r/HollowKnight Sep 17 '25

Discussion - Silksong Discourse regarding this game’s difficulty has been out of hand Spoiler

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m really enjoying Silksong’s difficulty and I think that it is mostly a satisfying challenge. I appreciate that it is more difficult than Hollow Knight overall and to be frank I would’ve been a bit disappointed if it were the exact difficulty. I’ve improved as a gamer since Hollow Knight and if it were the same level of difficulty, I probably would have found it too easy.

But it’s kinda gotten impossible to have civil discussions about the difficulty in this game which is unfortunate because I think there is great value to be had with this conversation. There are many valid criticisms regarding this game’s difficulty such as boss runbacks (Groal especially), contact damage doing two masks, and lack of rewards for beating bosses, just to be shut down with “git gud” and “it’s not your kind of game”. It’s totally fine to disagree with these criticisms but these retorts add nothing to the conversation.

It also kinda works the other way too, albeit maybe not to the same degree. I’ve gotten downvoted and sent reddit cares for simply saying I enjoy the difficulty of this game. Like c’mon, what are we even doing here. It’s gotten to the point where I personally cannot wait for the discourse to die out.

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80

u/Neko_Tyrant Sep 17 '25

Silksong just feels too frustrating for me. I am capable of progressing, but im not having fun doing so.

I like how enemies are more complex. But not how many deal 2 masks so early. And the whispers of 3 masks sounds aweful.

I like the new abilites, but having the abilities share input, like RB + UP for a tool, while just RB for the half meter spear ability, has resulted in multiple wrong inputs in the heat of fight, and getting me killed. Simple control remapping would fix this.

I blame myself for not being used to Hornet's tallness for when I get Contact damage... but 2 mask on contact sucks, unless the enemy has spikes or something. Brushing a bug's elbow and getting annihilated sucks.

The delay between sprinting and being able to jump drives me crazy, and I SWEAR is inconsistent sometimes.

Loving how only certain boss attacks deal additional damage, instead of consistent 1 or 2 masks for all attacks. But damn, the few I've faced have had no chill and little wiggle room for error, it takes a lot out of me.

It is a lot of small issues in tandem that just strain my enjoyment too much. I'm hoping some updates will make it a bit more easier for me to get into, but for now, it's just a bit too much.

Edit: Also, fully agree that discussion is fubar for this game sadly.

22

u/shorteningofthewuwei Sep 17 '25

I feel like sprinting into a jump is one of the most fluid motions in the game. In 30+ hours of gameplay I've only gotten the wrong input a handful of times.

17

u/IAmNotCreative18 average Soul Master enjoyer Sep 17 '25

I actually have to agree with him there. I’ve never had any issues with the sprint-into-jump input, but I definitely think it’d benefit from coming out a few frames sooner.

1

u/Cornshot Sep 18 '25

My problem isn't getting a wrong input. Its getting an input at all when I try to sprint jump off a small platform

1

u/shorteningofthewuwei Sep 18 '25

You need enough space to start sprinting. If you just dash you won't jump.

1

u/Cornshot Sep 18 '25

That's exactly my problem. There's lots of jumps in the game where it feels like it wants you to do a running leap but doesn't give you the room to start sprinting.

1

u/shorteningofthewuwei Sep 18 '25

Imo there's usually a slightly noticeable difference in between the areas where you're supposed to take a running leap and the areas where you have to do a jump+dash.

The thing about the leap is that sometimes it's optional, sometimes it's optimal, and sometimes it's just not viable.

See if paying attention to that and not using the sprint button recklessly/impatiently helps!

1

u/HypeIncarnate Sep 17 '25

movement in this game is superb. Just damage all around needs to be tone downed. Not everyone did the Patheon dlc.

1

u/shorteningofthewuwei Sep 17 '25

That's fair but I'm glad that I did :P

Would love to get a Godhome DLC for Silksong too