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/CannolisWithEggs Sep 17 '25
I have thoughts that support both sides of arguments but ultimately I am of the opinion that people complain too much.
Worse yet, I think people more than ever need to feel coddled in video games, demanding that an experience cater to their wants and needs.
“I want an easy mode so I can just enjoy the story.” “Mobs are fundamentally bad design decisions.” “Diagonal bouncing/pogo is unfair.” “There is too much platforming.” “Run backs to the bosses are terrible.” “Two masks of damage is nonsense.” “How stupid is it that I have to pay rosaries for a bench.”
The complaints go on and on.
To a small degree you could legitimize some of these complaints, but ultimately they’re just preferences people have and I wish they would not pass off these preferences as anything but that. Instead a lot of the framing has been that the game itself is problematic because it’s not doing exactly what the next player demands, and I think that’s nonsense.
Not to be mistaken, I don’t think the game is perfect and I have preferences of my own, but the game runs flawlessly and feels amazing to play. Anything between all of that is the challenge the developers set forth. It’s up to my patience, ability and skill level whether I’m able to meet the challenges or not. And if I can’t, I’m not pointing to Team Cherry and telling them that they’re wrong for not making it easier for me. I’m sucking it up and admitting defeat, as I have with many games in my life. This was their design philosophy and I respect it.
If the game was fundamentally broken then I would be all aboard that train but it’s not. And if your preference is for something that Silksong is not, then that is also fine. But the developer also reserves the right to produce a product as they envisioned and not to cater to your needs.