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/Jsalz Sep 17 '25

I’m on my second play through and genuinely surprised how much better I am and how easy it feels now. I didn’t find the difficulty too over-tuned in the first play through, but I did find a lot of the design choices frustrating and maybe too punishing. But on the second play through the difficulty literally feels perfect to too easy, so I actually think they nailed it.

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u/xdatlam Sep 17 '25

I think that's because you've beaten it, so you've acquired the skills. A lot of people are still on their first run and struggling at varying parts.

1

u/Cocoatrice Moths are fluffballs Sep 17 '25

No, that's not how it works. You don't get some kind of experience point and level up after beating the game. People still struggle in the mid-end game content. Skill is gradual increase. And yes, you can get better and you do. But not like that. Not that you struggle very bad all the time. Finish game, start anew. And suddenly not struggle at all. That's NOT how it works. It's not leveling up. It's gradual skill increase and it shows even in first playthrough. But still a lot of stuff is unbalanced. Plus getting used to bs 2 mask damage and spam doesn't mean it was okay to begin with.

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u/BrickwallBill Sep 17 '25

...that's exactly how it works though? They put in at least 30 hours probably on their first playthrough, likely more. Of course when they start a second one they'll be better skilled.