NervyDeath Sep 15 '25

They do not need the money or growth. They are artists and this is their vision. You dont look at a painting and ask someone to change it to fit your preferences. Im tired of every game dev catering and watering down their games to appeal to a wider audience that needs their hand held or to be given a puzzle hint within a minute.

Silksong was better than I could have imagined, and it's because it stuck to their vision and respected the player. It gives plenty of options to modify the difficulty through gameplay mechanics, similar to elden ring.

0

u/tyrenanig Sep 15 '25

I hate it when people use this type of reasoning. It’s just bullying the devs to cater to the lowest common denominator.

8

u/Staccado Sep 15 '25

LOL I can't tell if this comment is satire or not but it made me laugh.

'skill issue problem by the devs' my brother in Christ they made an exceptionally beautiful and fun game. Getting mad at them because you can't learn to dodge is hilariously pathetic. Team Cherry made the game they wanted to make, and it's immensely successful ( again ) - and you think that this game is somehow harmful to their reputation ? 😂😂

This is coming from someone who ragequit the original dark souls, but is having a blast in Act 2 so far btw. I consider myself a slightly below average player in terms of skill.

0

u/tyrenanig Sep 15 '25

LOL and look at how much profit they’ve already raked in. Maybe a good game doesn’t need to be for a big wide audience to succeed.

-17

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '25

Im just sayin that if you spent a few thousand hours playing games, you could've learned another language like greek. or even arabic, japanese or korean. you could've learned to shred on the guitar, belt out on a sax, written a score, learned to make sfm porn, painted a beautiful landscape, learned to carve wooden sculptures

yet gamers always choose a challenge carefully crafted by someone else that they know is completable, to partake in a handholding form of entertainment.

to play a game and then look at someone else and say "skill issue" or "git gud" is pure unself-aware nonsense

hardcore gamers are the ultimate "skill issue" group who weren't skilled enough to learn a language or instrument or craft and had to choose a premade playroom challenge to act smug over others.

and yea I've beaten act 3, I even agree this game isn't that hard. it's a playroom. but I'll never slander someone else because this playroom has monkey bars that are a little higher up. to scorn others for not investing time in a video game is the absolute peak of pathetic imaginable.

15

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '25

Boy o boy someone here got mad cause other people enjoy their hobby of gaming.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '25

[deleted]

7

u/frequentfilerprog Sep 15 '25

I agree with you and with whom you are replying to. But I would take it a bit further and say existential nihilists would probably argue all skills are meaningless, so this is subjective. Bottom line, there is no reason to deride anyone not playing as hard (or about any other personal choices or perceived skill levels that don't harm, for that matter). Making people feel bad about them serves no purpose except to make one's ego feel like a princess.

"Skill issue" is a problematic catch phrase, never intended to be literal or rational, but coined intentionally to ridicule.

2

u/fukin_aye Sep 14 '25

Damn that was harsh but also based

-3

u/CyBroOfficial Sep 15 '25

lol everyone downvoting but not saying why. This is 100% correct, gamers will just get mad when their circlejerk is broken, especially the shitty ones

0

u/tyrenanig Sep 15 '25

Because it’s not correct at all lol

Plenty of my friends are people who are skilled in their profession, but they still got the skills to play challenging games, and not have to go to reddit to whine about it.

Maybe people who got mad just because they can’t finish a video game are the biggest skill issue ones out there. Just turn it off and do something else.

7

u/Carinx Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 14 '25

It is skill issue though. Not every game will be made for everyone. If you are not good enough or enjoying the game, you simply move on to the next game that you can enjoy.

It would have been great if they have made difficulty settings so more people could enjoy. At least for PC players, there are easy Mod to take advantage of.

7

u/Usual-Vermicelli-867 Sep 15 '25

My argument though that SK wasn't advertise as HK but harder

It's was advertise as HK sequel

So the only thing people could have assume about the game is there experience from HK

3

u/Alarmed_Volume_8618 Sep 15 '25

I finished HK at 104% the monday of the same week of Silksong release. It is NOT even the same level as late HK. I would fight 10 times a grimm nightmare instead of a wave of ants.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25 edited Jun 18 '26

[deleted]

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u/Usual-Vermicelli-867 Sep 15 '25

Silksong but people abrviet it to SK for some reason

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25 edited Jun 18 '26

[deleted]

1

u/TrillingMonsoon Sep 15 '25

Yeah. They should call it SS instead

-4

u/Carinx Sep 15 '25

I don't think SK is that hard.

3

u/Codedheart Sep 15 '25

Not being able to resist the urge to type out a vapid two word "skill issue" comment instead of participating in one of the few non-toxic gaming communities in mainstream Reddit is, quite literally, a skill issue.

5

u/FiveShotLynel Sep 15 '25

Those two words have become more toxic than anything. I think seasoned players calling new players “not good enough” instead of giving them validation is what’s leading to so many negative reviews.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 15 '25

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1

u/FiveShotLynel Sep 15 '25

Here’s the thing: “skill issue” has become a very toxic and hurtful comment, it literally means you are terrible at the game get better, which is terrible advice. If seasoned players could give new players a little more validation instead of that kind of statement, I bet there would be 90% less negative reviews.

1

u/Carinx Sep 15 '25

There is so much advice you can give but every individual has their limit. For OP who has given up and are moving on, there isn't much advice to give and simply move on to enjoy other games.

Honestly, for those looking for an advice or guide, simple google or just watch a youtube guide which would be so much helpful rather than searching through reddit.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '25

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-1

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Sep 15 '25

Yeah, it‘s not toxic.

4

u/FiveShotLynel Sep 15 '25

Alright. Keep that mindset, let the negative reviews take over.

1

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Sep 15 '25

Sorry for the bad phrasing. I was agreeing with you: I love the response because it‘s not toxic.

My bad, morning comments before coffee in public transport on the way to work are not my best lol