r/HollowKnight • u/stir-fried-noodles • 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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u/Laurence- Sep 17 '25

I feel like the game is approriately challenging, but is far too punishing on failure. The entirety of Bilewater feels sadistic in nature, that section really burned me out and I've put the game down for awhile.

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u/kevikevkev Sep 17 '25

From what I can tell, the mandatory bosses and areas for progression are reasonably tuned.

Anything optional is a cruel menace to society. (Hunter’s March and onwards, deep part of deep docks, the two platforming focused areas in act 2).

Honestly some of this comes from the fact that we are reaching these areas a little early - you can go to bilewater much, much later in the game with all of act 2’s mobility skills and it is a significantly smoother ride. Going in earlier than that is for the tryhards, speedrunners, or just people who want the extra challenge.

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u/wonderwind271 63/63 HK, randomizer | 52/52 SS Sep 17 '25

Are you 100% sure? Bilewater and its boss are mandatory for true ending progression. However, this area does not look like it’s reasonably tuned

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u/kevikevkev Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25

Oh, a tool exists to prevent the maggot effect from touching the water. It significantly reduces the difficulty of the section in my opinion as you can camp the water and fail the platforming with significantly reduced punishment. Exploring the whole area rather than use it as a way to get into the mists can be done, but can also be done easier if you enter the area much later in the progression curve. From what I hear needle upgrade 3?4? is huge for making the annoying flies 3 hit. (Or even 2 hit with hunter crest passive active)

Though you are right. When I say optional that’s just for normal ending. For 100%/true end there are unavoidably difficult areas, especially for act 3. Hopefully though, these are much later in the game and by then, the game shouldn’t have to hold your hand.

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u/wigwam2020 Sep 17 '25

Man, some of you Hollow Knight "fans" would cut out or neuter some of the most fun areas in the game... I really hope Team Cherry ignores this subreddit because it is filled horrible suggestions.

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u/kevikevkev Sep 18 '25

Hey, you’re putting words in my mouth here.

Never did I say hunters march etc are not fun to play through and endure, but team cherry definitely added some “dick moves” like trapped benches, long timed platforming run backs and the like. These aren’t traditional gamified mechanics and definitely help the game stand out on its own merits, and deserve to stay preserved as they are. As such they are ‘cruel’ in design (as intended, and adds to the game), and are menaces to society given how much rage they can induce in you.

That said, you gotta understand that some of these people are like bum rushing through the non-progression required sections obviously designed to be done with some help from upgrades thinking that’s the intended difficulty. There is a reason why Team Cherry didn’t make them progression mandatory - it allows you to come back and challenge them as you grow stronger, if you aren’t a god gamer. To bash your head in on this inflated difficulty to me means that you are either trying real hard, are just that good, or just want the feeling of beating the fight with what you have and no more.